Campers, Racers Kick Off Super DIRT Week

NAPA Super DIRT Week Kicks Off with Hundreds of Campers at the N.Y. State Fairgrounds and High-Speeds on the Moody Mile

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Oct. 7, 2015 – The “Finale at the Fairgrounds” is finally underway. Wednesday morning hundreds of campers rolled into the New York State Fairgrounds to kick off the 44th NAPA Super DIRT Week, then Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series drivers raced onto the Moody Mile for their first laps at the historic venue.

It was a bittersweet day for many of the racers. With every driver wanting desperately to be the final winner at the Mile on Sunday, Billy Decker topped the two-hour practice session with a lap around the Mile in 31.478 seconds.

“We need to be quick-time all week,” said Decker, a four-time Syracuse 200 winner. “It’s very similar to what we thought it would be, actually we went a little quicker than I thought you should go. Thursday is a new ball game, we’ll see what happens.”

On Thursday, drivers get their chance at being the final polesitter of NAPA Super DIRT Week during the qualifying time trials for the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds and the DIRTcar 358-Modifieds.

While Decker says he doesn’t think this final event at the fairgrounds is “going to hit everybody for a while,” the young driver who was second quick on Wednesday, 22-year-old Larry Wight, would certainly like to close out this era of the event with his first Syracuse 200 victory.

“I’ve been coming here since I was 4 years old working on cars,” said Wight, the 2015 DIRTcar Nationals champion. “The last thing I want to think about is that we can’t come back. I always dreamed of being able to have my kids work on my car like I did for Pat (Ward) and everybody else. Hopefully it’s a good show for the fans.”

Wight looked strong on Wednesday afternoon, posting a lap around the Mile in 31.689 seconds that was second quickest.

“We’re excited about it, but you’re also nervous because you don’t want to be quick out of the gate and slow at the finish,” Wight said. “We were able to put it in the top two so that’s a good indication for us to try to get in the top six for time trials. The track was smooth all the way around. I was able to drive around the outside of guys who were slower than me so I think it’s going to race really well.”

Billy Dunn earned his first Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series victory in the 2013 Syracuse 200 during NAPA Super DIRT Week so there’s little doubt how special this venue and event are to him. Dunn drove the third quickest car in the Wednesday practice session with a lap in 31.774 seconds as he also would love to close out the Mile with a victory.

“Like any of us, we’ve all been here since we’ve been kids and we have a lot of memories of being here,” Dunn said. “You think about things you saw or do when you were a kid, or even the last five or 10 years racing. We do feel really lucky we were able to win one, that takes a little bit of the pressure off us, we can just go out and try to do our best.”

For many racers, no victory is more special than the first one. For Dunn, his first victory coming on the sport’s biggest stage makes it even more special, but a win on Sunday might just change that.

“You know, me and Tim Fuller were talking about that,” Dunn said. “This is the one Syracuse race that if you win, it will mean more than your first win here. It’s a pretty big race. At least we do have that one win under our belt, we’ve won a couple of Triple 20s, had some really strong runs here so we don’t expect anything less this week. About lap 160 on Sunday we’ll know where we sit.”

For every driver in the pits this week, they hope to their name becomes part of Syracuse lore by Sunday. Through Wednesday afternoon, below are the drivers set to compete this week:

Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Roster

Car	Driver	Hometown
ONE	David Hebert	St. Damase, QC
X	Edward Kitchell	South Kingstown, RI
01	Chris Raabe	Napanee, ON
1	Tyler Dippel	Wallkill, NY
1	Justin Haers	Phelps, NY
1M	Mathieu Desjardins	Sorel-Tracy, QC
1NY	Gregory Atkins	Keeseville, NY
FX1	Frankie Caprara	Pulaski, NY
2RJ	Ronnie Johnson	Scotia, NY
2RJ	Mark Kislowski	Ballston Lake, NY
3J	Marc Johnson	Guilderland, NY
3A	Kevin Albert Jr	Lebanon, PA
3M	Henry Maier	Spencerport, NY
5	Billy VanInwegen	Sparrowbush, NY
5*	Tyler Siri	Horseheads, NY
6	Jimmy Phelps	Baldwinsville, NY
6	Mat Williamson	St.Catharines, ON
7	Rick Laubach	Hellertown, PA
7	Michael Maresca	Hannawa Falls, NY
08	Mark D’Ilario	Vineland, ON
8	Rich Scagliotta	Hillsborough, NJ
11	Robert Bellinger	Dexter, NY
12B	Kevin Britten	Port Byron, NY
13	Rick Regalski	Slippery Rock, PA
R13	Ralph McBride	Valencia, PA
14	Brian Swarthout	Beaver Dams, NY
14	Brett Wright	East Chatam, NY
14H	Jeffrey Heotzler	Wallkill, NY
17	Marcus Dinkins	Montour Falls, NY
19	Jessey Mueller	Olmstedville, NY
19	Tim Fuller	Watertown, NY
20	Brett Hearn	Kinnelon, NJ
21a	Peter Britten	Port Byron, NY
21M	Bob McGannon	Garnerville, NY
22c	Mario Clair	St.Edmond, QC
24	Patrick Dupree	Saranac Lake, NY
25P	Michael Parent	Granby, QC
27J	Danny Johnson	Phelps, NY
28p	Eldon Payne Jr	Canandaigua, NY
29	Kyle Redner	Middletown, NY
32c	Vic Coffey	Caledonia, NY
34B	Andy Bachetti	Great Barrington, MA
35	Frank Cozze	Wind Gap, PA
39	Tim McCreadie	Avon, NY
39	Alan Therrien	Victoriaville, QC
M40	Mark Forte Jr	Hammonton, NJ
42p	Pat Ward	Baldwinsville, NY
43	Keith Flach	Ravena, NY
43x	Keith Flach	Ravena, NY
44	Stewart Friesen	Sprakers, NY
45	Steve Feder	Butler, PA
47	Bob Sarkisian	Woolwich, NJ
49	Billy Dunn	Watertown, NY
51M	Dominick Buffalino	Sayreville, NJ
56	Vince Vitale	Cato, NY
62s	Tom Sears Jr.	Clay, NY
63	Adam Roberts	Central Square, NY
66x	Carey Terrance	Hogansburg, NY
66	Duane Howard	Oley, PA
71	Pierre Hebert	St.Hyacinthe, QC
74	Dave Blaney	Hartford, Ohio
74	JR Heffner	Kinderhook, NY
75	Jeff Miller	Sarver, PA
77	Bob Hamm Jr	Windsor, NY
77B	Roy Bresnahan	Fulton, NY
87	Neil Stratton	North Bennington, VT
88	Dave Allen	Palmyra, NY
91	Billy Decker	Baldwinsville, NY
96	Todd Milton	Camillus, NY
96	Mike Turner	Butler, PA
98	Eddie Marshall	Ridgefield, CT
99	Mikael Labreche	Ste Beatrix, QC
99L	Larry Wight	Baldwinsville, NY
115	Stephane LaFrance	St.Andrews, ON
115	Ken Tremont Jr	West Sandlake, NY
151KB	Brian McDonald	Cornwall, ON
220	John Ferrier	Middletown, NY
747	Ryan Godown	Ringoes, NJ
816	Jeffrey Rockefeller	Ballston Spa, NY
999	Matt Sheppard	Waterloo, NY
2848	Jimmy Maier	Spencerport, NY

