Hefti Captures First-Ever Fulton Victory In Super DIRT Series Showdown

Hefti Captures First-Ever Fulton Victory In Super DIRT Series Showdown

By Joe Johnson, DIRT MotorSports Correspondent

Fulton, NY — September 30, 2005 — Veteran open-wheel runner Russ Hefti picked up his first-ever win at Fulton Speedway in the 30-lap Motorsports Expo '06 Victoria Championship. Hefti's third extra-distance victory in round number 15 of the 2005 Sportsman Super DIRT Series also extended his lead in the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco race Fuels Mr. DIRT Championship points standings.

The Jordan, New York driver started the event in sixth position and steadily worked his way to the front. He grabbed the top spot from Sammy Reakes IV on lap 12 and was never again headed on the way to the win. Hefti was mighty happy to get the first win at Fulton, commenting in victory lane, “We’ve had a lot of seconds here and we just wanted to win real bad. This is basically our farewell season and we're glad to finally get one at Fulton.”

The 35-car field was brought to the green by Fulton regular Mark Yorker and Pennellville’s Kyle Lewis, but it was third-place starter Reakes that got the jump and led lap one. On that initial lap a major tangle occurred between Joe Williams, Brian Sage, Chris Higgins, Billy Shantel Jr. and Jim LaRock. Williams in the 1j was able to drive away but was still done for the night, while Sage was towed to the pits with front end damage and returned 11 laps later and finished in 29^th spot. All others were able to continue.

On the ensuing restart Reakes opened up a four car-length advantage over Lewis, but on lap four LaRock tangled again, this time with the Town Mechanical 17t of Joe Isabell. The Wills Dairy 111 of Kevin Wills and the Sun State Tanning 4j of Shane Donath were also involved. LaRock’s night ended prematurely on the hook.

Racing resumed on lap five with Reakes in the 17k once again opening up a lead over Lewis while pole-sitter Yorker ran third ahead of Hefti and Jim Bowman in the Klabens Nursery number 15. The yellow waved again on lap seven when Mike Entwistle in a former Bob McCreadie number 9 spun in turn two. The damage was severe enough to put the upstart driver out for the night after an impressive run.

The man on the move at this juncture was Greg Doust in the MED Construction number 67. The Fulton regular failed to qualify through the heats but captured the first consi to gain entrance into the feature. He started 19th and was up to ninth by lap seven and appeared to be a threat for the win.

The green waved again on lap eight with Reakes still leading the way over Lewis but the 09 began to develop a push and he faded a bit with Hefti grabbing away second on lap 11. The 17t of Isabell spun in turn four and backed into the yuke tire but he was able to continue on.

The green returned over the field on lap 12 with Hefti getting the jump on Reakes before the yellow flew again on that same lap, this time for Kenny Stafford and Rob Ledingham as they got hooked together off turn four. The tow truck pulled them apart and both were able to continue.

On the restart Hefti built up an advantage over the rest of the field but a hard charging Scott Schrader was making his presence known. After first cracking the top-five on lap 11, the Shortsville, NY veteran grabbed away second on lap 15 and set sail after Hefti. The front pack stayed pretty tight until recently crowned Fulton points champion Kevin Bates sheered of a right front tire in turn four on lap 20. The Lake Ariel, PA native was running in the top-five at the time of the problem and appeared to be on his way to the front. This would prove to be the final yellow of the event.

Hefti once again built up a sizeable advantage over his top chasers on the restart. Schrader found a challenge from Bowman who had faded back as far as eighth before charging back to take second on the final lap over Schrader. Hefti cruised to his 17th victory of the season with Bowman ---whose car was found to be legal this night after being disqualified last week for not having a rev-limiter--- taking an impressive second.

'05 Canandaigua Speedway champion Schrader was able to hang on for third with young Reakes capping off a great night with a fourth-place finish. The Palermo, NY driver ran to the win in heat number three aboard his GM Goodwrench Bicknell machine and led 11 laps of the feature. Rounding out the top-five was Mark Yorker who rebounded from a heat race crash to finish second and qualify before drawing the pole for the feature. It was a bit of a disappointing result for the Central Square driver, but considering what could have happened in the heat it was certainly acceptable.

