LIVE UPDATES 10/12: Sunday At NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week
SYRACUSE, NY – Oct. 12, 2014 – The Big Day has arrived – the grand finale of NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLIII at the one-mile New York State Fairgrounds – and live updates are available by clicking the ‘Read More’ link below.
Headlining the afternoon’s action is DIRTcar big-block Modified racing’s most prestigious event, the Syracuse 200. A $50,000 top prize will go to the winner of the race, which is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Today’s card also includes the Sportsman Pro Stock Championship 30 and the Pro Stock Championship 25. The Sportsman event leads off the action at 11 a.m. and the Pro Stock race is scheduled to roll off at 12 noon.
Be sure to refresh your browser regularly to read the most up-to-date results, news and notes from Sunday at NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week…
Complete order of finish
As Friesen continues to pose for photos in victory lane, officials have released the complete order of finish for the Syracuse 200. Click here to see it.
Lap 200: Friesen does it!
Friesen drove away over the final circuits to claim his third career Syracuse 200 win — all since 2010.
Sheppard settled for second, followed by Heffner, Howard and Coffey.
Lap 197: Friesen in control, Hearn slows
With Friesen running away, Hearn suddenly slowed and headed to the pits. Sheppard runs second, followed by Heffner, Howard and Coffey.
Lap 194: Britten out of fuel
Britten’s fuel cell ran dry entering turn one on the restart, causing a scramble behind him as he slowed. Hearn took advantage to rocket around the outside into fifth place.
Lap 194: Caution for Fuller
Fuller blew a right-rear tire in turn four, slowing the race.
Friesen had gotten away from Sheppard, who will have a final shot at victory. Britten still sits third (but has to be worrying about fuel now), followed by Heffner, Howard, Coffey, Hearn, Corellis, Tremont, Godown, Decker, Hawers, Marshall, Terrance and Buffalino.
Lap 190: Friesen to lead
Friesen literally rocketed past Sheppard between turns three and four, flying around the outside to assume command.
Lap 185: Friesen closing fast
Friesen went into turns one and two almost on Sheppard’s rear bumper….
Lap 182: Friesen vaults into second
Literally tossing his car into turn one on the outside of Britten, Friesen made it stick to grab second place. He’s about 10 car lengths behind Sheppard.
Lap 179: McCreadie off
McCreadie slowed and headed pitside in turn four under green, handing the lead to Sheppard. He is sitting on pit road as a caution flag flew for McGannon, who slowed high in turn four; his crew isn’t in a hurry and have the car on a jack, so it appears it might not be a dry fuel cell…..he took off his helmet and is done.
Caution laps no longer count….Sheppard will come to the green leading Britten, Friesen (who was in the process of passing Britten or second when the yellow flag flew), Heffner, Howard, Coffey, Corellis, Hearn, Haers and Tremont.
Lap 174: Friesen fourth
Friesen passed Heffner for fourth as Sheppard continued to chase down McCreadie.
Lap 172: Sheppard second
Sheppard ran the outside of turn two past Britten and is closing fast on McCreadie, who needs to conserve fuel.
Lap 170: Sheppard, Friesen charging
With Friesen suddenly up to fifth, Sheppard tucked up the wick himself and passed Heffner on the outside of turn for third.
Lap 166: Friesen charging
Friesen, whose last of multiple pit stops was on lap 119, is turning up the wick. He has passed Hearn, Haers and Corellis over the past five circuits to reach seventh place.
Lap 155: Misfortune for Phelps
With Phelps sitting third and in position to benefit if McCreadie and Britten can’t reach the finish on fuel, his hopes were likely dashed when mechanical trouble — apparently a left-rear hub problem — forced him high in turn one. He slowed to bring out another caution and has gone behind pit wall.
McCreadie now leads Britten, Heffner, Sheppard and Howard, with the green returning on lap 158.
Lap 151: Immediate caution for Terrance
Terrance pulled out of line in turn four and slowed as the green flag returned, keeping the race under caution conditions.
Leader McCreadie and second-place Britten both last pitted on lap 74, leaving them in reach of going the distance provided no caution flags fly after the 175th lap to add uncounted circuits.
In that vein, will third-place Phelps, who has more fuel after pitting on lap 101, now begin to force the issue to pressure McCreadie and Britten to run hard rather than conserve?
Lap 147: Caution for debris
The safety crew is on the backstretch removing some debris.
VanInwegen relinquished the lead to pit on lap 149 (his last stop was on lap 60) along with several others. Decker was first off pit road, followed by Davis, Wight, Hindley, VanInwegen, Ward and Rauscher.
