Tommy Meier Takes Advantage of Hearn Disqualification during Post-Race Inspection; Kicks off 2016 Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP Halmar International North Region Season in Victory Lane
Story By: MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM Photos By: DAVE DALESANDRO & MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM
MIDDLETOWN, NY- April 3, 2016- As Yogi Berra so eloquently said, it ain’t over till it’s over.
On Saturday night at the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York, Brett Hearn seemed to have the entire field covered from the onset of the evening. After setting a blistering pace during his qualifying event, Hearn continued to dominate leading nearly all 50-laps on his way to an apparent victory. What he wasn’t able to do, however, was pass post-race inspection.
In a surprising, and almost guilt-admitting move, Hearn and the Madsen Overhead Door team refused to remove the valve covers from the race-winning engine during post-race inspection resulting in an immediate disqualification by Short Track Super Series officials and handing the victory to hometown favorite Tommy Meier.
Meier, who was visibly stunned at the announcement, was rather reluctant to celebrate after being declared the winner of the 2016 Hard Clay Open. “This is just bizarre,” stated Meier. “It’s such a small rule; it’s just the size of the motor. There’s no reason to not let them look at it. The motor probably isn’t even too big.”
There is, undoubtedly, a small amount of history between Meier and Hearn which dates back to last October and the result of the 2015 Eastern States 200 at the same speedway. “They just seem bitter,” continued Meier. “They definitely appear bitter.”
Once the shock of his apparent victory wore off, Meier was more than ecstatic as there isn’t a better way for him to begin his 2016 season. “It’s awesome to come out of here with the win,” Meier said. “It’s just awesome. Harry and Jeff [Behrent] give me all the support and equipment I could ever ask for. It means a lot to put this car in victory lane.”
Lady luck was smiling down on Meier in more ways than one on Saturday night. As the race wore on, the war of attrition due to tire failure became more and more prevalent. “I always seem to get a little bit better tire wear than others,” stated Meier. “But it looked like it didn’t matter tonight. I could see Brett’s tire was pretty smooth and I was thinking mine was going to be similar.”
At the end of the 50-lap main event, there wasn’t a lot of tread left on the right-rear of the Behrent’s sponsored No.3; but there was just enough. “I didn’t feel too many problems with it [the right-rear tire],” continued Meier. “But I was hoping they had a softer one on than we did. It was a good race and I was in the right lane, a good lane on every restart.”
Meier, who started the feature event from the ninth position, was able to capitalize on restarts with indelible frequency. “I did have some carburetor burping on the restarts but nothing big,” Meier said. “And when I got to second, we went single-file for restarts. It was perfect for me because the outside was very hard to hold onto during the restarts.”
Though he was able to make his way up to second, Meier admitted that he didn’t have anything left for Brett Hearn in the closing stages of the event. “I wasn’t going to catch him unless he made a mistake and he doesn’t really make mistakes,” stated Meier. “If I was going to beat him, it was going to take a mechanical problem honestly.”
Being an open event, both big-blocks and small-blocks were competing against each other with different body rules and weight requirements evening out the horsepower differences. For Meier, the latter of the two motor choices seemed to make all the difference.
“I really think that small-blocks are the better car to race with around here these days overall,” concluded Meier. “They [small-block engines] seem to get through the turns a bit better, your approach speed isn’t quite as high, and it’s just an easier car to handle.”
Second Place is Alright for ‘The Doctor’
Danny Johnson isn’t usually content with anything other than a win when it comes to racing; yet Saturday night found the ‘Doctor’ fairly pleased with a runner-up finish and with being the first big-block competitor across the line at the end of the event.
“The way they have the rules and weights and all that, it seems that the small-blocks are a little bit better with less weight and sail panels,” stated Johnson. “We also had tire wear to worry about with the big-block.”
Tire management quickly became the issue on everyone’s mind as the feature passed the halfway point. “These American Racer’s don’t last that long and you really have to be easy on them,” continued Johnson. “I wasn’t easy on them early because I started tenth and I was trying to get some positions. It’s just what happens sometimes.”
After making up ground in the early portion of the 50-lap feature, the driver of the famous No. 27J went into tire-saving mode. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to put him in serious contention for the win. “I was definitely losing my right-rear at the end,” concluded Johnson. “I definitely ended up with some more tire wear than those other guys. I thought I might have gotten by Meier on a restart if he got stuck on the outside but it didn’t happen.”
The ‘Hard Clay’ was even Harder on Tires
When the green flag dropped, Hearn, Friesen and Bachetti set a torrid pace for the rest of the field which, to some dismay, actually hurt them more than it helped. Though they were able to distance themselves from the remainder of their contemporaries, both Friesen and Bachetti would fall victim to right-rear flats in the closing stages. Bachetti would battle back to finish fourth.
L.J. Lombardo, Erick Rudolph, David Van Horn Jr., Mike Mahaney, and Matt DeLorenzo would all suffer right-rear tire failures between lap-34 and lap-49. Only Lombardo was able to drive back through the field and finish in the top-five.
NOTES: Despite the bleak weather forecast and steady rain in the area until noon, 53 Modifieds and 46 602 Crate Sportsman checked into the pit area on Saturday morning. Despite his disqualification, Brett Hearn drove the Smokers Choice Racing No. 88 crate sportsman to victory in the 25-lap feature and donated his winnings to charity. Craig Hanson, of Tribes Hill, New York, was awarded the Hard Charger Award after starting in the rear of the modified feature; he finished 14th.
RESULTS:
Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP Halmar International North Region Event No. 1 Modified Feature Finish (50 laps): TOMMY MEIER, Danny Johnson, Mike Ricci, Andy Bachetti, L.J. Lombardo, Erick Rudolph, Gary Edwards, Mike Mahaney, Rich Ricci Jr., Billy Van Inwegen, Matt Janiak, Stewart Friesen, David Van Horn Jr., Craig Hanson, Tyler Dippel, Corey Lowitt, Ryan Darcy, Matt DeLorenzo, Randy Chrysler, Jeff Heotzler, Danny Creeden, Josh Hohenforst, Jackie Brown Jr., Robbie Green, Anthony Perrego, Rob Rowe, Jerry Higbie Jr., John Ferrier, Nick Nye.
Disqualified: Brett Hearn (refused post-race technical inspection)
Crate 602 Sportsman Feature Finish (25 laps): BRETT HEARN, David Schilling, Michael Storms, R.J. Smith, Billy Eggers, Winter Mead, Steve Eubanks, Michael Sabia, Tim Hartman, Frank Venezia, Matt Stangle, Dillon Steuer, Chris Stevens, Leo Fotopoulos, Allison Ricci, Dave Marcuccilli, Jeff Hulseapple, Nick Horton, Rafael Carson, Austin Smith, Randy Sweetman, Tyler Boniface, Tyler Treacy, Eddie Burgess.
The 2016 Short Track Super Series is presented by American Racer/Lias Tire, VP Racing Fuel, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Halmar International, Allstar Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt Track Digest, Fast Axle, Fox Racing Shocks, Hig Fab, Henry’s Exhaust, HyperCo, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, Race Pro Weekly, Racing Optics, Teo-Pro Car, Vahlco Wheels & Velocita.
