Monday, October 18, 2010
Danny Johnson Rallies Again For Brockville Big-Block Series Win!
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Johnson Nips Sheppard In Brockville's Big-Block DIRTcar Fall Nationals
'Super Matt' closes in on 1st Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar crown
Brockville, ONT – October 17, 2010 – Danny Johnson has a knack for the dramatic, shadowing his competition right until the end before making his final move in traffic to seize another series victory.
Super DIRTcar Series points leader Matt Sheppard was the latest victim of Johnson's late-race heroics, getting caught up beside a back marker with just four laps to go to hand over the lead and surprise win to the 'Doctor' in the 2nd Annual Global Warranty DIRTcar Notheast Fall Nationals on Sunday at Brockville Ontario Speedway.
Steering owner Mike Payne's potent small-block powered Honeoye Auto Parts no. 7z Currier Plastics-Waste Management-Rochester Americans/Bicknell ride for a second straight night, Johnson closed out his best weekend of the season with a $6,000 triumph in Brockville's 2010 season finale.
"The way things are going, it might not be a bad idea racing here every week," smiled Johnson, 50, after scoring his second series victory of the season ---both on Canadian soil--- which brought his weekend total to $8,500 at the BOS. His runner-up finish the night before in the 100-lap 358-Modified main event secured him the overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship, worth another $10,000 for the native Rochester, New Yorker.
"I was right on Matt and he knew it. Was pressuring him and he tried to go inside on the lapped car and got squeezed. They came together inside the corner and he got out of control and I went by him. You just never know what to do coming into traffic and there's only a split second to make a decision. Matt went hard low and then things just went our way," remarked Johnson, who slipped under Brett Hearn who got boxed behind traffic in turn three of the final lap to claim the Super DIRT Week 358-Modified show last weekend at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park.
Once in the lead, Johnson opened up a commanding 10 car-length margin under the checkered flag, followed by Sheppard, open-wheel veteran Pat Ward, tour regular Dale Planck, and last Sunday's SEF Small Engine Fuels 200 winner at Syracuse Stewart Friesen. The disappointing finish for 'Super Matt' still increased his lead to 74 points over top challenger Jimmy Phelps, who settled for 10th-place in the chase for the coveted Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block crown.
"I thought that lapped car saw me under him, but I guess not, he kind of pinched me down on the bottom," lamented Sheppard, 28, referring to the surprise contact coming from Denis Gauvreau with just a handful of laps remaining that helped determine the final outcome. "I had to get on the breaks real hard and that kicked my car sideways, and then I just slid up out of the rubber and Danny got by."
Sheppard out-jumped early race leader Brett Hearn on a lap 10 restart and despite being slowed by nearly a dozen yellow flags, never wavered behind the wheel of the JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants/Bicknell machine. He even endured a rare red flag on lap 27 after Carey Terrance hooked an infield uke tire entering turn one to cause a mid-pack scramble that sent Mike Adderley limping into the ambulance for a five-minute check-up. Adderley was okay in the incident yet his no. 99a TEO mount that he planned to enter in the upcoming World Finals in Charlotte, N.C. was a write-off.
At the halfway mark Sheppard held a comfortable advantage over Ward, Johnson, Hearn and Friesen, although the slickening track surface seemed to playing right into the hands of Johnson, who began seventh in the 31-car starting field alongside Phelps.
Johnson wasted little time grabbing the runner-up slot after a lap 55 restart, and for the next 40 circuits mirrored Sheppard's every as they navigated around the banked 3/8-miler on a cool autumn afternoon in Ontario, Canada's Thousand Islands region. A quartet of caution periods for minor mishaps slowed the pace and provided Sheppard a clean track in front of him on each ensuing restart.
Frenchman Pierre Dagenais and north country traveler Lance Wiilix II tangled in turn two in the aftermath of Francois Bernier looping in the first turn to force out the 11th and final slowdown on lap 86. The last 15 laps run under green allowed Johnson to keep Sheppard in his sights, however it also offered plenty of time for 'Super Matt' to track down traffic as the laps dwindled.
Sheppard approached Gauvreau exiting the second turn and pulled along side as the pair throttled down the back chute. Gauvreau suddenly veered low making contact with the leader heading into the third corner and Sheppard was unable to stay in the groove as Johnson quickly filled the void.
"We were in a good spot at the end to take advantage of Matt's situation," said Johnson, following his 10th front-five finish in 20 point races, including his first tour triumph of the season at Autodrome Drummond (Que.) in July. "This car has been so good and I owe it all to Mike for giving me such a top piece of equipment."
