#62R Ron Smoker- After returning to racing in 2007 after a 3 year absence, which inlcuded a trip to victory lane at the Central PA Speedway, Smoker will run a different schedule this year. On Saturday nights, Ron Smoker will return to the Canandaigua Speedway for weekly action, and will also run most, if not all, of the BRP Tour. He'll then finish out the year with his Fay Motorsports #62R at the New York State Fairgrounds for Super Dirt Week big block action.
#92 Scott Irwin- After picking up his first career big block win last season at the Bridgeport Speedway, and having his best career year, Scott Irwin will return to the extremely fast 5/8 mile in 2008. He'll be running the Teo machine he used last year.
#8 Rob Bellinger- Motor problems plagued teenager Rob Bellinger all of 2007, and at Florida in 2008. Bellinger hopes to have the problem solved for the rest of the year though. Bellinger will run weekly at CanAm Speedway once again on Saturday nights with his new Troyer chassis. On Sundays, he'll load up and head to the Weedsport Speedway. Travel plans include select Super Dirt Series shows in the area.
#3B Chad Brachmann- Coming off an injury, Brachmann hopes to jump right back into the swing of things in 2008. Brachmann will once again run the same weekly tracks he has the past couple years, Ransomville on Friday nights, and Merrittville on Saturdays. Along with running the usual Super Dirt Series races Chad usually runs, he'll also be apart of some other special shows throughout the year, including select 358 Series races. He'll kick off the season at the RoC Dirt Tour race at Selinsgrove on March 15th, and will also run in the Lernerville Speedway opener, as he did last season. His late season schedule includes trips to Pennsylvania for end of the year specials at Big Diamond and Grandview. He'll end the year with a big and small block assault on Super Dirt Week in October.
#3 Ricky Yetter- Two wins last season at Redline and Thunder Mountain have Ricky Yetter excited for 2008. On Friday nights, Yetter will return to Redline Speedway in hopes of continuing the success he had last season. Yetter will drive for Jared Keeney at Redline weekly. Saturday nights will be the biggest change to Yetter's schedule. He'll now run the New Egypt Speedway running his own '06 Teo big block modified. Yetter will kick his season off at Hagerstown Speedway's big block opener. From there, he'll run the RoC Dirt Tour opener at Selinsgrove Speedway, as well as the Super Dirt Series opener at Hagerstown. Yetter may also run the entire RoC Southern Tour, and will run the Dirt show at Grandview, and possibly make a start or 2 at Big Diamond. He also may run a couple of the duel track races at Bridgeport.
#1 and #1w Billy Pauch- The 2007 Bridgeport Speedway champion will be switching Saturday night homes in 2008. Pauch will return to New Egypt Speedway to capture his fourth big block crown at the 1/2 mile. Pauch will drive for Kevin Bilfulco at the track with a brand new Bicknell chassis. As for traveling plans, Pauch will also have a brand new Bicknell ready for big block action at Hagerstown, Delaware, Grandview, Big Diamond, and Bridgeport. Pauch will also do some small block racing when his son, Billy Pauch Jr, is absent from the Bob Greene Racing #8 at Big Diamond Raceway.
#9 Bruce Hirthler- The brother of big and small block driver Kevin Hirthler will run a different schedule in 2008. Last season he focused mainly on Big Diamond with a couple of starts at Grandview until he had a baby which cut his schedule back drastically. This season, he'll do the opposite, he'll focus mostly on running Grandview, and will run a couple of races at Big Diamond. He'll be running the same car he ran the past 2 years. While he'll run most of the year at Grandview he'll still probably miss a handful of shows.
#93x and #33x Craig Mitchell- The 2007 big block Futures champion at Super Dirt Week has a very similar schedule set in place for 2008, as he did in 2007. "Hollywood" will return to running Orange County weekly in a brand new 2008 PMC for the big block division. For the 358 division, Mitchell will once again drive for Ken Hermance, who purchased another 2008 Bicknell for weekly use. Mitchell's 2007 PMC car will be used at Accord on Friday nights as well as for some limited traveling he does. He always has his Syracuse car from last season set away until Super Dirt Week 2008, and will attempt to put the car in the Rite Aid 200.
