Bicknell & Ward Share ITT-Goulds Pumps 358 Front Row For 2nd Straight Year!

Syracuse, NY - October 4, 2007 - By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director
 
For the second straight year Pete Bicknell and Pat Ward will make up the front row to begin the ITT Corporation-Goulds Pumps Salute to Troops 150 on Saturday afternoon. This year, however, it will be Mr. Small-Block Bicknell starting from the pole while Ward will be stationed outside the front row when Super DIRT Week XXXVI showcases the top 358-Modified teams at the New York State Fairgrounds for the 28th consecutive season in the Salt City.
 
Bicknell and Ward set fast times in 358-Modified qualifying on Thursday afternoon from a pool of 42 drivers running under the clocks, with five-time ITT/Goulds Pumps 150 Champion Bicknell pocketing $1,000 for winning the Thompson Motorsports Pole Award and Ward collecting $500 for winning the Thompson Motorsports Outside Pole Award.
 
�Its great to be back here, we�ve always been fast on the Syracuse Mile,� said Bicknell, who last topped the list of Super DIRT Week Small-Block time trailers in 2001 and also in 1999, capitalizing only in �99 to take home the prestigious championship. �Congratulations to Pat as well, after we did the same thing here last year. I think we�ll see some record lap times later on with the Big-Blocks when more rubber gets laid down. The laps will be fast but a lot of tire wear will result. Hopefully, the track groove will widen up and give us a chance to race a little more when the weekend arrives.�
 
Ward was the 16th car to tour the Moody Mile on Wednesday while Bicknell came out 27th, yet similar times were the end result for both seasoned veterans on the Syracuse Mile. Far off Brett Hearn�s Small-Block track record of 29.104 seconds (123.694 mph) set in 2004, Bicknell stopped the clocks at 30.504 sec. while Ward posted a mark of 30.566 sec. at the fairgrounds.
 
�42s are good numbers to start up front,� added Ward, driver of the LJL Racing no. 42P Gypsum Express machine while Bicknell is most recognizable in the no. 42 Chevron-Texaco-Merrittville Speedway-Bicknell Race Products entry. �I�m already looking forward to the race on Saturday. With the track tightening up you can run the car pretty hard. It should be pretty quick on the weekend if we don�t get any rain mixed in between.�
 
Thursday time trials locked in the first three rows for Saturday�s 150-mile main. The fastest 10 drivers qualified from the Pullen Truck Center Twin 20 heat races scheduled Friday afternoon add 20 more to the starting grid while the final guaranteed driver from Friday's 358-Mod Super DIRTcar Series race at Rolling Wheels Raceway will be added to the back of Saturday's headline ITT Industries/Gould Pumps 'Salute to the Troops' 358-Modified Championship line-up.
 
Andy Bachetti (30.670 sec.) was third quick yet his time was disallowed due to an engine head infraction. Tim Fuller (30.691 sec.) was fourth fastest, while 2007 Brewerton Speedway Big-Block Points Champion Willy Decker (30.722), Matt Sheppard (30.846) and Vic Coffey (30.911) filled out the revised top-six.
 
Super DIRT Week XXXVI action continues on Friday with the Advance Auto Parts Big-Block Modified Triple 20s and Pullen�s Truck Center 358-Modified Twin 20s taking center stage on the NYS Fairgrounds oval. P & M Fabrication and MSS Sportsman Time Trials follow in the afternoon with Thompson Motorsports reviving the popular Modified Pit Stop Competition to conclude the fourth day of activity. But that�s not all as the action then moves over to Rolling Wheels Raceway Park for a 358-Modified/Sportsman Mr. DIRTcar Series doubleheader while Cayuga County hosts round no. 11 of the 12-race Caprara Bros. Outdoor Toy Store Mr. DIRTcar Street Stock Super Series, with Mod Lites and NY Modified Midgets making up the three-star attraction.
 
