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KIRKWOOD, NY – When Stewart Friesen got out of his car in Victory Lane on Saturday night he called Five Mile Point Speedway the “moody quarter-mile.” A proper assessment considering every driver left on the speedway except for one was required to pit for a new tire at some point during the 37th running of the Race of Champions Dart Dirt Tour Southern Tier 100.
“This place is the moody quarter-mile,” laughed Friesen after the win. “I ran 150 laps at Syracuse and didn’t go through tires like I did here tonight.”
It was Friesen’s first career win in the Southern Tier 100 as well as his first ever Race of Champions Dart Dirt series victory.
“This is a pretty special win,” stated Friesen. “There is a lot of history in this race and to come here and win tonight definitely feels good.”
Friesen walked away with $5,500 for his efforts after he picked up the 358-Modified bonus giving him two huge wins at the end of the season. Friesen also won Utica-Rome Speedway’s season ending New Yorker 200 worth $10,000.
“I have to thank Skip and Mariann Albanese,” stated Friesen. “We’ve had an incredible run here at the end of the season and I’m going to ride this wave as long as I can.”
Friesen, of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. started the race on the inside of the tenth row. By the tenth circuit he had worked his way inside the top ten and continued to set a strong pace to the front. By the halfway point of the event he was running third behind Jack and Ronnie Johnson.
The caution came out for Jack Johnson on lap 80 when he got a flat tire with Friesen also finding himself with a right rear flat. The two rear tires were changed and Friesen worked back through the field in the final 20 laps to take the lead on lap 96 when Ronnie Johnson got his flat tire. He held off Brian Weaver for the final four laps to score the win.
Weaver, of Windsor, N.Y., pitted on the same lap as Friesen and challenged him in the closing laps but couldn’t make the pass putting him second at the checkered flag.
Ward rebounded from nearly going a lap down early in the event to finish in third while claiming the 2007 Race of Champions Series Championship.
JR Hurlburt was the only driver not to pit for new tires during the event and he finished fourth with his Troyer ride. Mike Colsten, also in a Troyer, completed the top five.
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LEGENDARY LEADER: Jack Johson, piloting Alton and Carole Palmer’s No.76a, took the early advantage from his pole-starting position with his son Ronnie moving into second by the time the caution flag came out on lap six for Jackie Brown Jr as well as Ward.
LONG GREEN FLAG RUN: The race got back underway with the pair of Johnson’s on top of the heap. Jack continued to lead over his son as the entered lap traffic on lap 12. Jack was perfect in traffic as he worked the rubber line on the inside of the speedway to negotiate the slower traffic. Just as Johnson was about to put series champion Ward a lap down the caution came out for Wade Decker on lap 21.
SURVIVING CAUTIONS: Several cautions came out with Jack Johnson surviving each of them to keep his ride out in front. On lap 55, as Johnson was attempting to lap Mike Trautschold on the front straight away the two almost came together ending Johnson’s night earlier than expected. Johnson was able to get by but Trautschold brought out the caution when he spun on the back straightaway on the very same lap.
END OF HIS RUN: Jack gave the lead up to Ronnie Johnson on lap 79 and one lap later brought out the caution with a right rear flat. Also going pit-side for flat tires were eventually winner Friesen, Weaver and Ward. Friesen changed both rear tires with the assistance of the Grammes team.
“I have to thank the Grammes guys as they changed my tires,” said Friesen. “I had Jeff Strunk changing the right rear and Kevin Bates did the left rear. I wasn’t going to have them change it but they told me it was almost as bad as the right so we changed them both.”
TRYING TO MAKE IT: Ronnie Johnson took over the race lead with his No.12a, a car normally piloted by his father. He was attempting to go the entire distance without hitting pit road for a new American Racer tire on his Teo car.
COMING UP SHORT: On lap 95 Johnson’s luck ran out and he lost air in the right rear tire as he entered into turn one bringing out the caution for the final time in the event. As Johnson went to the pit area, Friesen now assumed the race lead with his two fresh rear tires.
FOUR MORE LAPS: Friesen had the lead but Weaver was right there in the runner-up position with fresh tires as well. Friesen got a good restart and gave himself some space but Weaver closed in and attempted to move underneath him several times before the checkered to no avail.
“I could hear him underneath me,” commented Friesen. “I wasn’t really worried because I knew I was on good tires and if I kept my exit speed up he (Weaver) wasn’t going to be able to get around me.”
TWO PIT STOPS: Unlike Friesen, Weaver was forced to make two pit stops in his run to a second place finish as his Randy Decker team changed the rear tires twice on his Wally Fiehl powered Bicknell ride.
“I have to give a lot of credit to my guys,” stated Weaver. “They changed the tires twice and we didn’t go a lap down.”
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Weaver did everything in his power in the closing laps to get around the Friesen ride but he was unable to get a good enough run off the corner to take the race lead away.
“He (Friesen) gave me plenty of room I just wasn’t fast enough,” said Weaver. “I got under him a couple times but I wasn’t going to knock him out of the way to get the win. It is my own fault because I didn’t get a good restart and I had to drive a lot harder to make up for that mistake.”
CONSERVATIVE CHAMPION: Just like Weaver, Ward was forced to pit two times in his run to a third place finish. He pitted once on lap six and then again on lap 80. In the final laps he watched as Friesen and Weaver raced for the lead and he sat in third.
“I was just lying back hoping they would make a mistake,” said Ward. “I was racing a little conservative because of the championship but I really don’t know how much I could have done considering they were both on fresh tires just like I was.”
QUALIFYING: Five heat races were held for the 43 cars in attendance with Weaver, JR Crouse, Ryan Grim, Ronnie Johnson and Roy Bresnehan. Billy Van Pelt and Jim Gabriel Jr. each won a consolation event.
RACE AWARDS: Jack Johnson won the $500 halfway bonus courtesy of Dale and Sue Smith Photography. Hurlburt won $250 from Five Mile Point Speedway for being the first regular across the line.
RACE OF CHAMPIONS DART DIRT MODIFIED TOUR FINALE THE 37TH SOUTHERN TIER 100 ON NATIONAL QUARTER MILE DIRT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND FINISH - Stewart Friesen, Brian Weaver, Pat Ward, JR Hurlburt, Mike Colsten, Joey Grammes, JR Crouse, Jerry Higbie, Jr., Carl Nagel, Ronnie Johnson, Jim Gabriel, Jr., Eric Palmer, Ken Titus, Wade Decker, Roy Bresnehan, Bob Hamm, Jr., Jackie Brown, Jr., Jack Johnson, Alan Johnson, Mike Trautschold, Joel Batzel, Danny Creeden, Mitch Gibbs, Ryan Moyer, Glenn Knapp, Jr., Billy Van Pelt, Ted Lamb, Jr. DNQ - Jason Smythe, Scott Brady, Bernie Kelly, Joey Colsten, Les Gillette, Darwin Greene, Dan Morden, Dennis Dietrich, Gerald Curry, Jeff Strunk, Butch Cerullo, Brent Wilcox, Dave Zona, Tim Votra, Chris Ostrowsky, Andy Bachetti.
LAP LEADERS; J. Johnson ( 1 – 79 ), R. Johnson ( 80 – 95 ), Friesen ( 96 – 100 )
FINAL TOP 15 IN POINTS; Ward – 682, R. Johnson – 639, Weaver – 619, Friesen – 591, Higbie – 539, D. Johnson – 519, Varin – 518, B. Decker – 506, Hearn – 500, Grammes – 498, Lamb – 478, W. Decker – 442, Bates – 433, Davis – 427, Colsten – 425.
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