#29B Jeff Brownell- Jeff makes his return to racing after a season off. Jeff will run Canandaigua Speedway on Saturday nights with his same Bicknells he had from the 2006 season. He'll also return to the Cayuga County Fair Speedway on Sunday nights. For Fridays Jeff will make select starts at Brewerton. As for traveling, Jeff will start the season off following the Super Dirt Series Tour, and will probably run the entire thing.
#6 and #14w Ryan Watt- Ryan Watt's schedule will be a bit different this season as opposed to last year. Watt will return to the Fran Purcell owned #6 small block modified to run on Friday nights at Big Diamond Raceway once again in 2008. On Saturdays however, Watt has been inked to a deal that reunites him with former car owner Chad Sinon to go big block racing at Bridgeport Speedway. Also, Watt will run the New Egypt/Bridgeport Dual Track Series, and some mid-week big blocks specials, for Sinon. Watt will also enter some small block specials at Hagerstown with the Purcell team.
#20 and #74 and #4* Brett Hearn- The 2007 Super Dirt Series champion will follow a similar schedule in 2008. Hearn will continue to run the Salerno owned #4 Friday nights at Albany-Saratoga, and will also strap into that car for Saturday night Orange County 358-modified action. Hearn also plans to enter a bunch of 358 Super Dirt Series races with the Salerno team. Hearn will also return to the Smith Bros. #74 big block on Saturday nights to make a run at the Orange County big block title. Hearn will also run a handful of specials with this team. With the Madsen Motorsports #20, Hearn will again follow the Super Dirt Series Tour, starting in Florida in a few weeks. Hearn will also run special high-paying races with the Madsen team, and select Race of Champions shows.
#4 and #79 Michael Storms- Storms will run for Vinnie Salerno in his rookie season in the big block ranks. He'll drive the team's #4 big block, which is a almost brand-new Teo on Saturday nights at Orange County. As for other tracks, Storms will run a #79 big block for the team. That car will also serve as a back-up for Saturday night efforts.
#117 Kevin Hirthler- After picking up the biggest win of his career at Hagerstown's Octoberfest, Hirthler plans on backing that up with a strong 2008 season. Hirthler will return to the Pennsylvania duel track scene, after taking most of the year off from Big Diamond. He'll run his own equipment in the small block division at Big Diamond on Friday nights, and will run a 2nd car on Saturday nights at Grandview weekly throughout the season. Hirthler will start the year off with his big block at Volusia and run the Florida Dirt Tour. He'll also run all of the Hagerstown Speedway openers, in both the big and small block divisions, plus Octoberfest at the end of the year. Hirthler will also return to Delaware for specials in both the big and small block divisions, and will run big block specials at Big Diamond and Grandview.
#83 Brian Swartzlander- Brian Swartzlander was the 2007 Lernerville Speedway champion. In 2008, he'll look to back that up. Brian purchased a new Teo for action at Lernerville weekly on Friday nights, and will also run Super Dirt Series shows at Hagerstown and Virginia with this team. The potent 83 team will also run select BRP Modified Tour races along the Western PA/Ohio area.
#13 Tony Steiner- Tony Steiner makes the leap from the sportsman ranks to big blocks in 2008. Steiner will run weekly in the big block division with his NY Tech Racing #13 modified at both Brewerton and Fulton Speedways. Tony currently has 2 brand new Troyers set for this season. Tony will also run Weedsport on some Sundays, and will follow part of the Super Dirt Series schedule. He plans to run Series races at Brewerton, Fulton, Weedsport, Rolling Wheels, Ransomville, Canadaigua, Lebanon Valley, and will finish out the year doing the two biggest races, Super Dirt Week and Eastern States.
