Erick Rudolph now three-time DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Champion, Hebert wins $10,000 at Brockville

Erick Rudolph now three-time DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Champion, Hebert wins $10,000 at Brockville

Story & Photo By: Joe Grabianowski/Super DIRTcar Series

BROCKVILLE, ONT – October 20, 2019 – David Hebert, in his bright orange No. ONE DIRTcar 358 Modified, jumped Mat Williamson in the opening laps to grab the lead. Hebert stayed out in front for the rest of the 110 laps to win the $10,000 grand prize. Mike Maresca charged to the front but had to settle for second. In third place was St. Catharines, Ontario star driver Mat Williamson who gave Hebert his strongest challenges throughout the race.

The great French-Canadian hero David Herbert took the early lead and stayed firmly planted on top of the order despite furious charges from Mat Williamson. It’s his first DIRTcar 358 Modified Series win since 2016 at Autodrome Drummond.

“The car was very good from the first lap to the end of the race. I could see Mat Williamson was very fast,” said Herbert.

Although he led a majority of the laps, Herbert still had to race hard for the win. Not only did Williamson show up at his door, but Herbert had to attack the lapped traffic stay ahead as well.

“The first 35-40 laps the top was very fast. Then the track shifted to the bottom. I could pass lapped traffic on the outside,” he said.

Herbert is already looking forward to the 2020 race season.

“That $10,000 check will be for preparing the car for the next year!”

Mike Maresca has come on strong late in the season. He took what was arguably his biggest win of his career at Fulton Speedway in the Outlaw 200. The No. 7mm started deep in “The Bullringer” field and made every move count.

“We started eleventh and got up to second even though it was hard to pass,” Maresca noted.

Mat Williamson finished the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series season with five wins to his credit and cemented a third-place finish in points.

“We had a third-place car. The two guys ahead of us had better race cars and drove better races. I can’t complain about a third. It’s a great way to end the year with our own personal 358,” Williamson said referring to his family-owned No. 6m.

Erick Rudolph has now taken his third DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Championship of his career.

Rudolph reflected on his season:

“Our 358 program was really good this year. I won a bunch. I think we won two races out on the trail. At Ransomville and Utica-Rome, our 358 was the one to beat. I’m really proud of the team. I’m really happy we were able to get it done this year. The middle part of the year we were really strong. We petered out a little bit and started just running well. We’ll do our homework over the Winter and come back even stronger next year.”

That concludes the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series for 2019. Congratulations to Erick Rudolph on the Championship and all of the premier competitors that joined us throughout the season.

DIRTcar 358 Modified Series (110 laps)

DAVID HEBERT, Michael Maresca, Mat Williamson, Ryan Arbuthnot, Erick Rudolph, Tim Fuller, Mike Mahaney, Luke Whitteker, Steve Bernard, Tristan Draper, Stephane Lafrance, Kyle Dingwall, Mario Clair, Lee Ladouceur, Dave Marcuccilli, Kevin Hamel, Lance Willix, Michael Parent, Mathieu Boisvert, Brianna Ladouceur, Corbin Millar, Joe Banks, Joey Ladouceur, Jordan McCreadie, Brian McDonald, Louie Jackson Jr. Mikael Labreche, Chris Raabe, Corey Wheeler, Tim O’Brien, Johnathon Ferguson

Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux Fast Time: Michael Maresca 14.963

Heat Winners: Mat Williamson, Michael Maresca, Mike Mahaney, and Ryan Arbuthnot

Last Chance Showdowns: Lance Willix and Chris Raabe

DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Champion: Erick Rudolph