RUDOLPH MAKES RoC DART HISTORY WITH WIN AT WYOMING COUNTY

BY JR KENNERUP ( RoC MEDIA )

           
Perry, NY... In the storied history of the Race of Champions Dart Asphalt Modified Tour there has never been such a young asphalt Modified winner. All of that came to an end on Sunday afternoon at the Wyoming County International Raceway. As 16 year old third generation racer Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, NY led all 75 laps with ease to claim not only his first RoC Dart win but also his first ever asphalt Modified win.

            Matt Hirschman continued his fine run of not pitting and finishing in the top three as he ended up second. Daren Scherer like the first two drivers didnt pit for a new tire drove the wheels of his car to end up third. Bobby Holmes who is a teammate to Rudolph made it a good day for the DeLange Racing Team with a solid fourth place finish. Pete Brittain came on strong after his pit stop to finish in fifth aboard the Terry Zacharias prepared machine.

            Yes this is my biggest win said the soft spoken $2,800 winner. Wyoming County has been a very good place for me as I won my first SST Sportsman feature here and now I won my first Modified feature here.

            Erick redrew the pole starting spot and when the green flag dropped to start the 75 lap feature Erick jumped out to the lead over Brian DeFebo. With the first 34 laps going caution free Rudolph navigated lap traffic like a cool veteran does after ten plus years of racing.

            Still many thought that the rookie asphalt Modified racer would stumble when the race would get near the end. But every time there was an opportunity for nerves to play a role in the outcome Rudolph drove like he had ice water in his veins. This was proved every time after each restart Rudolph would open up a very comfortable lead. Basically he was never seriously challenged throughout the feature as he drove a perfect race.

            I really wanted this one today said Erick. Because of starting on the pole with a good car that the DeLanges gave me to run along with the great crew I have working on the car.

            Its been a fun year racing around the different tracks with RoC and gaining the experience said Erick about his learning curve season on the road. It definitely means something to me to be the youngest RoC winner ever, theres a lot of history and Im glad to be a part of the history.

            When Erick was named to this potent ride replacing Dave Wollaber many people questioned the move. With his performances this year Erick has silenced his critics and proved that he belongs in this car. I dont listen to my critics at all, as this was a big win, a RoC win, first Modified win, a really big win.

            Erick was very calm, cool, and collected after the feature win kind of like he was still in shock. But his dad Charlie was all smiles as he was receiving handshakes from the many well wishers in the pit area.

            Im very proud of him and he definitely has some talent said Charlie. It was a lot easier for me to drive than it was to watch, believe me. Im very proud of him as he turned a14 second lap. 14 the last two laps and that is moving at this place. What can you ask of a kid at that age.

            I would like to thank my dad, my grandpa, all of the crew, and all of the sponsors, because I couldnt do any of this without them said Erick.

            I didnt know that going with the no pit strategy was the thing to do but it worked out as the tires held up really good and the risk paid off said Erick. I know the paving job helped my back out as Im not as sore as I was following the last race here as the car didnt go all over the place like it did last time.

            People copied our strategy from last weekend so I came up with something else said second place finisher Matt Hirschman. Last weekend Matt rode around at the back on both nights and only pitted on Friday to finish third and didnt pit and won on Saturday night. Today Hirschman raced hard in his heat race and re drew 11^th for the feature.

            Every race like I told you last week you have to come up with something different or what ever works best for that day said Matt. Im kind of the benchmark right now because we are running competitive and people are looking at what were doing. It might have worked for me once and we can do it different ways to get good results.

            Matt after the original green took his time to save his tires and never entered the top five until lap 48. With the second place car of Brian DeFebo really struggling on used tires while holding on to second. Matt went from fifth to second with an inside backstretch pass on lap 71. Despite having one final restart on lap 74 Matt didnt have anything for the high flying teenager.

            Erick was up front all day and he had a really good car, he did a really good job running out there. I think we would have been equal if I had gotten more laps at the end of the race. I probably wasnt going to pass him today because the track wasnt as racy enough for me as it has been in the past. The outside groove wasnt as good for me as it has been in the past.

            Matt summed up his day in a positive way. A second, another top three finish for us here, Im not sure how many in a row that is for us here. Congratulations to Erick on his first win, probably first of many, but theyre hard to come by. We go to Oswego next week and that is my favorite track, my strongest track and well give it our best shot this week.

            I didnt notice that much difference with the track with the exception of a little bump in turns three and four said third place finisher Daren Scherer, who started 3rd when talking about the track surface. I took a different strategy this time and we werent going to pit unlike last time when we pitted. Well take a third and the different strategy paid off for us.

            Qualifying for the 21 cars in attendance saw heat wins captured by Billy Putney, Brittain, and DeFebo.

BULL RING NOTES; Many drivers are taking notice of fellow drivers race strategy and it was proven on this day. With everyone qualifying Eric Beers, Lee Sherwood, Rick Kluth, and Rusty Smith all rode around at the back of their respective heat race saving their tires. Unlike the previous visits to the track pitting for a new right rear tire didnt pay off with a feature win. Many drivers afterwards said the outside groove was slippery and it was more than likely the oil coming out of the fresh patches of blacktop that was done two weeks ago, the patches held up perfectly. Four drivers never pitted and they were the top three along with Brian DeFebo. DeFebo deserved a better finish as he was second until the mad scramble began with less than 10 laps to go and he got shuffled back. Eric Beers was driving the Zacharias Racing car that formerly belonged to Bobby Osgood. Beers had an overheating problem which brought a yellow out on lap 47, the problem was fixed but as he re- entered the track an oil line broke. While the track cleanup was taking place the oil line was repaired and Eric returned without losing a lap. Also during this yellow Billy Putney who was sixth had to pit to change a left front brake rotor assembly. Rusty Smith also deserved a better finish as he was as high as fourth until a last lap mad scramble took place in turn two which saw Rusty spend time in the infield grass.

RACE REPORT RACE OF CHAMPIONS DART ASPHALT MODIFIED TOUR NORTH
REGION RACE # 3

FINISH; Erick Rudolph, Matt Hirschman, Daren Scherer, Bobby Holmes, Pete Brittain, Rick Kluth, Billy Putney, Lee Sherwood, Todd Smith, Brian DeFebo, Rusty Smith, Danny Knoll, Jr., Phil Slater, Eric Beers, Chris Zacharias, Mark Tychoniewicz, Dan Chimera, John Markovic, Matt Clemens, Bill Mislin, Tony Hanbury.

LAP LEADERS; Rudolph ( 1 75 )

DART MACHINERY SET OF HEADS $1,200 VALUE; Clemens

GATER RACING NEWS DRIVER BONUS DRAW $500; Knoll

HOOSIER RACING TIRE HARD CHARGER AWARD; Kluth ( 18^th to 6^th )

HOOSIER RACING TIRE HARD LUCK AWARD; Markovic ( 8^th  to 18^th ), Tychoniewicz ( 6^th to 16^th )

NEXT RoC DART ASPHALT MODIFIED TOUR EVENT; Saturday July 21^st Oswego Speedway Central Region Race # 4