Decker Soars to Hurricane 100 Triumph at Brewerton
Rouse Does the Rooftop Two-Step in Sportsman Division
by Clayton Johns and Brandon Capria
CENTRAL SQUARE, N.Y. – Oct. 6, 2016 – Billy Decker led more than 75 laps in front of an excellent Brewerton Speedway crowd Thursday night to win the 24th Annual Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux Hurricane 100 presented by SUNY Canton Racing during the 45th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week.
The win was the first of Decker’s career at Brewerton on the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series tour. It didn’t come easy, but the “Franklin Flyer” certainly made it exciting. He owed the win to his No. 46 team.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Decker said. “I’m just happy to be here. I can’t thank Jeremy Smith and his entire team enough. These guys are all pumped and I’m just tickled because they’re very exciting to be around. They’re working really hard and it’s nice to see it pay dividends.”
Decker jumped to the lead on the opening lap from the second starting spot, pushing the pole-sitter Susice back to second. The top-six quickly fell single-file over the first five laps while the rest of the field battled door-to-door for position.
The race was slowed early on lap six when an implement tire was pushed on to the racetrack in turn three. Decker got back to speed on lap 12 and jumped out front of Susice. Danny Johnson quickly made his way forward to sixth from the 12th-starting spot. The race was slowed shortly after for the second time on lap 18 when Yan Bussiere, Lance Willix and Randy Chrysler tangled in turn one.
The field came back to the green on lap 22 as Alan Johnson challenged Billy Dunn for third. Dunn held on to the spot until the next caution on lap 27 when Danny O’Brien came to rest in turn two.
The race was green for three laps before Jean-Francois Corriveau spun in turn one. The drivers found their groove on the lap 41 restart as it began a stretch of 57 green flag laps.
Susice jumped ahead of Decker when the green flag waved again. Susice held its first lead of the night for nine laps. Meanwhile, Danny Johnson and Dunn battled side-by-side for the third. Danny Johnson eventually took the position on lap 45 while Decker took the lead back from Susice on lap 49.
At the halfway mark, Decker, Susice, Danny Johnson, Dunn and Alan Johnson held the top-five positions. On lap 54, Danny Johnson took second from Susice and appeared to be reeling in Decker, who had encountered lapped traffic for the first time.
Susice jumped back to second on lap 58 after Danny Johnson was pinned behind a lapped car. The top three remained in that order until Susice caught Decker on lap 78.
Susice then raced within a car length of Decker, who was faced with navigating through a three-wide battle of lapped traffic to his front. Susice ceased the opportunity and drove to the outside of Decker on lap 80 and reclaimed the lead.
“What’s he thinking?” joked Decker in victory lane. “He was driving by me, and I’m sweating — my shield’s fogging up. I’m old!”
It was a short-lived triumph for Susice though, as a slip-up in turn one allowed Decker to drive under Susice to retake the lead. Susice muscled his way past Decker again in turn one, as the two drivers made minor contact on lap 82, only to have Decker battle back to the point at the opposite end of the track.
“The lapped cars were kind of making their own lines sometimes,” said Susice, apologizing for the contact in victory lane. “[Decker] checked up to go around somebody and left the bottom open. I was committed already at the starter stand and he didn’t know I was coming so we bumped.”
Over the final 18 laps, Decker settled in up front and began to pull away from Susice. With 10 to go, Decker’s lead was nearly a second before he grew it to 2.5 seconds with five laps to go.
Decker was denied an easy trip to victory lane, however, as the final caution of the race waved on lap 98 to setup a green-white-checkered finish. Regardless, the single-file restart played to Decker’s hand as he held off Susice at the checkered flag.
“I think I sealed my left-rear tire and it held us up a little bit. He was running really good and my hats off to him,” Decker said of Susice. “I had to work a little harder than I wanted to, but it’s all in good fun.”
“I wish we could have had something for him on that green-white-checkered, but I spun my tires so badly and at that point I just went in to protection mode,” Susice said of his second-place finish.
Tim Sears Jr. set quick time in group time trials with a lap of 14.369 seconds around Brewerton. Sears, Dunn, Alan Johnson, and Michael Maresca claimed qualifying heat race wins while Randy Chrysler and Danny Creeden won the Last Chance Qualifiers.
SPORTSMAN
In the Sportsman division, Brad Rouse dominated the field, winning the concluding feature of the night. The DIRTcar Racing Sportsman class was set for 30 laps, and Rouse made a strong run to the top.
