Lawson Cops Black Rock Finale, Raabe Tops Sportsman Point Series

Dundee, NY – October 24, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director

The 2009 Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship came to an end Saturday night at Black Rock Speedway and it was Donnie Lawson doing what he had done all season long to win the Owasco Beverage Labatt 30 Championship while Chris Raabe did all that he needed to capture a second straight overall season title.

As Lawson dueled with ’09 Black Rock DIRTcar track champion Todd Henderson to collect the $1,000 top-prize, Raabe kept series runner-up Ryan Susice in sight throughout the event to earn an even bigger honor when he sits at the head table during DIRTcar Racing Northeast’s ‘Night of Champions’ awards banquet in November.

“I’d have to say this is the biggest win of my career,” declared second-generation driver Lawson from Woodhull, N.Y. following his sixth DIRTcar victory of the season at the Yates County oval. “Even though we’ve won some 358 (Small-Block Modified) races, this has to rank right at the top being a tour show.”

Competing for just the third time ever at Black Rock, Raabe was content to escape with a 16^th-place finish which was good enough to outlast Susice in the final points chase with only 45 marker separating the talented twosome after 17 extra-distance tour stops.

“We’ve had a lot of trouble here at Black Rock, flat tires and stuff, so going home in one piece and with another championship is still okay in the big picture,” figured Raabe, 18, after joining Steve Hall (1996 & ’98) and Russ Hefti as the only repeat Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman champions in 20 years, with Hefti (2005-06) the first driver to claim back-to-back titles. “It kinda stinks sometimes racing for points, you can’t take chances anywhere. When you get under a guy you gotta back out of it, so just finishing actually becomes more important than where you finish when its all over.”

Canadian invader Luke Carleton jumped out to an early advantage from his pole-position start and held off an early bid by third-place starter Lawson aboard his Morgan's Auto Repair no. 11 Bath Chiropractic Associates/TEO mount. Western New York traveler Mark Chiddy got upside to bring out a rare red flag on lap 4 and on the ensuing restart it was Lawson ducking under Carleton to take the top spot exiting turn two.

Unable to qualify through his heat and the consolation round, Raabe had filled out the final row of the 30-car starting grid then watched as Susice pitted after the stoppage to replace a soft tire and rejoin the rear of the field. Going into the event, Susice needed a victory to stand any chance of stealing away the overall Mr. DIRTcar points crown, while 20^th or better for Raabe would lock up the title outright for the ‘Teenage Tornado’ from Napanee, Ont. aboard owner Gary McColman’s no. 01 Scott’s Industrial Services-TyRoute Communication/TEO entry.

Back under green with Lawson moving to the point, Carleton was quickly shadowed by Henderson, Steve Gray and Black Rock regular Loren Lincoln. Susice and Raabe were mired near the back of the pack in their own battle when the lone female qualifier, Katelyn Kane, was tapped from behind in turn four by Chris Silvers to require the only caution of the race on lap seven.

Henderson closed in on leader Lawson a third of the way through and when the halfway mark was reached had moved the HR3 no. 18H Valvoline/Bicknell machine out front in pursuit of his second checkered flag of the season. Henderson used the lapped car of Jeff Hand as a moving pick, sweeping high out of the fourth corner with Lawson sandwiched in between to nose ahead as the threesome crossed the stripe to complete lap 14. Lincoln, Carleton and Gray were scored next when the scoreboard flashed 15 with radar once again showing rain in the distance.

Traffic remained thick as the leaders navigated through the open lanes. This time it was Lawson blasting high out of turn four using the lapped car of Silvers to forge the final lead change as Henderson dropped to second with 19 laps complete.

With Lawson and Henderson running uncontested in the top two slots, Gray overtook Carleton for fourth on lap 22 and set his sights on third-place Lincoln in the closing stages. Not only did Gray complete his climb up to the show position on the final circuit, Justin Wright mirrored the move as he slipped past Carleton with 17 cars finishing the distance in the 25-minute main.

“I thought (Todd) had me, I’m not good in lapped traffic and he knows it,” remarked Lawson, following his 12^th victory of the season in Dundee. “I was just able to get it back this time.”