Carbondale, PA’s Brett Tonkin charged from 22^nd to sixth to finish just ahead of the Original Pizza Logs 20k of Kyle Inman. Eighth was Doust with Lockport’s Rob Pratt rebounding from a few tangles to finish ninth. Jeremy Pitcher straightened out a terrible night and rounded out the top-10. By virtue of his runner-up finish, Jim Bowman captured the spot for Syracuse. Heat races for the 57 cars on hand went to Bowman, Hefti, Reakes, Inman, Lewis and Bates. Doust, Entwistle and Roger Chrysler captured the consolation events.

Event Summary [*Official box score posted on www.dirtmotorsports.com and can be viewed by first selecting 'DIRT NorthEast' on the corporate homepage then clicking 'Sunoco Series' logo]

FEATURE

FIN STR CAR# DRIVER

1 6 0 Russ Hefti/Jordan,NY ($1,500)

2 4 15 Jim Bowman/Baldwinsville,NY

3 10 58 Scott Schrader/Shortsville,NY

4 3 17k Sammy Reakes IV/Fulton,NY

5 1 1 Mark Yorker/Central Square,NY

6 22 15x Brett Tonkin/Carbondale,PA

7 5 20k Kyle Inman/Darien,NY

8 19 67 Greg Doust/Jamesville,NY

9 24 p38 Rob Pratt/Brockport,NY

10 31 14 Jeremy Pitcher/Fulton,NY

11 15 4j Shane Donath/Syracuse,NY

12 23 9g Billy Shantel Jr./Utica,NY

13 8 87 Walt McArdell/Baldwinsville,NY

14 2 09 Kyle Lewis/Pennelville,NY

15 17 17d Tom Juhl/Weedsport,NY

16 29 16w Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY

17 21 t21 Roger Chyrsler/Lewiston,NY

18 34 19jr. Rob Ledingham/Port Colborne,ONT

19 27 28 Alan Fink/Hastings,NY

20 33 99c Nick Cupolo/Thorold,ONT

21 25 88 Roy Bresnahan/Palermo,NY

22 18 60 Kenny Stafford/Homer,NY

23 32 2k Rob Knapp/St.Catharines,ONT

24 26 06j Jordan Bennett/Pennellville,NY

25 14 8 Rob Bellinger/Dexter,NY

26 7 d28 Shawn Donath/Syracuse,NY

27 12 42B Kevin Bates/Lake Ariel,PA

28 35 82 Marcel Pecore/Cornwall,NY

29 16 11J Brian Sage/Brockport, NY

30 20 9 Mike Entwistle/Auburn,NY

31 28 111 Kevin Wills/Ransomville,NY

32 14 58L Jim LaRock/Seneca Falls/NY

33 11 19H Chris Higgins/Syracuse,NY

34 13 1j Joe Williams/Scotia,NY

35 9 17t Joe Isabell/Pennelville,NY

DID NOT QUALIFY(22)

01 - Andy Bardin Jr./Oswego,NY

3d - Jamie Yankowski/Throop,PA

7 - Kelly Smith/Liverpool,NY

15w - Roger West Sr./Constantia,NY

16 - Mike Bowman/Baldwinsville,NY

17B - Brian Kietveles/Warners,NY

17t - Joe Isabell/Pennelville,NY

19j - John Juhl/Auburn,NY

19jr. - Rob Ledingham/Port Colborne,ONT

R19 - Dale Caswell/Central Square,NY

21H - Mike Holmes/Oswego,NY

27 - Stewart Garrison/Fulton,NY

fox 28 - Jeff Stevenson/Watertown,NY

29j - Rob Hile/Syracuse/NY

33x - Matt Janczuk/Oneida,NY

34 - Henry Desormeau/Weedsport,NY

43j - Jack Meeks/Evans Mills,NY

45 - Matt Butler/Canton,NY

B52 - Gordy Button/Kirkville,NY

95 - Jim Dallett/Vineland,NJ

96 - Luke Carlton/Port Colbourn,ONT

96x - Dave Reilley/Jordan,NY

Lap Leaders: Reakes (1-11), Hefti (12-30).

