|
|
|
Pat Ward and Danny Creeden Honored At RoC Awards Banquet |
|
01/09/08 -
By BRETT DEYO/Area Auto Racing News
BINGHAMTON, NY (Jan. 5) - Pat Ward's chase for the 2007 Race of Champions Dart Dirt Modified Tour overall championship didn't start out so well.
In fact, it was downright ugly.
Battling for the lead with Danny Johnson in the 'Ice Jam' April 14 opener at Fonda (N.Y.) Speedway, Ward was sent hard into the outside wall on the 10th tour of Ric Lucia's half-mile oval.
That would be a minor blemish on an otherwise spectacular season.
"Yeah, we kind of got off to a rough start," offered Ward, who received his RoC Dart Dirt Mod Tour championship laurels in front of over 600 drivers, owners, sponsors, crewmembers, media representatives, friends and family members last Saturday night at the Race of Champions Dart Dirt & Asphalt/Five Mile Point (N.Y.) Speedway Awards Banquet at the Binghamton Regency Hotel and Conference Center.
Brett Deyo served as the master of ceremonies, commencing the awards portion of the program shortly after dinner.
"We got knocked out of a chance to win that first one, but it got better."
Indeed, the season did take an upward swing for the 50-year-old Genoa, N.Y., driver and his John Wight-owned, Barry Knapp-led Gypsum Express team. Ward outdistanced Ronnie Johnson for his first-ever RoC Dart Dirt Mod overall crown by a margin of 43 points.
During the season, Ward's Enders-powered Bicknell reached Victory Lane at Penn-Can (Pa.) Speedway (July 31) and Five Mile Point (Aug. 8), earning the full-time professional race car driver the South Region title. Despite the bad luck, he also placed fourth in the North Region.
"We had some bad luck in the North," said Ward, who received nearly $6,000 in cash for the 10-race schedule.
"We ended up running the South races and really enjoyed racing closer to home at places like Penn-Can and Five Mile Point. It was nice going to some of these fun little tracks we hadn't been to in a while."
Ward's independent schedule of events - not following the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series to the letter - allowed him to visit different venues and help tutor 15-year-old Larry Wight, son of team owner John, as he embarked on a Sportsman career.
In the end, Ward racked up 12 total victories in addition to his RoC success.
Ward said the back-to-back wins at Penn-Can and Five Mile Point essentially vaulted him to the RoC crown.
In the combination events at season's end, Ward was fourth in the 'King of the Can' at Penn-Can on Sept. 16, sixth in the McDonald's 100 at Fonda on Sept. 23 and third in the Southern Tier 100 at Five Mile Point to clinch the crown on Oct. 13.
"We really didn't set out to run for the RoC points, but after we won those two races we were in position, so we said, 'Why not?' Ward said. "It's kind of funny, when I won the Mr. DIRT 358 championship back in 2004, I didn't plan to chase that, either."
Ward confirmed that he would be back in the RoC fold in '08, beginning with the highly-anticipated opener at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway on March 15. The RoC event will mark the return of the Modifieds for the first time since the early 1980s.
"We'll definitely be there," Ward said of the 50-lap event.
Ronnie Johnson, a talented second-generation driver from Duanesburg, N.Y., saw his hopes for an overall title take a severe blow in the 'King of the Can 100' at Penn-Can with a DNF. In other combination events, he placed ninth at Fonda and ended up 10th in the Southern Tier 100 after sustaining a flat tire with five laps remaining in the event.
'R.J.' also notched the North Region crown by starting his season with a second-place effort at Fonda and finished no worse than eighth in the remaining North Region races.
Brian Weaver of Windsor, N.Y., was third in the final standings. Weaver ended the RoC season strong in Randy Decker's No. 9R, placing third in the McDonald's 100 at Fonda and second in the Southern Tier 100 at Five Mile Point.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.'s Stewart Friesen ended up fourth in the final tally. Friesen, 24, drove his Old Forge Powersports-sponsored No. OFP1 from 19th starting spot to win the RoC finale, the Southern Tier 100 at Five Mile Point.
