Brett Hearn Locks in Pole Position for Sundays Eastern States 200
Contact: Julia Foy
Promotions/PR Coordinator – DIRTcar NE
315.834.2299 | jfoy@dirtcar.com
Brett Hearn locks in pole position for Sundays Eastern States 200
Hindley, Dippel, Friesen, Perrego and Higbie also lock in starting positions in top six
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – October 25, 3014 – Brett “the Jet” Hearn is off to another good start for Orange County Fair Speedway’s Eastern States Weekend, locking in the pole position for Sunday’s 200-lap Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series race. The Sussex, N.J., driver rounded “The Hard Clay” in 20.763 seconds, narrowly ousting Tim Hindley, whose time was 20.837 seconds, from the honors.
“This is a race where you want to start near the front. It’s not the end-all, but it’s a race where you want to start near the front, stay out of heavy traffic, and control the race if you can,” Hearn said of Sunday’s Eastern States 200, a notably grueling race and one of the few Super DIRTcar Series rounds requiring a pit stop. “It’s the kind of race where, if you can control the race and set the pace at your pace, then you’re going to be in the driver’s seat.”
After shattering the Lebanon Valley Speedway lap time record, fast laps have started to become a habit for “the Jet.” He was second overall at Fonda Speedway in September and earned the Pole Position Raceway Fast Qualifier Award at Brockville Ontario Speedway in October. During NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLIII in Syracuse, Hearn claimed the outside pole starting position with the second fastest lap time, short of fast-timer Matt Sheppard by a margin of 0.002 seconds.
“I think we have some really good cars, I think it’s going good. It’s still 200 laps, so, anything can happen,” said Hearn, who hopes running in Saturday’s 358-Modified race at Orange County Fair Speedway will help the Madsen Motorsports No. 20 team stay strong for Sunday. “The track is in pretty nice shape. We’re going to have to run the small block race and try to come up with a strategy for Sunday that’s going to work.”
Decker’s lap time of 21.207 seconds was 13th overall, and a second-place finish in his heat will have him starting 13th on Sunday. Matt Sheppard, currently second in series points, finished sixth in his heat and will compete in a last-chance qualifier Sunday morning to determine his starting position.
If past experience has anything to say, Hearn’s fast time during Friday’s time trials bodes well going into Sunday’s race. The past two years, Hearn kicked off Eastern States Weekend with fast time and concluded it with a victory in the 200-lap event finale. For the driver who is third in Super DIRTcar Series point standings, trailing leader Decker by 85 points, it’s a trend that could mean big things going into the final races of the season.
Local runners took the spotlight Friday night in time trials, with Hindley, of Middlesex, N.Y., claiming the outside pole and Tyler Dippel, of Wallkill, N.Y., picking up the third starting spot with a lap time of 21.043 seconds. Stewart Friesen, of Sprakers, N.Y., will start fourth after clocking in at 21.052 seconds and Anthony Perrego, of Montgomery, N.Y., will start fifth after a time of 21.072 seconds. Jerry Higbie, of Goshen, N.Y., was the final driver to lock in a position through time trials, tying Perrego for speed at 21.072 seconds.
Positions 7 through 30 were set through six qualifying heats. Gary Edwards, Jr., of Montgomery, N.Y., Justin Haers, of Phelps, N.Y., Billy VanInwegen, of Sparrowbush, N.Y., Donnie Corellis, of Averill Park, N.Y. Chuck McKee, of Middletown, N.Y., and Tim Fuller, of Edwards, N.Y., picked up heat race wins. The remaining positions, 31 through 44, will be set by a combination of last-chance qualifier results and series provisionals.
The 53rd Annual Eastern States Modified Feature is set to start at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26. Competitor pits open at 8 a.m. and grandstand gates open at 9 a.m. Last-chance qualifiers will get underway at around 12:30 p.m. For more information and the latest updates about the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, click www.superdirtcarseries.com, follow @SuperDIRTcar on Twitter or “like” the DIRTcar Racing Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DIRTcar.