McCreadie led the field to the lap-151 restart over Britten, Phelps, Heffner and Sheppard.
Lap 140: Running order
VanInwegen still led over McCreadie, Britten, Phelps, Heffner, Sheppard, Howard, Terrance, Laubach, Haers, Coffey, Corellis, Hearn, Marshall, Friesen (who regained by ‘Easy Pass’), Wight, Godown, Decker, Tremont and Heotzler…..
Lap 130: Will T-Mac gamble?
McCreadie pitted on lap 74, during the caution period after a red flag. He then did a couple laps that didn’t count before the race restarted. He could conceivably reach the finish from there, but if any caution flags fly after 175 — when only green-flag circuits count — he might not be able to make it.
Running second at lap 130 — and clearly letting off the gas very early on the straightaway to conserve fuel — is he setting up for a fuel-mileage gamble? Things could get interesting.
The first driver in line who pitted on lap 101 — and thus should have enough reserve fuel to withstand extra non-counting laps after lap 175 — is Jimmy Phelps, who at lap 130 ran fourth.
Lap 117: Perrotte slows
Perrotte rolled slowly down the homestretch without power, bring the caution back out.
Just before the caution flew, Tremont took advantage of Fuller’s bobble between turns one and two to surge into the lead.
Tremont led a charge down pit road on lap 119….Tremont was first out of the pits, followed by McGannon, Fuller, Wight, Decker, Hindley, Ward, Flach, Buffalino, Davis and Friesen.
The lead on lap 119 fell to VanInwegen, with McCreadie, Britten, Phelps and Heffner following. Next is Sheppard, Howard, Terrance, Corellis and Laubach.
Lap 110: Fuller out front
Fuller and Tremont were broken away from the field slightly at the lap-110 mark. Next was Wight, Decker, McGannon, Hindley, Ward, Flach, Davis, VanInwegen, Scagliotta, McCreadie, Britten, Buffalino, Phelps, Heffner, Sheppard, Howard, Terrance and Corellis. Hearn was 25th, still on the lead lap, while Friesen was one lap down in 30th.
Lap 99: Caution for Godown
Godown slowed in turn four and dived into the pits when the caution flew.
As the halfway point was reached, Sheppard set the pace over Terrance, Heffner, Haers and Fuller.
On lap 101, perhaps the most critical point in the race arrived. With teams now in the window where they can likely go the distance on fuel — even if there are some cautions during the last 25 laps, when only green circuits count — the first driver off pit road might be in line to win the race.
That driver was Jimmy Phelps, who led Heffner, Sheppard, Howard, Terrance and others back on the track.
Fuller will lead the field to the lap-104 restart over Tremont….
Lap 96: R.J. pits
The last driver who hadn’t yet pitted, Ronnie Johnson, slowed while third and pitted under green. He lost laps in the process and has pulled behind pit wall.
Lap 93: Terrance on Sheppard
As Sheppard deals with slower cars, Terrance is only a couple car lengths behind and looking to bid for the top spot.
Lap 82: Rudolph runs dry
Rudolph’s stint in front was short-lived as his fuel-tank ran dry, forcing him to coast down pit road for refueling. He lost several laps in the process.
Sheppard inherited the top spot with Rudolph’s demise over Terrance, Ronnie Johnson, Heffner and Haers.
Lap 80: Rudolph in front
At the 80th circuit, Rudolph led Sheppard, Terrance, Ronnie Johnson, Heffner, Haers, Fuller, Tremont, Phelps and Corellis.
Lap 74: Third red flag for Vitale’s rollover
The mayhem of the last 35 laps continued with a restart wreck in turn two that left Vinnie Vitale’s car upside down at the top of the track. Vitale slithered out of his car and appears to be uninjured. The ambulance crew dropped him off at his hauler in the pit area.
It appears that Rob Bellinger was among those also involved as his car sports rearend damage and was towed off the track; Hearn and Friesen, who had just pitted, appear to have gotten past the accident scene unscathed.
With the race back under caution after the cleanup and caution laps not counting, Bellinger’s crew made repairs on pit road and he will remain on the lead lap.
McCreadie gave up the lead to pit under the caution; Godown, however, beat him off pit road. McCreadie came out second, followed by Britton, Coffey and Friesen.
Race rookie Rudolph — with Ronnie Johnson, one of the two drivers who haven’t yet pitted — led the field to the green flag over Sheppard, Ronnie Johnson, Terrance and Heffner.