Jerry Higbie Jr. of Slate Hill, N.Y., completed the front five in the rundown with his family-fielded No. 97.
Completing the top-12 were Danny Johnson of Rochester, N.Y.; Bobby Varin of Sharon Springs, N.Y.; Billy Decker of Sidney, N.Y.; Brett Hearn of Sussex, N.J.; Joey Grammes of Kunkletown, Pa.; Ted Lamb of Clay, N.Y.; and Willy Decker of Vernon, N.Y.
*****
Ward won the South Region crown by a margin of 35 points over Weaver. Ward had two South Region wins and never placed worse than seventh. Weaver, Higbie, Billy Decker, Ronnie Johnson, Friesen, Kevin Bates, Grammes, Jack Johnson and Danny Johnson completed the top-10.
In the North Region, Ronnie Johnson's 195-point total was 16 markers better than runner-up Danny Johnson. Ronnie Johnson's worst finish in North Region action was eighth, placing inside the top-five in two of four events. Varin, Ward, Hearn, Lamb, Willy Decker, Jim Davis, Friesen and Matt DeLorenzo trailed.
*****
Danny Creeden had some extra motivation to run for his second-straight Race of Champions Dart Dirt Sportsman Tour title. Creeden, of Middletown, N.Y., lost his father, former racer Rusty, in March.
Creeden, 24, performed admirably for "Pop." At season's end, he held a 40-point lead on Joey Colsten, another up-and-coming second-generation star. Creeden fell just shy of taking the South Region title (Mike Loney bested him by three points), but did earn a South victory at Five Mile Point on July 12. He shined with three strong finishes in the overall events, placing seventh at Penn-Can, 10th at Fonda and driving from deep in the field for second in the season-ending 100-lap grind at Five Mile Point to clinch the championship in his No. 16x Teo-Pro car.
Creeden, who became emotional on stage while dedicating the title to his father, announced that he will not return to the Sportsman ranks at all in '08, concentrating on big- and small-block action at Accord (N.Y.) Speedway on Fridays and Orange County (N.Y.) Fair Speedway on Saturdays, in addition to RoC South Region action.
Colsten, 22, the son of Southern Tier legend Mike was second overall, trailed by Taylor, Pa.'s Mike Loney, Casey Williams of Vernon, N.Y., and Jeremy Wilder of Fort Plain, N.Y.
*****
In regional Sportsman competition, Loney raced in the memory of his late father, Fred, besting Creeden in the South battle after kicking off the title fight with a win at Penn-Can on May 28. The top-four finishers in the South standings were separated by just nine points, with Colsten third and Hamburg, Pa.'s Kyle Weiss fourth.
Fort Plain, N.Y.'s Jeremy Wilder earned his first-career win at Fonda on July 17 driving a car borrowed from his uncle, Bill. Wilder had already crashed two cars heavily earlier in the year, but the 'Track of Champions' triumph served as a turning point in his season. He bested Matt Janczuk of Sherrill, N.Y., by 17 points after posting top-10 finishes in all North Region races.
*****
A number of RoC Dart Dirt special awards were presented during the night, including:
*Owners of the Year - John Wight (for Pat Ward, Modified) and Danny Creeden (Sportsman);
*Best Appearing Car - Pat Ward (Modified) and Casey Williams (Sportsman);
*Hard Luck - Ronnie Johnson (Modified) and Brad Alger (Sportsman); and
*Most Improved Driver - Joey Grammes (Modified) and Mike Loney (Sportsman).
*****
RoC RECAPS: While an official schedule was not released, two key announcements were made during the evening. The "new" Victoria 200, to be held at Utica-Rome Speedway on May 11 will be sanctioned by RoC Dirt.
Also, the newly expanded and reconfigured Accord Speedway will host a combination Modified event for the first time ever on Sept. 26. The event will pay at least $5,000 to the winner....
RoC Dart Dirt administrative director Andrew Harpell has plans to release a tentative schedule in the coming weeks....
|
|