“The guys put a good car underneath me,” said Rouse, his family and crew crowding his car. “[My crew] really worked hard to do this. We had a rough night last night, but we just need to keep plugging away here.”
The “D-Shaped Dirt Demon,” a 1/3-mile clay oval, made for close-quartered battles throughout the 30-car field. But the Sportsman division’s second-consecutive show during the 45th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week had the packed-house focusing on some of the race’s hardest chargers. Rouse was one of them.
Rouse started the feature from outside of the top five in sixth. Rouse, looking to build on his heat win from earlier in the program, was also seeking to add career win No. 104 to his tally. Rouse is the most seasoned driver in the class, having raced in the class for 23 years.
The feature abruptly began with a red flag exiting turn one. On the restart, Rouse joined third and fourth position to break into the podium. The three drivers were three-wide through the bullring, but Rouse’s No. 18r car prevailed. Rouse climbed three spots within the first five laps. He had his sights toward second.
Though the fight for a podium spot ultimately widened the gap between him and second place, Rouse found his groove at the top of the track. Rouse began to gain a few tenths of a second each lap until he was within a half-second. On lap 15, Rouse carried more momentum out of turn two, capturing second position.
The second-half of the feature was Rouse closing the gap. Tyler Trump, leading the race from the start, had as much as a 2.480-second advantage over the field. With ten laps remaining, Rouse shaved his lead to less than one second. All the while, Rouse extended his separation from third position to more than one second. This isolated Trump and Rouse for an impending battle to the checkers.
It did not take Rouse long to make his move. The very next lap, Rouse took advantage of dense lapped traffic. Trump lost momentum on the backstretch while Rouse was able to side-step the congestion. Rouse took the lead entering turn three, and won the feature by a 0.614-second margin. Notably, Trump was not the second driver to finish the race.
Another hard charger was Rocky Warner. Warner’s No. 1J car finished second in heats earlier and started 10th in the feature event. Trump, losing the top spot to Rouse in the final laps, faded enough for Warner to capitalize. Warner finished second, while Trump rounded out the podium in his No. 9x machine.
“This [win] means a lot,” Rouse said. “This is a great facility. I think [Trump] was gone in lapped traffic a little bit, but he was quick too. We just had to keep plugging away, changing lines. The lapped cars helped us.”
Last season, Rouse finished second to Warner in the event while Trump improved from a 15th place finish.
Brewerton Speedway Notebook
Race Notes: Billy Decker won a thrilling battle with Ryan Susice during the 24th Annual SUNY Canton Hurricane 100 presented by Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux. Decker and Susice each led on at least two separate occasions before the Franklin, N.Y. native Decker grabbed the point position for good on lap 82. The win was the first of Decker’s career on the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series tour at Brewerton Speedway.
