Higbie Staying Put

Looks like Jerry Higbie will remain with the Petruska Racing 66. As I said earlier, the rumors were hard to believe, but the longer they went on, the more I decided to look into it. Luckily, I didn't have to do much research as Jerry posted on South Jersey Dirt Racing that he will remain with the team in 2011.

Pratt Ends the Year 4 for 4

Richie Pratt officially closed out the 2010 racing season with a sweep at Wall Speedway's Turkey Derby. Patrick Dupree set fast time both nights, but it was Richie Pratt who came away with the wins both nights. Richie Pratt won the last 4 dirt modified races of the 2010 racing season, as he won at Bridgeport Speedway and Georgetown Speedway the previous 2 weeks before sweeping the weekend at Wall Speedway.

There have been many reports that Jerry Higbie and the Petruska Racing team have parted ways. I'll try to get an answer for you guys, but from what I've been told lately, he'll still be in the car in 2011. Danny Johnson ran the car at Bridgeport Speedway last weekend because Higbie had prior committments. Danny Johnson, Clinton Mills, and Michael Storms have all been linked as replacements for Higbie in the #66 modified team.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It's very late I know, but Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope everyone has a great day!

Chuck Hossfeld Going Dirt Racing

Asphalt modified star Chuck Hossfeld has purchased a new Troyer dirt modified and a 358 motor to go small block modified racing, at least part-time, in 2011. Hossfeld announced in an interview on DougsDirtDiary.com that along with running his asphalt stuff, he'll also run a partial dirt schedule next year. He announced that the track he'll frequent the most is Ransomville Speedway on Friday nights.

Pratt Wins Final Dirt Race of the Year

Richie Pratt got around Danny Johnson on the final lap to pick up the final modified race on dirt for 2010. This race was also the final Tri-Track Series race, and even though he clinched it with his second place finish last week at Georgetown Speedway, Rick Laubach has won his third consecutive Tri-Track Series title.

Danny Johnson was in the Petruska 66, Jimmy Horton was in the Michaels Brothers 51m, and Duane Howard was in the Dieter Schmidt 5 yesterday. Don't look into any of those pairings being together in 2011.

The final dirt modified race will take place next weekend at Wall Speedway's Turkey Derby, and they'll have two $500 to win features, and the overall winner after both days will receive $3,000.

Also, the Parts Peddler was this weekend. There are photos of 2011 paint schemes for Billy Decker, Ted Lamb, and Jimmy Phelps posted on Doug's Dirt Diary website. Also, Matt Harrell has the 2011 paint scheme for the Harvey Motorsports #43 posted on his website. Harrell took over that ride mid-season this past season.

Howard/BPG Split?

Rumors have been swirling around for a few weeks that Duane Howard and BPG Racing may be parting ways. Honestly, I didn't believe the rumors at all, however, I know have some of my reliable sources telling me the same thing. Chad Sinon tells us that we can expect to hear an announcement (my guess would be via a Ernie Saxton press release on SouthJerseyDirtRacing.com) within the next few weeks. Expect people to be shocked by the announcement.

Remember, Howard will be in the Dieter Schmidt #5 this weekend at Bridgeport Speedway, but that shouldn't be looked into too much since the BPG Racing team had planned on being done by this time regardless.

Originally posted on SJDR but now confirmed via AARN, Frank Cozze will be running 410 sprints in 2011. I'm trying to find out whether or not he'll continue to run specials with his modified. Stay tuned.

Chad James wil drive for Jake Marine in 2011 in special shows. James will continue to drive the J&J Racing 27 weekly at Bridgeport Speedway. James ran a few end of the year shows with Marine, and Marine was happy with the performance seen by Chad James. Expect to see H.J. Bunting continue to run the car on a weekly basis at Delaware International Speedway, although that has not been confirmed.

Jeremy Wilder Moving to Big Blocks

Up and comer Jeremy Wilder, who's spent the past 2 seasons running his 358 modified on the 358 Series trail and weekly at Fonda and Glen Ridge, will make the move up to big blocks in 2011. While Wilder hasn't announced his 2011 plans yet, my guess if he'd continue to run Glen Ridge and Fonda regularly, since both tracks run big blocks weekly (he was running his 358 against the big blocks at both tracks). Expect Wilder to travel quite a bit next season.