DIRTcar 358-Modified Roster

Car	Driver	Hometown
ONE	David Hebert	St.Damase, QC
01	Chris Raabe	Napanee, ON
1	Tyler Dippel	Wallkill, NY
1M	Mathieu Desjardins	Sorel-Tracy, QC
1NY	Gregory Atkins	Keeseville, NY
FX1	Frankie Caprara	Pulaski, NY
3A	Kevin Albert Jr	Lebanon, PA
3B	Scott Boudinot	Dundee, NY
3J	Marc Johnson	Guilderland, NY
3M	Henry Maier	Spencerport, NY
6	Jimmy Phelps	Baldwinsville, NY
7	Michael Maresca	Hannawa Falls, NY
08	Mark D’Ilario	Vineland, ON
8	Rich Scagliotta	Hillsborough, NJ
12B	Kevin Britten	Port Byron, NY
14	Brett Wright	East Chatam, NY
14	Brian Swarthout	Beaver Dams, NY
17	JR Heffner	Kinderhook, NY
17	Matt Janiak	Warwich, NY
20	Brett Hearn	Kinnelon, NJ
21	Yan Bussiere	Drummondville, QC
21M	Bob McGannon	Garnerville, NY
21s	James Henry	Niagara Falls, NY
22c	Mario Clair	St.Edmond, QC
24	Patrick Dupree	Saranac Lake, NY
25	Chad Jeseo	Averill Park, NY
25	Erick Rudolph	Ransomville, NY
25P	Michael Parent	Granby, QC
26	Ryan Godown	Ringoes, NJ
29K	Ryan Krachun	Neshanic, NJ
32c	Vic Coffey	Caledonia, NY
R40	Ryan Forte	Hammonton, NJ
44	Stewart Friesen	Sprakers, NY
45	Wayne Jelley	Pittsfield, MA
47	Bob Sarkisian	Woolwich, NJ
49	Billy Dunn	Watertown, NY
66x	Carey Terrance	Hogansburg, NY
73	Alain Boisvert	Lachine, QC
76A	Ronnie Johnson	Scotia, NY
83x	Tim Sears Jr	Hastings, NY
87	Neil Stratton	North Bennington, VT
91	Billy Decker	Baldwinsville, NY
99	Mikael Labreche	St Beatrix, QC
99L	Larry Wight	Baldwinsville, NY
111	Demetrios Drellos	Queensbury, NY
115	Ken Tremont Jr	West Sandlake, NY
115	Stephane Lafrance	St Albert, ON
343	Randy Sweetman	Middletown, NY
151KB	Brian McDonald	Cornwall, ON

DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Roster

Car	Driver	Hometown
0	Shane Pecore	St Andrews, ON
00	Frank Holmes	Gibbstown, NJ
00	Christopher Kokosa	Belchertown, MA
1	Sam Reakes IV	Fulton, NY
1f	AJ Lloyd	Canandaigua, NY
1J	Rocky Warner	Gloversville, NY
M1	David Marcuccilli	Cayuga, NY
2	Chris Thurston	LaFargeville, NY
3X	John Behr	Central Square, NY
4	Cody Clark	Little Falls, NY
4	Greg Martin	Wilson, NY
4T	Tony Komuda Jr	Warners, NY
8	Alan Fink	Central Square, NY
09	Connor Cleveland	Corinth, NY
11s	Steven Lewis Jr	Ransomville, NY
12	Taylor Caprara	Watertown, NY
14x	Scott Duell	Ballston Spa, NY
15B	Brianna Ladouceur	Cornwall, ON
16	Earl Rudy	Phoenix, NY
17J	Jamie Platt	Watertown, NY
17T	Todd Town	Jordan, NY
18jr	Louie Jackson Jr	Akwesasne, NY
21	Adam Gage	West Lebanon, NH
21	James Henry	Niagara Falls, NY
21L	Alissa Cody	Cairo, NY
22	Brett Martin	Burt, NY
22	Matt Smith	Canadaguia, NY
M22	Michael Dubois	Highland, NY
23	John McAuliffe	Ballston Lake, NY
23	Mike Stacey	Kahnawake, QC
24k	Nick Krause	Parish, NY
29k	Chris Cunningham	Kirkville, NY
30	Brad Rouse	St.Catharines, ON
33	Alex Lajoie	St.Damase, QC
33H	Matt Hitchcock	Stony Point, NY
35	Chris Curtis	East Canaan, CT
42	Brian Murphy	Cicero, NY
44	Dave Conant Jr	Lockport, NY
47	Brent Cross	Cortland, NY
52	Jessica Power	Kingston, ON
70	John Virgilio	Pittsfield, MA
78A	Brad Alger	Oneonta, NY
85	Steve Abt	Oswego, NY
86	Matt Steffenhagen	Delevan, NY
88c	Connor Dawdy	Battersea, ON
92	Joey Ladouceur	Alexandria, ON
96	Robert Maxon	Pownal, VT
98	Dan Kapuscinski	Fulton, NY
99	Brian Papiez	Belle Mead, NJ
14s	Austin Smith	Thompson Ridge, NY
271	Tiger Chapman	Cape Vincent, NY
314	Gordon Film	Stillwater, NY
343	Randy Sweetman	Middletown, NY
415	Andrew Wren	Evans Mills, NY

