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BREWERTON, NY – As Dale Planck stood next his racecar in victory lane he kept waiting for someone to come up and pinch him to make it official that he wasn’t dreaming and that he’d actually won the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series 100-lap event at the Brewerton Speedway.
For Planck it was his second career Modified series victory, his first ever on American soil. His first and only win at the time came over one year ago at the Cornwall Motor Speedway in Ontario, Canada.
Planck secured $6,000 for his efforts and moved up to fifth in the overall Mr. DIRTcar Championship series point standings.
“This is a credit to my guys who busted their asses tonight changing tires, shocks and gears every time I came in as we tried to keep up with the track,” said Planck. “We’ve struggled as of late and we really needed a good run to get us back in the thick of the points chase.”
Planck, who finished second in his heat race event, redrew the fifth starting spot. The Cortland, N.Y. driver patiently worked his way forward to challenge for the lead. Then, on a lap 42 restart, he passed Alan Johnson using the middle groove in turns three and four of the speedway to take the lead. He led the final 58 laps to secure the victory for his Jacobs Motorsports team.
“I passed Alan Johnson on a slick track,” commented an elated Planck in victory lane. “I have got to be dreaming. I know any minute now I’m probably going to wake up.”
A. Johnson, of Middlesex, N.Y., brought his new Morrison powered Bicknell home in the second position. His best finish in a series event since his win at Fulton Speedway back on June 9.
Pat Ward made a rare series start in his John Wight owned ride. He worked his way up early in the event from the ninth starting position to finish in third.
Justin Haers, who started 26th, used the same middle groove as Planck to take home the fourth position while Tim Fuller drove his John Lazore racing no. 19 to a fifth place finish.
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GETTING STARTED: Johnson, who started on the pole of the event, immediately took the lead as the race commenced. He utilized the extreme bottom of the speedway on the very slick racing surface forcing anyone that wanted to challenge him to go the outside of the speedway.
PRACTICING RESTARTS: On lap 21, the initial caution came out for Billy Price as he nearly hit the wall in turn one as he came to a stop. On the restart Pat O’Brien had his left front wheel torn off by an implement tire and Vic Coffey got tangled together with Steve Hulsizer. The second attempt was slowed when Mitch Gibbs and Sean Beardsley became hooked together in turn four.
MOVING AROUND: Even though he went backwards early in his Kevlar powered Bicknell, Planck began making strides by the 25th circuit. He got back inside the top five just five laps later. The reason for the success was that he finally found a line where his car was good.
“I ran the bottom early on and started going backwards,” said Planck. “Then I moved to the top and found nothing. I cruised the middle and the car worked best there. It was one of those deals where I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was.”
TAKING THE LEAD: On lap 36, Planck got by Ward for second and slowly started to close in on the race-leader Johnson. His break came on lap 41 when Willy Decker broke on the back straightaway and Hulsizer drove into his side ending the night for both drivers bringing out a caution. This gave Planck the opportunity he needed as he pulled alongside Johnson for the restart. He immediately got the advantage on Johnson and was able to complete the pass as the pair exited turn four one lap later.
“It’s awesome any time you get to race Alan Johnson,” stated Planck. “When he has as many wins as he has and for me to have as few as I do makes it even better when you can go out there and get an edge on him.”
ONE MORE CAUTION: The final caution of the event came out for Paul Kinney on lap 50. Kinney slowed on the front straightaway and stopped right in front of the flagger’s stand setting up a single file restart. Planck again assumed the lead and pulled away from Johnson.
THE HARD PART: With the extended green flag run that brought the race to conclusion. Planck was forced to contend with slower traffic at the tail of the field by lap 77. Several times the traffic was three wide as they battled for position forcing Planck to try different lines besides the middle one that had gotten him to the front.
“I had a hard time trying to get by a few of those lapped cars,” commented Planck. “They were running my line so I had to try something else. I went to the bottom a few times but I still wasn’t good down there and I couldn’t pass them. I was really worried because I kept waiting to see Alan (Johnson) pull alongside of me because it was taking me so long to get by them.”
STUCK ON THE BOTTOM: Although traffic slowed his progress late in the event, Planck was still able to secure the victory meaning Johnson had to settle with a runner-up finish. The biggest problem for Johnson was that he couldn’t run the middle line nearly as good as Planck forcing him to keep his mount low in the corners looking for traction.
“I tried to run out where Dale (Planck) was running,” said Johnson. “I wasn’t any good out there. Every time I hit the gas I couldn’t get any bit and I just spun the tires.”
ALL SMILES: Even though he didn’t win the event, Johnson was all smiles after coming home in the second position. It was a much needed boost for the team that hasn’t had many strong finishes on the series as of late.
“I can’t complain about a second place finish and I never will,” stated Johnson. “I never want to give up the lead by lately I’ve gotten to know the other side of the coin all to well and this is a good run.”
JUST OFF: Ward, utilizing and Enders powered Bicknell, started the event strong and worked from ninth to second in only 25 laps. He challenged A. Johnson several times for the lead but never was able to secure the pass. In the end he settled for a third place finish when Planck shot by them both on the outside.
“We were really strong in the early going and I thought I was going to be in trouble at the end,” said Ward. “I got to Alan (Johnson) a few times but he was much better getting off the turns than I was. The middle of the track wasn’t bad early on but for some reason as the race went on I couldn’t get any bite out there. We were just a little bit off on the setup.”
QUALIFYING: Planck set fast time for the evening and picked up $100 courtesy of Integra Shocks with a lap of 15.483. Four heat races were held for the 38 cars attempting to qualify with wins going to Ward, Danny Johnson, Fuller and A. Johnson. The pair of consolation events were won by Mitch Gibbs and Steve Paine. Planck secured the Rite-Aid 200 guaranteed starting position.
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In other action, Kevan Cook won the 25-lap Empire State Series event for the IMCA Modifieds; Doug Williams won the 20-lap ESDCA Mod-Lite feature.
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series Race #12 – Brewerton Speedway, August 3, 2007: Dale Planck, Alan Johnson, Pat Ward, Justin Haers, Tim Fuller, Billy Decker, Jimmy Phelps, Brett Hearn, Danny Johnson, Matt Sheppard, Vic Coffey, Gary Tomkins, Steve Paine, Roy Bresnahan, Tom Sears Jr., Billy Dunn, Sean Beardsley, Kevin Bates, Ryan Phelps, Vince Vitale, Jim Witko Jr., Billy Price, Mitch Gibbs, Paul Kinney, Frank Cozze, Willy Decker, Steve Hulsizer, Jeremy Smith, Chuck Bower, Pat O'Brien DNQ: Chad Phelps, Kyle Lewis, Jeff Isabell, Wallace Stacey, Roy Shields, Tim Sears, Dan Vauter, Chad Homan
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