STONE, EVOY, BISSONNETTE, DESNOYERS AND MEUTEN WIN BIG AT MOHAWK INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
AKWESASNE, NY – AUGUST 19, 2011
With only a couple races remaining in the regular season points are becoming an issue for many. Also drivers who haven’t won yet this season are looking to get back to victory lane. And those who have been to the winners circle a bunch just want to keep coming back. Mohawk International Raceway had all those things along with a very smooth surface on Brass Horse night.
In the Frenchie’s Chevrolet 358 Modifieds Chris Raabe entered the night 58 points ahead of defending track champion Carey Terrance and both drivers started in row number 4 on this night. Gage Morin and Todd Stone led the field to the green with Stone jumping out to the early lead. Cars began racing hard very early in the event and going into turn 3 Jeff Sykes, Tim O’Brien and Matt Billings made contact forcing Sykes off turn 3. Sykes was towed to the pit area while Billings and O’Brien were able to rejoin the field at the back of the pack. The green came back out and Todd Stone continued to hold the top spot and by lap 7 had a full straightaway lead with Gage Morin, John Lazore, Roy Tarbell and Carey Terrance completing the top 5. The top 5 began to enter lap traffic on lap 14 and Todd Stone had no issues as he held on to the lead. Traffic was also no issue for John Lazore as he made his way by Gage Morin to pick up 2nd with Terrance and Raabe rounding out the top 5. Dale Planck was also on the move from his 15th starting spot. After sneaking by both Raabe and teammate Carey Terrance he moved in on the top 3. On lap 17 Derek Martin Spun in turn 2 right in front of Melvin Rush causing him to go for a wild ride through a tire barrier and into the trees. Melvin’s car heavily damaged but thankfully the driver was unharmed in the accident. The green flew again and Todd Stone held onto the lead but the caution would return on lap 19 as Perry Francis stopped on the backstretch. The final restart saw Todd Stone jump out front again and lead the rest of the way for his first win since July 16 2010 at Mohawk. Morin was able to fend off Dale Planck for 2nd, Lazore and Chris Raabe completed the top 5.
The 2nd round of the Frenchie’s Built Ford Tough Sportsman Series saw last week’s runner up Neal Provost and Cory Winters lead the field to the green in the 30 lap contest. Provost and Winters battled side by side for the first couple laps with Provost finally getting the advantage. Caution flew on lap 4 for Mike White who slowed to a stop in turn 1. On the restart Provost slipped up the race track going into turn 1 allowing Winters to regain the top spot with Tom Conklin, Jeff Phillips, Louie Jackson Jr. and Brent Kelsey filling in the top 5 positions. Dylan Evoy has been unstoppable in the Sportsman division this season and showed his muscle as he charged to the front and challenged early pace setter Cory Winters for the lead. Winters made several attempts to hold Evoy at bay but the Brockville Bullet ducked to the inside off turn 4 and grabbed the lead on lap 9. Jeff Phillips made some noise this year by winning his first ever feature at Cornwall in the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series, and was looking to add a Mohawk victory to his resume. He worked his way into 2nd before halfway and made every effort to run down race leader Evoy as the laps wound down. On lap 21 the final caution flew for Neal Provost as he spun in turn 4. On the final restart Evoy was not to be denied as he pulled away from Phillips to record his 2nd Frenchie’s Built Ford Tough Series win, 8th win on the year and 4th in a row over Phillips, Brandon Hagan charged from 15th on the grid up to 3rd, Mike Arquiett and Dan Jalbert rounded out the top 5.
The Pro Stocks were set for 35 laps in the final round of the Bailey Motor Company Pro Stock Series. Joey Ladouceur and Dave Bissonette won the opening 2 events of the 3 race series and Ladouceur held a 6 point lead over Roch Aubin going into the nights action. Jody Swamp and Marc Lalonde led the field to the green with Swamp winning the battle into turn 1. Swamp would hold the top spot solidly until lap 9 when the “Bulldog” Dave Bissonette took the top spot away from Swamp. Roch Aubin, Louie Jackson and Joey Ladouceur rounded out the top 5. Dave Bissonnette started to motor away from the rest of the field until lap 14 as Louie Jackson spun to the infield bringing out the first yellow flag. The restart saw Bissonnette hold the lead as Swamp, Ladouceur, Aubin and Dion Oakes completed the top 5. Aubin and Ladouceur both knew they were in a fight for the series crown and were separated by no less than a car length the entire night until lap 29 when Ladouceur took full advantage of 3rd leaving Aubin and Dion Okaes to battle for 4th and 5th. As great as Jody Swamp’s night was going it all came to a sudden halt as he broke coming off turn 4 on lap 32 bringing out the final caution and setting up a 3 lap sprint to the checkers. On the restart Dave Bissonette held the multi time Cornwall champion off to record his 2nd Bailey Motor Company Pro Stock Series win and 4th of the season with Ladouceur finishing 2nd and securing the series crown. Aubin, Oakes and 2008 track champion Stephane Lebrun rounded out the top 5.
