DTRP Completes 2/3 of 20^th Annual US Open

Rained out Sunday Portion To Be Run Sunday, October 5^th

Rudolph Captures Both Open Wheel Titles, Mudra Wins Super Stock Crown

Dunn Tire Raceway Park had three days of racing scheduled as part of the 20^th Annual US Open.  Although Mother Nature cooperated long enough to complete two of the three days of scheduled racing, DTRP was forced to postpone the final day of events due to a persistent day long mist and drizzle.  The remainder of the show has been rescheduled for Sunday, October 5^th and includes the feature events for the Race of Champions Modified Tour, the Late Models, and Street Stocks.  The TQ Midgets will be on hand for heats and a feature event and the SST Sportsman have been added to the days events for an additional show.

Although one day of racing was lost, there was still enough action taking place both Friday and Saturday night at the 50 year old speedway.  On Friday night the Modifieds, SST Sportsman, and Super Stocks competed, with the points championships on the line for the Modifieds and the SST’s.

Up first on the night’s schedule were the Super Stocks.  Jay Mudra immediately took the lead in the 20 lap feature event.  For the first five laps Mudra withstood heavy pressure from second place runner Dave Johnson but began pulling away and gained some breathing room by the halfway point in the feature.  While Mudra gained ground on the field Johnson had his hands full with Kyle Sharpe who was looking for any way around the second place car.  However the laps expired before Sharpe could make his move.  Mudra crossed the finish line first and was followed by a side by side Johnson and Sharpe across the line.

Next up were the SST Sportsman who had 43 laps to complete out of a 50 lap feature that was started on August 9^th.  Starting on lap 7, Tom McGrath maintained the lead from his pole restart position.  A series of yellow flags dotted the beginning of the race but the field soon settled into a green flag run, allowing Erick Rudolph to work his way up from the seventh starting position.  At the halfway point of the race Rudolph made his move to the inside of leader Billy Putney and took the lead.  On the move was Todd Hoddick who was up to third place and pressuring Putney for the second place spot.  Putney struggled with lap traffic and Hoddick capitalized, splitting the difference between Putney and the lap cars to take second place.  Hoddick set his sights on Rudolph but was unable to take the lead away.  With the win Rudolph captured the DTRP SST Sportsman Points Championship, his first in the division.

The mighty Modifieds closed out the nights action with the Ron Lux Memorial 50 lap main event and 21 Modifieds were on hand for the event.  The event also served as the points final for the Modifieds and Billy Putney and Erick Rudolph came into the event tied for first.  Sege Fidanza was only seven points back in third position.  The race got off to a difficult start as veteran Fidanza took a hard hit into the outside and inside wall of the front stretch.  Fidanza was only slightly injured but the same could not be said for the car.  Putney also sustained damage during the accident and went pitside to repair the damage.  With Fidanza out of the race the title was going to go to either Rudolph or Putney and the Putney crew managed to get their car back out onto to the track to compete.  After the race went back to green Rudolph was in the lead with McGrath in second and Brett Scherrer in third.  Making his way through the field was Jan Leaty.  Leaty, who had suffered damage in his heat, repaired the car and by the halfway point in the feature was in second position and closing in on Rudolph quickly.  By lap 27 Leaty was to Rudolph’s bumper and began pressuring him for the lead.  Leaty challenged Rudolph by looking high and low and even got the nose of his car in under Rudolph at times but just could not complete the pass.  Rudolph took the checkered flag and although Putney gave it a gallant effort, the points title was awarded to Rudolph, making him the first driver in the history of the speedway to win both open wheel division points championships in one season.

Saturday featured the qualifying events for all of the divisions competing in the US Open and the feature events of the 4 Cylinders, Super Stocks, and SST Sportsman. 

As usual the 4 Cylinders put on a great show for the fans with their crashing, banging, and beating style of driving.  John Julicher Jr., a second year Street Stock driver in just his second 4 Cylinder start, took the lead on lap 18 and held off the rest of the field to capture the US Open feature win.

The SST Super Stocks were next on the schedule and the race would decide the points championship for their division.  Kyle Sharpe was the early leader and immediately put distance between himself and second place runner Jay Mudra.  However Mudra began to close the gap between the two as the laps clicked off.  Behind Mudra the trio of Dave Johnson, Mike Nichols, and Jeff Merritt sliced and diced for positions third on back.  Nichols emerged the victor of the battle on lap 13 and set off to catch the top two cars.  Nichols would catch a lucky break as Mudra had a tire go down in the lat stages of the race, allowing Nichols to grab the second spot.  However Nichols was unable to mount a challenge against Sharpe and Sharpe cruised to his first US Open win.  Jay Mudra was crowned the 2008 DTRP Super Stock Champion, his second title, after winning 3 out of the 4 Super Stock races at the speedway this season.

