Planck wins Mohawk International Raceway season opener

AKWESASNE, NY -- Opening night for Mohawk International Raceway (MIR) saw Dale “The Natural” Planck of Homer, NY win the first 20-lap Frenchie’s Chevrolet DIRTcar 358 Modified feature, while rain showers forced MIR officials to delay the second 20-lap feature event to this coming Friday night, May 14th. Before the rains came, other feature winners on Jacobs Tobacco night included Chris Raabe of Napanee, ONT in the Sportsman, Ricky Thompson of Akwesasne, NY in the Pro Stocks and 2009 Bandit champion Joey Foster of West Stockholm, NY kicked off his title defense in fine style by winning the Bandit feature.

In the Frenchie’s Chevrolet DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, Perry Francis grabbed the early lead with Clayton Benedict, Dan Jalbert and Laurent Ladouceur close behind. Dale Planck quickly began his methodical march to the front, swinging past Ladouceur for fourth on lap two, past Jalbert for third on lap three and two laps later past Benedict for the runner-up spot. By this time, Francis had opened up a sizeable lead but it was erased when a lap seven caution for Denis Gauvreau’s broken racer put Planck on the outside of the front row for the restart. When the green waved, Francis led the race into turn one but Planck powered high and snatched the lead coming out of turn two--a lead that he would not surrender for the rest of the event. A couple of cautions kept the field bunched, setting up a side-by-side battle for second spot between Ladouceur and Francis as lap fifteen was scored. Ladouceur pulled low coming out of turn four and snatched the runner-up spot away, while Roy Tarbell worked his way from mid-pack to battle past Carey Terrance for the fourth spot with just three laps to go. Planck charged on ahead to grab the opening night feature win, while Ladouceur held off Francis for second. Tarbell finished fourth and Terrance rounded out the top five.

The Modified field had pulled onto the MIR track for the second 20-lap feature event when showers rolled over the speedway. MIR officials tried to wait out the rain to complete the racing show, but they were forced to postpone the second 20-lap Modified main event to this Friday night, May 14th, with the green flag set to drop at 7:45 PM.

The new Sportsman division saw the “Teenage Tornado” of Chris Raabe capture the checkered flag. Raabe, the 2008 and 2009 Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman champion, took the lead at the drop of the green flag and was never challenged, but behind him the race for second through fifth saw several spirited battles. Brad Winters of Lisbon came home second, while Dylan Evoy of Brockville, ONT rounded out the top three.

Ricky Thompson and Louie Jackson paced the Pro Stock field down to the green flag, but Jackson got off the track going into turn one and slammed into the new jersey barriers on the backstretch, putting a quick end to the defending Pro Stock champion’s night. Thompson launched into a comfortable lead at the drop of the green flag, while behind him Corey Wheeler worked to hold off challenges from several racers throughout the race. A spin by Harvey Arquette Jr. on lap 18 set up a two-lap dash to the checkered flag and while Thompson cruised on for the win, Wheeler had to fight off Dave Papineau, while Dave “Bulldog” Bissonnette picked up several spots in the final two laps to score a fourth place finish ahead of Stephane LeBrun.

The Bandit feature saw a replay of much of last season’s action: Scott Mere grabbed the early lead but Joey Foster hounded him and after some hard racing, Foster vaulted into the lead on lap six. A caution for a spinning Andrew Fish tightened the field for a two-lap dash to the checkers, but Foster beat Mere the win. Henry Lamica, Darryl Mitchell and Cory Castell kept the pressure on Mere right to the checkered flag.

Next Friday night, May 14th, is Village Engraver night and the action gets underway at 7:45 PM with the make-up 20-lap Modified feature from this past Friday night. After the make-up feature, there will be a full program of qualifying heats and feature events for the Frenchie’s Chevrolet DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, DIRTcar Sportsman, DIRTcar Pro Stocks and the Bandits.

MAY 7, 2010: JACOBS TOBACCO NIGHT

FRENCHIE’S CHEVROLET DIRTcar 358 MODIFIEDS, 1st 20-LAP FEATURE: Dale Planck, Laurent Ladouceur, Perry Francis, Roy Tarbell, Carey Terrance, Eric Gauvreau, Clayton Benedict, Todd Stone, John Lazore, Gage Morin, Brian McDonald, Dave Heaslip, Tom Jock Jr., Mitch Jock, Casey Swamp, Dan Jalbert, Brad Shova, Todd Stewart, Tammy Jalbert, Melvin Rush Jr., Ryan Helm, Gardner Stone, Denis Gauvreau. DNS: Billy Cook.

2nd 20-LAP FEATURE: Postponed to May 14th due to rain.

DIRTcar SPORTSMAN: Chris Raabe, Brad Winters, Dylan Evoy, Christine Martin, Brent Kelsey, Travis Back, Jenna David.

DIRTcar PRO STOCKS: Ricky Thompson, Corey Wheeler, Dave Papineau, Dave Bissonnette, Stephan LeBrun, Dion Oakes, Rod Tarbell, Scott Kocher, Claudia Tarbell, Billy Woodward Jr., Mike Arquiett, P.J. Peters, Jody Swamp, Ryan Stabler, Harvey Arquette Jr., Mike Pecore, Mike White, Louie Jackson, Allan Peters. DNS: Troy Arquiett.

BANDITS: Joey Foster, Scott Mere, Henry Lamica, Darryl Mitchell, Cory Castell, Peter Cename, Brad Fish, Josh Jock, Tammy Rogers, Andrew Fish, Joseph Barnes, Bennett White.

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

http://www.MohawkInternationalRaceway.com. The MIR office is 518-358-3225 518-358-3225 and on race days, the track number is 518-358-9017 518-358-9017. The track is owned and operated by Mohawk International Raceway, LLC.