The 97.3 CKON Bandits put on quite a show on this night as well. Corey Castell and John Greene led the field to the green flag and the battle was on. On lap 2 John Greene who was looking to get his season back on track looped his car in turn 2, but that was nothing compared to what he’d experience later in the event. Dan Desnoyers has been on a roll as of late. Recording his first 2 career wins at Cornwall he added a Mohawk feature win to his impressive resume and was looking to add a 2nd one. Behind him Nolan Swamp, Ernie Cree, Owen White and Derek Colbert were giving chase. With 2 laps to go an infield tire was hit by another competitor and rolled onto the race track most were able to avoid it but John Greene was hit by the tire destroying the front end and the right side of his blue #22. Green was unhurt after this scary and unusual accident. Desnoyers however was on cruise control and held on to score his 2nd win in a row over Swamp, Cree, Colbert and Corey Castell.
The new Mod Lite division has had 3 events in 2011 with 3 different winners. Sylvain Laframboise and Eric Varin were looking to join that group and make it 4 different winners on this night. Varin led the field into turn 1 and led the first 2 laps. Matt Meuten was fast in his heat event and quickly took the lead from Varin on lap 3. Meuten had run strong in the first 3 races of the season and checked out on the rest of the field to make it 4 different winners in 4 races in Mod Lite action. Mathieu Robinson, Eric Varin, Scott Mere and Sylvain Laframboise rounded out the top 5.
This coming Friday night Burke’s Excavation & Demolition and Snap On Tools presents the final even of the Frenchie’s Built Ford Tough Sportsman Series along with the Frenchie’s Chevrolet 358 Modifieds, Bailey Motor Company Pro Stocks, 97.3 CKON Bandits and the Mod Lites. Racing gets underway at 7:45pm.
Mohawk International Raceway is located in Akwesasne, NY, midway between the Seaway International Bridge to Cornwall, ONT and the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino. From Route 37, turn south onto Frogtown Road. Racing is held on Friday nights at 7:45 PM from May through September, featuring the Frenchie's Chevrolet DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, Sportsman and Pro Stocks, as well as the Bandit division. Visit us on the web at www.MohawkInternationalRaceway.com. The MIR office is located at the track, and the phone number is 518-358-9017. The track is owned and operated by Mohawk International Raceway, LLC.
Frenchie’s Chevrolet 358 Modifieds (25 laps)
TODD STONE, Gage Morin, Dale Planck, John Lazore, Chris Raabe, Matt Billings, Carey Terrance, Danny O’Brien, Roy Tarbell, Gardner Stone, Tim O’Brien, Brian McDonald, Larry Welling Jr., Casey Swamp, Tom Jock Jr., Leon Gonyo, Jeff Sykes, Delbert Legrow, Rick Miller, Perry Francis, Mike Perrotte, Jason Bruno, Ryan Helm, Ron Valade, Derek Martin, Melvin Rush, (DNS) Preston Forbes
Frenchie’s Built Ford Tough Sportsman Series Round #2 (30 laps)
DYLAN EVOY, Jeff Phillips, Brandon Hagan, Mike Arquiett, Dan Jalbert, Brent Kelsey, Tom Conklin, Sheldon Hoogwerf, Louie Jackson Jr., Brian Copp, Cory Winters, Mike White, Robert Delormier, Josh Jock, Billy Cook, Kristian Smoke, Jenna David, Neal Provost, Dillon Sallows, Thunder Anderson
Bailey Motor Company Pro Stock Series Final Round (35 laps)
DAVE BISSONETTE, Joey Ladouceur, Roch Aubin, Dion Oakes, Stephane Lebrun, Marc Lalonde, PJ Peters, Charlie Rice, Jody Swamp, David Papineau, Louie Jackson, Morgan David.
97.3 CKON Bandits (12 laps)
DAN DESNOYERS, Nolan Swamp, Ernie Cree, Derek Colbert, Corey Castell, Randy Whiting, John Greene, Owen White, Peter Cename, Darryl Mitchell
Mod Lites (15 Laps)
MATT MEUTEN, Mathieu Robinson, Eric Varin, Scott Mere, Sylvain Laframboise, Lacey Cox, Matthew Stone Jr., (DNS) Dan Reif