The racing finale for the night was the SST Sportsman who were slated to compete for 75 laps.  A huge field was on hand as over 30 cars started the feature.  Kevin Timmerman and Bobby Holmes started on the front row and at the drop of the green flag Holmes took control of the lead.  The car to watch, as it had been all season, was Erick Rudolph who had started eighth.  In just 11 laps Rudolph had worked his way through the field and passed Holmes for the lead.  A number of yellow flags dotted the race but Rudolph maintained his lead.  Behind him, the top cars battled for each spot.  Holmes, Jeff Price, and Pete Brittain ran in positions second, third, and fourth and separated themselves from the rest of the pack as they all tried to hunt down the leader.  On lap 16 Price and Brittain passed Holmes and Price set to work on catching Rudolph.  A yellow flag helped out his cause and Price began giving Rudolph a run for his money.  With numerous cautions throughout the race, Price had many chances to do something few had done this season – pass Erick Rudolph.  While Price’s car was the superior car on short runs, Rudolph had the better car on the longer green flag runs.  As Rudolph pulled away with half the race completed it looked like he had the race locked up.  However, a caution on lap 51 bunched up the field once again and Price had his best shot of the night in trying to pass the leader.  Price was unable to take the position and soon Rudolph had checked out on the field.  The rest of the race remained green and Rudolph was once again the first one to cross the finish line in the SST Sportsman feature event.

The final events of the 20^th Annual US Open will be completed on Sunday, October 5^th at 1pm.  For a complete schedule or for more information visit www.dunntireracewaypark.com or call the speedway office at 716-759-6818.

Friday, September 26^th

Super Stock Feature Finish:  Jay Mudra, Dave Johnson, Kyle Sharpe, Jeff Merritt, Tony Pangrazio, Jay Canonico, Mitchell Wright, Jason Deiter, Ted Welshans, Mark Hoch  DNS:  Driver 64, Pete Pieczynski, Tim Garlock

Lap Leaders:  Laps 1-20 Mudra

SST Sportsman Feature Finish:  Erick Rudolph, Todd Hoddick, Tom McGrath, Billy Putney, Russ Gian, Rick Kluth, Frank Batista Jr., David Tedesco, Craig Dolphin, Jody London, Andy Jankowiak, Jerry Harding Jr., Kevin Lewis, Jerry Gradl Jr., Ed Schueler, Sherri Hogan

Lap Leaders:  Lap 1 Kluth, 2-7 MacLeod, 8-13 McGrath, 14-24 Putney, 25-50 Rudolph

Modified Feature Finish:  Erick Rudolph, Jan Leaty, Tom McGrath, Billy Putney, Karl Hehr, Pete Brittain, Rick Kluth, Brett Scherrer, Jimmy Zacharias, Mark Tychoniewicz, Terry Cheetham, Bill Mislin, Tom Wiest, Billy Ray Pruitt, Dave Wollaber, Sean O’Neill, Kris Hillegeer, Bobby Holmes, Sege Fidanza, Mike Leaty

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-2 Scherrer, 3-50 Rudolph

Saturday, September 27^th

4 Cylinder Feature Finish:  John Julicher Jr., Jesse Baker, Dean Siminiski, Michael Eckham, Tim Durfy, Bill Lutz, Driver 58, Pat Emerling, Stephanie Sigler, Matt Druar, Michael Tedesco, Waylon Price, Derek Wagner, Cassie McGrath, Brian Rupe, Tony Caruana, Kalie Clementi, Driver 92

Lap Leaders: Lap 1 Sigler, Laps 2-3 Druar, 4 Driver 58, 5 Julicher Jr., 6 – 11 Baker, 12 – 20 Julicher Jr.

Super Stock Feature Finish:  Kyle Sharpe, Mike Nichols, Jeff Merritt, Dave Johnson, Tony Pangrazio, JW Flagler, Mark Hoch, Mitchell Wright, Marty Hughes, Tim Garlock, Jay Mudra, Pete Pieczysnki, Jay Canonico

Lap Leaders:  1-25 Sharpe

SST Sportsman Feature Finish:  Erick Rudolph, Jeff Price, Pete Brittain, Bobby Holmes, Tom McGrath, Justin Shepker, Andy Jankowiak, Billy Putney, Russ Gian, Frank Batista Jr., Nick Cappelli, Tony Hanbury, Jerry Harding Jr., Don King, Joe Evans, Neal Dietz, Scott Reese, Jack Grainy, Chris Finocharrio, Eddie Murray, Patti Pruitt, Kevin Timmerman, David Tedesco, Don Wylie, Todd Hoddick, Jerry Gradl Jr., Craig Dolphin, Jim Pierce, Tom Fectau, Dick Kluth, Mike Bliss, Tim Hoegl, Jon Price

Lap Leaders: 1-10 Holmes, 11-75 Rudolph