Hamm to wheel Modified in 2011

Hamm to wheel Modified in 2011


Marne, MI – The Modified division looks to gain another competitor for the 2011 season. Berlin Raceway’s 2010 4-Cylinder A Champion, Ryan Hamm, has announced that he will be moving up to the Modified division this year.

Hamm made his debut at Berlin Raceway in 2001 in the Sportsman division and really made an impression on everyone when he was able to qualify and finish in the fourth position in his first-ever race. He raced part-time in 2002 and then took a break from racing, not returning until to Berlin until 2008.

In 2008, Berlin Raceway added the 4-Cylinder division to the weekly line-up and that’s when Hamm got back in to racing. He traded a $50 snowmobile for a 4-Cylinder race car and collected two wins that year, finishing 5th in points at the end of the season. Hamm was back in 2009, though he didn’t win a feature, finished 5th again in final point standings and also won the Most Popular Driver award. 2010 was the year he was looking for, with 4 wins and never finishing outside of the top 10, Hamm easily walked away with the championship and was once again the Most Popular Driver.

FinishLine Fabricating, an Allegan-based company owned by Tim Curry, has helped Hamm put the new modified together. “I am excited to help Jamie and Ryan out with this project because Jamie and I have been friends for a long time. Modifieds are hard to build because of all of the rules, so this is not something I’m looking to get in to, but when the chance came for me to help out some friends, I wasn’t going to turn that down,” said Curry.

“I am really happy for Ryan, it’s the next logical step for him, I know he will do well,” said Mike Blackmer, Owner and Promoter of Berlin Raceway. “I’ll be really excited to see the car the finished product. With Jamie Hamm and Tim Curry helping out on this, it is sure to be a good-looking car.”

The Modified class is growing with other drivers looking to move up, like fellow 4-Cylinder driver Rob Shoemaker.
Drivers like Hamm and Shoemaker really speak to what the 4-Cylinder class is about. It is a place to start or to get reacquainted with the track and eventually use it as a stepping stone to other divisions.

Weisner Wins Race at Volusia

AUSTIN’S POWER: Dillon surges to opening night victory

BARBERVILLE, FL - Feb. 8, 2011 -- Austin Dillon powered to a DIRTcar UMP Modified victory on Tuesday night in the opener to the 40th Annual DIRTcar Nationals By University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park.

Austin's brother, Ty, started on the pole for the 20-lap main event but fell out with three laps to go after making contact with Clint Bowyer and finished 15th. Both Ty and Austin also won heat races.

Austin's brother, Ty, started on the pole for the 20-lap main event but fell out with three laps to go after making contact with Clint Bowyer and finished 15th. Both Ty and Austin also won heat races.

Austin Dillon, of Welcome, N.C., and the grandson of storied NASCAR car owner Richard Childress, dove past his brother in Turn 1 at the big half-mile dirt oval on the third circuit and powered to victory to kick off the 12-night event. "It seems like I always finish second in points here," said Dillon. "I'm just trying to move up one more spot."

Corey Conley, of Wellsburg, W.Va., who started 21st surged all the way to a second-place finish, one spot better than NASCAR star Bowyer, of Emporia, Kan., who started 17th and methodically worked his way toward the front. Peyton Taylor of Desha, Ark., finished 4 th while Joey Jensen of Forest Lake, Minn., rounded out the top five.

In addition to the Dillon brothers and Bowyer, other NASCAR drivers that made the A-main Tuesday night included Kenny Wallace, who finished sixth, and Ken Schrader, who was caught in a caution on Lap 3 and finished 26th.

There were 73 DIRTcar UMP Modifieds signed in to race in addition to several World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series stars, who used the night for a practice session to gear up for the next five nights of Sprint Car racing at Volusia in conjunction with the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds.

For more information, go to http://www.DIRTcarNationals.com or follow the event on Twitter @DIRTcarNats.

A-Main - 20 Laps: 1. Austin Dillon, 2. Corey Conley, 3. Clint Bowyer, 4. Peyton Taylor, 5. Joey Jensen, 6. Kenny Wallace, 7. Bob Broking, 8. Duane Dale, 9. Jason Beaulieu, 10. Kyle Bronson, 11. Dave Hess Jr, 12. Todd Sherman, 13. Larry Burkins, 14. Michael Long, 15. Ty Dillon, 16. Scotty Orr, 17. Kody Weisner, 18. Richie Tosh, 19. Brandon Smith, 20. Randle Sweeney, 21. Dale Mathison, 22. Stormy Scott, 23. Devin Gilpin , 24. Mike Spatola, 25. Bobby Kitchen, 26. Ken Schrader, 27. Todd Neiheiser

