Former Champs Buzz Syracuse

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Super DIRT Week XL Will Be Buzzing with Former Champions

Winners from Reutimann to Friesen taking part in 40th anniversary celebration

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Oct. 3, 2011 – The list reads like a Who’s Who of DIRTcar Big-Block Modified racing. They are the former winners of the SEF Small Engine Fuel 200 Presented by Ferris & Snapper at Super DIRT Week.

From Buzzie Reutimann’s victory at the first Super DIRT Week in 1972 to Stewart Friesen’s amazing drive to the checkered flag last season, the drivers who have celebrated a win at the Moody Mile are an impressive bunch.

Going into this year’s event at the New York State Fairgrounds, there have been 22 different winners over the previous 39 years of the week’s marquee Super DIRTcar Series event. At least 16 of those former winners are scheduled to attend this week’s 40^th anniversary of Super DIRT Week, including Buzzie Reutimann (1972, ’73), Gary Balough (1976, ’78 spring, ’78 fall, ’80),Jack Johnson (1979, ’84), Alan Johnson (1983, ’89, ’03), Brett Hearn (1985, ’90, ’91, ’93, ’95),Jimmy Horton (1987, ’94), Kenny Brightbill (1988), Richie Tobias Jr. (1992),Danny Johnson (1997, ’06), Billy Decker (1998, ’00, ’01, ’05), Kenny Tremont (1999), Vic Coffey (2002, ’07), Tim Fuller (2004), Frank Cozze (2008), Matt Sheppard (2009), and Stewart Friesen (2010).

“The first time I ever pulled in there, we came through the tunnel, we didn’t have big rigs or anything like that, just an open trailer and the car on the back,” said Reutimann, whose son is current NASCAR Sprint Cup racer David Reutimann. “We got through the tunnel and parked in the pits and I said, ‘Where’s the track?’ You could see the stands but you couldn’t see the back straightaways or the corners. I said, ‘Well, there’s only one way to find out what it’s like.’ So the first time I saw it was when I pulled down pit road and pulled out on the track. It was breathtaking to be on a track that big. We’d never been on a track that big before.”

It didn’t take long for Reutimann to get up to speed. He went out and won in 1972 and again in 1973.

“I got more ink out of winning the two Syracuse races than I have for winning any other race,” said Reutimann, who still competes on dirt tracks in his native Florida. “That one I got the most ink out of. Winning a race like that boosted my confidence because I figured I could go anyplace and win if I could win at Syracuse. The best of the best are always at Syracuse. It’s our Daytona.”

For Reutimann, the memories of racing at Syracuse are still vivid. He’ll recount many of them this week at the Moody Mile, especially during the autograph session with former winners at noon on Saturday before the Nationwide Insurance 150 event for DIRTcar 358-Modifieds.

“It doesn’t seem like 40 years, I don’t know where 40 years went,” Reutimann said. “You always race because that’s what you love to do. You never think about the rewards you would get from your fans. When you stop and think about that, it means a lot to me. A lot of drivers don’t realize how many lives they touch. … I don’t know if anybody still remembers me up there or not. I always got along really good with the fans. Without them we’re nobody. I’ll enjoy that part of it.”

Knowing Reutimann still likes to race – he’s won three races at Florida dirt tracks in the past two weeks – it’ll be tough for him to be a fan at Super DIRT Week XL.

“It’s sort of hard going back without being able to get behind the wheel, but you wouldn’t want to just go run Syracuse without having run some previous races to get back into the swing of things,” he said. “It will be a whole lot less pressure on me, and I’ll probably enjoy myself a lot more if I just come up there and watch.”

SEF Small Engine Fuel 200 Presented by Ferris & Snapper Champions

MANDATORY PIT STOP

The Super DIRT Week XL Competitor Guide is posted at SuperDIRTWeekOnline.com as a downloadable PDF. Among all of the information in the guide is a note about the mandatory pit stop for the SEF Small Engine Fuel 200 Presented by Ferris & Snapper coming between Lap 150 and Lap 175.

In the Nationwide Insurance 150 for DIRTcar 358-Modifieds, there will be a mandatory pit stop required any time after the initial green flag.

WHERE DO I GO?

The New York State Fairgrounds is a large complex on State Fair Blvd. To enter, follow signs to Gate 6 at the western end of the fairgrounds and see the large Super DIRT Week welcome and ticketing building.

40th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PIN

A limited supply of commemorative 40th Anniversary Pins are available to race fans during SDW events. In order to qualify for the gift, fans must purchase tickets to the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and World of Outlaws Sprint Car events at Rolling Wheels Raceway, purchase a multi-day ticket to Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds, or purchase a ticket for the SEF Small Engine Fuel 200 on Sunday, Oct. 9. Supplies are limited, get your tickets now by clicking SuperDIRTWeekOnline.com .

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER FOR BREAKING NEWS

Get the latest news, information and updates by following Super DIRT Week on Twitter @SuperDIRTWeek. The Super DIRT Week Twitter feed is also posted on SuperDIRTWeekOnline.com .

DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners; including Hoosier Racing Tire; VP Racing Fuels; GM Performance Parts, Nationwide Insurance and Safety-Kleen. Promotional partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio and Chizmark Larson Insurance Agency. Contingency sponsors are ASI; Bert Transmissions; Bicknell Racing Products; Bilstein Shocks; Brodix; ButlerBuilt; Comp Cams; Intercomp; JE Pistons; KSE Racing Products; Motorsports Safety Systems; MSD Ignition; Penske Shocks; Racing Electronics; R2C; Super Flow; Vicci Racing Apparel; WIX Filters; Wrisco Industries; Xtreme Lubricants and Extreme Mufflers.

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