Black Rock Speedway Beats Mother Nature

Dundee, NY…Mother Nature did about all she could to stop Dean Hoag and his Black Rock Speedway team from opening last weekend, but she forgot about Sunday. The opening was to have been a two day affair on Friday night and all day Saturday. She rained and snowed on Friday and Saturday so Hoag simply condensed things a bit and opened his track on Sunday. 185 race teams responded to the last minute changes and were there for a very long Sunday. LeMans has its 24 Hour deal this was the 12 Hours of Black Rock! Included in the 185 race teams were 21 BRP CanAm Late Model Series competitors who were anxious to test their new cars and get a head start on the Home Track Bonus Points for the overall Series championship. Greg Galligan got his 2009 program off to a great start with wins in both his qualifier and the A-Main. Galligan is a BRP CanAm Series rookie contender who almost did not go to Black Rock. After the victory lane celebration Galligan shared, “Our new car is still under construction at Close (Racing Supply). When we learned it would not be ready we thought we would simply wait for the Woodhull opener (April 18th). Charles (McGregor) and his guys rolled the old 1* car out of the trailer earlier in the week and here we are. What a way to start. We have the entire team excited about the new season. We now know the back up car can still get the job done. We have the win, the points, the $1000, and did not hurt the new car!” The Home Track Bonus Points Program has been modified for 2009. The average of points earned in the best five finishes at any one of the member tracks will be the bonus added to points earned in the 14 tour events on the 2009 schedule. Member tracks are Black Rock Speedway, Genesee Speedway, Little Valley Speedway, and Woodhull Raceway. Rock Launcher LM Finish: GREG GALLIGAN, Rick Karlnoski, Glenn Whritenour, Nate Daggett, Chris Peacock, Bryce Davis, Quinn Sutherland, Larry Knowles, Brandon Smith, Steve Dixon, Bob Buono, Jon Lichy, Mikey Wonderling, John Waters, Dale Welty, Jeremy Wonderling, Brian Conley, Dave Dubois, Steve Hartman, Brian Knowles, Jon Rivers Notes: Spring track conditions exacerbated by new clay and rain for many days leading to the opener caused many problems. Steve Hartman, Jr crossed the finish line in second, but the rough track had caused weight to fall off. His LaBarron Brothers MasterSbilt special was light at the scales resulting in a very difficult DQ. Top five finishes by BRS regulars (Karlnoski, Daggett, and Peacock) that do not generally follow the tour have them rethinking their 2009 plans. Dale Welty was in Steve Kent’s updated #92x. Welty and Kent will share that car this summer. Jeremy Wonderling’s new car was so new it had not yet been to the sign shop. It wore a big X in racer’s tape rather than the familiar #3j. Larry Knowles was in the car that will be campaigned by his son Jason this summer. The newest Knowles hot rod will be ready for the Woodhull opener on April 18. Dave Dubois and Jon Rivers were the only two Genesee cars that made the trip to BRS. Others were either at the Genesee Speedway car show at Batavia Downs or are not yet ready for the new season. Genesee Speedway season opener is April 25th. Jon Lichy was a surprise entry. Jon plans a full BRP tour schedule for 2009 and was testing some new stuff. Brian Knowles won his heat and loaded the car. A question about an oil leak and resulting smoke were part of his problem. The other was that he caught a rut that tore the front bumper off his pretty #7. The 14 event tour schedule, links to the member track websites, and other Series information is available at www.BRPCanAmSeries.com The 2009 BRP CanAm Series is presented by these Marketing Partners: BICKNELL RACING PRODUCTS (BRP), Absolute Powder Coating, BC Designs, Brzezinski Racing Products, Bob Mullen’s Pro Speed, Clevite Engine Parts, Close Racing Supply, Cousins Designs, Damon’s Dyno’d Race Engines, Dart Machinery, Dixon Race Car Graphics, DougsDirtDiary.com, EastCoastSpeed.com, Ed Carley Motorsports, F/A Products, Fleming Design Solutions, Gavenda Race Engines, Genesis Shocks, GG&H Motorsports, Hoosier Tire, Host Tracks, ISKY Racing Cams, Landrum Performance Springs, Lazer Chassis by Bernheisel, Lias Tire, Mahle Engine Parts, Melling Engine Parts, National Parts Peddler, Phair Enterprises, RacewayMagazine.com, Signs Plus of Kanona, Suzuki Motorcycles & ATVs, Swain Tech Coatings, Wrisco Industries