Heat Winners: Bowman, Hefti, Reakes, Inman, Lewis, Bates.

Consi Winners: Doust, Entwistle, Chrysler

OVERALL HOOSIER-SUNOCO MR. DIRT SPORTSMAN POINT STANDINGS

(through Fulton Speedway – September 30, 2005)

No.Driver Hometrack RegionalHome TComb STotalDiff

1 0 Russ Hefti Cayuga Co. 1000 950 480 2430 0

2 11 Brian Sage Genesee 970 1000 381 2351 -79

3 111Kevin Wills Ransomville 980 1000 355 2335 -95

4 42bKevin Bates Fulton/CCFS 980 1000 330 2310 -120

5 20kKyle Inman Genesee 934 980 362 2276 -154

6 19JRob Ledingham Humberstone 960 1000 284 2244 -186

7 67 Greg Doust Fulton/CCFS 1000 980 205 2185 -245

8 m96Marcel Pecore Brockville 946 1000 227 2173 -257

9 16 Lance Willix II Cayuga Co. 970 970 228 2168 -262

10 8 Rob Bellinger Cayuga Co. 960 946 261 2167 -263

11 8c Wayne Conn Jr. Merrittville 950 1000 182 2132 -298

12 19hChris Higgins ｮ Fulton 950 926 251 2127 -303

13 99cNick Cupolo ｮ Ohsweken 930 950 238 2118 -312

14 p38Rob Pratt Genesee 902 970 235 2107 -323

15 2k Rob Knapp Humberstone 938 970 172 2080 -350

16 T21Roger Chrysler Merritt/Can 946 920 203 2069 -361

17 95 Jim Dallett Cayuga Co. 920 906 214 2040 -390

18 1J Joe Williams Jr.Fulton 942 960 130 2032 -398

19 71mMark Potter Ransomville 920 960 137 2017 -413

20 7 Scott Kerwin Ransomville 918 980 90 1988 -442

21 108Bill Bleich Merrittville 942 970 72 1984 -446

22 14 Jeremy Pitcher Fulton 916 950 102 1968 -462

23 9 Jason Riddell Brockville 938 980 45 1963 -467

24 88 Roy Bresnahan ｮ Fulton/CCFS 924 938 83 1945 -485

25 67gEric Giguere Canandaigua 902 950 90 1942 -488

26 20 Jeff McGinnis Ransomville 918 970 41 1929 -501

27 54JScott Just Ransomville 912 922 88 1922 -508

28 54JDave Just Ransomville 926 934 58 1918 -512

29 27hJustin HendersonCanandaigua 914 930 62 1906 -524

30 28 Jeff Stevenson Fulton 922 906 72 1900 -530

31 20 Kevin Ridley ｮ Cayuga Co. 912 960 10 1882 -548

32 06JJordan Bennett Fulton 930 900 50 1880 -550

33 56 Steve SchumacherRansom/Gen 912 928 40 1880 -550

34 16 Mike Bowman Fulton 934 934 10 1878 -552

35 94 Stan Zanchin Humberstone 928 946 0 1874 -556

36 5T Tony Purgarich Ransomville 924 950 0 1874 -556

37 25 Bobby HerringtonBrockville 910 960 0 1870 -560

38 12 Jeremy LaSalle ｮBrockville 918 938 0 1856 -574

39 69 Brad Kirkland Brockville 904 950 0 1854 -576

40 44 Jason Boyle Ransomville 906 946 0 1852 -578

41 42cMike Conrow Cayuga Co. 906 942 0 1848 -582

42 23 Kees VanWinden Brockville 900 946 0 1846 -584

43 47 Sean Carman Cayuga Co. 928 912 0 1840 -590

44 8 Chris Herbison Brockville 914 924 0 1838 -592

45 20KRick St. Pierre Humberstone 922 916 0 1838 -592

46 68xCurtis Friesen ｮRansom/Gen 908 924 0 1832 -598

47 11 Tim VanBrocklin Brockville 900 928 0 1828 -602

48 54 Mark Chiddy Genesee 904 916 0 1820 -610

49 58 Scott Schrader Canandaigua 0 1000 234 1234-1196

50 15 Brent Tonkin Fulton 0 942 220 1162-1268

Get Out the Word First: RACEceiver is the Official Driver Communicator of DIRT MotorSports. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness of events. A similar version available to fans will allow RACEceiver users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit www.raceceiver.com, call 866-301-7223, or look for their sales trailers at various events.