Brad Rouse bided his time late in the race, turning a sixth place start into his 104th career win in the Sportsman division. Using lapped traffic in the closing laps, Rouse made his way passed pole-sitter Taylor Trump. Rocky Warner, who also charged to the front from outside of the top five, recorded a runner-up finish at the short track.
DIRTcar Racing Statistical Report; Brewerton Speedway; Central Square, N.Y.; Oct. 6, 2016
358 Modified Division
Feature – (100 Laps) – 1. 46- Billy Decker [2], 2. 38- Ryan Susice [1], 3. 27j- Danny Johnson [12], 4. 14j- Alan Johnson [5], 5. 949- Billy Dunn [3], 6. 42p- Pat Ward [11], 7. 83x- Tim Sears Jr. [6], 8. 01- Chris Raabe [8], 9. 99J- Jimmy Phelps [20], 10. 39- Ryan Bartlett [16], 11. 7m- Michael Maresca [9], 12. 2rj- Ronnie Johnson [19], 13. 99L- Larry Wight [10], 14. 88m- Mike Mahaney [14], 15. 66- Kyle Dingwall [4], 16. 16x- Danny Creeden [22], 17. 1- David Hebert [24], 18. 28z- Gary Lindberg [7], 19. 38w- Scott Wood [26], 20. 111- Demetrios Drellos [15], 21. 02- Roy Bresnahan [23], 22. 37s- Tommy Flannigan [28], 23. 96- Jean-Francois Corriveau [31], 24. 9j- Jordan McCreadie [25], 25. 21k- Randy Chrysler [21], 26. 16w- Lance Willix III [27], 27. 22c- Mario Clair [17], 28. 17d- Danny O’Brien [13], 29. 99- Joey Ladouceur [29], 30. 66x- Carey Terrance [30], 31. 21- Yan Bussiere [30] Lap Leaders: Billy Decker 1-39, 49-79, 82-100; Ryan Susice 40-48, 80-81
Consi 1 – (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-Feature) – 1. 21k- Randy Chrysler, 2. 02- Roy Bresnahan, 3. 9j- Jordan McCreadie, 4. 21- Yan Bussiere, 5. 99w- Craig Whitemoyer, 6. 25h- Bobby Harrington, 7. 96- Jean-Francois Corriveau, 8. 49- Don Elliott, 9. 27w- Nick Webb, 10. 99- Mikael Labreche, 11. 21w- Kyle Weise [DNS]
Consi 2 – (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-Feature) – 1. 16x- Danny Creeden, 2. 1- David Hebert, 3. 38w- Scott Wood, 4. 56- Vince Vitale, 5. R70- Ryan Arbuthnot, 6. 16w- Lance Willix III, 7. 37s- Tommy Flannigan, 8. 21m- Bob McGannon, 9. 21kw- Kenny Wils [DNS], 10. 82s- Roy Shields [DNS], 11. 23 Joey Ladouceur [DNS]
Qualifying Group 1 – 1. 83x- Tim Sears Jr., 14.369, 2. 42p- Pat Ward, 14.437, 3. 01- Chris Raabe, 14.624, 4. 22c- Mario Clair, 14.776, 5. 17d- Danny O’Brien, 14.787, 6. 02- Roy Bresnahan, 14.799, 7. 21k- Randy Chrysler, 14.837, 8. 21w- Kyle Weiss, 15.042, 9. 99w- Craig Whitemoyer, 15.100, 10. 25h- Bobby Herrington, 15.124, 11. 99- Mikael Labreche, 15.303
Qualifying Group 2 – 1. 28z- Gary Lindberg, 14.570, 2. 14j- Alan Johnson, 14.623, 3. 88m- Mike Mahaney, 14.692, 4. 38s- Ryan Susice, 14.711, 5. 96- Jean-Francois Corriveau, 14.839, 6. 66x- Carey Terrance, 14.851, 7. 21- Yan Bussiere, 14.916, 8. 9j-Jordan McCreadie, 14.993, 9. 49- Don Elliott, 15.123, 10. 27w- Nick Webb, 15.482
Qualifying Group 3 – 1. 7m- Michael Maresca, 14.723, 2. 46- Billy Decker, 14.767, 3. 111- Demetrios Drellos, 14.942, 4. 66- Kyle Dingwall, 14.947, 5. 38w- Scott Wood, 14.962, 6. 21kw Kenny Wils, 15.034, 7. 56- Vince Vitale, 15.048, 8. 37s- Tommy Flannigan, 9. 2rj- Ronnie Johnson, 15.114, 10. R70- Ryan Arbuthnot, 15.136
Qualifying Group 4 – 1. 949- Billy Dunn, 14.739, 2. 27j- Danny Johnson, 14.774, 3. 99L- Larry Wight, 14.841, 4. 39- Ryan Bartlett, 14.875, 5. 99j- Jimmy Phelps, 14.895, 6. 23- Joey Ladouceur, 14.955, 7. 16w- Lance Willix III, 14.960, 8. 1- David Hebert, 15.052, 9. 21m- Bob McGannon, 15.117, 10. 16x- Danny Creeden, 15.133, 11. 82s- Roy Shields, 15.322
Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 3 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 83x- Tim Sears Jr., 2. 42p- Pat Ward, 3. 01- Chris Raabe, 4. 17d- Danny O’Brien, 5. 22c- Mario Clair, 6. 21k- Randy Chrysler, 7. 02- Roy Bresnahan, 8. 25h- Bobby Harrington, 9. 99w- Craig Whitemoyer, 10. 99- Mikael Labreche, 11. 21w- Kyle Weiss
Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 3 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 14j- Alan Johnson, 2. 28z- Gary Lindberg, 3. 38s- Ryan Susice, 4. 88m- Mike Mahaney, 5. 66x- Carey Terrance, 6. 9j- Jordan McCreadie, 7. 96- Jean-Francois Corriveau, 8. 21- Yan Bussiere, 9. 49- Don Elliott, 10. 27w- Nick Webb
Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 3 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 7m- Michael Maresca, 2. 46- Billy Decker, 3. 66- Kyle Dingwall, 4. 111- Demetrios Drellos, 5. 2rj- Ronnie Johnson, 6. 56- Vince Vitale, 7. R70- Ryan Arbuthnot, 8. 38w- Scott Wood, 9. 37s- Tommy Flannigan, 10
Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 3 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 949- Billy Dunn, 2. 27j- Danny Johnson, 3. 99L- Larry Wight, 4. 39- Ryan Bartlett, 5. 99J- Jimmy Phelps, 6. 16x- Danny Creeden, 7. 1- David Hebert, 8. 16w- Lance Willix III, 9. 21m- Bob McGannon, 10. 82s- Roy Shields, 11. 23- Joey Ladouceur
Sportsman Division
Feature – (30 Laps) – 1. 18r- Brad Rouse [6]; 2. 1J- Rocky Warner [10]; 3. 9x- Taylor Trump [1]; 4. 21T- Taylor Caprara [3]; 5. 31- Corey Barker [16]; 6. 60- Jackson Gill [2]; 7. 34- Kevin Root [4]; 8. 38- Zach Sobotka [5]; 9. m1- Dave Marcuccilli [14]; 10. 0- Shane Pecore [8]; 11. 15b- Brianna Ladouceur [11]; 12. 15- Todd Root [9]; 13. 32r- Ron Davis III [21]; 14. 7c- Glenn Forward [7]; 15. 87- Roco Leone [13]; 16. p15- Adam Pierson [17]; 17. 73d- Dylan Davidson [12]; 18. 51- Rich Townsend [15]; 19. 52- Jessica Power [25]; 20. 29k- Chris Cunningham [30]; 21. 73- Kevin Chaffee [27]; 22. 11F- Dan Ferguson [19]; 23. 18J- Louie Jackson Jr. [28]; 24. 0F- Tony Finch II [20]; 25. 99- Billy Clark Jr. [23]; 26. 92p- Martin Pelletier [26]; 27. 20H- Tom Collins Jr. [22]; 28. 33- Alex LaJoie [29]; 29. 926- Jordan Kernbske [18]; 30. 7s- Michael Sabia [24] Lap Leaders: Taylor Trump 1-21, Brad Rouse 22-30
Consi 1 – (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-Feature) – 1. 11F- Dan Ferguson; 2. 20H- Tom Collins Jr.; 3. 52- Jessica Power; 4. 29k- Chris Cunningham; 5. 04- Zack Sam; 6. 33- Alex LaJoie; 7. 7m- Cody McPherson; 8. H88- Mike Jackson; 9. 18J- Louie Jackson Jr.; 10. 352- Fred Proctor; 11. 21g- Adam Gage; 12. 96b- Luke Carleton; 13. 43- Martin Hebert; 14. 06w- Dorian Wahdan
Consi 2 – (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-Feature) – 1. 0F- Tony Finch II; 2. 99- Billy Clark Jr.; 3. 92p- Martin Pelletier; 4. 81- Austin Susice; 5. 74- Dave Flannigan; 6. 17- Tristan Draper; 7. 11L- Alissa Cody; 8. 21x- Eric Williams; 9. 24k- Nick Krause; 10. 17J- Brent Joy; 11. 9- Brett Draper
Consi 3 – (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-Feature) – 1. 32r- Ron Davis III; 2. 7s- Michael Sabia; 3. 73- Kevin Chaffee; 4. F16- Earl Rudy; 5. 1- Robert Delormier; 6. 22J- Mike Jackson; 7. 35- Thomas Cook; 8. 8- Alan Fink; 9. 555- Leo Fotopoulos; 10. H88- Chris Hulziser; 11. 17c- Cloby Herzog; 12. 621- Brian Hudson; 13. 16- Jean-Pierre Labelle