"We've got great communication going for us right now, that's all it is. Mike works so hard he deserves to have this kind of weekend. He watches everything that goes on and a lot of times he knows things even before I ask him. Tonight he had everything ready to go and the car really carried me the whole night," added Johnson, who only changed the left-front shock and mounted four new tires following his second-place finish the previous night.
Sheppard was an early drop-out the night before in the Jeff Brownell-owned small-block car, yet with a bigger prize at stake in the Big-Block ranks on Sunday, the Waterloo, N.Y. pilot ran the entire distance to pick up valuable points toward the elusive Mr. DIRTcar crown.
"Congratulations to Danny, he had a real fast car and was in the right place to take advantage of the opportunity, so good for him," said Sheppard, who finished just four points behind defending Mr. DIRTcar Champion Brett Hearn last year in the closest battle of the new millennium. "Sometimes you want to be in second, sometimes you don't. It's just the way things worked out tonight, pretty much is what it is. We had a good car tonight, in the long (points) run it was a good race for us."
Ward hung on to third for his best Super DIRTcar Series finish of the season, out-performing Gypsum Express teammates Billy Decker (9th) and Larry Wight (12th) on the final scoresheet.
"Your starting spot was definitely a key tonight with such a narrow groove," said Ward, 53, after the Genoa driver matched his third-place tally registered at Brewerton (NY) Speedway in July. "Matt and Danny were quite a bit quicker so we'll take third, still had a pretty decent car."
"Just needed to put a little more gear in the car with the track locking down so much. We kept the smaller Big-Block in tonight, just needed a little more gear get off the corner. Probably still wouldn't be able to get by those guys but maybe have given them a little better battle down the stretch," stated Ward.
With just the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Nov. 4-6, waiting to determine the overall Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Champion in 2010, Sheppard (2875) holds a more comfortable lead over Phelps (2801), with Billy Decker (2698), Brett Hearn (2664), Danny Johnson (2507) Dale Planck (2425), Billy Dunn (2273), Ryan Phelps (2266), Tom Sears Jr. (2165) and Larry Wight (2099) completing the Top-10 on the points chart. A pair of 30-lap Modified main events are set to go off on Nov. 5 & 6, with Bilstein Shocks Time Trials leading off the DIRTcar doubleheader on Thr., Nov. 4.
Super DIRTcar Series Race #19 – Brockville Ontario Speedway, October 17, 2010 'Global Warranty DIRTcar NE Fall Nationals "Thousand Islands RV 100" Big-Block Modified Event
Summary
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 7 7z Danny Johnson/Rochester,NY ($6,000)
2 4 9s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
3 1 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
4 12 77x Dale Planck/Cortland,NY
5 3 1f Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
6 13 21 Yan Bussiere/Drummondville,QUE
7 2 20 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
8 5 49 Billy Dunn/Watertown,NY
9 14 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
10 8 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
11 20 62s Tom Sears Jr./Clay,NY
12 21 99L Larry Wight/Phoenix,NY
13 6 6 Pat O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
14 18 74 Matt Billings/Brockville, ONT
15 27 66w Brian McDonald/Cornwall,ONT
16 29 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
17 31 124 Pierre DagenaisGatineau,QUE
18 16 03 Lance Willix II/Theresa,NY®
19 9 99 Ryan Phelps/Fulton,NY
20 26 72 Denis Gauvreau/Alymer,QUE
21 23 22c Mario Clair/St-Edmond,QUE
22 25 23b Dany Bilodeau/Victoriaville,QUE
23 24 49f Francois Bernier/St-Hyacinthe,QUE
24 11 7* Danny O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
25 22 88 Tim O'Brien/Kingston,ONT
26 10 66x Carey Terrance/Akwesasne,NY
27 19 99a Mike Adderley/Charlotte,NC
28 15 07 Tim Kerr/Picton,ONT
29 17 9 Jason Riddell/Cardinal,ONT
30 30 38 Luke Whitteker/Iroquois,ONT
31 28 96 Kyle Dingwall/Brockville,ONT
GATER RACING NEWS LAP LEADERS: Hearn (1-9), Sheppard (10-95), D.Johnson (96-100).
CAUTIONS: 11 for 37 laps.
HEAT WINNERS: P.O'Brien, Ward, Dunn, D.Johnson.
CONSI WINNERS: Wight, T.O'Brien.
From: Tom Skibinski- DIRTcar