SUPER DIRT WEEK XXXVI 358-MODIFIED TIME TRIALS, NYS Fairgrounds, Oct. 4
            FAST             AVE
            TIME             MPH    CAR# DRIVER                                          
1          30.504            118.017          42        Pete Bicknell / St.Catharines,ONT
*$1,000-Thompson Motorsports Pole Award
2          30.566            117.778          42P     Pat Ward / Genoa,NY
*$500-Thompson Motorsports Outside Pole Award
3          30.670            117.379          4          Andy Bachetti / Sheffield,MA
4          30.691            117.298          19        Tim Fuller / Edwards,NY
5          30.722            117.180          1X       Willy Decker / Vernon,NY
6          30.846            116.709          44S     Matt Sheppard / Waterloo,NY
7          30.911            116.463          32C     Vic Coffey / Leicester,NY
8          30.941            116.350          5          J.R. Heffner / Pittsfield,MA
9          30.945            116.335          22C     Mario Clair / St-Edmond,QUE
10        30.954            116.302          91        Billy Decker / Unadilla,NY
11        30.962            116.272          14        Rick Laubach / Quakertown,PA
12        30.964            116.264          4*        Brett Hearn / Sussex,NJ
13        30.986            116.182          17        Jerry Higbie / Slate Hill,NY
14        31.105            115.737          M96    Brian McDonald / Cornwall,ONT
15        31.162            115.525          93X     Craig Mitchell / Wappingers Falls,NY
16        31.204            115.370          115     Kenny Tremont / West Sand Lake,NY
17        31.205            115.366          12        Ric Hill / Lafayette,NJ
18        31.285            115.071          3B       Chad Brachmann / Sanborn,NY
19        31.319            114.946          55        Mitch Gibbs / North Norwich,NY
20        31.351            114.829          24        Chris Shultz / Pawling,NY
21        31.390            114.686          M40    Mark Forte Jr. / Blue Anchor,NJ
22        31.427            114.551          76A     Jack Johnson / Duanesburg,NY
23        31.517            114.224          66X     Carey Terrance / Hogansburg,NY
24        31.529            114.181          959     Brett Graham / Kerhonkson,NY
25        31.604            113.910          90        Martin Roy / Napierville,QUE
26        31.614            113.874          16        Lance Willix II / Theresa,NY
27        31.664            113.694          00        Doug Manmiller / Shoemakersville,PA
28        31.667            113.683          24D     Patrick Dupree / Saranac Lake,NY
29        31.667            113.683          80        Jeff Marshall / Fort Covington,NY
30        31.711            113.525          145     Roy Bridge / Castleton,NY
31        31.771            113.311          22B     Mike Bruno / Castleton,VT
32        31.827            113.112          007     Roy Tarbell / Hogansburg,NY
33        32.324            111.372          28        Jimmy Phelps / Baldwinsville,NY
34        32.380            111.180          45        Wayne Jelley / Pittsfield,MA
35        32.401            111.108          19K     Paul Kinney / Vernon,NY
36        32.608            110.402          37X     Tom Scheetz Jr. / Boyertown,PA
37        32.718            110.031          19H     Chris Higgins / Syracuse,NY
38        33.177            108.509          17D     Danny O'Brien / Kingston,ONT
39        33.203            108.424          55P     Perry Francis / Akwesasne,NY
40        33.436            107.668          22G     Eric Gauvreau / Chelsea,QUE
41        34.030            105.789          9          Mark Smoke / Akwesasne,NY
42        34.384            104.700          77G     Robbie Grant / Malone,NY
43         -NT-                -----               1T        Danny Johnson / Rochester,NY
44         -NT-                -----               4S       Brad Shova / North Bangor,NY
45         -NT-                -----               28P     Eldon Payne,Jr. / Hopewell,NY
46         -NT-                 -----               84        Gary Tomkins / Clifton Springs,NY
*Top-6 locked into front three rows; 46 Entries.