DIRTcar Pro Stock Roster

Car	Driver	Hometown
00	Mike Welch	Lyons, NY
08	Chad Arsenault	Elizaville, NY
2	Peter Stefanski	North Tonawanda, NY
2H	Luke Horning	Gloversville, NY
4	Dean Charbonneau	Clifton Park, NY
07	Tom Harkins	Hudson, NY
7	Rob Yetman	Castleton, NY
7c	Glenn Forward	Morrisville, NY
7N	Jim Normoyle	Little Falls, NY
8	Jay Corbin	Rensselaer, NY
11	Ed Thompson	Castleton, VT
14	Kim Duell	Port Corners, NY
15	Daniel Wood	Watervliet, NY
17	Jocelyn Chicoine	St Marc Richelieu, QC
17	Nick Hilt	Averill Park, NY
22	Andrew Walters	Gloversville, NY
24	Robbie Speed	Hudson, NY
30	Steve Pesarak	Geneva, NY
47	David	Long Sault, ON
60	Joe LaFlamme	Pittsfield, MA
81	Justin Knight	St Johnsville, NY
93	Kenneth Martin Jr	Scotia, NY
97	Daniel Older	Ballaston Spa, NY
315	Jonathan Routhier	Canaan, CT
322	Jay Casey	Canaan, CT
324	Jason Casey	Ashley Falls, MA
690	Sid Harmer Jr	Gouverneur, NY
715	Gus Hollner	Gloversville, NY
715N	Nick Stone	Schenectady, NY

USAC Silver Crown Roster Roster

Car	Driver	Hometown
2	Patrick Lawson	Edwardsville, IL
3	A.J. Fike	Galesburg, IL
8	Justin Grant	Ione, CA
20	Jerry Coons Jr.	Tucson, AZ
26	Aaron Pierce	Muncie, IN
30	C.J. Leary	Greenfield, IN
36	Chappy Knaack	Bethesda, MD
48	Brady Bacon	Broken Arrow, OK
53	Steve Buckwalter	Royersford, PA
55	Casey Shuman	Tempe, AZ
63	Kody Swanson	Kingsburg, CA
71	Shane Cockrum	Benton, IL
81	Shane Cottle	Kokomo, IN
88	Chris Fetter	Troy, MO
91	Austin Nemire	Sylvania, OH
98	Chris Windom	Canton, IL
99	Stewart Friesen	Sprakers, NY
117	Richie Tobias	Lebanon, PA

The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, Pole Position Raceway and Dig Safely New York. Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, FX Caprara, Fox Shox, Impact Race Products, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Racing Electronics, Superflow, TNT Rescue and Wrisco Aluminum.

Campers, Racers Kick Off Super DIRT Week

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