Lap 70: Rash of cautions continue
The race continued at a snail’s pace with Matt Billings stopping between turns three and four. The wrecker crew has responded to his disabled machine, which tossed a wheel that cleared the wall and hit a Fairgrounds building.
Friesen gave up second place to pit on lap 72; he changed a right-rear tire and was on pit road for a long time as his crew looked things over in the rear of the machine. Laubach and Hearn also pitted; a Laubach crewman dived under the right-rear corner of the car to look things over.
Lap 63: Another caution
Dave Rauscher slowed off turn four, bringing the caution quickly back out. He pitted for a right-rear tire change; Eddie Marshall and Danny Johnson also headed pitside.
Hearn and Marshall pitted again on lap 65, with Hearn’s crew looking at the right-rear corner again. Hearn made it back out on the track without losing a lap, but he’s nearly a half-straightaway behind the pack.
McCreadie will led the field to the lap-67 restart over Friesen, Rudolph, Godown and Britton.
Lap 60: Pit stops…and problems for Hearn
A charge down pit road included Hearn, who ceded the lead to McCreadie to make his stop. Hearn was the last car off pit road, however, because his crew had a problem in the right-rear corner of the car while changing a tire.
Wight was first off pit road, followed by Decker, Corellis, Hindley, Howard, Billings, Ward and others….
Lap 58: Caution for D.J.
Danny Johnson slowed off turn four and went into the pits through an opening in the homestretch pit wall, not the usual pit entrance in turn four. His car serviced his mach ine and then he pulled back onto the track, albeit down one lap.
Lap 50: Hearn running alone
Finally back under green, Hearn has pulled out to a comfortable edge over McCreadie. Decker is third, followed by Howard, Friesen, Coffey, Rudolph, Wight, Godown and Billings.
Lap 44: Caution, then red, again for Horton’s hard hit
Two-time Syracuse 200 champion Jimmy Horton slammed the turn-one wall on the restart. His Dieter Schmidt-owned car came to rest nose-first against the outside wall; after a few moments to collect himself, the 58-year-old driver climbed out with some assistance and walked to a nearby ambulance.
Over four decades of competition at the Syracuse Mile, this isn’t the first time that Horton has pounded the Moody Mile’s turn-one wall. He hit the concrete extremely hard early in the week during the 1983 event and suffered a broken wrist, though it did not stop him from competing in that year’s 200.
Lap 40: Caution for Phelps
Jimmy Phelps fell off the pace on the backstretch one lap after the restart and stopped in turn four, bringing out a caution. He pulled away before losing a lap and came down pit road on lap 41; he has returned to the track.
On lap 42, Tremont, Corellis and Rauscher headed pitside for servicing. Corellis and Tremont changed right-rear tires and returned.
Hearn will lead McCreadie, Decker, Howard, Friesen, Coffey, Rudolph, Wight, Godown and Hindley to the restart green flag on lap 44.
Lap 39: Red flag conditions
Officials put the race under red-flag conditions after Ryan Susice, who started 44th after winning last night’s ‘Win & You’re In’ feature at Rolling Wheels, hit the turn-one wall with extreme force. His car slid directly into the concrete with its right front at high speed.
Susice is out of the car and walked to the ambulance to be evaluated by the safety team.
Under caution (the laps do not count after a red flag), Hearn leads Sheppard, McCreadie, Dunn, Decker, Jimmy Phelps, Howard, Friesen, Coffey, Laubach, Rudolph, Terrance, Corellis, Wight, Godown, Britton, Hindley, Heffner, Billings and Buffalino.
Before the restart, however, several teams made pit stops. Haers was first off pit road, followed by Sheppard, Laubach, Phelps, Corellis, Terrance, Heotzler, Heffner, Fuller, McGannon, Rauscher, Scagliotta and Swarthout. Notably, Sheppard, Phelps and Heffner made right-rear tire changes.
Lap 39: Top 3 close
With Hearn dealing with lapped traffic, Sheppard and McCreadie have closed within striking distance. Dunn now runs fourth, followed by Decker.
Lap 36: Terrance charging
The moves Carey Terrance used en route to a third-place finish in Saturday’s 358-Modified 150 are helping him again today as he’s advanced from the 43rd starting spot to 12th place, using the outside of the track to pick up positions.
Lap 30: Friesen on verge of top 10
Two-time Syracuse 200 winner Stewart Friesen has been the race’s early mover-and-shaker, climbing from the 21st starting spot to 11th place. He’s closing on the twin No. 7 machines of Erick Rudolph and Rick Laubach.
Hearn continues to lead bya short distance over over Sheppard and McCreadie, wo dived underneath Decker for third place in turn two on lap 29.