Qualifying Group 1 – 1. 87- Roco Leone, 15.041; 2. 7c- Glenn Forward, 15.129; 3. 52- Jessica Power, 15.156; 4. 18r- Brad Rouse, 15.193; 5. 04- Zack Sam, 15.268; 6. 11F- Dan Ferguson, 15.299; 7. 20H- Tom Collins Jr., 15.309; 8. 352- Fred Proctor, 15.779; 9. 062w- Dorian Wahdan, 15.922; 10. 96b- Luke Carleton, 15.931
Qualifying Group 2 – 1. 15- Todd Root, 14.906; 2. m1- Dave Marcuccilli, 14.957; 3. 1J- Rocky Warner, 15.009; 4. 7m- Cody McPherson, 15.166; 5. 29k- Chris Cunningham, 15.184; 6. 18J- Louie Jackson Jr., 15.369; 7. 33- Alex LaJoie, 15.473; 8. 21g- Adam Gage, 15.549; 9. 43- Martin Hebert, 15.636; 10. 88H- Mike Jackson, 15.746
Qualifying Group 3 – 1. 34- Kevin Root, 14.985; 2. 0- Shane Pecore, 15.278; 3. 74- Dave Flannigan, 15.323; 4. 17J- Brent Joy, 15.530; 5. 51- Rich Townsend, 15.543; 6. 81- Austin Susice, 15. 571; 7. 21x- Eric Williams, 15.577; 8. 7x- Joe Sobotka, 15652; 9. 4T- Tony Komuda, 15.745; 10. 0F- Tony Finch II, 15.817
Qualifying Group 4 – 1. 73d- Dylan Davidson, 15.234; 2. 15b- Brianna Ladouceur, 15.272; 3. 31- Cory Baker, 15.308; 4. 92p- Martin Pelletier, 15.312; 5. 24k- Nick Krause, 15.428; 6. 99- Billy Clark Jr. 15.446; 7. 9- Brett Draper, 15.446; 8. 17- Tristan Draper, 15.477; 9. 11L- Alissa Cody, 16.163
Qualifying Group 5 – 1. 60- Jackson Gill, 15.084; 2. 21T- Tony Caprara, 15.355; 3. F16- Earl Rudy, 15.502; 4. 1- Robert Delormier, 15.580; 5. 35- Thomas Cook, 15.604; 6. 621- Brian Hudson, 15.695; 7. 17c- Cloby Herzog, 16.021
Qualifying Group 6 – 1. H88- Chris Hulzier, 15.796; 2. 9x- Tyler Trump, 15.323; 3. 32r- Ron Davis III, 15.378; 4. 8- Alan Fink, 15.441 ; 5. 38- Zach Sobotka, 15.290; 6. 926- Jordan Kernske, 15.359; 7. 88- Mike Jackson, 15.547; 8. 555- Leo Fotopoulos, 15.716; 9. p15- Aaron Pierson, 15.603; 10. 16- Jean-Pierre LaBelle, 16.126; 11. 73- Kevin Chaffee, 15.786; 12. 7s- Michael Sabia, 15.448
Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 18r- Brad Rouse; 2. 7c- Glenn Forward; 3. 87- Roco Leone; 4. 11F- Dan Ferguson; 5. 20H- Tom Collins Jr.; 6.04- Zack Sam; 7. 52- Jessica Power; 8. 352- Fred Proctor; 9. 96b- Luke Carleton; 10. 06w- Dorian Wahdan
Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 15- Todd Root; 2. 1J- Rocky Warner; 3. m1- Dave Marcuccilli; 4. 29k- Chris Cunningham; 5. 7m- Cody McPherson; 6. 33- Alex LaJoie; 7. 18J- Louie Jackson Jr.; 8. H88- Mike Jackson; 9. 21g- Adam Gage; 10. 43- Martin Hebert
Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 34- Kevin Root; 2. 0- Shane Pecore; 3. 51- Rich Townsend; 4. 0F- Tony Finch II; 5. 74- Dave Flannigan; 6. 81- Austin Susice; 7. 17J- Brent Joy; 8. 7x- Joe Sobotka; 9. 4T- Tony Komuda; 10. 21x- Eric Williams
Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 15b- Brianna Ladouceur; 2. 73d- Dylan Davidson; 3. 31- Cory Baker; 4. 99- Billy Clark Jr.; 5. 92p- Martin Pelletier; 6. 24k- Nick Krause; 7. 17- Tristan Draper; 8. 11L- Alissa Cody; 9. 9- Brett Draper
Heat 5 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 60- Jackson Gill; 2. 21T- Taylor Caprara; 3. p15- Aaron Pierson; 4. F16- Earl Rudy; 5. 1- Robert Delormier; 6. 73- Kevin Chaffee; 7. 621- Brian Hudson; 8. 35- Thomas Cook; 9. 17c- Cloby Herzog
Heat 6 – (8 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 38- Zach Sobotka; 2. 9x- Tyler Trump; 3. 926- Jordan Kernske; 4. 32r- Ron Davis III; 5. 22J- Mike Jackson; 6. 7s- Michael Sabia; 7. 8- Alan Fink; 8. H88- Chris Hulziser; 9. 16- Jean-Pierre Labelle; 10. 555- Leo Fotopoulos
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