DRUAR, GARLOCK AND BURD CROWNED DTRP ’09 CHAMPIONS

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Lancaster, NY: For once all eyes at Dunn Tire Raceway Park were not glued to the sky above or the radar screen, but rather to all the exciting action and drama unfolding on the final points night of 2009. With championships on the line, every heat and every position gained or lost during the feature meant a change in the standings. Going into the night Tim Garlock and Andy Jankowiak held twenty point leads in their respective divisions, but Mike Nash and Billy Burd were nipping at their heels – all of them vying for their first track championship in their divisions.

The night's action began with the visiting TQ Midget series. Only one lap was completed by the time the first, and only, yellow flag was displayed. On the restart Mike Blair shot to the lead with Rich Watkins on his tail. Watkins made his move for the lead early and took the top spot on lap three. Hot on the heels of the top two was Bobby Holmes and the top trio soon began distancing themselves from the rest of the field. Watkins continued to build his lead while Blair and Holmes waged a dogged battle for the second spot. With just under ten laps to go, Holmes used a lap car to pass Blair for position and immediately went to work hunting down Watkins. However, Watkins had built a comfortable lead while Holmes and Blair raced for second and Holmes was never able to close the gap. Watkins crossed the finish line first and collected his second DTRP win of the season.

The DTRP inner ¼ mile oval was the site for the next feature race of the evening – the 4 Cylinders. Tim Durfy started on the pole and at the drop of the green immediately jumped into the lead. Matt Druar, who started fifth, was already up to second on lap two and began looking for a way around Durfy. Behind the top two, Mike Maggiore, Charles Buchanan, Ken Hejna, and Dean Siminski all sliced and diced for position. Up front however Durfy set the pace and Druar was unable to find a way around him in the twenty lap feature. Durfy went on to score the win while Druar officially locked up the 4 Cylinder Championship.

Next up for the first of two fifty lap features as the SST Sportsman headed to the track for their final points race of the season. Andy Jankowiak led Billy Burd by just twenty points going into the night, although that lead was cut to 14 as Burd won his heat and Jankowiak suffered mechanical problems during his and was towed off the track. Jankowiak was forced to a back up car for the feature and rolled off seventeenth in the twenty car field while Burd started eleventh. Up front however, John Julicher Jr. took the lead at the start of the race and led for the first ten laps. Jerry Gradl Jr. muscled by on the outside of Julicher on lap ten and took the lead. Two yellow flags early in the race bunched the field up for double file restarts and after the second restart Burd had found his way to Gradl’s bumper. On lap 18 Gradl washed high and Burd dove underneath, taking the lead. Burd immediately gained some breathing room on the field while Gradl, Moose Rutherford, Sege Fidanza (who was making his first ever SST start), and Tom McGrath raced for second position on back. Just before the halfway point Gradl spun while running in second and Rutherford was sent tail for contact. This put Fidanza on the bumper of the leader while McGrath, Jeff Price, Bobby Holmes, and Jankowiak raced behind them. As the laps clicked off the field settled in single file – except for Rutherford who was on a mission to get back to the front of the pack. With just five laps remaining in the 50 lap feature, Burd and Fidanza had separated from McGrath, Price, Rutherford, and Jankowiak. Fidanza was all over Burd in the closing laps, but Burd managed to hang on to the lead and with the feature win also captured his first SST Championship.

The honor of running the final regular season race was given to the fan favorite Street Stocks as they were slated to run their first extra distance race of the season. Tim Garlock and Mike Nash entered the night just twenty points apart in the points standings and with both winning their respective heats, remaining twenty points apart going into the feature. Nash started from the sixth position while Garlock rolled off eleventh. Matt Jurek lead the field to the green flag and led for three laps before Nash powered his way by for the lead. Nash soon set a wicked pace as the rest of the field bunched up behind him. The field soon spread out into separate packs as Jurek, Mike Maggiore, and Nate Straus raced for second, third, and fourth and a bit back Kevin Mendel, Cory Gallagher, and Jeff Guidotti battled for fifth, sixth, and seventh. Garlock seemed stuck in a gaggle of cars in ninth. As the laps clicked off Nash built a huge lead on the field and by lap 21 had caught the tail end of the field. As Nash navigated lap traffic the quintet of Gallagher, Mendel, Maggiore, Scott Mutka, and Garlock closed in and also began picking their way through heavy traffic. However, the first yellow of the race appeared on lap 31 and lined the field back up single file for the restart. Nash led Gallagher, Mendel, Maggiore, Garlock, Mutka, and Guidotti on the restart and after the green was displayed, drivers starting showing what they really had left. Garlock made a three wide pass on Maggiore and a lap car to catapult himself into fourth. With ten laps remaining Nash, Gallagher, and Mendel had a sizable lead over Garlock. The top three ran nose to tail, with Gallagher and Mendel each looking for a away around each other and the leader. With just two laps remaining the top three hit lap traffic once again and Mendel used a lap car as a pick to get by Gallagher for second. With not enough laps left, Mendel was never able to challenge Nash for the lead and Nash finished first, capturing his first win of 2009. Garlock, who finished fourth, captured his first Street Stock Championship by a mere three points over Nash.

Next up for Dunn Tire Raceway Park is the 21st Annual US Open. Scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 18th, 19th, and 20th, the event will feature the championship race for the Race of Champions Modified Tour, Late Models, SST Sportsman Tour Race, SST Super Stocks, Street Stocks, 4 Cylinders, and TQ Midgets. For a complete schedule of events visit www.dunntireracewaypark.com.

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RESULTS for 9/5/09