#93 Ryan Bartlett- Ryan Barlett will return to the seat of his own Troyer big block modified this season. He'll return to CanAm on Saturday nights, where he's had a lot of success in the past. Ryan will also return to Weedsport on Sunday nights as he did for most of the season last year, and when Weedsport has off, he'll run the Rolling Wheels shows. Ryan will also run local RoC shows, and make an appearance at Fonda early in the year. Other early season plans include visiting one of the following tracks, Five Mile Point, Hagerstown, or Selinsgrove. Ryan will also run local Super Dirt Series races.
#39 Tyler Bartlett- The young up-and-comer will also return to the seat of a family-owned big block this season. Tyler will only run CanAm weekly on Saturday nights, and currently has no other plans.
#77 Jimmy Johnson- After a very limited schedule in 2007, Jimmy Johnson makes a full-blown return to the seat of a modified this season. Jimmy will return to the famed Orange County Fair Speedway and will run for new owner Bob Flood in the 358 division. On Friday nights Jimmy will run part-time at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, and will also run in the RoC Series race at Accord at the end of the year. Jimmy will start his season off at Hagerstown for the 358 Octoberfest Qualifier on March 8th with his new team. Jimmy also purchased a Troyer for big block action at Orange County, which will be ready later in the year.
#83x Tim Sears- Tim Sears will return to running at Fulton Speedway on Saturday nights for weekly action. He'll also run some shows at Brewerton Speedway on Friday nights throughout the season. Along with big block action, Tim will run some select small block races throughout the year.
#57 Paul Jensen- The 2007 Thunder Mountain Speedway champion is making a change to his schedule in 2008. Paul purchased a new Teo for small block action at Utica Rome for Sunday night racing action. If Thunder Mountain runs modifieds, he'll make some select starts there on Saturdays as well. He'll also make a handful of big block starts throughout the year.
#76 Brett Graham- Last season's Future 358 Race winner at Super Dirt Week looks to improve on his 2007 season. Brett purchased a brand new Teo for big block action at Fonda on Saturday nights. Current plans are to make a couple stops at Glen Ridge with the team's small block. Brett will also return to run the big end of the year shows at Syracuse and Orange County. He may also hit a few more special shows throughout the year.
#25 Paul Habeck- Paul will return to Canandaigua for his sophmore season behind the wheel of a big block modified. He purchased a brand new Troyer for weekly action, and will also make some starts at Weedsport, and probably at least one of the Dirt Series shows at Rolling Wheels.
#85 and #2w Wade Hendrickson- After a huge win during the big block portion of Hagerstown's Octoberfest, Wade Hendrickson is set to embark on a busy schedule in 2008. Hendrickson will continue to run weekly at Bridgeport Speedway on Saturday nights driving for the Frank Rio/Jake Marine superteam. He'll also follow the entire Garden State Dual Track Series. Wade will start the year running the Hagerstown big block ands mall block shows with his 2w, which will sway his decision as to which car he'll run at Selinsgrove. The 2w will also made appearances that big block races at Big Diamond and New Egypt, while the Marine/Rio #85 will run weekly at Bridgeport, and Super Dirt Series races at Grandview, Virginia, and probably Syracuse, and will also run all of the end-of-the-year shows in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. He''l also run a Marine/Rio #R10 in late season small block shows. Wade will have at his disposal a brand new '08 Teo, and 6 other freshened modifieds, along with 2 brand new big blocks, and a brand new small block, to go with other freshened motors.
#15 Mike Laise- The teenager is looking to improve on things for 2008. Already improved from last season is his car, he bought a 2002 Bicknell to replace his worn out older Bicknell. His plans for the season will be the same as last year, run Grandview weekly in the 358 modified division
#m96 Brian McDonald- "Slim" will run a versatile schedule this up-and-coming season splitting time between the modified and 360 sprint car divisions. On the modified side of things McDonald will continue to pilot the LaSalle Motorsports #m96 358 modified on a pick and choose schedule. The team will follow the Lucas Oil Canadian Series, and other then that will not follow any series, or run any tracks weekly. He'll run some shows at Cornwall and Brockville and from there on the team will just run specials that appeals to the team, which includes some 358 Super Dirt Series races.