“I knew there was a guy up high, so for him to get a shot up there would’ve been hard because there was a guy blocking the top lane. I Knew if I could just ride behind ---think it was the #65 car (Boyd MacTavish)--- I would be alright. Still wasn’t comfortable about it, saying I was would be a lie. You just hope it’s the right choice, and I’ve made the wrong decision in lapped traffic a lot of times in my life so far,” Lawson admitted.

Winner of a tour-best five Mr. DIRTcar Championship trail races this season, Raabe chose to ride it out once the feature got underway as a Top-20 finish was all he needed to claim the overall title.

“All in all it was a great season, 20 wins, a couple track titles and a 2^nd consecutive Mr. DIRT Championship, that’s pretty neat,” said Raabe, who last year became the youngest overall champion in DIRTcar’s 34-year history, and this time around is now the youngest ever to garner consecutive crowns.

“Last year we had about the same number but this season we won more bigger races. We also won out West where Ryan was probably the favorite. Going in we were really looking to match what we accomplished last year so our success this season just reinforces what we did and shows it wasn’t a fluke,” added Raabe, who already plans to be back in 2010 trying to ‘threepeat’ unless additional sponsorship support during the off-season allows otherwise.

Finishing behind Raabe (1651) and Susice (1606) in the final 2009 Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series Championship point standings are Jipp Ortiz (1494), Justin Wright (1074), Dan Wiesner (1316), B.J. Willard (1282), Adam Turner (1249), Greg Panunte (1243), Mark Chiddy (1156) and Sammy Reakes IV (1096), who won the ’09 opener at Black Rock in April.

Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series Race #17 – Black Rock Speedway, Oct. 24, 2009 “Owasco Beverage Labatt 30 Championship” Event Summary

FIN      STR    CAR# DRIVER                                                                    

1          3          11        Donnie Lawson/Woodhull,NY($1,000)

2          8          18h     Todd Henderson/Canandaigua,NY

3          5          29g     Steve Gray/Middlesex,NY

4          10        2          Loren Lincoln/South Bristol,NY

5          4          19w     Justin Wright/Piffard,NY

6          1          26h     Luke Carleton/Port Colborne,ONT

7          7          70        Brady Fultz/Dundee,NY

8          14        66        Dan Wiesner/Geneva,NY

9          16        85h     Rob Humphreys/Elbridge,NY

10        20        k38      Ryan Susice/Ransomville,NY

11        11        77jr.    B.J. Willard/St.Catharines,ONT

12        15        0          Jipp Ortiz/Ransomville,NY

13        21        11j       Alan Fink/Pennellville,NY

14        2          58L     Jim LaRock/Seneca Falls,NY

15        9          14s      Craig Gardner/Watkins Glen,NY

16        30        01        Chris Raabe/Napanee,ONT

17        18        65        Boyd MacTavish/Ransomville,NY

18        12        44        Gary Hotelling/Middlesex,NY

19        26        ff3       Rod Mullen/Rexville,NY

20        27        92        Adam Turner/Picton,ONT

21        17        24b     Brett Buono/Dundee,NY

22        25        7          Chris Silvers/Elmira,NY

23        23        8          Gus Hurlburt/Canandaigua,NY

24        28        24        Rick Willsey/Elmira Heights,NY

25        24        2k        Katelyn Kane/Syracuse,NY

26        29        25        Jeff Hand/Penn Yan,NY

27        6          28w     Sandy Pembleton/Lewiston,NY

28        13        32        Greg Crooker/Savona,NY

29        22        m1      David Marcuccilli/Cayuga,NY

30        19        54        Mark Chiddy/Boston,NY

LAP LEADERS:   Carleton (1-3), Lawson (4-13), Henderson (14-18), Lawson (19-30).                            

CAUTIONS: 1 (lap 7); 1 RED FLAG (lap 4).                               

HEAT WINNERS:   Willard, Gardner, Henderson, Carleton.                                      

CONSI WINNER: Fink.                                          

CARS ENTERED: 36.                                