Qualifying Group 1: 1. Ty Dillon, 2. Garrett Stewart, 3. Dave Hess Jr, 4. Stormy Scott, 5. Jamie Lomax, 6. Jason Davis, 7. Trista Stevenson, 8. Randle Sweeney, 9. David McWilliams, 10. Todd Sherman, 11. Tony Anderson, 12. Bill Keeler, 13. Gavin Landers

Qualifying Group 2: 1. Corey Dripps, 2. Justin Coulter, 3. Mike Spatola, 4. Dale Mathison, 5. Peyton Taylor, 6. Gary Cook Jr, 7. Rob Penney, 8. Jeremy Kerzman, 9. Chad Olsen, 10. Johnny Broking, 11. Roger Moser, 12. Dave Jamison, 13. Brandon Smith

Qualifying Group 3: 1. Ken Schrader, 2. Austin Dillon, 3. Kenny Wallace, 4. Terry Hull, 5. Mark Grosvenor, 6. Bob Broking, 7. Larry Burkins, 8. Kent Corbin, 9. Bob Fort, 10. Dale Murray, 11. Eric Elmer, 12. Riley Emmel

Qualifying Group 4: 1. Kyle Bornson, 2. Jamie Carter, 3. Nate Carruth, 4. Joey Jensen, 5. Devin Gilpin , 6. Todd Neiheiser, 7. Joey Kramer, 8. Dave Wietholder, 9. Bryce Jewel, 10. Justin Matson, 11. Kelby Simmons, 12. Jeff Thomas, 13. Stan Beadles

Qualifying Group 5: 1. Ryan Gustin, 2. Clint Bowyer, 3. Michael Long, 4. Bobby Kitchen, 5. Jason Beaulieu, 6. Ryan Gifford, 7. Jason Miller, 8. Kevin Davis, 9. Bob Gierke, 10. Gary Brooks, 11. Justin Elmer, 12. Lawrence Oconnor

Qualifying Group 6: 1. Corey Conley, 2. Scotty Orr, 3. Richie Tosch, 4. Kody Weisner, 5. Duane Dale, 6. Andy Strait, 7. Evan Taylor, 8. Dave Baldwin, 9. Terry Hansen, 10. Chris Puskas, 11. David Orr, 12. Joe Carr, 13. James Smith, Heat 1, 1. Ty Dillon, 2. Dave Hess Jr, 3. Randle Sweeney, 4. Stormy Scott, 5. Jamie Lomax, 6. Jason Davis, 7. Todd Sherman, 8. Garrett Stewart, 9. David McWilliams, 10. Trista Stevenson, 11. Tony Anderson, 12. Bill Keeler, 13. Gavin Landers

Heat 1: 1. Ty Dillon, 2. Dave Hess Jr, 3. Randle Sweeney, 4. Stormy Scott, 5. Jamie Lomax, 6. Jason Davis, 7. Todd Sherman, 8. Garrett Stewart, 9. David McWilliams, 10. Trista Stevenson, 11. Tony Anderson, 12. Bill Keeler, 13. Gavin Landers

Heat 2: 1. Dale Mathison, 2. Mike Spatola, 3. Peyton Taylor, 4. Corey Dripps, 5. Brandon Smith, 6. Johnny Broking, 7. Chad Olsen, 8. Roger Moser, 9. Dave Jamison, 10. Gary Cook Jr, 11. Justin Coulter, 12. Jeremy Kerzman, 13. Rob Penney

Heat 3: 1. Austin Dillon, 2. Kenny Wallace, 3. Ken Schrader, 4. Larry Burkins, 5. Bob Broking, 6. Terry Hull, 7. Dale Murray, 8. Riley Emmel, 9. Kent Corbin, 10. Eric Elmer, 11. Bob Fort, 12. Mark Grosvenor, DNS. Jim Shipman

Heat 4: 1. Joey Jensen, 2. Kyle Bornson, 3. Todd Neiheiser, 4. Devin Gilpin , 5. Dave Wietholder, 6. Jamie Carter, 7. Kelby Simmons, 8. Justin Matson, 9. Jeff Thomas, 10. Stan Beadles, 11. Bryce Jewel, DNS. Nate Carruth, DNS. Joey Kramer

Heat 5: 1. Michael Long, 2. Bobby Kitchen, 3. Clint Bowyer, 4. Ryan Gustin, 5. Jason Beaulieu, 6. Ryan Gifford, 7. Bob Gierke, 8. Kevin Davis, 9. Jason MIller, 10. Justin Elmer, 11. Lawrence Oconnor, 12. Gary Brooks

