Hagerstown Speedway

Octoberfest

11/9/08

Modifieds

1. Brett Hearn

2. Richie Pratt

3. HJ Bunting

More to follow no PR available yet!

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Southern Tier 100 @ Five Mile Point Speedway

10/26/08

Brett Hearn Turns Back The Clock For FMP Victory

Click Here to listen to Brett's interview by "Dougs Dirt Diary"

10/27/08 - By JR KENNERUP

KIRKWOOD, NY - Turning back the clock on Sunday evening at the Five Mile Point Speedway for the Race of Champions Dart Dirt Modified Tour National Quarter Mile Dirt Track Championship 100 was Sussex, NJ driver Brett Hearn.

Hearn who practically owned any extra distance race held at the historic quarter mile oval in the late 1990’s got back to victory lane on this night.

Hearn who started tenth took the lead on lap 64 when leader Ray Bliss, Jr. jumped the turn four cushion. Brett wheeling the Vinnie Salerno owned Four Star Racing entry then held off several attempts by Billy Decker for the lead. In the later stages of the race Hearn had to conserve his tires and he did it just about perfect as he finished with a bald right rear tire.

Joey Grammes of Lehighton, Pa. who started 11th conserved his tires just enough also to finish second and earn the Dart Machinery Small Block Bonus worth an additional $500.

Defending and two time consecutive Race of Champions Dart Dirt Modified Tour champion Pat Ward of Genoa, NY who started 17th was involved in a lap two turn four yellow. Pat restarted at the rear and came on late to end up third.

Gary Tomkins of Clifton Springs, NY started 12th, made two pit stops to come on strong at the end to finish fourth. Mike Colsten of Binghamton, NY had to rely on a RoC Provisional to gain entrance into the feature to start 26th and finished fifth.

Billy Decker and Ray Bliss, Jr. brought the talented 26 car starting field to green. Bliss shocked everyone in attendance as he jumped out to the lead over Decker, Stewart Friesen, Jeff Strunk, and Alan Rudalavage.

The wide racing surface led to multiple three and four wide racing all the way through the field much to the paying customers delight. The wide surface played a huge role on lap four as Decker and Strunk got hooked together while battling for second and both cars got sideways in the middle of the back straight. The huge skirmish saw many cars involved but all cars pulled away without little if any damage.

On the restart Bliss once again jumped out to the lead over Friesen, Rudalavage, Brett Hearn, and Doug Manmiller. Joey Grammes moved into fifth on lap nine with Manmiller passing him back one lap later.

Grammes regrouped and mounted an impressive charge to the front as he took fifth on a lap 12 restart and following a lap 13 restart rocketed into third.

Hearn meanwhile started to show how strong his car was as he got to the cushion to re pass Grammes for third on lap 15. But Grammes would have nothing of that as he passed Hearn for third on lap 23. Hearn returned the favor to Grammes to reclaim third on a lap 24 restart.

Decker after restarting at the rear rocketed back through the field to move back into fifth on lap 25.

When the yellow lights appeared on lap 34 Friesen the defending race winner pitted for a new right rear tire. This moved Hearn into second, Decker into third, Brian Weaver who started 25th was now fourth and Grammes was fifth.

When the race resumed Hearn started to heavily pressure Bliss for the lead while Grammes started to run back to the front as he passed Weaver for fourth on lap 38 and disposed of Decker for third on lap 48. Decker would take a few laps to get back by Grammes for third and he did that on lap 60. But Grammes battling like a true champion took third from Decker on lap 61 but Decker returned the favor to regain third on lap 63.

Up front tire wear was hampering the efforts of Bliss who started to go higher and higher in the turns. Exiting turn four while coming down to complete lap 64 Bliss jumped the cushion and that was the mistake that Hearn needed.

Hearn pounced on the mistake to take the lead and one lap later Bliss once again jumping the cushion saw him lose second to Decker. Grammes followed suit on lap 70 as the left rear tire of Bliss was starting to go flat. Jason Hamilton moved into fourth on lap 71 while Pat Ward moved into fifth following a lap 75 restart.

The final 25 laps were going to be interesting to see who had tires left and drivers who pitted for new tires to see if they had enough time to get to the front. The left rear tire on the Bliss machine finally gave up on lap 87 ending his strong run.

Decker tried to get under Hearn in turn one on the lap 88 restart and Hearn would have none of that as he turned up the wick to open up his largest lead of the evening. Meanwhile Mike Colsten who pitted for a tire on lap 44 moved into fifth.

Disaster struck Decker as his right rear tire blew on lap 98; he pitted under yellow and returned.

