DIRTcar Racing NorthEast 2007 Season Ender!!

Weedsport, NY - 2007 marked the 32nd consecutive year of operation for DIRTcar Racing NorthEast. The past season emerged most rewarding for recently crowned DIRTcar NE champions Brett Hearn, Mario Clair, Joe Williams, Pete Stefanski and Scott Smith with the season-long Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds and companion traveling tours for 358-Modified, Sportsman, UMP Pro Stock and UMP Street Stock teams once again laying the foundation for these five overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRTcar titlists.
 
Chronicled in the DIRTcar NE record book, 772 main events ­ Big-Block Modified 194, 358-Modified 147, Sportsman 222, UMP Pro Stock 100, UMP Street Stock 109 ­ were staged at 36 speedways with 20 Big-Block drivers, nine Small-Blockers, 34 Sportsman pilots, 10 UMP Pro Stock wheelmen and 19 UMP Street Stock chauffeurs reaching victory lane for the first time. 79 of those features were extra-distance touring events that were staged from March through October.
 
Advance Auto Parts Modified winner Hearn collected the $60,000 top prize from the annual DIRTcar NorthEast Banquet for his record-tying sixth overall Big-Block title. First-time Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified champion Clair pocketed $12,000 while Sportsman titlist Williams earned $7,000. Stefanski became the first back-to-back champion in full-fender Pro Stock tour competition and took home $2,000 while Scott Smith claimed the first-ever Caprara Bros. Outdoor Toy Store Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock high-point honors worth a cool grand.
 
While fresh off his first career Small-Block Championship in 2006, Hearn claimed his initial overall Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified crown in 1990 as Clair earned the coveted 358-Modified crown in his initial season following the entire tour stateside. Hearn (14) topped the season victory list with Series stars Danny Johnson (11) and Jimmy Phelps (10) the only other drivers to reach double figures. Success didn't stop there as Hearn matched Canadian chauffeurs Pete Bicknell, Yan Bussiere, David Hebert and Laurent Ladouceur with seven wins in 358-Modified competition by season's end.
 
Hearn used an Advance Auto Parts Series-best seven wins to improve his career tour total to 98 which ranks him first all-time. Only Alan Johnson (350) owns more Big-Block feature wins although Hearn (339) continues to be recognized as DIRTcar Racing NE's
all-time open-wheel leader with 508. The 'Jet' (169) also stands behind only Bicknell (190) on DIRT NorthEast's 358-Modified all-time list although he remains the career 358 Mr. DIRTcar Series race winner with 66 extra-distance triumphs.
 
2007 was a break-out season for Williams as he brought the 18th Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman title chase to a close in record-setting fashion, establishing the new tour standard with seven triumphs and tying the previous mark after recording four straight Series wins in the first half-dozen shows. Coming into '07 he had totaled eight feature wins on the DIRTcar NE circuit since 2004 and recorded just three top-five finishes in tour competition without a single feature win. He ended the season ranked fifth with nine victories at seven different tracks to increase his DIRTcar count to 17.
 
2007 marked the 13th season that DIRTcar Racing offered a Mr. DIRTcar title for the premier Pro Stockers and it ended with the first back-to-back champion in division history. Moving his weekly home to Genesee Speedway, full-fender standout Stefanski exhibited his superiority throughout the entire season at the Fairgrounds oval winning 11 features to secure his first track points title. He concluded the season with a division-high win total for the third straight time, reaching victory lane 17 times at 4 tracks to make him DIRTcar Racing NorthEast's all-time career win leader with 66. Three tour victories in '07 also places him second on the all-time Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock Series win list with 14 first-place trophies.
 
The past season was highlighted by the crowning of the first-ever overall Street Stock Champion. Inaugural Caprara Bros. Outdoor Toy Store Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock titlist Smith racked up 8 top-5 feature finishes in 12 races held at 8 different New York State tracks to secure first-place honors. The Finger Lakes Region runner scored two tour triumphs at DIRTcar charter members Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and Cayuga County Fair Speedway while being recognized as a weekend warrior at Canandaigua Speedway where he finished 4th in points with one win in 2007.
 
An impressive influx of new talent on the DIRTcar Racing NorthEast circuit in 2007 helped account for 73 first-time feature winners in one of the most competitive seasons ever. Headed by Motorsports Safety Systems/G-FORCE Rookie of the Year award winners Mike Bowman (Advance Auto Parts Big-Block Modified), Eric Landry (358-Modified), Larry Wight (Sportsman) and Jocelyn Roy (UMP Pro Stock), some of those same drivers made a return trip to the winner's circle, gaining even more familiarity with solid showings in their respective home track point standings.
 
The 2008 race season is expected to bring further success as DIRTcar continues to raise the level of excitement in the world of short-track auto racing. It all begins this coming February when racers make their annual pilgrimage to Florida for the start of DIRTcar Racing NorthEast's 33rd straight season. The 37th Annual DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park will be highlighted by the 20th trip to the Sunshine State for the DIRTcar Big-Block contingent with Florida Tour '08 featuring the mighty Advance Auto Parts Modifieds during the week of Feb. 13-16.

From Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director