Pratt Wins Georgetown

As the season continues to come to a close, Georgetown Speedway hosted the Tri-Track Series 2nd last event on the year. Richie Pratt, after suffering tough luck throughout most of the year, was able to pick up the $3,000 victory over Rick Laubach, who continued to extend his points lead in his dominating season on the Tri-Track Series circuit.

Duane Howard's BPG Racing team has called it a year, but according to 4fan in the chat box, Duane Howard will be racing at Bridgeport this weekend in the Dieter Schmidt #5. Huge thanks for 4fan for the info.

I added Dan Mazy and Kevin Bates to the driver website links on the side. Over the off-season I'll go through and clean out some of the sites that have gone off-line. If you see any big or small block drivers I'm missing, let me know and I'll post them up right away!

I Screwed Up! Sheeler didn't win!

My mistake, Roy Sheeler was not the winner of the Fantasy League. Thank goodness he's a good sport. You can't get much closer than the final standings are! I can't thank you guys enough for playing, and I can't thank Zach Aubertine, Area Auto Racing News, and Mike Feltenberger/Stapped In Magazine enough for all their help. I hope you all had a good time, be sure to vote on the poll so I can improve the fantasy league to however you want it to be for 2011! Thanks again guys!

Here's the link, http://jw4.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=295

Sheppard Champ: McCreadie and Phelps Win; Sheeler Wins Fantasy League

Sorry guys, I've been busy. As I'm sure you guys know (or watched in person or on TV) the World Finals were this past weekend. They featured the final two races for the Super Dirt Series.

Friday night was a wash, so both races were run on Saturday. In the early race, Jimmy Phelps pitted for tires on lap 15, and then watched the rest of the field blow tires on the rubbered up surface. He sat second to Tim Fuller until the final lap, when Fuller's right rear went flat allowed Jimmy Phelps to pick up the win and move closer to Matt Sheppard for the Super Dirt Series championship.

The Saturday night race saw Matt Sheppard lead 3/4 of the race in dominating fashion until a late race restart allowed Tim McCreadie to go around the outside and pick up another win in the Vinnie Salerno #4. Sheppard's second place finish was enough for him to pick up his first career Super Dirt Series championship!

Despite what some people think, the racing season didn't end with the World Finals. Bridgeport Speedway, Georgetown Speedway, and Wall Speedway all have shows for dirt modifieds over the next few weeks.

Roy Sheeler won the Wago Crown Jewel Fantasy League, which pockets him a free pass for the 2011 season to the track of his choice, and a free 6-month subscription to Area Auto Racing News. I apologize for falling behind, but I haven't tallied up the official final scores, however, Sheeler had picked Hearn (4th) and Sheppard (2nd) to give him a total of 6 points for the weekend, and he had a 7 point lead going into the finale, so its impossible for him to be overtaken. The final standings will be posted before the end of the week. Remember, the 8th place finisher receives all three 2010 issues of Strapped In Magazine!

Bill Torissi has announced that he will retire from modified racing. After only running a partial schedule this season, the long-time Ransomville small block modified regular will call it a career. We wish Bill the best of luck in the future, and we'll certainly miss seeing that 7NY out on the track. Thanks to "person" for giving me the info!

Off-season Plans

Hey guys, just letting you know what's going to go on during the off-season on here. Nothing too exciting. Where I currently post the links to the Club Wago Fantasy League standings I'm going to add 2 new links there. I'm going to do a driver chart again this year (to see what I'm talking about, view last year's chart herewhich I will update all throughout the off-season and will post driver's 2011 plans when they become available.

I'm also going to post a silly-season chart, which I will probably have started in the next day or two. The only thing that I'll post on there will be things that are official, so for instance, if I'd have it ready I'd have on there that Doug Manmiller left the Breitenstein Racing team, Ryan Susice and Chris Raabe are moving up to small blocks, and that Michael Storms is out of the Vinnie Salerno car, because those are all things that are official. Even though it looks likely that it'll happen, since it's not official, the Rick Laubach and Johnny Rea news won't be on the chart until it is official. I'll update each of those entries on there as updates come in as well.