A green, white, checker finish was called for and many people were wondering who would be the next up front car to get a flat tire. Just as the field took the white flag the fourth place car of Hamilton saw his right rear go down.

Up front Hearn completed the final lap with a bald right rear to score the $5,000 win. Grammes was second with Ward in third and a wild scramble ensued with Tomkins coming from seventh to fourth in the final lap and Colsten settled for fifth.

"It took me a couple of trips to figure the place back out," said the smiling winner.

"Actually the two times we ran here earlier this year we used some experimental stuff in the setup for the rear end. We figured since we’re not running for points it was a good time to test some ideas we wanted to try. Today we came back here with a car that we knew that it could get the job done."

"We kind of meandered up through the field at the start and after getting into second we fought, fought, and fought for the lead. Then when I saw Decker under me that one time I said it’s time to get going. But I really needed to get to the front early to keep the car straight so I could save the right rear tire."

After getting into second on lap 34 Hearn and Ray Bliss, Jr. waged a stirring battle for the lead with Bliss riding the cushion and Hearn in the center of the track. Brett was asked about running in the hard, middle groove of the track for that many laps.

"I was definitely running the right rear harder than I wanted to," answered Hearn. "Once I got there I could see that he was getting really loose and I knew sooner or later I was going to be able to get him. I knew sooner the better as I wanted to get the lead and keep the car as straight as I could in the corners.

"I never saw Billy under me on that restart (lap 88)," said Brett. "But the way I was entering turn one it did give the potential of someone sticking their nose in there. But the way I came down across the track, I knew I had the momentum that no one was going to pull me coming out of turn two. The car was exceptionally good in one and two."

"We’ve taken our hits lately like last week at Orange County," said Brett.

"Anytime at the end of the year you don’t want to go off on a bad note. So it was good to get a big win here today and we have two more races coming up at Hagerstown in two weeks and hopefully we can get two more wins there to end the season on a strong note."

With the win Hearn also received four free passes to the 2009 Race of Champions Dart Dirt Tour opener at the Selinsgrove Speedway on March 20th and 21st.

"Drawing 11th to start I really didn’t know what to expect," said second place finisher Joey Grammes. “Those guys are so good saving their tires, the only way a guy like me can win the race is by starting up front, control the race, and save your tires. When I had to race that hard from the get go I never thought that the tires would last 100 laps."

Ward who already clinched the championship before the day began had this to say about his third place finish.

“I was pretty much hoping for a top five if I didn’t bend anything in that first lap incident," said Pat. "The car felt pretty good after the restart and we tried to save as much tire as we could until the end of the race."

Qualifying for the 52 car field saw heat wins go to Grammes, Jamie Yannone, Manmiller, Bliss, Strunk, and Tomkins. B Main victories went to Bob Hamm, Jr., Jerry Higbie, Jr., and Bobby Trapper.

RACE OF CHAMPIONS DART DIRT MODIFIED TOUR GARY’S U-PULL-IT/BOLAND’S EXCAVATING FINISH; Brett Hearn, Joey Grammes, Pat Ward, Gary Tomkins, Mike Colsten, Stewart Friesen, Jerry Higbie, Jr., Jeff Rudalavage, Brian Weaver, Brent Wilcox, Eric Palmer, Alan Rudalavage, Billy Decker, Jason Hamilton, Jeff Strunk, Bob Hamm, Jr., Brian Malcolm, Billy Van Pelt, Ray Bliss, Jr., Jackie Brown, Jr., Scott Ferrier, Bobby Trapper, Doug Manmiller, Glenn Knapp, Jr., Jamie Yannone, Carl Nagel.

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Hearn Looks In Mirror For 11^th OCFS Eastern States 358 Championship   

Middletown, NY – October 18, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director 

Anyone attending Eastern States Weekend at Orange County Fair Speedway one year ago may have experienced deja-vu all over again on Saturday afternoon as Brett Hearn won his second straight Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship in almost identical fashion. 

Last October the Sussex, New Jersey star started fourth and took the lead on lap nine en route to a convincing victory. Yesterday, Hearn began inside row two and blasted by pole-sitter Jerry Higbie on a lap eight restart with the same result --- a $7,500 payday and another dominating performance at the historic ‘Hard Clay’ oval. Oh yes, last year’s winning car was back in the picture again as young talent Michael Storms steered it to a fifth-place finish in the Orange County Small-Block finale. 

