Hearn Out ‘Smarts’ Granby Field, Scores 99th Career Advance Series Victory
Posted Friday, Jul 11, 2008
Granby, QUE — July 11, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
*Sylvain Buisson Photo

Reigning Mr. DIRTcar points king Brett King found his way back to the throne Friday night after registering the 99th Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series triumph of his career in the headline Budweiser 100 at Autodrome Granby.

Hearn’s narrow Advance Series victory on foreign soil was his seventh at Granby, where no other driver has reached the winner’s circle more than the perennial champion since the ‘Great Canadian Tour’ began to spread its roots in 1990.

“Quebec has been very good to me … the people have been very good and the tracks have been very good, so it feels even better to finally pick up our first win here,” said Hearn, 49, who held off a race-long rally by Central New York standout Jimmy Phelps to move within one win of the milestone mark of 100 on DIRTcar Racing NorthEast’s premier traveling tour for Big-Block Modifieds. “I have a lot of friends here, even though we haven’t been here with the Big-Block for a few years, it still feels just as good.”

Despite settling for his second straight runner-up finish, Phelps was nearly as content after charging from 22nd while two-time 2008 tour race winner Dale Planck, current Advance Series points leader Billy Decker and ’04 Mr. DIRTcar Champion Gary Tomkins filled out the front-five positions under the checkers. Hearn’s win also earned him guaranteed starter status in the prestigious Rite Aid 200 Championship race on Oct. 12 of Super DIRT Week XXXVII at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

“We’ve had some decent finishes but sometimes you do a little too much with the car when you’re trying to improve from a top-five to first-place in this series, the top guys are all that close. Tonight we just went back to some basic notes and used a standard set-up we had for this track. It wasn’t the best car but finally getting a win means it was still pretty good against these guys,” said Hearn, who didn’t score his first advance Series winlast year until July 3 at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park en route to his record-tying sixth overall Mr. DIRTcar Modified title.

With 39 cars signed in for the first trip back to Granby for Big-Block teams since the start of the new millennium, it felt just like old times for two-time track champion Steve Paine as he established a new single lap record around the spacious half-miler turning in a time of 18.410 sec. (97.773 mph) to collect his first Integra Shocks Fast Time Award of the season. Paine also scored a big 200-lap victory the last time the Advance Series all-stars competed at Autodrome Granby on Sept. 17, 2000, with Chuck Bower holding the track speed record during the eight-year layoff.

Yet after selecting ninth in the pre-race draw, Paine still had to wait 77 laps to take his first lead and that only lasted one circuit as Hearn grabbed it right back and held on for the remaining distance. Late race contact among the leaders resulted in a broken spindle on the Paine Motorsports no. 7x Tallmadge Tire-Swarthout Recycling-Instant Heat Wood Pellets/Troyer entry, with the ‘Hurricane’ dropping to 21st on the final scoresheet.

The 20th tour stop at Granby opened with second-year Advance Series follower Billy Dunn weaving his way from fourth to first in just two turns, with the talented 24 year-old from Watertown, New York setting a blistering pace steering the family owned no. 49 Number One Speed-Fast Lube of Watertown/Bicknell machine. Fellow tour traveler Matt Sheppard suffered a flat left-rear tire on lap five to force out the first yellow flag and the French-Canadian contingent of Kayle Robidoux, Dominic Dufault and Yan Bussiere quickly filed in behind ‘Big Gun’ Dunn for the ensuing restart.

Positions continued to swap among the front half of the pack as top point chasers jockeyed for room both high and low, making three-wide maneuvers in the turns as common as bumper-to-bumper drags down the long straightaways. While Dunn enjoyed a commanding lead in the early stages, Paine cracked the top-five by lap 10 and set his sights on fourth running Hearn with Dufault and Frankie Caprara closest to the leader.

Paine dug low in a dramatic three-wide maneuver on lap 17 although Dunn held steady to retain the point. Running 10th at the same time, Tomkins suddenly entered the fray as he put Doug Dulen’s Honeoye Auto Parts-Red Parker & Son Excavating/Bicknell ride past Hearn with 24 complete. A quarter of the way through, Dunn and Paine set the torrid pace followed by Dufault, Tomkins, Hearn and Decker, with Phelps already reaching 10th and hungry for more as he carved his way through the field.

The night came to an abrupt end for four-time Granby tour winner Danny Johnson when the front end came apart on lap 35 and sent the JIR Motorsports no. 27J Modified careening into the turn one wall. With caution laps counting, Hearn authored the move of the night on the lap 40 restart, drop-kicking Dunn from contention with one swift blow. Taking the green in fourth, the ‘Jet’ first sailed around Tomkins in turn one, mirrored the move past Dunn ---who had fallen victim to Paine exiting turn two--- then ducked under Paine rounding turn four to take his first lead of the night.