If you guys have anything else you'd like me to post or get on here over the off-season shoot me an e-mail at Jman97531@aol.com or just post in the chat box or comment on this post. Thank you guys for supporting me all year again!

World Finals Entry List

1 Billy Pauch Frenchtown, NJ
3D Matt Delorenzo Cropesville, NY
5H Chris Hile Spencer, NY
7 Rick Laubach Hellertown, PA
8 Rich Scagliotta Bound Brook, NJ
9s Matt Sheppard Geneva, NY
10 Kyle Stickler Mooresville, NC
10V Bobby Varin Sharon Springs, NY
16 Lance Willix Theresa, NY
19H Chris Higgins Raleigh, NC
20 Brett Hearn Sussex, NJ
21K Randy Chrysler Lewiston, NY
21M Bob McGannon Garnerville, NY
T21 Roger Chrysler Lewiston, NY
23 Billy VanInwegen Sparrow Bush, NY
24 Chris Shultz Pawling, NY
27J Danny Johnson Rochester, NY
29 Jeff Brownell Geneva, NY
29E Erik Martin Evan City, PA
32C Vic Coffey Caledonia, NY
33 Mike Mahaney King Ferry, NY
37MD Jeremiah Shingledecker Polk, PA
39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY
42P Pat Ward Genoa, NY
43 Keith Flach Ravena, NY
44 Frank Cozze Wind Gap, PA
48too Dave Rauscher Waterloo, NY
49 Billy Dunn Watertown, NY
56 Vinnie Vitale Phoenix, NY
57 Donnie Corellis Averill Park, NY
62S Tom Sears Clay, NY
65 Rex King Bristolville, OH
71 David VanHorn Harmony, NJ
71B Don Brown Butler, PA
74 Tim Fuller Watertown, NY
88C Billy Pauch Jr. Frenchtown, NJ
91 Billy Decker Franklin, NY
98H Jimmy Phelps Baldwinsville, NY
99 Larry Wight Phoenix, NY
99 Ryan Phelps Fulton, NY
115 Kenny Tremont West Sand Lake, NY
165 Rex King Jr. Bristolville, OH

As I posted earlier on here, this list is not official. We know that Jimmy Horton, Alan Johnson, Gary Tomkins, and Stewart Friesen will all be in attendance for the event even though they aren't entered. Michel Chicoine also informed me that he will be going to the World Finals, however, he told me that the week before Syracuse and I haven't talked to him since, so his plans may have changed. Ryan and Mark Forte Jr. are two more drivers that will be racing despite not being on the initial entry list. Jerry Higbie and Dave Murdick are two drivers that were planning on racing at the World Finals but have scrapped their plans due to certain situations.

Wago Fantasy League Updated!

http://jw4.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=293

There's the link to the Club Wago Crown Jewel Fantasy League standings presented by Area Auto Racing News and Zach Aubertine Motorsports which have been updated after Hagerstown. Also special thanks to Strapped In Magazine! There are only two races left, and both are this coming weekend at Charlotte. There are a ton of people that are still mathematically alive in the league!

Hearn Wins again at Octoberfest; Doctor takes Five Mile Point but Friesen takes RoC Title

Two big races highlighted the weekend for modified racing fans. First, on Saturday night, the RoC Dirt Tour came to a conclusion at Five Mile Point Speedway. Danny Johnson, Stewart Friesen, and Pat Ward went into the night all with a good chance to take home the RoC title. Danny Johnson did all he could to win the title as he picked up the $5,555 feature win, but Stewart Friesen's second place finish was enough to eclipse Johnson by a single point and claim his first ever RoC title.

Then, Octoberfest at Hagerstown Speedway had the big block modifieds racing for $10,000, Brett Hearn dominated the race and went on to collect the win. In the small block race, which was knocked down to only $5,000 to win because of having a low car count (even though they had the second highest car count of the week.) Tim McCreadie dominated and picked up his second consecutive small block win in the event.

Dirt Track Digest has the entry list for the World Finals which includes the big block modifieds. Note that there are a few drivers we know are going that aren't entered, such as Jimmy Horton and Stewart Friesen.