Lap 13: First caution out
Ryan Phelps rolled to a stop on the backstretch, bringing the race under caution for the first time. A wrecker pulled up behind him and pushed him into the pit area.
Pit road was relatively quiet during this early caution period, with only Rex King Jr., Danny Johnson, Vince Vitale and Jeff Heotzler (who just got the Easy Pass back to the lead lap) pitting on lap 16.
Hearn leads the way over Sheppard, Decker, Jimmy Phelps, McCreadie, Dunn, Howard, Coffey, Laubach and Rudolph heading to the lap-18 restart.
Lap 9: Traffic comes into play
Hearn has already reached the back of the pack and has begun lapping cars with Sheppard about five car lengths behind him.
Lap 6: Hearn cruising
Hearn holds a short lead as the race rolls clean and green so far…..Sheppard sits second, followed by Decker, Jimmy Phelps and McCreadie.
Lap 1: Hearn on top
Brett Hearn beat Matt Sheppard into turn one at the initial start and has the early lead.
Pace Laps: Start moments away
2:15 p.m. – The field is now circling the track, warming their motors and tires and preparing for a final pace lap before the green flag flies.
Fire ’em up
2:05 p.m. – Pre-race ceremonies are complete and the command to start engines has been made. The 44-car field is beginning to pull off pit road to start pace laps.
Syracuse 200 tidbits
1:25 p.m. – As race time for the Syracuse 200 approaches — the cars are lined up on pit road and drivers are assembling for introductions — here are a few statistical notes about the event:
* Ten former winners are among the 44 drivers in this year’s starting: Brett Hearn (six wins), Billy Decker (four), Jimmy Horton (two), Danny Johnson (two), Vic Coffey (two), Stewart Friesen (two), Kenny Tremont (one), Tim Fuller (one) and Matt Sheppard.
* Today’s field includes five race rookies: Erick Rudolph, Jim Davis, Dave Allen, Rex King Jr. and Ryan Susice.
* Speaking of the 22-year-old Rudolph, today he becomes the third-generation of his family to start the Syracuse 200. His father, DIRT Hall of Famer Charlie Rudolph, started the race 10 consecutive times from 1980-89 with a top finish of second in ’87, and his grandfather, Jim Rudolph, made one appearance in the Big-Block Modified classic (an 18th-place finish in the inaugural event in 1972).
* Jimmy Horton is making his 39th career start, the most of the 446 drivers (including this year’s rookies) who have run the feature at least once over the past 43 years. Brett Hearn ranks second on the career-starts list with 37 (including today), followed by Alan Johnson (36); Jack Johnson (35); Kenny Tremont (33rd start today); Danny Johnson (32nd start today); Kenny Brightbill (31); Eddie Marshall (31st today); Billy Decker (28th today); and Frank Cozze (25).
* Marshall is the lone driver among the top 10 in career Syracuse 200 starts without a victory in the event. His best finish is fourth, in 1991.
* Brett Hearn has the longest current streak of Syracuse 200 starts; he’s taken the green flag in every race since 1978. The next longest consecutive-start streaks that will be extended today belong to Kenny Tremont (since 1982), Eddie Marshall (since ’86), Billy Decker (since ’87) and Jimmy Horton (since ’91).
* Alan Johnson is absent from the Syracuse 200 starting field for just the second time since he was a race rookie in 1977. The three-time event champion previously was rideless in 2011.
* Jeff Heotzler is making his 17th career Syracuse start but first since 2006. His top finish is second, in 1997.
* Heotzler is one of five close-but-no-cigar drivers in today’s field — specifically, racers whose career-best finish in the 200 is second. The others are Gary Tomkins (runner-up in 2004), Tim McCreadie (’10), Jimmy Phelps (’11) and Larry Wight (’13).
Back-to-back for Yetman
1:10 p.m. – Rob Yetman of Castleton, N.Y., is on the victory lane stage after capturing the DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship 25 for the second consecutive year. He ran away from the pack, crossing the finish line 5.489 seconds ahead of Morrisville, N.Y.’s Glen Forward, who slipped by Nick Stone of Schenectady, N.Y., for second place on the final lap.
Yetman became the fourth driver to win the Pro Stock feature in back-to-back years since the division joined the NAPA Super DIRT Week card in 1997, joining Jipp Ortiz (2000-01), Dave Schulz (2004-05) and Rocky Warner (2010-11).
Stone finished third, Chuck Dumblonski of Amsterdam, N.Y., was fourth and Francois Adam of St-Pie, Que., placed fifth.