The action up front remained just as heavy at the midway point with Phelps filing into fifth as Hearn, Paine, Dunn and Tomkins were all that remained in his way. Phelps disposed of Tomkins on lap 54 and needed a dozen more circuits before finally wrestling third away from Dunn. Talented teenager Larry Wight incurred the seventh caution period when he slowed on lap 73, putting the leaders nose to tail as the last quarter was about to unfold.

Paine wasted little time heating up his tires and edged past Hearn across the line to complete lap 77. But Hearn stayed just as hot aboard the Madsen Motorsports no. 20 Wentworth Custom Homes/TEO entry, sticking low in the corners and regaining command for good as the DIRTcar duo sped down the back chute the very next circuit. Just as fast as Paine was back in line, Phelps stole second just before Frenchman Mario Clair stalled in turn two to force another slowdown.

In search of his first Advance Series win of the season, Phelps saved little for the end as he manhandled the potent H&H Motorsports no. 98H Mohawk Northeast-New England Race Fuels-Joe Gibbs Racing Oil/Troyer mount in every direction as the laps dwindled. Paine also had his sights set on a first trip to victory lane and regained second from Phelps on lap 87 before the two Troyer cars made contact in turn one. The Paine machine lasted only a handful more laps before coming to a halt high against the turn four wall to bring out yellow lights for the final time on lap 92.

The stage was set for the final five lap shootout, although it was Planck the only difference-maker as his back-up RezX Racing no. 77x Grow It Hydroseeding/TEO entry moved into third on lap 97 with Hearn cruising home to a six car-length victory over Phelps at the line. A traditional ride over the scales in post-race inspection resulted in Phelps being 11 pounds light and Planck seven pounds under the required 2500 lbs. standard, with both losing half their points and earnings in the aftermath.

“Last night we struggled so bad at Brockville and just tried anything to get a decent run out of it,” said Hearn, who scored the first of his eight DIRTcar Big-Block wins at Granby in 1988 and added his lone 358-Modified victory there in 2003. His 16th career Advance Series trophy on the Canadian circuit was worth $6,000 and vaulted him from fourth to second on the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series points chart, standing behind only four-time tour race winner Decker through eight races.

“We came here and made some changes that got us closer but I still had to drive my butt off because we really didn’t have a really good handling car tonight. We just had a car that was good in certain spots and I needed everything I could muster out of that thing to stay up front. When I made that (winning) move up high I figured it was going to be either really good or I’d mess up really bad and fortunately I nailed it just right. After that I could try and run some other lines up front but nothing was ever a sure thing out there tonight. The banking is different than when we raced the Big-Block in 2000 and if you weren’t careful you could think you’re in the middle of the track then suddenly find yourself over the edge and out of the race,” Hearn added.

As much as Hearn’s ride to victory was uncertain until the final checkered flag, the status of runner-up Phelps was even more in doubt right up until race time. The ‘B'Ville Blizzard’ was the last to arrive at the track, with his hauler stationed outside the track during the first qualifying round.

“We had a rough time with the hauler breaking down on our way here so we had to come from the back all night,” said Phelps, 33, who ranks fourth in the current Advance Series standings, the same place he finished his run in the 2007 overall Hoosier Tire Mr. DIRTcar Modified Championship. “We missed out on time trials but the guys made it here before the heats. We had some problems in our heat although the car came around really good in time for the consi and fortunately it was awesome in the feature.”

“We had a shot, got on the outside of Brett there but just couldn’t make it happen. He was running real good and we were happy to be in a fight for (first). It was a really good race, he ran me clean and I tried to do the same. All in all, to start so far back and still get second out of it just shows how good this team really is and I just can’t thank them enough for hanging in,” added Phelps, who settled for second behind Decker at Brockville Ontario Speedway on Thursday after using the same outside lane to nearly slip by for his first series win of 2008.

Already a two-time tour race winner in ’08, Planck enjoyed a late-race surge at Granby to place third, the same position he holds in Advance Series points heading into Drummondville on Saturday. The driveshaft broke in his primary RezX Racing ride owned by Carey Terrance in time trials forcing the ‘Natural’ to pick up at the back of his heat, yet the second-generation driver from Cortland, New York charged back to finish second behind Hearn.

“With all that happened I’m very happy with third tonight,” said Planck, who turns 38 next week. “Its nice to have a back-up car capable of a good run so we have to be pleased. It was a good racing surface and we were able to come back from 11th and challenge for a top-five so a podium finish is really good. We’ll be over at Drummond tomorrow and just try to do a couple spots better.”

Stage three of the ‘Great Canadian Tour’ is scheduled for Saturday at Autodrome Drummond just an hour away from Granby, with Cornwall Motor Speedway hosting the final night of competition across the border on July 13.