“We had to push early because the track has a tendency to narrow up in daytime races,” remarked Hearn, the all-time Orange County winner with his 11^th career Eastern States Small-Block Championship elevating his division total to 121. Of his 293 checkered flags, 170 have come in Big-Block competition at the fairgrounds and he’ll be looking to capture his ninth Eastern States 200 triumph Sunday afternoon in what is fondly being referred to by his fans as the ‘House of Hearn.’ “We looked high and low and at that point in the race you really don’t know what to expect, Jerry was running really good and his strategy might’ve been something totally different.” 

“We had a really good car and I just kept working it harder on the outside and finally was able to make it stick. Then we just did we always do when you get the lead at Orange County, just try to run smooth and pick out the right spots to run on the track,” noted Hearn, after opening up a 15 car-length margin over runner-up Ronnie Johnson at the line with Higbie, hard-charging Tommy Meier and Storms filling out the front-five in the 100-lapper. 

After setting fast time the previous night in WLR Construction time trials, Higbie got the early nod from his pole-position start while Hearn quickly followed suit to apply pressure from the outset. Pennsylvanian Rick Laubach slowed in turn one to bring out the first of nine yellow flags the third time around, but it was the second caution that proved pivotal when Tim Fuller experienced ignition failure on lap eight and Hearn grabbed the lead as soon as the green lights reappeared. 

From that point on, Hearn only needed to stay clean in traffic and watch the laps click off as it was his race to win as the nearest contenders failed to keep pace. 

“The car really stayed good the whole race, very neutral and that’s what a driver is always looking for, not too loose, not too tight,” added Hearn, following his second Mr. DIRTcar 358-Mod Series win of the season, both coming in the past nine days. DIRTcar NorthEast’s all-time Small-Block Series winner notched his first win in the recent Super DIRT Week special at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and now has 68 to top the list. 

“The track was moving around a little bit so you had to change your line every couple laps and find out where the best grip was. Lapped traffic didn’t give an inch, I could run just outside the main line but those (lapped) guys wouldn’t let up and just kept banging.” 

Starting fourth on the 41-car grid, Johnson never fell any further back before taking advantage of a fading Decker machine at the lap 70 mark and stealing away second from Higbie with just a handful of laps to go. 

“We were good on the restarts for a few laps but couldn’t gain much ground after that,” said Johnson, 34, son of legendary Capital District driver Jack Johnson, who was at the track Saturday to watch a very commendable performance by the second-generation star. “But this is Brett’s home so you’ve got to be more than good any time you come here.” 

“I have to thank Roger Heroux and Julien from JPM, they gave me the motor to compete here today and it was really strong. Hopefully, we can run the same tomorrow in the 200 and be up there at the end to give Brett another shot,” added Johnson, who was buckled in aboard the potent Wm.Larned no. 2 Palmer's Service-Morris Auto Group/TEO that has a twin in the Big-Block ranks. 

Higbie fended off challenges from Billy Decker, who was fading with tire trouble the last third of the race, before dropping to the show position behind Johnson as a final restart on lap 95 proved to be the final difference. 

“Don’t think I had enough gear on the restarts and it took me a couple laps to get going, that’s how Ronnie got me at the end,” said 2008 Orange County Small-Block points champion Higbie, who won the ESW 358-Modified main in 2005 when it was 150 laps in distance. “He had a little more gear. If you stayed in the rubber the track was really good. There were a few slick places, sometimes it got a little hairy when you hit a slick spot and the car skated.” 

“Everybody knows Brett is the man here … its Eastern States Weekend and that’s always tough going. We still had an awesome car and the whole team did a super job. It was a good day for everybody, really capped off a nice season for us,” Higbie added. 

While the battle up front raged on, sometimes three-wide among the top-10, the chase for valuable points on the Mr. DIRTcar Championship trail was heightened further back as Canadian travelers Pete Bicknell and Danny O’Brien jockeyed for position for the duration. When the dust settled, Bicknell and O’Brien finished 20^th ad 21^st respectively, padding Bicknell’s lead by a single marker heading into the Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Championship Series finale next weekend at Can-Am Speedway Park. 

In search of a third overall series points crown, still winless Bicknell (1,042) holds a narrow lead ahead of O’Brien (1,009), who is hungry for his first career Mr. DIRTcar title and has two tour triumphs in 2008. O’Brien also copped the ’07 series stop last September at Can-Am while Bicknell’s two wins at the LaFargeville, New York layout were registered in 1991 and ’94. 

Eastern States Weekend activity continues on Sunday with a full program of DIRTcar UMP Pro Stock action, DIRTcar Big-Block Modified consolation round qualifiers and the 47^th running of the Eastern States 200 Modified Championship finale. Pit gates and grandstands are slated to open at 8 am followed by the popular Race Against Drugs Pit Party that runs on the front stretch from 9:30-10:30 am.