Heat 6: 1. Kody Weisner, 2. Richie Tosh, 3. Scotty Orr, 4. Corey Conley, 5. Chris Puskas, 6. Duane Dale, 7. Evan Taylor, 8. Andy Strait, 9. Terry Hansen, 10. Dave Baldwin, 11. James Smith, 12. Joe Carr, 13. David Orr

B-Main 1: 1. Stormy Scott, 2. Todd Sherman, 3. Brandon Smith, 4. David McWilliams, 5. Johnny Broking, 6. Jason Davis, 7. Chad Olsen, 8. Trista Stevenson, 9. Bill Keeler, 10. Tony Anderson, 11. Gavin Landers, 12. Jamie Lomax, 13. Gary Cook Jr, 14. Dave Jamison, 15. Garrett Stewart, 16. Justin Coulter, DNS. Corey Dripps, DNS. Roger Moser, DNS. Jeremy Kerzman, DNS. Rob Penney

B-Main 2: 1. Devin Gilpin , 2. Bob Broking, 3. Larry Burkins, 4. Jamie Carter, 5. Joey Kramer, 6. Mark Grosvenor, 7. Terry Hull, 8. Jeff Thomas, 9. Riley Emmel, 10. Eric Elmer, 11. Stan Beadles, 12. Kelby Simmons, 13. Dave Wietholder, 14. Bryce Jewel, 15. Justin Matson, DNS. Dale Murray, DNS. Kent Corbin, DNS. Bob Fort, DNS. Nate Carruth, DNS. Jim Shipman

Weisner and Strait Driving for UNOH at Dirt Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park

Sponsor & Participant: University of Northwestern Ohio Plays Big Role In 40th DIRTcar Nationals At Volusia Speedway Park


UNOH’s UMP Modified Team Includes NASCAR’s Kenny Wallace, David Reutimann & Dillon Brothers, Students From Buckeye State School

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 5, 2011 – The University of Northwestern Ohio is more than just the presenting sponsor of the 40th DIRTcar Nationals that runs from Feb. 8-19 at Volusia Speedway Park.

The Lima, Ohio-based institution is also a major participant in the mid-winter motorsports extravaganza held about a half-hour outside Daytona Beach.

Sponsorship of the DIRTcar Nationals goes hand-in-hand with competition for the university, which will have its distinctive UNOH logo on the bodywork of eight DIRTcar UMP Modifieds during the open-wheel division’s portion of the racing meet (Feb. 8-15). Highlighting the UNOH drivers’ roster will be nationally-known NASCAR racers Kenny Wallace and David Reutimann as well as up-and-coming brothers Austin and Ty Dillon, the grandsons of longtime team owner Richard Childress.

A private, not-for-profit school that offers the world’s only High Performance/Motorsports degree program, UNOH uses the DIRTcar Nationals to cap a unique extra-curricular activity that provides its budding mechanical minds true real-world training. Four years ago the university enhanced the motorsports program’s curriculum by launching a fully-sponsored, in-house UMP Modified team – basically, an after-school pursuit in which a select group of students builds and maintains UMP Modifieds and races them in the weekly events at nearby Limaland Motorsports Park, which is owned and operated by UNOH. The trip to Florida for the DIRTcar Nationals serves as the culmination of the 2010-2011 racing season for the UNOH motorsports team, which is housed in a shop on the university’s 189-acre campus.

UNOH’s UMP Modified team includes 36 students, all of whom receive scholarships in the same manner as basketball and football student-athletes at other schools. High Performance/Motorsports program students are selected for various positions on the team through annual try-outs; all the team members are transported to Volusia each February to end their year-long stints with a busy week of activity servicing the UMP Modifieds.

“The dirt-track program has been a phenomenal success for us,” said UNOH Vice President of Development Steve Farmer, who will accompany the school’s students to the Sunshine State. “A grassroots program like this gives us a great platform to recruit students and show them what the University of Northwestern Ohio has to offer.

“When (UNOH President) Dr. (Jeffrey A.) Jarvis started this motorsports program and began offering scholarships, a lot of people looked at it like, ‘Wow, is this gonna work?’ Well, we had 186 kids try out for 36 positions on this year’s team. It’s exciting to see the student body so interested in this.

“From a national standpoint, this program has given our school credibility that’s second to none,” he added. “It’s great for the university, it’s great for the students – and hopefully it’s fun for the fans to see a bunch of students working on and racing cars. We’re hoping the program keeps growing for years to come.”