#6x Jackie Brown- The 358 modified veteran will have a new schedule planned for 2008. Brown will start the year off at Accord, but will not run weekly there. Brown plans on entering weekly shows at Glen Ridge and Five Mile Point along with Accord, and not worry about points at any of the tracks. Brown is planning on starting the year off at Selinsgrove for the RoC Series opener. Brown also hopes to hit up other special shows along the way, but will play that by ear.
#68 Neil Harris- Neil Harris will return to the wheel of his #68 small block in 2008. Harris has purchased an '08 Teo for weekly competition at Orange County, which is what he'll focus on in hopes of improving on his 16th place final points standings in '07.
#2B Dom Buffalino- Buffalino may finally be able to break out this season. After having a strong start to the 2007 season, which included a win, Buffalino broke his hand which led to a end of the year. Buffalino has a brand new '08 Teo to run weekly with at the New Egypt Speedway, along with a brand new big block powerplant to accompany the motor he used the past few years. In addition to New Egypt, the youngster will run Bridgeport's opener, along with the other three races at Bridgeport for the Garden State Duel Track Series.
#16 and #74w and #91D John Willman- John Willman will be busy in 2008. Willman will have 3 rides lined up, two for weekly competition, and one for special shows. On Friday nights Willman will return to the Big Diamond Raceway and will pilot his self-owned #74w small block modified, with hopes of repeating his top-10 points finish he had last season. On Saturday nights, Willman has teamed up with the Ron Wilson Racing Team, and will run their #16 small block weekly at the Grandview Speedway. The Wilson team will also hit up some early and late season small block special shows at tracks like Hagerstown and Big Diamond. Finally, for select big block shows, including a handful of Super Dirt Series races and RoC Series races, Willman will again be behind the weal of the Don Saracino owned #91d big block modified. The team will run specials at Delaware, Hagerstown, Virginia Motor Speedway, Big Diamond, Grandview, and possibly Bridgeport.
#T102 Shawn Fitzpatrick- After a disappointing 2007, Shawn Fitzpatrick will return to the Big Diamond Raceway in 2008. Fitzpatrick will be running a new 2005 Teo, with a new Lombardo small block powering it. Fitzpatrick may miss a couple weeks if fundings get low, but he'll race in as many races as possible.
#48too Dave Rauscher- Dave Rauscher had a very strong season aboard his self-owned big block modified, which resulted in a 5th place points finish at the Canandaigua Speedway. In 2008, Rauscher will again return to Canandaigua weekly in hopes of continuing his momentum from a strong 2007 season. Sunday nights will see Rauscher at the Cayuga County Fair Speedway for most, if not all, of the season. Rauscher will also run as many Super Dirt Series races as he possibly can, as he has in the past. Rauscher also has a car specially prepared for Super Dirt Week this year.
#44 Jimmy Chester- After a strong finish to the season by picking up a big win the the Delaware State Championships big block race, Chester will look to bring that momentum with him to this coming season. Chester will start off the year running at least one of the Hagerstown openers. From there, Chester will run weekly at the Bridgeport Speedway, and will also run New Egypt for the Garden State Duel Track Series races. Chester also has a small block at his disposal for a couple end of the year shows. Chester will also run the specials at Delaware once again, and also will be making his Super Dirt Week return, as long as plans fall into place.
#22 Zach Aubertine- After a very short season last year, Aubertine returns to the seat of his modified for small block action this season. Aubertine will run CanAm weekly in the small block division, and doesn't have any plans of traveling. He'll turn his car over to friend Lance Willix for a couple of specials as well.