Jocelyn Roy of St-Helene, Que., failed to capitalize on his pole starting spot, but his seventh-place finish was good enough to give him the 2014 DIRTcar Pro Stock Series championship by 12 points over eighth-place finisher Dave Bissonnette of Long Sault, Ont.
Click here for full results from the Pro Stock feature.
Spellmon cruises to Sportsman score
12:05 p.m. – Jimmy Spellmon of Butler, N.J., dominated the Sportsman Championship 30, leading the entire distance to record his first-ever triumph in the event.
After a caution flag flew on lap 28, Spellmon (below, waving to the crowd from the stage) handled the green-white-checkered finish with ease to flash under the checkered 1.449 seconds ahead of Niagara Falls, N.Y.’s James Henry.
Shane Pecore of St. Andrews, Ont., finished third, outside-polesitter Mike Butler of Milford, N.J., slipped to fourth at the finish and Cody McPherson of St. Catharines, Ont., placed fifth.
The complete order of finish has been posted here.
Race time
10:55 p.m. – The starting field of the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship 30 is sitting in line on pit road, moments away from pulling onto the racetrack to begin the day’s activity
It’s a bright, sunshiny day
9:55 a.m. – The day has dawned sunny and clear — albeit a bit cool — for the final day of NAPA Super DIRT Week XLIII. Practice for Sportsman and Pro Stocks will hit the track at 10 a.m., and then the day’s three divisional features will follow beginning at 11 a.m.
Lineups for today’s three races are below:
Syracuse 200
Row 1: Matt Sheppard, Brett Hearn
Row 2: Jimmy Phelps, Billy Decker
Row 3: Billy Dunn, Duane Howard
Row 4: Rick Laubach, Vic Coffey
Row 5: Donnie Corellis, Tim McCreadie
Row 6: Peter Britten, Erick Rudolph
Row 7: J.R. Heffner, Ryan Godown
Row 8: Larry Wight, Tim Hindley
Row 9: Dominick Buffalino, Pat Ward
Row 10: Kenny Tremont, Eddie Marshall
Row 11: Stewart Friesen, Justin Haers
Row 12: Jim Davis, Dave Rauscher
Row 13: Ronnie Johnson, Brian Swarthout
Row 14: Danny Johnson, Matt Billings
Row 15: Rob Bellinger, Vince Vitale
Row 16: Gary Tomkins, Keith Flach
Row 17: Ryan Phelps, Bob McGannon
Row 18: Dave Allen, Jeff Heotzler
Row 19: Billy VanInwegen, Rich Scagliotta
Row 20: Tim Fuller, Rex King Jr.
Row 21: Mike Perrotte, Jimmy Horton
Row 22: Carey Terrance, Ryan Susice
Sportsman Championship 30
Row 1: Jimmy Spellmon, Mike Butler
Row 2: Michael Sabia, Brian Krummel
Row 3: James Henry, Shane Pecore
Row 4: Dave Marcuccilli, Cody McPherson
Row 5: Mike Maresca, Corey Wheeler
Row 6: Ronnie Davis III, Mathieu Desjardins
Row 7: Matthew Janiak, Martin Pelletier
Row 8: Rocky Warner, Jeremy Pitts
Row 9: Louis Jackson Jr., Dave Constantino
Row 10: Brad Rouse, Gary Lindberg
Row 11: Whitey Slavin, Joey Ladouceur
Row 12: Taylor Lamb, Steve Hicks
Row 13: Jessica Power, A.J. Lloyd
Row 14: Robert Bublak Jr., Ricky Thompson
Row 15: Mike Stacey, Billy Coleman
Pro Stock Championship 25
Row 1: Jocelyn Roy, Dean Charbonneau
Row 2: Chuck Dumblonski, Rob Yetman
Row 3: Kim Duell, Nick Stone
Row 4: Glen Forward, Dave Bissonnette
Row 5: Francois Adam, Sid Harman Jr.
Row 6: Sean Corr, Roch Aubin
Row 7: Frank Twing, P.J. Peters
Row 8: Nick Hilt, Buddy Hencke
Row 9: Sheldon Martin, Luke Horning
Row 10: Stephane Lebrun, Pete Stefanski
Row 11: Jason Casey, Jonathan Routheir
Row 12: Gus Hollner, Rick Dempsey
Row 13: Tom Harkins, Richard Bertrand
Row 14: Stephane Lariviere, Terry Ladouceur
Row 15: Chris Cunningham, Chad Arsenault
Row 16: Stephane Lemire, Bruno Cyr
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