DID NOT QUALIFY(6)

16-Brandon Butler/Horseheads,NY

23-Tim Povoski/Elmira,NY

29-Greg Birosh/Horseheads,NY

30-Damon Walker/Penn Yan,NY

40-Josh Butler/Horseheads,NY

64-Bob Buono/Dundee,NY

QUALIFYING

Heat Races (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature, top 3 re-drew)

#1: Willard, LaRock, Pembleton, Crooker, Br.Buono, Hurlburt, Turner, Kane, J.Butler.

#2: Gardner, Gray, Lincoln, Wiesner, MacTavish, Raabe, Walker, B.Butler, Bo.Buono, Hand.

#3: Henderson, Wright, Lawson, Ortiz, Chiddy, Birosh, Silvers, Willsey, Mullen.

#4: Carleton, Fultz, Hotelling, Humphreys, Susice, Povoski, Fink, Marcuccilli.

Consolation Round (12 laps, top 9 finishers transferred to feature)

#1: Fink, Marcuccilli, Hurlburt, Kane, Silvers, Mullen, Turner, Willsey, Hand, J.Butler, Raabe, Walker, Povoski, B.Butler, Birosh (DNS), Bo.Buono (DNS).

Guaranteed Starter: Raabe.

Mr. DIRTcar Series Sportsman Point Standings (FINAL)

Pos.        No.          Driver                      Total       Series     Bonus     Diff          Wins       Top 5      Top 10    Starts

1              01            Chris Raabe           1651        1291        360            0            5              10            12            17

2              38k          Ryan Susice           1606        1246        360          -45           3              9              14            16

3              0              Jipp Ortiz               1494        1134        360          -157         2              5              9              17

4              11Jr         Justin Wright         1434        1074        360          -217         1              5              11            17

5              66            Dan Wiesner          1316        956          360          -335         0              4              7              17

6              77Jr         B.J. Willard            1282        922          360          -369         1              1              4              16

7              92            Adam Turner          1249        889          360          -402         0              1              3              17

8              99p          Greg Panunte        1243        883          360          -408         0              4              7              12

9              54            Mark Chiddy          1156        796          360          -495         0              0              1              16

10            17K          Sammy Reakes IV  1096        736          360          -555         1              2              5              11

11            67G         Eric Giguere           1042        682          360          -609         0              1              3              11

12            24x          Brandon Sweet      1040        680          360          -611         0              1              3              11

13            M1           Dave Marcuccilli    994          634          360          -657         0              3              3              10

14            74            Matt Billings           993          633          360          -658         1              3              4              10

15            29g          Steve Gray             903          543          360          -748         0              3              4              7

16            83x          Tim Sears Jr           810          450          360          -841         1              2              2              7

17            5              Don Spatorico       807          447          360          -844         1              3              4              6

18            28            Alan Fink                794          434          360          -857         0              0              4              7

19            38s          Luke Whittaker       792          432          360          -859         0              0              2              8

20            55            Matt Hulsizer          752          392          360          -899         0              2              3              5

21            26h          Luke Carleton        731          431          300          -920         0              0              3              7

22            777          Tyler MacPherson 726          366          360          -925         0              3              4              5

23            17D         Tom Juhl Jr.           714          354          360          -937         0              2              4              5

24            20x          Kevin Ridley          700          340          360          -951         0              0              0              5

25            62            Rich Bellante         699          339          360          -952         0              0              0              5

26            55c          Jesse Cotriss         676          316          360          -975         0              2              3              4

27            2L            Loren Lincoln        667          307          360          -984         0              1              2              5

28            1s            James Spano         635          275          360          -1016       0              0              0              4

29            85H         Robert Humphreys ® 607     247          360          -1044       0              0              1              4

30            14            Jermey Pitcher       603          243          360          -1048       0              0              1              5

31            13s          Derek Smith           591          231          360          -1060       0              1              2              3

32            17            Marcus Dinkins     590          230          360          -1061       0              0              0              3

33            11            Donnie Lawson ® 581          221          360          -1070       1              1              1              4

34            81            Christine Martin     580          220          360          -1071       0              0              0              2

35            06J          Jordan Bennett      574          214          360          -1077       0              0              2              3

36            2K            Rob Knapp             565          205          360          -1086       0              0              1              3

37            7              Cody McPherson  558          198          360          -1093       0              0              1              3