#16 and #22 Lance Willix- The 2006 358 Super Dirt Series rookie of the year, Lance Willix, will once again be following the Small Block Dirt Tour, and will be one of the contenders for the championship. Willix will also run weekly at CanAm, along with Cornwall Speedway. Willix will also pilot Zach Aubertine's #22 in a couple of specials, which include the Selinsgrove RoC Race, and the small block portion of Super Dirt Week.
#16 Mike Bowman- After a breakout season last year, Mike Bowman makes a huge jump in 2008. Bowman will switch over to Troyer racecars, and will be running the entire Super Dirt Series tour with his new Troyers, with hopes of capturing the rookie of the year crown. Along with the tour, Bowman will run weekly at the Brewerton and Fulton Speedways.
#99J and #98H Jimmy Phelps- Jimmy Phelps will return to basically the exact same schedule as he had in 2007. He'll once again have Troyer's at his disposal, and will run the H&H Motorsports #98H on the Super Dirt Series tour. As for weekly competition, he'll once again run at the Fulton and Cayuga County Speedways.
#115 Kenny Tremont- After a two-championship season in 2007, Tremont returns with nearly the same schedule as he had the past few years. On Friday nights he'll look to defend his Albany-Saratoga track championship with his small block modifed. Saturday nights he'll go back to the high banks at Lebanon Valley and compete weekly with both the big and small block divisions. And on Sundays Tremont will run his small block in hopes of defending his track championship at the Devils Bowl Speedway. A limited number of Dirt Series shows will be mixed into his season, including Eastern States and Super Dirt Week.
#1x Todd Stone- Todd Stone had a very strong season in 2007 at the CVRA tracks, and hopes to continue that success into 2008. Stone will return to running the CVRA circuit, at Albany on Fridays, and Devils Bowl on Sundays. As for travel plans, Stone hopes to run at least some of the 358 races at Lebanon Valley, if not all of them, and will also run part of the 358 Super Dirt Series Tour.
#43 Keith Flach- After picking up his first career modified win in 2007, at Lebanon Valley, Keith Flach has an interesting array of cars lined up for 2008. Flach will run Friday nights at Albany in his PMC car, Saturday nights at Lebanon Valley in an '08 Troyer for the big block andwith a Bicknell which will be used as a small block, and a Teo for the asphalt dirt-modified races at Airborne. Flach will start the season off at Volusia with a Teo, and has plans on making stops at the New York State Fairgrounds and Devils Bowl.
#77J J.C. Flach- J.C. Flach will be making the moves to the big block division after an 8th place finish in the points standings in the small block ranks last season. The Flach team purchased a new Bicknell for the big block division. He'll also coninue to run in the 358 series as well at Lebanon Valley, using his PMC chassis.
#4 Duane Howard- After losing the Grandview championship by a single point last year, Duane Howard will move back to Bridgeport Speedway on Saturday nights. Howard and the Chad Sinon racing team have purchased a couple of new Troyer cars, and will run Bridgeport on Saturday nights. Also, the team will run New Egypt for the Duel Track Series when Bridgeport has off. For Friday nights, Howard will return to the Big Diamond Raceway, where he won the championship in 2006, in hopes of repeating the performance. Travel plans include possibly a couple shows at Penn Can, Grandview, Hagerstown, and Sinon and Howard will both make their return to Syracuse in the big block division for Super Dirt Week.
#11 and #16x Danny Creeden- Danny Creeden will be making the jump to modifieds full-time in 2008. Creeden will yet again pilot the #11 big block modified on Saturday nights in the big block division at Orange County. As for the small block division, Creeden will run his own #16x at Orange County when the 358 modifieds are there. Creeden will also drive his own small block at Accord on Friday nights. Creeden will continue to run the RoC South Series starting at Selinsgrove. He'll also run Super Dirt Races at Orange County, Rolling Wheels, Hagerstown, Cayuga, CanAm, and has a brand new big block ready for his first big block assault at Super Dirt Week. Creeden will also run a couple of 358 Super Dirt Series races, and make some appearances at Big Diamond.