Another perfect score: In DIRT MotorSports™ ongoing effort to assist every sanctioned track with presenting the best possible race programs, DMS has teamed with AMB i.t. which is now recognized as the Official Timing System of DIRT MotorSports™ for the next five years. AMB i.t. is the world’s leader in automatic race timing and scoring systems and the DIRT organization is proud to retain the company as a valued partner in the timing and scoring of all DIRT MotorSports™ events.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

The Sportsman Super DIRT Series trail heats up with three 30-Lap events scheduled during Super DIRT Week at Can-Am Motorsports Park (10/5), Rolling Wheels Raceway (10/8) and culminating in the highly anticipated contest at the NYS Fairgrounds on the famed “Moody Mile."

2005 SPORTSMAN SUPER DIRT SERIES SCHEDULE
Day-Date Track(Laps) Location/Winner

Fri-May 6 Thunder Alley Speedpark (30L-E)......................GREG DOUST

Sun-Jun 12 Cayuga County Fair Speedway (30L-E).............JEREMY PITCHER

Fri-Jun 17 Ohsweken Speedway (50L-W)...........................MARTIN POLHILL

Fri-Jun 24 Thunder Alley Speedpark (30L-E)......................LANCE WILLIX II

Fri-Jul 1 Ransomville Speedway (50L-W)........................JEFF McGINNIS

Sun-Jul 3 Humberstone Speedway (50L-W)......................BILL BLEICH

Wed-Jul 13 Can-Am Motorsports Park (30L-C).....................BRIAN SAGE

Sat‑Jul 23 Merrittville Speedway (50L-C).............................KYLE INMAN

Thr-Aug 11 Canandaigua Speedway (30L-W).......................RUSS HEFTI

Fri-Sep 9 Brockville Ontario Speedway (30L-E).................JASON RIDDELL

Fri-Sep 9 Ransomville Speedway (50L-W).........................BRIAN SAGE

Sat-Sep 10 Genesee Speedway (40L-W)..............................BRIAN SAGE

Fri-Sep 16 Brewerton Speedway (40L-C).............................Rain-Cancelled

Sat-Sep 17 Rolling Wheels Raceway (30L-C).......................RUSS HEFTI

Sat‑Sep 24 Canandaigua Speedway (50L-C)........................BRIAN SAGE

Fri-Sep 30 Fulton Speedway (30L-C)...................................RUSS HEFTI

Wed-Oct 5 Can-Am Motorsports Park (30L-C).....................LaFargeville, NY

Fri-Oct 7 Rolling Wheels Raceway (30L-C).......................Elbridge, NY

Sat-Oct 8 New York State Fairgrounds (30L-C)..................Syracuse, NY

Sat-Oct 15 Cayuga County Fair Speedway (50L-C).............Weedsport, NY

Sat-Oct 22 Bridgeport Speedway (75L-C) ............................Bridgeport, NJ

E=East Region(4), W=West Region(6), C=Combined(11).

SPORTSMAN SERIES SPONSORS
The DIRT MotorSports™ Sunoco/Aplus Sportsman Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Sunoco Race Fuels, Advance Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and DART Machinery. Promotional Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, Zippo Lighters and F.X. Caprara Car Companies and the contingency sponsors are Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, MSD Ignitions and Wrisco Industries.