38            85            John Pietrowicz     554          194          360          -1097       0              1              1              3

39            21JJ        Jim Johnstone      554          194          360          -1097       0              0              1              4

40            28w         Sandy Pembleton  550          190          360          -1101       0              0              0              3

41            18            Brad Rouse            550          190          360          -1101       0              1              1              3

42            4              Darryl Hilkert          545          185          360          -1106       0              1              1              3

43            18h          Justin Henderson 532          172          360          -1119       0              0              1              3

44            22            Greg Cool              531          171          360          -1120       0              0              1              3

45            56            Steven Schumacher 528       168          360          -1123       0              0              1              3

46            76            Rob Bussey            528          168          360          -1123       0              0              2              3

47            06            Brandon Easey      526          166          360          -1125       0              1              2              2

48            24a          A.J. Lewis               525          165          360          -1126       0              0              0              3

49            11n          Ricky Newton        522          162          360          -1129       0              0              0              3

50            70            Brady Fultz             520          160          360          -1131       0              0              1              3

51            140          Mark Dixon            520          160          360          -1131       0              0              0              3

Mr. DIRTcar Series Sportsman Entries – October 24 (36)

Car#     Driver/Hometown         Team (Sponsor / Chassis)

0              Jipp Ortiz/Ransomville,NY   Pizza Logs-Lee Heil-Ed's Garage/Bicknell

01            Chris Raabe/Napanee,ONT  Scott Industrial Services-Kingston RV Centre-Tyroute Communications/TEO

m1           David Marcuccilli/Cayuga,NY Barbay&Son Const-Crew Boyz Racing-Stormin/Bicknell

2              Loren Lincoln/South Bristol,NY Honeoye Auto Parts-Lincoln Fabrication/TEO

2k            Katelyn Kane/Syracuse,NY   Ernie Kreis & Sons Heating Co.-Leaf Racewear-CME Enterprises/Bicknell

ff3            Rod Mullen/Rexville,NY        Farm Family Insurance-Steuben Vet Clinic/Bicknell

7              Chris Silvers/Elmira,NY        Silvers Auto Sales-Turk's Auto Sales/TEO

8              Gus Hurlburt/Canandaigua,NY Lupini Construction-Dusk to Dawn Trucking/Bicknell

11            Donnie Lawson/Woodhull,NY Morgan's Auto Repair-Bath Chiropractic Associates/TEO

11j           Alan Fink/Pennellville,NY     JIR Motorsports-Oneidaview Pile Driving/Troyer

14s          Craig Gardner/Watkins Glen,NY Swarthout Mobile Document Destruction/TEO

16            Brandon Butler/Horseheads,NY Precision Automotive-Market St.Brewing Co./Bicknell

18h          Todd Henderson/Canandaigua,NY HR3-Valvoline/Bicknell

19w         Justin Wright/Piffard,NY       Mercer Milling Company-Yager Bros. Trucking/Bicknell

23            Tim Povoski/Elmira,NY         Weese Precision Machine/Bicknell

24            Rick Willsey/Elmira Heights,NY Precision Automotive-Sammy's Swap Shop/Olsen

24b          Brett Buono/Dundee,NY        Buono Racing/Olsen

25            Jeff Hand/Penn Yan,NY        Marhrt's Garage-Gleason & Sons Flooring/Troyer

26h          Luke Carleton/Port Colborne,ONT Carleton Racing/Bicknell

28w         Sandy Pembleton/Lewiston,NY Smokin' Joe's-Seneca Racing/Bicknell

29            Greg Birosh/Horseheads,NY McMichael Electrical Contractors-Irwin Industrial Tools/Birosh

29g          Steve Gray/Middlesex,NY     Fox's Auto-Dar's Auto-JSB Graphics-Beck's Recycling/Bicknell

30            Damon Walker/Penn Yan,NY Allen Auto Sales/TEO

32            Greg Crooker/Savona,NY    Crooker Racing/Speed Palace

k38          Ryan Susice/Ransomville,NY Investor's Service Company-Philpac Packaging/Bicknell