#55 Kevin Hartnett- Kevin Hartnett returns to modified racing after a brief hiatus to run at the Redline Raceway with the Sitler Kline Racing team which has been one of the top rides at Redline and Central PA Speedway over the past few seasons. The team will run last years refreshened equipment and will run weekly at Redline Raceway. If the team has a strong season, there is a small possibility at hitting the big races at Grandview and possibly even Hagerstown.
#41 Shawn Reimert- After a strong season in 2007, highlighted by the rookie of the race honors, the former Central PA Speedway champion will follow a somewhat similar schedule to '07. He'll return to Grandview Speedway for Saturday night small block competition, and will yet again race in big block specials close to home, and will return to Syracuse in October. The one change that will be seen to the Reimert schedule in 2008 will be that on Friday nights instead of running Redline, Reimert will return to the Big Diamond Raceway with the Gagliardo Racing team. This means that Reimert will focus on the entire year in both the big block and small block divisions with the Gagliardo team.
#73, #93, and #99 Jimmy Davis- One of Fonda's most exciting drivers, Jimmy Davis, will return to Fonda on Saturday nights, but in a new car. Davis will drive the famed Magsarus #93 big block at Fonda on Saturdays. Another change in his schedule for 2008 will be that he will not run Albany-Saratoga on Friday nights, instead he and the Wade Motorsports #99 will move to Utica Rome on Sundays. Since Davis has two weekly rides, and doesn't have to run his own equipment weekly, Davis will run his own #73 on the RoC Tour in 2008.
#131 Barry White- After having a disappointing 2007 season cut short due to an injury suffered by his wife, the fan favorite Barry White will return to the seat of a modified for weekly competition at the Five Mile Point Speedway. White also has purchased a new car, a Teo car from former racer Barry Readinger.
#L82 Ted Lamb- After another strong showing at Utica Rome in 2007, Ted Lamb will once again run a brand new Dirt Wheels car on Sunday nights at the 1/2 mile. However, he'll also be competeing at the Brewerton Speedway on Friday nights in the big block division. He'll also do some end of the year traveling to special shows in the area.
#6n and #12e Eric Palmer- The defending co-rookie of the year at Five Mile Point will not return to the track where he's experienced so much success in both the modified and sportsman division. Instead, Palmer will switch from Five Mile Point to Orange County. On Saturdays Palmer will drive the Nick Noll #6n that he finished the year out in 2007 with, and will also run his own #12e that was run at Five Mile Point last year in the 358 division. Along with running weekly, Palmer will run special big block Dirt Series races, including Super Dirt Week, with the Nick Noll team, and as long as finances allow may travel with his small block a bit too.
#17, #47, and #97 Jerry Higbie- Jerry Higbie will have a busy schedule in 2008. After he runs the Chili Bowl, he'll have to focus on the three different modified teams he'll run for this year, but he was very successful at it in 2007. On Friday nights Higbie will be running his own #97 at the Accord Speedway with his big block. On Saturday nights he'll run both the big block and the small block divisions at Orange County Fair Speedway with the Shaver Motorspors #47 big block, and the Steve Canfield #17 small block modified. All three of these teams will see some traveling, the 97 car will see some select RoC shows, the 47 car will see some Super Dirt Series shows, and the 17 car will see some big money small block shows.
#19 Brad Brightbill- After finishing 3rd in points in the sportsman division at Big Diamond in 2007, and running well after moving up to the 358 division for late special shows, Brad will run Grandview weekly with newly found team MICK Enterprises on Saturday nights. The team purchased two brand new Teos and also purchased two new Lombardo engines. Brad will run his sportsman car on Friday nights at Big Diamond. MICK and Brad will run late and early season specials at Hagerstown, Delaware, Big Diamond, Grandview, with a possible few shows mixed in.
#17 Tommy Juhl- Last year's rookie of the year in the big block division at Weedsport will have very similar schedule in 2008 as he did in 2007. Juhl will run with mostly the same equipment, with the same Bicknells and engines, and will once again run Weedsport full-time with some limited traveling mixed in to tracks like Rolling Wheels and Canandaigua. The only change will be running weekly at Black Rock on Friday nights.
