PLANCK WINS MOHAWK RACEWAY LABOR DAY SHOOT-OUT; TERRANCE CROWNED 358 MODIFIED CHAMPION

AKWESASNE -- Dale "The Natural" Planck (Cortland) put on a clinic, capturing the Frenchie's Chevrolet Labor Day Shoot-out 50 for the 358 Modifieds on Friday night at Mohawk International Raceway (MIR) for his third win of the season and lapping the entire field up to fifth spot.

As a result of the win, Carey Terrance (Akwesasne) captured his first career Mohawk International Raceway 358 Modified championship, while Todd Stone (Middlebury, VT) used a fourth place finish to win the Frenchie's Chevrolet American Revolution mini-series title and capture the valuable bonus money.

The dominating performance sets up Planck and his teammate and car owner Carey Terrance as two of the top drivers to challenge for the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified championship, with the next series race set for Sunday at Cornwall Speedway (Jiffy 100) and with the series set to roll into MIR on Friday, September 17th.

In other action on Friday night, all three newly crowned track champions also won their respective feature events: Chris Raabe (Napanee, ONT) won his 14th DIRTcar Sportsman feature, Ricky Thompson (Akwesasne) got by Louie Jackson (Akwesasne) with two laps to go to get his fifth feature win and secure his first career Pro Stock championship, while Joey Foster (West Stockholm) won his 12th Bandit feature and scored back-to-back Bandit track championships.

Gardner Stone (Middlebury, VT) and Clayton Benedict (Akwesasne) battled for the lead at the start of the Frenchie's Chevrolet Labor Day Shoot-out 50 for the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, but Perry "Bones" Francis (Akwesasne) soon established himself as one of the drivers to beat as he rocketed to third on lap three and then second just two laps later.

Francis worked past Gardner Stone to grab the lead on lap 11, while four laps later Todd Stone (Middlebury, VT) and Planck both hustled past Benedict to move into the top five. Lap 17 proved to be one of the pivotal moments of the race, as Planck darted to third while behind him, Benedict tangled with a lapped car, sending both vehicles spinning.

Carey Terrance was caught up in the incident, spinning off turn one and ending his night, although his run earned him enough points to capture the 2010 MIR DIRTcar 358 Modified championship. On the restart, Planck shot by both Gardner Stone and Francis to grab the lead and from there on out, Planck was unstoppable, working through the field to lap every car from fifth spot on back.

Todd Stewart (Kingston, ONT) got by Francis on lap 29 for second spot but by then, Planck was nearly half a track ahead of him.

The race's final caution waved on lap 47 as Rick Miller hit the fourth turn wall, tightening up the field, but once the green flag waved, Planck took off again, powering on for his third win of the season for car owner and teammate Carey Terrance.

Stewart finished second after a great charge from deep in the pack and Francis finished third. Todd Stone's fourth place finish earned him enough points to capture the Frenchie's Chevrolet American Revolution mini-series points and bonus money, while rookie Luke Whitteker finished fifth, one lap down, in his first career start at MIR.

Kristian Smoke (Akwesasne) led the early laps of the Sportsman feature but Chris Raabe moved into the top spot just before the half-way point and went on to grab his 14th win at MIR and officially be crowned Sportsman track champion.

Dylan Evoy (Brockville, ONT) roared home second while Smoke held off the challenges of Sheldon Hoogwerf (Prescott, ONT) and Josh Jock (Akwesasne) to finish third.

Louie "Action" Jackson (Akwesasne) looked like he was the man to beat in the Pro Stocks, but Ricky Thompson reeled him in and caught him with two laps to go. Swinging to the extreme inside of the speedway, Thompson applied enough pressure to get Jackson to slide up the raceway just a few feet and give Thompson room to slide under.

Thompson went on to score his fifth win of the season and capture his first career Pro Stock title. Jackson finished second with rival Dave "Bulldog" Bissonnette (Alexandria, ONT) third.

Rookie Ryan Stabler (Cornwall, ONT) scored an impressive fourth place run while Stephane LeBrun (Gatineau, QUE) rounded out the top five.

In the Bandits, John Green (Norfolk) had the early race lead, but it only took Joey Foster a lap to get to the top spot, while a great five car battle for second developed behind him.

