Scarborough Moving Up, Kline Hitting the Road; Rudolph Returns; Other Tidbits

Johnny Scarborough, one of Fonda Speedway's top sportsman drivers for quite some time, will be making the move up to the big-block modified division in 2012 with the help of legendary car-owner Marty Burdick (who will supply the engines). Scarborough will once again call Fonda Speedway home, but plans on doing a bit of traveling. He has confirmed to Area Auto Racing News that he will be at Volusia in February, and will also run the big-block portion of Selinsgrove.

Speaking of Selinsgrove, look for an announcement about a raised purse for both the small block and the big block races this year. They've already announced both nights will pay $300 to take the green.

Jesse Kline is in the process of purchasing a PA-Legal 358 per Randy Kane. He will use that motor and an older car to travel to select RoC events and also plans to attempt the Freedom 76er at Grandview. He will still run weekly at Orange County Fair Speedway on Saturdays, but may run a few select events with the PA-Legal 358 at Accord on Friday nights. Jesses's dad, Bruce Kline, will focus solely on racing at Orange County on Saturday nights, but with a newer chassis.

Asphalt modified star Erick Rudolph will return to dirt modifieds after a one-year absence. Rudolph will run weekly at Ransomville Speedway with some traveling mixed in. Rudolph's main focus will be on the asphalt modified division once again. He will be driving an Heinke-Baldwin Motorsports car in both asphalt and dirt modified competition.

No surprise here, but Brett Hearn has confirmed he will once again be attending Volusia in February.

Look for Grandview Speedway to replace the RoC Dirt Tour event that was on their schedule in 2011 with a return of the Super DIRTcar Series.

Lernerville Speedway is also interested in bringing the Super DIRTcar Series back to PA.

Two rumors floating around are; Team FAST, which fielded cars for Meme and A.J. DeSantis over the past few seasons, is selling out, and that Jimmy Horton is out of the Dick Biever owned #14 for 2012. Both of these tidbits are rumors, I'll see if I can dig anything up on either.

Friesen Sweeps Last Races of 2011

Here are the results from Wall...

Friday
1st 1 Stewart Friesen
2nd 44 John McClelland
3rd 94 Joey Payne
4th 77 Steve Folk
5th 51m Dom Buffalino

Saturday
1st 1 Stewart Friesen
2nd 711 Mike Iles
3rd zero3 Zach Aubertine
4th 28 Tommy Carberry
5th 44 Johnny McClelland

Check back for tomorrow for news, final win lists, and other info.

Happy Thanksgiving! Another New Series?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and before we all stuff our faces (something I'm very good at) I wanted to thank all you guys that check out this blog. I know I don't get a ton of traffic over here, and I like it that way. Its a blast for me coming on here and chatting racing, and I know I'm not always the best at updating this thing frequently enough, so thank you guys for being patient with me on that front too. I appreciate those of you that do read, and am proud to call all of you friends. I wish all of you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Now, back to business, it appears there could be a Dirt Asphalt Tour in the works for 2012. The tour, which would run Airborne dirt-rules, is still a long way from being finalized. If the tour were to go through, look for the series to only run 4-6 races in 2012, and expand in the future based on the success of this season. Airborne, Oswego, Dunn Tire, and St. Crouix are a few of the tracks being considered if the series goes through. Check back for updates.

Friesen Tidbits; Bridgeport Results

Stewart Friesen will not return to Five Mile Point Speedway weekly in 2012. He will instead call Fonda Speedway his home track in 2012 with the Tad Parks team. If Albany-Saratoga Speedway becomes DIRTcar sanctioned, Friesen will call Albany his Friday night home instead of Brewerton in the Burdick Racing 85. He will continue to drive the Tom Cullen 1wgc car at Utica Rome on Sundays, and will run the RoC and most of the Super DIRTcar Series in 2012.

Stewart Friesen will also run this weekend at Wall in the dirt and SK modified divisions. He will run the Jimmy Blewett owned 1 car he previously drove in the Friends of Mike race at New Egypt Speedway earlier in the season.

Here are the weekend results, 1/4 mile ran on Saturday, big track ran on Sunday.

Bridgeport Speedway 1/4 Mile (Open Mods $1,000 to win)
1st 01 Brett Ballard
2nd 0 Richie Pratt
3rd 6 John Stangle
4th 42s Jack Swain
5th 307 Sean Gunter

Bridgeport Speedway (big blocks $3,000 to win)
1st 4 Duane Howard
2nd 14 Jimmy Horton
3rd 51m Dom Buffalino
4th 0 Richie Pratt
5th 42s Jack Swain

JR Motorsports Update; Langenstein to Run Mods?

As reported on here previously, Johnny Rea, owner of JR Motorsports which fielded cars for Ryan Godown in 2011, is selling out. Rea is looking to sell the equipment to Godown if sponsors help Godown acquire the equipment.

IMCA-style modified racer Austin Langenstein, sponsored by long time dirt racing supporter Rifenburg Construction, appears to be running a limited schedule of northeast big-block modified races in 2012. Stay tuned for updates on where he'll be running.

First Preview for 2012

Here's a shot of Pete Bicknell's 2012 paint scheme. Bicknell ended his season early this year after have surgery to relieve pain in his back. Look for the car to be features at the Parts Peddler all weekend long in the NY State Fairgrounds.