#53 and #8 Mike Gular- After having the greatest season of his career, the young hot-shoe who claimed the points title at Penn-Can Speedway last season will try to defend his title in his family owned #53 modified that he ran last season. The #53 car will also partake in some more local big block mid-week specials. As for Saturday nights, Gular will once again compete at Grandview, but in the Steve Kratz #8, which was piloted last year by Kerry Kratz.
#HB2 Jimmy Hauser- After a decade outside of the sport, Jimmy Hauser is back! Hauser, the 1995 winner of the 358 portion at Super Dirt Week, purchased a slew of brand new Teos, along with big and small block engines to compete at Orange County in both the big and small block ranks for all of 2008. Along with Orange County, Hauser plans to run Super Dirt Week and possibly a few other end of the year specials.
#R1 and #26 Ryan Godown- The 2007 Georgetown Speedway champion Ryan Godown will have a new home in 2008. Godown will team with Johnny Rea, who returns after almost two years out of the sport, for a weekly assault on Grandview Speedway. Along with Grandview, the team will run a partial Big Diamond schedule on Friday nights. This will allow Godown to do some more traveling throughout the east coast in his own #26 big block, which will be used for special shows only.
#27 Steve Bottcher- The annual Bridgeport Speedway championship contender will return yet again with the Cliff Krause Racing Team to run weekly at Bridgeport on Saturday nights. The team recently purchased a 2008 Teo for the season, and will use the car they had last year as a backup. The team will also run a Super Dirt Series race in the area, probably at New Egypt, and run all the Big Block specials at Big Diamond.
#19 Tim Fuller- Runner-up in the Super Dirt Series in 2007, and former Super Dirt Series big block and small block champion Tim Fuller will still run modifieds in 2008 despite what some rumors say. Fuller will also run the World of Outlaw Late Model tour this coming season. John Lazore purchased a brand new car for Fuller to run this coming season, along with the fleet of cars the team already has from previous years. Fuller will run most of the Super Dirt Series tour with Lazore, along with other big block specials and RoC shows, with a limited amount of 358 starts planned as well.
#22 Dave Lape- After a hard crash last summer, Dave Lape had to end his season early due to the heavy damage done to his car and some minor injuries he suffered. In '08 Dave Lape will return to running weekly at Fonda, driving again for Alton Palmer. The team will have a brand new Teo for the season. Lape will run a retro scheme from 1982 every so often. Lape will be at Fonda opening night.
#5 and #89B Todd Burley- The 2007 Ransomville Speedway champion will return to Ransomville to defend his title, however, he'll be making a drastic change to the rest of his schedule. Instead of running Utica Rome like he has the past few years, with lots of success, he'll be running Canandaigua in the big block division after a one-year hiatus. Also, don't be surprises to see Todd running a good amount of the 358 Super Dirt Series tour. He'll also be hitting up select other specials along the way in both the big block and 358 divisions, such as local Dirt Series races, the Utica Rome Specials, and possibly a few extra RoC and Dirt Series races.
#19 Brent Boyer- The 2007 Redline Speedway champion will return to Redline weekly in 2008, with pretty much the same equipment. Expect to see Boyer at a handful of shows at Thunder Mountain and Five Mile Point, and even possibly some specials at Big Diamond.
#91 H.J. Bunting- The 2007 Delaware International champion will yet again remain faithful to his home track in 2008. Bunting will have a slew of brand new home-built big blocks for the year. Besides Delaware, he'll run most of the modified races at Hagerstown.
#74 and #5 J.R. Heffner- Heffner will be back to defend his big block and small block crowns at Lebanon Valley Speedway. In the big block division he'll be teaming up with Ronnie Dwyer, the team he drove for at Syracuse the past 2 seasons, and combine Dwyer's team with his. While they'll concentrate on Lebanon Valley weekly, they'll do a limited amount of travel as well. You can expect to see them return to Syracuse, and also run most of the Hagerstown races. In the 358 ranks, the Goodermote owned small block will focus mainly on Lebanon Valley.