UNOH’s army of wrench-twisters at Volusia will include Chris Puskas of Somerset, N.J., Andrew Strait of Traverse City, Mich., and Kody Weisner of Muskegon, Mich. – a trio that will not only work on the University-built UMP Modifieds, but drive them as well. Two more cars from the UNOH shop will be in Volusia’s pit area – one that’s scheduled to be driven on selected nights by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standout David Reutimann, and a fifth machine that will serve as a team backup but might see some action with former Limaland Motorsports Park champion Terry Hull of Columbia City, Ind., behind the wheel. Reutimann – the son of DIRTcar Big-Block Modified legend Buzzie Reutimann and himself a regular on the upstate New York DIRTcar 358-Modified circuit for a brief period in the ‘90s – hopes to make at least a couple starts at Volusia in between his commitments with Michael Waltrip Racing at Daytona International Speedway.

Four additional UMP Modifieds will carry sponsorship from UNOH, led by the No. 36 that will be driven throughout the DIRTcar Nationals by popular NASCAR Nationwide Series regular and SPEED television commentator Kenny Wallace. A 2007 UMP Modified feature winner at Volusia, Wallace will sport backing from UNOH in all his dirt-track appearances this season and three of his Nationwide Series starts with RAB Motorsports, including the Nationwide event on Feb. 19 at Daytona.

The budding-star Dillon brothers – 20-year-old Austin, who drives the RCR No. 3 on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and 18-year-old Ty, who will chase the ARCA Racing Series title this season after breaking into Victory Lane on the venerable stock-car tour last year – will also sport UNOH sponsorship on their Team Dillon UMP Modifieds for the duration of the DIRTcar Nationals. Austin Dillon fell just 11 points short of the 2010 DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH championship in the UMP Modified class, finishing second to Dave Hess Jr. of Waterford, Pa.

Rounding out the UNOH assault on Volusia will be former Limaland champ Todd Sherman of Churubusco, Ind., who will enter his own No. 65 in the week’s action.

Accenting UNOH’s activity at Volusia, the school will have a healthy presence at Daytona International Speedway. UNOH will sponsor Wallace’s Nationwide Series effort (four UNOH High Performance Motorsports students will work alongside Wallace’s crew for the event) and the RCR Chevy that Ty Dillon will drive in the ARCA Slick Mist 200 on Feb. 12. In addition, 32 UNOH High Performance Motorsports student “interns” will be in the Daytona pit area assisting ARCA teams as part of a work arrangement with the series.

The UMP Modified action during the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH features $1,000-to-win A-Mains on Feb. Feb. 8, 9, 10 and 11; a pair of $700-to-win preliminary events on Feb. 12 and 13 leading into the headline ‘Gator’ championship race paying $5,000 to win on Feb. 14; and a multiple-features-only finale on Feb. 15.

Throughout the DIRTcar Nationals, UNOH representatives will be available in the track’s midway area to promote the school’s Motorsports programs – a proven marketing tool for UNOH.

“The University draws students from all 50 states and 16 foreign countries, and in the last few years we have had an influx of students interested in our High Performance/Motorsports Programs from the state of Florida,” said UNOH President Dr. Jeffrey A. Jarvis. “By building and racing vehicles in Florida that will be driven and crewed by UNOH High Performance Motorsports students, the University hopes to continue to encourage both interested prospective students and local Florida high school instructors to check out everything that UNOH has to offer them.”

Founded in 1920, the University of Northwestern Ohio is comprised of the College of Business, College of Technologies and College of Distance Learning. UNOH offers over 60 programs in High Performance, Alternate Fuels, Diesel, Automotive, HVAC, Agricultural, Business, Marketing, Medical, Legal, Travel, IT Computer and Sport Marketing and Management with Associate degrees, Baccalaureate degrees and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

For more detailed information about the University of Northwestern Ohio, visit http://www.unoh.edu/.

The DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH is a 12-night short-track blockbuster that also includes the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series (Feb. 11-13); the World of Outlaws Late Model Series (Feb. 17 and 19); the O’Reilly All-Star Sprint Car Series (Feb. 9-10); DIRTcar UMP Late Models (Feb. 14, 15, 16 and 18); and the Super DIRTcar Series for big-block Modifieds (Feb. 16-19).

For more information on the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH – including special pricing on advance-sale tickets and details of the ‘Free Pit Pass With Every Ticket’ offer that allows fans to get up-close-and-personal with the race teams every night of the DCN – visit www.DIRTcarNationals.com or call 704-795-7223 or 386-985-4402.

More info on DIRTcar Racing can be obtained by logging on to www.DIRTcar.com.