Foster powered on for his twelfth win of the season and his second straight Bandit championship, but the battle for second went right down to the checkered flag, with Ernie Cree (Akwesasne) slipping under Pete Cename (Plattsburgh) on the final turn for the runner-up spot.

Derek Colbert (Norwood) and Owen White (Akwesasne) tangled coming out of the final turn with Colbert getting the fourth spot in a wild slide into the infield.

Mohawk International Raceway will kick back into action with a season ending triple-header championship weekend on Friday, September 17th through Sunday, September 19th.

On Friday, September 17th, A&M Beverage presents the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified championship series, with a 75-lap feature event.

The defending race winner is Pat "Flyin'" O'Brien of Kingston, ONT while the defending Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified champion is Dale "The Natural" Planck of Cortland.

A stellar field of 358 Modifieds from throughout the DIRTcar circuit is expected. Also on the card Friday evening will be the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman tour with a 50-lap feature, a race being made up after a June 23rd rainout.

There will also be a full card of heats and a regular 20-lap feature for the Sportsman along with open competition Bandits.

Race time is 7:45 PM. Saturday, September 18th, SUNY Canton presents the SuperDIRT Big Block Modified series with a 100-lap feature event. Jimmy Phelps won the first SuperDIRT Big Block race at MIR back on June 23rd, but all of the biggest names in Modified racing will be in the pit area to challenge for the win.

Also on Saturday will be the first ever appearance for the CRSA 350 Sprint cars. Sunday, September 19th will be the final race of the season, with the annual IronMan Slick Track Enduro 100 set to start at noon.

This special event features a large field of cars -- often 50 or more entries -- racing on a slippery water-soaked track.

The IronMan Enduro 100 is a test of stamina and endurance as the cars spin and slide around the track in the race to be the first to complete 100 laps and capture the checkered flag. Bandit star Nolan Swamp is the defending race winner.

MOHAWK INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010: FRENCHIE'S CHEVROLET LABOR DAY SHOOT-OUT FRENCHIE'S CHEVROLET DIRTcar 358 MODIFIEDS LABOR DAY SHOOT-OUT (50 laps):

Dale Planck, Todd Stewart, Perry Francis, Todd Stone, Luke Whitteker, Laurent Ladouceur, Roy Tarbell, Jeff Sykes, John Lazore, Clayton Benedict, Dave Heaslip, Roy Delormier, Brad Shova, Gage Morin, Gardner Stone, Billy Cook, Mike Perrotte, Tom Jock Jr., John Mulder, Casey Swamp, Rick Miller, Del LeGrow, Ryan Jacobs, Carey Terrance. DNQ: Ryan Helm, Shawn Burke, Melvin Rush, Derrick Martin, Preston Forbes.

DIRTcar SPORTSMAN (20 laps): Chris Raabe, Dylan Evoy, Travis Back, Sheldon Hoogwerf, Josh Jock, Brent Kelsey, Kristian Smoke, Jenna David, Brad Winters, Kevin Fetterly.

DIRTcar PRO STOCKS (20 laps): Ricky Thompson, Louie Jackson, Dave Bissonnette, Ryan Stabler, Stephane LeBrun, Rod Tarbell, Allen Peters, Dave Papineau, Jody Swamp, Dion Oakes, Claudia Tarbell, Thunder Anderson, Dave Sawatis.

BANDITS (12 laps): Joey Foster, Ernie Cree, Peter Cename, Derek Colbert, Owen White, John Green, Stuart Mossow, Gary Sharlow, Scott Mere, Darryl Mitchell, Henry Lamica, Trent Benedict, Brad Fish, Joseph Barnes, Andrew Fish, Rick Tiernan, Jason Crites.

Mohawk International Raceway is located midway between the Seaway International Bridge to Cornwall, ONT and the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino. From Route 37, turn south onto Frogtown Road.

Racing is held on Friday nights at 7:45 PM from May through September, featuring the Frenchie's Chevrolet DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, Sportsman and Pro Stocks, as well as the Bandit division.

The website address is www.MohawkInternationalRaceway.com. The MIR office is 518-358-3225 and on race days, the track number is 518-358-9017. The track is owned and operated by Mohawk International Raceway, LLC.