#99 Dave Zona- The almost annual late model champion at Penn Can has decided to try something new for 2008. Modified racing. The late model star will run weekly at Penn Can, and will also run select RoC races from all over. Expect him to be at the early season Hagerstown races as well. Zona will continue to run late models on a part-time basis as well at Penn Can and possibly a couple of other tracks.
#6K Chris Knopp- The 410 sprint standout at the Lincoln Speedway has now made the move to modifieds. Knopp purchased a former Alan Johnson Bicknell and will run Bridgeport weekly. For special shows he'll be at Selinsgrove and Hagerstown, and may run a few Dirt Series races as well.
#42 Pete Bicknell- Bicknell will attempt to win his 20th Merrittville championship in 2008. He'll be running with a fresh Bicknell chassis, and along with Merrittville Bicknell will return and run Ransomville as well. Also, the multiple time 358 Super Dirt Series champion will run select 358 shows, and also will run local big block Dirt Series races. To complete his busy schedule he'll run the Canadian Lucas Oil Series for the second consecutive year.
#3D Matt DeLorenzo- The man that absolutely dominated the competition at Fonda in 2007, will attempt to do the same in 2008. DeLorenzo will return to run Fonda with his potent small block, and will again run Albany-Saratoga on Friday nights, where he notched off one win in 2007 at. Along with running his two home-tracks again, DeLorenzo will make an occassional stop at Devils Bowl on Sunday nights.
#2 Ronnie Johnson- After a strong 2007 season, that included at RoC Northern Series championship, RJ will run an almost identical schedule in 2008. Once again Ronnie will run his cars at Albany-Saratoga on Friday nights, and on Saturday nights run Fonda Speedway. As far as traveling is concerned, he will yet again attempt to capture the RoC North and RoC overall crown. He'll also run a bunch of Super Dirt Series races in both the big block and small block divisions.
#1 and #9R Brian Weaver- After a fantastic start to 2007 with strong runs on the Dirt Series tour and at Hagerstown, Brian Weaver struggled through the rest of the season. He was not able to win the Penn Can championship for the first time in 5 years, and was plagued by DNF's all season long. In 2008 Weaver will return to run Penn Can with the Randy Decker #9R, and will also run the RoC South Tour with that team as well. On Saturday nights Weaver will return to Fulton, where he impressed a bunch of people with strong runs in 2007. He'll also run as many Dirt Series races as the team's budget allows.
#09 Kyle Lewis- After a strong rookie season in the modified division, Kyle Lewis will return to running both Breweront and Fulton full-time in the big block division. Lewis will also compete on more Dirt Series races then he did last year, along with a small amount of RoC races tied in.
#42B Kevin Bates- Kevin Bates had a strong 2007 season that included his first career win, along with a huge win at the Win and You're In race at Weedsport during Super Dirt Week. For 2008 Bates will return to running most of the Super Dirt Series, and will also attempt to pick up his first career modified championship at Brewerton Speedway, where he ended up runner-up in the standings. He'll also run Fulton on Saturday nights, and run a couple of Weedsport races, along with the $10,000 to win Utica Rome shows.
#10 and #14J Alan Johnson- After a below average year for AJ Slideways, he hopes to return to his old form with a former owner in 2008. Johnson will run the Super Dirt Series with the Randy Sherlock big block modified. Johnson will also run part of the 358 Super Dirt Series with the Sherlock team. Weekly Johnson will continue to drive for Wallace Stacey, but this year he'll return to running weekly at the Canandaigua Speedway. A handful of other specials will also be included, along with some possible RoC shows.
#19H Chris Higgins- After a strong sportsman career, Chris Higgins will be making the move to both the big block and 358 divisions at the Can-Am Speedway. As long as everything goes good with the season you can expect to see Higgins at the end of the year specials too.