Arena Racing News: February 5th, 2011

Arena Racing twist at DeltaPlex may return again


Published: Saturday, February 05, 2011, 11:30 PM Updated: Sunday, February 06, 2011, 12:33 AM

By Steve Kaminski
The Grand Rapids Press

WALKER -- It was grassroots racing, DeltaPlex Arena style. DeltaPlex officials cleared the floor, coated it with Coke syrup and threw the green flag for Saturday night’s Thunder on the Grand. The result was plenty of bumping, banging, caution flags, a few hot tempers and hard wrecks, along with competitive racing.

Amidst that thunder, officials said they just might be onto something. The program was a first at the DeltaPlex, even though racing is nothing new at the Walker-based arena.

Arena Racing came to West Michigan two years ago, however, officials had to scale back on the number of shows this season because of the lack of cars.

Jack Gritter, head of the Arena Racing tech team, decided to run something different.

Forget the track, Gritter said. He decided to let them race on the floor. He opened it to Micro Sprints, Quarter Midgets, Arena Cars and go-karts, and nearly 100 other cars.

Gritter said he is considering more shows like this in the future, and DeltaPlex owner Joel Langlois said it is a possibility.

"We are talking to people about having a four or five race series with these cars, with (the DeltaPlex) being one of the tracks hosting it," Gritter said. "We are talking to people in Ohio and Indiana."

Saturday’s program attracted drivers from across the Midwest, including Danny Shirey of Oberlin, Ohio.
Shirey, 21, won the 35-lap non-winged Micro Sprint feature. He said he would gladly make the trip back to West Michigan.

"I have had fun ever since I got here (Friday)," Shirey said. "They gave us plenty of practice. They gave us enough time to get the car dialed in, which was great. The track was actually really good. There was a great second groove up top. The promoters were great, and it was a professionally run show. We enjoyed ourselves every minute we were here.

"We raced down in Ft. Wayne a couple of weeks ago, and it seemed like this track was a little more racier. That was more of a one groove race track. This was definitely one of my favorite indoor tracks."

Arena Racing returns for another show March 26. Langlois said DeltaPlex officials will continue to try and sell its cars.

Other winners included Clayton Marvel of Lowell, in the 50-lap Arena Car feature race. A.J. Lesiecki of Lorain, Ohio, won the 35-lap winged Micro Sprint main.

Micro Sprint Cars at DeltaPlex

Track tweaked for Micro Sprint Cars at DeltaPlex

Published: Thursday, February 03, 2011
By Steve Kaminski
The Grand Rapids Press

Micro Sprint Car driver Dan Dunigan Jr. has a name for the type of racing fans can expect to see Saturday night at the DeltaPlex Arena in Walker.

“It’s in your face racing,” the Jackson-born driver said. “In this type of racing, you have to be very responsive and react quickly. There is no giving the car in front of you room, and you are in traffic all the time.”

DeltaPlex will host the Coors Thunder on the Grand at 7 p.m., with a program of Micro Sprint Cars, Quarter Midgets and go-karts.

Arena Racing has brought indoor racing to the DeltaPlex for more than two years, but unlike past programs, the aluminum track will remain in storage.

Jack Gritter, who heads the Arena Racing tech team, has organized Saturday’s program, and it was his idea to bring in Micro Sprints for the first time. Gritter said go-karts ran exhibition events in the past, and it proved to be too bumpy. He also doesn’t believe the track was wide enough to run Micro Sprints.

That’s why officials will host the races on the floor. Cement blocks will serve as an outer barrier for the track, and a catch fence will be installed on top of the blocks. In addition, 15 gallons of coke syrup will be poured onto the floor to provide traction.

While Dunigan has never been to DeltaPlex, he is envisioning it to be an action-packed bull ring.

”You are going to have to fight for your spot. Indoor racing is a lot different,” said Dunigan, 27. “Fifty percent of it is skill, and 50 percent of it is luck. Half the time, someone wrecks in front of you, and there is no time to stop.”

Dunigan races for his father, and he spends the winter months competing at indoor shows. The team was in Atlantic City this past weekend.

”They are fast and quick and they hug the floor,” the elder Dunigan said. “They run 600 cc motorcycle engines, and they are basically a smaller size version of the Sprint Car. We think they are more exciting than a full-size Sprint Car show because they are very agile machines.

”We race indoor in six different states, and they have had big shows out east for 20 years. But we don’t have shows like this in Michigan, so we are excited about this one.”

COORS THUNDER ON THE GRAND

Where: DeltaPlex Arena in Walker
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Tickets: $10 each