Did you know ?

Big Block :

Did you know that Stewart Friesen became the 6th different driver to win the Syracuse 200 in back to back years? Friesen did it in 2010 & 2011 and the others to accomplish the feat were: Buzzie Reutimann (1972-1973), Gary Balough (1976-1978), Merv Treichler (1981-1982), Brett Hearn (1990-1991), Billy Decker (2000-2001). DIRTcar innovated back in 2011 when they decided to schedule the heat races on Friday Night. Vice-President of the events at the DIRT Track Charlotte, Volusia and Super DIRT Week, Roger Slack has named this event “Friday Night Light”. A familiar term with Football fans all across the United States. The first “Friday Night Light” saw Billy Decker, Pat Ward and Billy Dunn get the checkers in the Big Blocks. This year, the Sportsman will be added and will race under the lights for the first time. Did you know that the driver with the most wins in the Triple 20’s heat races is none-other than Brett Hearn with 15? He is followed by Billy Decker with 11. Steve “FireBall” Poirier is the only Quebec driver to have ever won one of those races, he did it in 2002. Brett Hearn is the one that has sat on the pole the most in the history of the Syracuse 200. He has 6 pole positions to his credit. Billy Decker is really close behind with 5. Did you know that David Hebert is the only Quebec driver to have ever led in the Syracuse 200? He led 9 laps, back in 2008. Brett Hearn leads all with 715 laps led under his belt; Decker is once again second with 553. In 2007, DIRTcar innovated by adding the Futures races to the program. Do you remember who won those Big Block Futures races over the years? Craig Mitchell (2007), Dave Rauscher (2008), Mark Flach Jr. (2009), Tony Steiner (2010), Peter Britten (2011) and Justin Wright (2012). Since 2010, DIRTcar has decided to go with double-file restarts which have added to intensity of the event. In 2003, Steve Poirier became the first Quebec driver to get a top-5 finish in the Syracuse 200. From its beginning in 1972, 22 different drivers have won the Syracuse 200. Brett Hearn (6) Billy Decker (4) Gary Balough (4) Alan Johnson (3) Stewart Friesen (2) Buzzie Reutimann (2) Jack Johnson (2) Merv Treichler (2) Jimmy Horton (2) Danny Johnson (2) Vic Coffey (2) Billy Osmun (1) Dick Tobias (1) Bob McCreadie (1) Kenny Brightbill (1) Richie Tobias Jr (1) Doug Hoffman (1) Kenny Tremont (1) Tim Fuller (1) Frank Cozze (1) Matt Sheppard (1) Billy Dunn (1) Did you know that David Hebert, Wayne Jelley, Pete Bicknell, Gary Tomkins, Steve Paine, Ronnie Johnson, Pat Ward, Jimmy Phelps, Todd Burley, Eddie Marshall and Bobby Varin have yet to get their hands on the trophy? When it comes to experience on the Mile, Jimmy Horton leads them all with 38 feature starts in the Big Block ranks. Alan Johnson (36), Brett Hearn (36), Jack Johnson (35), Kenny Brightbill (32), Kenny Tremont (32), Danny Johnson (31), Eddie Marshall (30), Billy Decker (27) and Frank Cozze (25) round out the top-10.

358 Modified

Did you know that back in 2011, Jean Boissonneault was the best finishing Quebec driver with an 11th place? Boissonneault ended up being the Rookie of the Race with his performance, on top of the Hard Charger award. Did you know that past Empire Super Sprints champion, Lance Yonge, has raced on the Mile in a 358 Modified twice? He finished 14th in 1987 and 12th in 1988. Did you know that Brett Hearn has 28 feature starts under his belt in the 358 Modified race. Pete Bicknell follows with 24, while Danny Johnson is right behind Bicknell with 23. The 3-time and defending Mohawk Raceway champion, Billy Dunn, made his first 358-Modified start on the Mile in 2012 and walked away with a great 2nd place run behind Tim McCreadie. Did you know that Tim Fuller is one of only 8 drivers to have won both the 358 Modified and Big Block feature event during Super Dirt Week? Fuller will once again be back at Syracuse behind the wheel of his familiar #74 car. Did you know that Steve Poirier won the Rookie of the Race award in 2001. Danny O’Brien is one of those drivers that has never really liked going to Syracuse, which is part of the reason of his poor stat sheet. 13th in 1990, 14th in 1991 and 43rd in 2011. Did you know that Ronnie Johnson had a top-5 streak going in the 358 Modified before his DNF last year? He finished 4th in 2010, 5th in 2011 and 4th in 2012. Canadians have had their share of success on the Mile in the last couple years. Quebec driver Kayle Robidoux finished 5th in 2006 as did Matt Williamson in 2012. Mario Clair was 4th in 2008 and last year, Alain Boisvert set foot on the podium with a 3rd place run. Let’s not forget the great Marcel Lafrance who had a nice 5th place finish back in 1980.

Sportsman :

Back when Chris Raabe was dominating the Sportsman, Syracuse remained the only race track that caused him trouble. His best finish in 3 attempts was a 21st place finish back in 2008. In 2012, Mathieu Desjardins was a lap away from claiming the win, but Rocky Warner made a spectacular move on the outside led him to victory. Mathieu Desjardins became the first Quebec driver to win the Pole Position back in 2012. He was also named the Rookie of the Race and went on to win the Futures Race. This year, he could become the first Sportsman driver to lead more than 30 laps in the history of the event. Desjardins has 28 to his credit. Matt Sheppard is the only driver to have won in three different categories at Super Dirt Week. He won the Sportsman event in 2000, the 358 Modified feature three years later and finally, the Big Block Syracuse 200 in 2009.

Pro Stock:

Did you know that Lee Ladouceur, Joey Ladouceur’s brother, made an appearance on the Mile back in 2008 and finished 8th? John Lazore, part-owner of the Mohawk Intl. Raceway, once finished 2nd in the Pro Stock race, which was back in 2003. Since the Pro Stocks were added to the Super DIRT Week schedule, 214 different drivers have attempted to qualify for the feature. The lowest car count was 29 in 2011. Although in 2002, the car count hit its highest mark at 37. Pete Stefanski is the one driver that has raced the most on the Mile with 11 feature starts to his credit.