Planck Unstoppable in Mr. DIRTcar 358 Super DIRTcar Series Opener at Cornwall
Dale Planck thrilled a huge crowd at Cornwall Motor Speedway as he dominated the second half of the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Super DIRTcar Series season opener, the Jiffy Auto Services/Pennzoil 100.
A fantastic field of 44 358-modifieds filled the Cornwall Motor Speedway, each hoping to qualifying for the 30-car 100-lap feature event on the night.
As the feature rolled onto the track, it was youngster Tommy Flannigan and veteran Danny O’Brien leading the field to the green flag. O’Brien would use his experience to grab the early race lead using his outside starting position to his advantage.
While O’Brien charged into the early race lead, Danny Johnson was backing up his Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series win back on July 3rd by charging from the sixth starting position to take second by the time the first caution flew on lap-10 for a slowing Clement Therrien.
Danny O’Brien chose to restart the event from the outside of row 1, and easily powered into the lead in front of Johnson. On the restart, it was Cortland, NY driver Dale Planck moving around Stephane LaFrance and into the third position.
From there, it was a three-car breakaway at the start of the field. O’Brien, Johnson, and Planck opened up a large lead over LaFrance and the rest of the field as all three battled for the top spot.
Tommy Flannigan’s fine night came to an end as mechanical problems ended his night while running in 5th place on lap-19. Flannigan did a fantastic job of getting the car out of harms way and keeping the event under green flag conditions.
Danny Johnson finally was able to overthrow O’Brien from the race lead as O’Brien tried to find bite on the inside of turns 3 & 4, opening up the outside for Johnson to make the move. Planck immediately followed Johnson around O’Brien and took over second as all three drivers caught the tail of the field and fighting lapped traffic.
The yellow flag flew again on lap-30 as Mark D’Ilario looped the car in turn 1. The ensuing restart saw Brett Hearn show his muscle as he charged from eight to fifth, and just a few laps later split in between Stephane LaFrance and Danny O’Brien to move into third.
While Hearn was charging towards the front, Danny Johnson and Dale Planck had built up a comfortable lead on the field. Planck inched to the inside on Johnson multiple times but was not able to complete the pass, until lap-55 when he used the inside lane to take the lead.
From there, Planck was on another level from the rest of the field. He quickly opened up a lead over Johnson and the rest of the field, and a 61-lap green flag run saw Planck lap up to the seventh place-car.
Hearn was able to pass Johnson, as Johnson’s car began to slide back as the track continued to slicken up.
Carey Terrance, who charged from 30th starting position to 6th, spung and brought out the caution with just 9 laps remaining, giving Hearn one last chance at Dale Planck’s RezX Racing 6x 358-modified.
However, Planck would prove to be too much, as he was able to pull away from Hearn on the restart and pick up the $4,000 victory. Hearn held on for second over Stephane LaFrance, who pleased the hometown crowd with a third place finish, Carey Terrance rebounded for fourth, and Danny Johnson rounded out the top-5.
“This was the best race car I’ve ever driven,” announced an ecstatic Planck in victory lane, “it was an awesome night to drive this thing.”
With the win, Planck is now the early season points leader in the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Super DIRTcar Series standings.
The next Series event takes place on Monday, August 1st as the event at Merrittville Speedway originally scheduled for May 24th resumes from lap-25. The final 75 laps will be run with Brett Hearn currently leading Scott Wood. The Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series will also be in action Monday night.
Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Super DIRTcar Series Race #1—Cornwall Motor Speedway, July 31, 2011 ‘Jiffy Auto Serivce/Pennzoil 100’ Event Summary
Feature Finish: 1) 6x Dale Planck 2) 20 Brett Hearn 3) Stephane LaFrance 4) 66x Carey Terrance 5) 27J Danny Johnson 6) 17D Danny O’Brien 7) 3 Claude Brouillard
40 Joel Doiron 9) 22c Mario Clair 10) 38 Luke Whitteker 11) 74 Matt Billings 12) 46 Kayle Robidoux 13) 10 Tim Currier 14) 1H David Hébert 15) 39A Alan Therrien 16) 124 Pierre DaGenáis 17) 6m Mat Williamson 18) 4J Jeff Sykes 19) 22J Jeremy Wilder 20) 76 Travis Braun 21) 17 Marc Therrien 22) 23 Laurent Ladouceur 23) 19 John Lazore 24) 88 Tim O’Brien 25) 08 Mark D’Ilario 26) 6 Pat O’Brien 27) 61 Jean Boissonneault 28) 96 Kyle Dingwall 29) 72 Tommy Flannigan 30) 39 Clement Therrien
DNQ: 24 Brandon Sweet, 13 Kevin Hamel, 007 Roy Tarbell, 74F Frederic Gamache, 21 Yan Bussiere, 16 Gage Morin, 99 Ron Valade, 86 Pat Cashman, 99B Bruno Lepage, m96 Brian McDonald, 01 Chris Raabe, 3D Dexter Stacey, 92 Adam Turner
LAP LEADERS
D. O’Brien 1-25
Johnson 26-54
Planck 55-100
BILSTEN FAST TIME AWARD: Danny O’Brien
Heat Races (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to feature, top 2 went to redraw)
#1: LaFrance, Hébert, Braun, A. Therrien, DaGenais, Bussiere, Terrance, Currier, Hamel
#2: Johnson, D. O’Brien, Hearn. T. O’Brien, Lazore, Gamache, M. Therrien, McDonald, Raabe
#3: P. O’Brien, Brouillard, Wilder, Sykes, Dingwall, Morin, Sweet, Cashman, Valade
#4: Flannigan, Ladouceur, D’Ilario, Williamson, C. Therrien, Clair, Billings, Stacey
#5: Planck, Doiron, Whitteker, Robidoux, Boissonneault, Lepage, Tarbell, Turner (DNS)
Consolation Round (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to the feature event)
#1: Dingwall, DaGenais, Boissonneault, Clair, Currier, Stewart, Hamel, Tarbell, Gamache, McDonald (DNS), Stacey (DNS)
#2: C. Therrien, Lazore, M. Therrien, Billings, Terrance, Bussiere, Morin, Valade, Cashman, Lepage, Raabe (DNS), Turner (DNS)
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