Poirier scores Empire Super Sprints; Terrance gets third Mod win

August 14, 2009, AKWESASNE, NY -- Steve Poirier of St-Matieu de Beloeil, QUE grabbed the lead on a lap 13 restart from early race leader Alain Bergeron and charged on to win the 25-lap Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint win Friday night at Mohawk International Raceway (MIR), presented by Keegan’s Tobacco shop. In other action on Jreck Subs, GrowIt HydroSeeding and Tomahawk Tobacco night, Carey Terrance of Akwesasne grabbed his second straight Frenchie’s Chevrolet DIRTcar 358 Modified win, while Louie Jackson notched his fourth Action Race Parts Pro Stock feature win of the season. Mike White scored his third SUNY Canton Street Stock win of the season, while Nolan Swamp grabbed his second win of the season in the Bandits.

 Alain Bergeron grabbed the lead at the start of the Empire Super Sprint main event, with former MIR Modified star Chris Jones running a strong second. A lap nine restart allowed Steve Poirier to dash by Jones for the runner-up spot. A lap thirteen caution for Paul Pekkonen, who spun off the turn three banking, set the stage for the restart that would determine the fate of the race. As the green waved, Poirier swung to the high side of Bergeron and as the two Quebec stars roared through turns one and two, Poirier gained the advantage going down the backstretch. Poirier pulled away, while Justin Barger passed Bergeron for the second spot on lap 18. Barger’s car was very quick in the closing laps, but he simply ran out of time while trying to negotiate heavy lapped traffic. Poirier grabbed the win, a repeat of his 2008 trip to victory lane at MIR, while Barger settled for second, with Bergeron coming home in third spot.

In the Frenchie’s Chevrolet 358 Modifieds, teammates Dale Planck and Carey Terrance battled in the early stages of the event, but Terrance pulled ahead on a lap eight restart, he would never surrender the lead, despite several challenges from Planck. Terrance cruised on for his second straight Modified win (third of the season overall), while Planck came home with a solid runner-up finish in just his second start of the season. Todd Stewart, Gage Morin and Perry Francis battled side-by-side for third spot throughout the event, with Francis powering ahead for third, with Stewart and Morin rounding out the top five. The Modified feature was red-flagged on lap eight when Ryan Helm tangled with another car and barrel-rolled twice coming out of turn four, but Helm quickly emerged from the car uninjured.

Louie Jackson was the man to beat in the Action Race Parts Pro Stocks when the season began, scoring three straight wins, but the month of July was a little more difficult for the Akwesasne driver with mechanical issues on several evenings. Friday night, Jackson returned to his winning ways, holding off Jody Swamp after a lap 17 restart and scoring his fourth win of the season. Swamp was forced to play defense with a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot coming down to the checkered flag--he drifted high and held on for second, with Travis Back scoring another top-five finish in third. Corey Wheeler and Roch Aubin, who was pinched high in the final turn and lost a couple of spots at the line, rounded out the top five.

Harvey Arquette Jr. of Akwesasne bested Corey Wheeler in a one-lap shoot-out to win the second round of the Pinks for Pro Stock series presented by Mohawk Bingo Palace. Mike White of Winthrop charged to his third SUNY Canton Street Stock series win of the season with steadily improving rookie driver Preston Mossow scoring his second straight second place finish. Nolan Swamp of Akwesasne battled right down to the wire with last week’s winner Joey Foster, with Swamp getting his second win of the season in the Bandit division.

Racing resumes at Mohawk International Raceway next Friday night, August 21st, with the Action Race Parts Pro Stocks featured in a 40-lap main event, part of the Mohawk Race Parts Pro Stock tour. Also in action on Bear’s Den, Eastern Door, Western Door and Jen Tobacco Night will be a full show of racing for the Frenchie’s Chevrolet 358 Modifieds, the SUNY Canton Street Stocks and the Bandits. Race time is 7:45 PM.

Upcoming Friday, August 28th is $20 a carload night, presented by Aaron’s Rent a Center. The Frenchie’s Chevrolet 358 Modifieds will be featured with their regular 25-lap feature event and the “Modified Duels” a match race series. The Action Race Parts Pro Stocks will also be doing double duty with the third and final round of the Pinks for Pro Stocks series presented by Mohawk Bingo Palace in addition to a full show of racing. The SUNY Canton Street Stocks and the Bandits will also be on the racing card that evening.

LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS, SUNY CANTON SERIES EVENT: Steve Poirier, Justin Barger, Alain Bergeron, Jason Barney, Chuck Hebing, Tommy Wickham, Michael Parent, Brian McDonald, Tim Kelly, Doug Emery, Cory Sparks, Chris Jones, Lee Ladouceur, Lance Yonge, Jeff Cook, James Hanson, Tim Smythe, Paul Pekkonen, Donald Lemire. DNS - Anthony Cain.

FRENCHIE’S CHEVROLET DIRTcar 358 MODIFIEDS: Carey Terrance, Dale Planck, Perry Francis, Todd Stewart, Gage Morin, Brian McDonald, Laurent Ladouceur, Clayton Benedict, Mark Smoke, Dave Heaslip, Tom Jock Jr., Brad Shova, Del LeGrow, Simon Perrault, Casey Swamp, John Lazore, Mitch Jock, Roy Delormier, Roy Tarbell, Ryan Helm, Chris Sawatis.

ACTION RACE PARTS PRO STOCKS: Louie Jackson, Jody Swamp, Travis Back, Corey Wheeler, Roch Aubin, Harvey Arquette Jr., Dion Oakes, Curtis McPhee, Ricky Thompson, Billy Woodward Jr., Stephane LeBrun, John Yandoh Jr., William Adams, Claudia Tarbell, Mike Arquiett, Junior Barnes, Rod Tarbell. DNS: Dave Papineau.

SUNY CANTON STREET STOCKS: Mike White, Preston Mossow, Mike Benedict, Mike Allen, Robert Delormier, Preston Forbes.

BANDITS: Nolan Swamp, Joey Foster, Scott Kocher, Justin White, Henry Lamica, Harold LaVair, Gary Sharlow, Josh Jock, Brad Fish, Larry Goodspeed, Scott Mere, Dudes Thompson.

Photos courtesy of Mike Watts and by Shannon Burns