Bridgeport This Weekend

Bridgeport Speedway will host the final dirt-racing modified weekend of the season (dirt mods will run on the asphalt at Wall next weekend to officially close out 2011) with action this Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is a complete show for the modifieds on the 1/4 mile as they battle it out for $1,000 to win, and on Sunday the big-block modifieds tackle the big track at Bridgeport in a 40-lap $3,000 to win feature event.

PA Modified Speedweek?

It looks like our dreams will finally come true in 2012, as it looks like we may finally get our Pennsylvania Modified Speedweek we've been asking for. More information will be publicly released later in the off-season, but Joe Kaminski and the people in charge of the Selinsgrove Ice Breaker Weekend in March are the masterminds behind the dream week.

Tidbits; Weekend Results

Sunday Results

Big Blocks

Hagerstown Speedway (50 laps $10,000 to win)
1st 20 Brett Hearn
2nd 26 Ryan Godown
3rd 9s Matt Sheppard
4th 1w Jamie Mills
5th 14 Jimmy Horton

Penn Can Speedway (50 laps $5,000 to win)
1st 1 Stewart Friesen
2nd 357 Jeff Strunk
3rd 42p Pat Ward
4th 98H Jimmy Phelps
5th 280 Justin Holland

Mahoning Valley Speedway
1st 77 Steve Folk
2nd 19 Dave Thomas
3rd 31 Tom Creamer
4th 87 Bruce Gsell
5th 42 D.J. Wagner


Small Blocks

Hagerstown Speedway (50 laps $5,000 to win)
1st 20 Brett Hearn
2nd 99L Larry Wight
3rd 7 Rick Laubach
4th 9s Matt Sheppard
5th 39 J.R. Heffner

With Can Am Motorsports Park switching to Saturday nights in 2012, 3-time track champion Billy Dunn will not return to run weekly at Can Am. Instead, Dunn will continue to run weekly at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on Saturday nights. Dunn's 358 equipment is for sale.

Mitch Gibbs only ran part-time this season for the O'Hare Racing team, but in 2012 that will change. Gibbs has announced the team will run weekly on Friday nights at I-88 Speedway. He later reported in an interview on DougsDirtDiary.com that he may also run Utica Rome Speedway and do some select traveling.

Asphalt modified star, turned dirt modified chauffeur Jimmy Blewett has announced that he will add a second weekly home track to his schedule in 2012. He will run Friday nights at Big Diamond Speedway along with his weekly racing at New Egypt Speedway on Saturday nights. He also is already looking towards Super DIRT Week in October, where he will make his first attempt at the S.E.F. 200.

Multi-time Mercer Raceway Park track champion, Frank Guidace, will have a family member racing against him in 2012. Frank's 16-year old daughter, Makayla Guidace, will be a weekly competitor in the 358 division at Mercer next season. Makayla ran hot laps for Frank for most of the season, but did not run an actual race yet.

Fastnacht Done; JR Next?

Terry Fastnacht, owned of the Mike Gular #53 has decided to sell out now that the 2011 season is over. Fastnacht has been involved in fielding cars on the Pennsylvania small block scene for years for Danny Erb before teaming up with Gular. Gular won a Penn Can Speedway championship with the team, and between Erb and Gular Fastnacht was able to claim a bundle of wins at Big Diamond and Grandview as well. We wish Terry the best of luck in future.

We've heard from reliable sources that JR Motorsports may be the next team to sell out, but the rumor is unconfirmed. JR Motorsports (Johnny Rea is the owner) has fielded cars for Ryan Godown, Keith Hoffman, Jeff Strunk, Rick Laubach and has picked up multiple wins in the Coalcracker 100 and has claimed a few Big Diamond championships. Godown, who drove the car last year, may end up buying all of Rea's equipment to remain a weekly competitor at Big Diamond and Grandview. Again, these are unconfirmed reports.

Weekend Recap

Here are the results from this past weekend...

11/4 Results

Big Blocks

Dirt Track at Charlotte (Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series)
1st 4 Tim McCreadie
2nd 9s Matt Sheppard
3rd 74 Tim Fuller
4th 14 Jimmy Horton
5th 98H Jimmy Phelps

11/5 Results

Big Blocks

Dirt Track at Charlotte (Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series)
1st 4 Tim McCreadie
2nd 9s Matt Sheppard
3rd 91 Billy Decker
4th 98H Jimmy Phelps
5th 74 Tim Fuller

New Egypt Speedway (Open Comp.)
1st 89 John Willman
2nd 59 Tad Cox
3rd 27 Dave Hunt
4th 28 Tommy Carberry Jr
5th 29 Sammy Piazza

Matt Sheppard picked up his second consecutive Super DIRTcar Series title with his pair of 2nd place finishes at Charlotte.

This weekend, the big blocks and small blocks will be action at Hagerstown Speedway for Octoberfest. The small blocks will be racing for $5,000 to win, with the big blocks running for $10,000 to win. Qualifying is on Saturday with feature events on Sunday afternoon. Penn Can Speedway will also have the $5,000 to win King of the Can for the big-blocks on Sunday afternoon.

Holy Snow Batman

I apologize for how long its been since my last post, but the internet and cable have been out at home since Saturday. Gotta love the snow.

As I'm sure you guys know, Jimmy Phelps won the only race ran last weekend while Billy Decker picked up the RoC title. Mahoning Valley's finale was canceled, Kris Graver has been crowned champion.

World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte comes up this weekend on Friday and Saturday (qualifying Thursday) and New Egypt Speedway is running an open comp. show for the modifieds.