40            Josh Butler/Horseheads,NY Precision Automotive/Bicknell

44            Gary Hotelling/Middlesex,NY Proctor Roofing-Gorham Market/TEO

54            Mark Chiddy/Boston,NY       D&B Motorsports-Mullen Industrial Handling/Bicknell

58L          Jim Larock/Seneca Falls,NY P&T Fabrication-Auto Value/Bicknell

64            Bob Buono/Dundee,NY         Harris Logging-Buono Racing/Bicknell

65            Boyd MacTavish/Ransomville,NY Cosco Excavating/Bicknell

66            Dan Wiesner/Geneva,NY     Monroe Wheelchair-Safety Awareness Solutions/Troyer

70            Brady Fultz/Dundee,NY         Suzuki-Paine Motorsports/Troyer

77jr.         B.J. Willard/St.Catharines,ONT CAA Niagara Battery Assist-Speck Trucking/Bicknell

85h          Rob Humphreys/Elbridge,NY M&W Aluminum Products-Humphrey's Garage/Bicknell

92            Adam Turner/Picton,ONT     Paul Turner Auto Repair/Bicknell

Pot Holes: Early morning rain then a 2-hour shower from 9:45-11:45am forced officials to scrap the customary time trials, although the top-12 heat race qualifiers still re-drew to determine the front six rows for the 50-lap finale…Track promoter Dean Hoag prevailed with his ‘make-or-break’ attitude as the untimely precipitation kept cars off the track until 3pm, nearly six hours past the original schedule that called for the first practice session to go green at 9:30am…It was certainly a challenging day from morning until night for the series front-runners as a flat tire late in the consi forced points leader Chris Raabe to take advantage of his guaranteed starter status (began 30^th) while a late-race crash in his qualifying heat afforded Ryan Susice the fifth and final spot which put him 20^th on the feature race grid…Despite the Ransomville, N.Y. racer required to wear a glove on his right hand after suffering burns last weekend at Brockville, Susice was the phantom ‘hard charger’ after restarting from the rear and cracking the top-10 in the near caution-free 30-lap headliner.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The 34^th annual DIRTcar Racing Northeast ‘Night of Champions’ Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, November 14 at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York. The banquet will honor the 2009 series champions in the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions while track promoters and operators will convene on Friday, November 13 for the annual DIRTcar track meetings.

2009 Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series Schedule

*All events subject to change.

DAY-DATE    LAPS  TRACK                                             LOCATION/WINNER

Sat-Apr 5         75      Black Rock Speedway                    Sammy Reakes IV

Fri-Apr 17        30      Can-Am Motorsports Park              Chris Raabe

Thr-Jul 2          25      Rolling Wheels Raceway Park     rain-cancelled

Fri-Jul 3           30      Brewerton Speedway                      Tim Sears Jr.

Sun-Jul 5        50      Cornwall Motor Speedway             Chris Raabe

Sat-Jul 18        30      Cayuga County Fair Speedway    Justin Wright

Mon-Sep 7      25      Rolling Wheels Raceway Park     Jipp Ortiz

Fri-Sep 11       50      Ransomville Speedway                 Don Spatorico                    

Sat-Sep 12      50      Merrittville Speedway                      B.J. Willard

Sun-Sep 13    50      Humberstone Speedway               Chris Raabe            

Fri-Sep 18       33      Canandaigua Speedway               Jipp Ortiz

Fri-Sep 18       33      Canandaigua Speedway               Ryan Susice

Sat-Sep 19      30      Genesee Speedway                        Chris Raabe            

Sun-Oct 4        30      Fulton Speedway                            Ryan Susice

Wed-Oct 7       30      Can-Am Motorsports Park              rain-cancelled

Fri-Oct 9           30      Rolling Wheels Raceway Park     rain-cancelled

Sat-Oct 10       30      New York State Fairgrounds         Matt Billings

Sat-Oct 10       30      Rolling Wheels Raceway Park     Ryan Susice

Sat-Oct 17       50      Brockville Ontario Speedway        Chris Raabe

Sat-Oct 24       30      Black Rock Speedway                    Donnie Lawson

@Driver's (2) worst finishes dropped through September; last (5) events count.

DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event ---Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse runs annually in October featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging into www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.

The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.

www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.