Mathison bests Volusia field of UMP DIRTcar heavy hitters for first Florida win

BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 14, 2012 – Dale Mathison set the tone from the drop of the green flag Tuesday night at Volusia Speedway Park, winning the DIRTcar UMP Modified opener at the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment.

“Anytime you can win at Volusia with this cast of characters, it’s a good night,” said Mathison, who won for the first time of his career in Florida. “They all run tough and consistent. It was a benefit to start on the front row, there was a good cushion out there and we took advantage of it.”

Mathison’s first victory at Volusia earned him $1,000, plus he also became the first recipient of one of the new unique UNOH DIRTcar Nationals by Summit alligator racing trophies that feature winners will receive this season.

Mathison, of Clearwater, Minn., led all 20 laps by holding off a mid-race charge from Brian Shaw, of Robinson, Ill., and turning back a valiant last-lap effort from 2011 NASCAR Truck Series champion Austin Dillon, who finished a close second after starting the main event from the seventh spot.

Shaw finished third ahead of Kenny Wallace of Concord, N.C., who recovered from a spin on lap six to finish fourth, while Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., rounded out the top five.

DIRTcar UMP Modified regular Devin Gilpin of Columbus, Ind., won the evening’s Bullrush Dash for non-qualifiers.

There were 74 DIRTcar UMP Modifieds on hand for the first of eight nights of competition.

For more information, go to www.DIRTcarNationals.com or follow the event on Twitter@DIRTcarNats and on Facebook at facebook.com/DIRTcarNationals.

A-Main (20 Laps) – 1. 9M Dale Mathison; 2. 3 Austin Dillon; 3. 1s Brian Shaw; 4. 36 Kenny Wallace; 5. 40b Kyle Bronson; 6. 9 Kenny Schrader; 7. 41 Ty Dillon; 8. 26 Bob Gierke; 9. 18L Michael Long; 10. ’00 Kody Weisner; 11. 17JE J.E. Stalder; 12. 64C Gary Cook Jr; 13. 0 Mark Dixon; 14. 72 Todd Neiheiser; 15. 65 Todd Sherman; 16. 0J Bryce Jewell; 17. 2 Josh Ulrich; 18. 145 Jason Davis; 19. 28 Paul Miles; 20. 18C Matt Cooper; 21. 16 Travis Dixon; 22. 35 Steve Arpin; 23. 24 Brad Waits 12; 24. 65M Michael Davis; 25. 7b Jeff Babcock; 26. 11 Richie Tosh; 27. 2H Nick Hoffman; 28. 17 Heath Weston.

Qualifying Group 1: 1. 3 Austin Dillon, 2. 41 Ty Dillon; 3. 18L Michael Long; 4. 92 Joel Watson; 5. ‘0J Bryce Jewell; 6. 48 Ralph Groomer; 7. 129 Rob Penny; 8. 47 Collin Thirlby; 9. 13C Troy Clark; 10. 27M Roger Moser; 11. ’09 Rob Underwood; 12. z1 George Catanzano; 13. 16 Travis Dixon

Qualifying Group 2: 1. 44 Dave Hess Jr; 2. ’00 Kody Weisner; 3. 9M Dale Mathison; 4. 11 Richie Tosh; 5. 64C Gary Cook Jr; 6. 90 Jason Beaulieu; 7. 18 Jared Allison; 8. 17 Heath Weston; 9. 64L Dan Leatherman; 10. 81 Lawrence Sprague; DNS ’01 Travis Fleshman; DNS d48 Derek Groomer; DNS 41s Barry Sheffield

Qualifying Group 3: 1. 40b Kyle Bronson; 2. ’00d Shaun Daugharty; 3. 2 Josh Ulrich; 4. 24 Brad Waits; 5. 6b Dale Baldwin; 6. 77g Gavin Landers; 7. ‘0 Mark Dixon; 8. 115 Brandon Smith; 9. 55 Scott Hansen; 10. 12s Matt Shaddic; DNS 15R Rich Robinson Jr; DNS 21b Gary Brooks

Qualifying Group 4 : 1. 9 Kenny Schrader; 2. 26 Bob Gierke; 3. 15 Dave Baker; 4. 72 Todd Neiheiser; 5. 35 Steve Arpin; 6. d4 Dave Jamison; 7. 67 Garrett Stewart; 8. 22T Tony Anderson; 9. 65M Michael Davis; 10. 10 Scott Mooers; 11. 1G Devin Gilpin; 12. 83 J.R. Mason

Qualifying Group 5: 1. 75 Bart Hartman; 2. 65 Todd Sherman; 3. 7b Jeff Babcock; 4. 18C Matt Cooper; 5. 77K Joey Kramer; 6. 182 Randle Sweeney; 7. K12 Scotty Kincaid; 8. 18M David McWilliams; 9. 18s Dave Schroeder; 10. 66 Dale Murray; 11. ’05 Dave Wietholder; 12. 2X Brady Gerdes

Qualifying Group 6: 1. 36 Kenny Wallace; 2. 2H Nick Hoffman; 3. 28 Paul Miles; 4. 1s Brian Shaw; 5. 22s Chad Kinder; 6. 17JE J.E. Stalder; 7. 77 Mike Wedelstadt; 8. 145 Jason Davis; 9. 1 Chris Puskas; 10. 25 Tyler Nicely; 11. 77L Dalton Lanich; 12. 17X Richie Michael

Heat 1: 1. 18L Michael Long; 2. 3 Austin Dillon; 3. 41 Ty Dillon; 4. ‘0J Bryce Jewell; 5. 27M Roger Moser; 6. 16 Travis Dixon; 7. 47 Collin Thirlby; 8. ’09 Rob Underwood; 9. 92 Joel Watson; 10. 48 Ralph Groomer; 11. 129 Rob Penny; 12. 13C Troy Clark; 13. z1 George Catanzano

Heat 2: 1. 9M Dale Mathison; 2. 11 Richie Tosh; 3. ’00 Kody Weisner; 4. 17 Heath Weston; 5. 64C Gary Cook Jr; 6. 18 Jared Allison; 7. 41s Barry Sheffield; 8. 64L Dan Leatherman; 9. ’01 Travis Fleshman; 10. 81 Lawrence Sprague; 11. 44 Dave Hess Jr; DNS 90 Jason Beaulieu; DNS d48 Derek Groomer

Heat 3: 1. 40b Kyle Bronson; 2. 2 Josh Ulrich; 3. 24 Brad Waits; 4. 6b Dale Baldwin; 5. 55 Scott Hansen; 6. ‘0 Mark Dixon; 7. ’00d Shaun Daugharty; 8. 15R Rich Robinson Jr; 9. 77g Gavin Landers; 10. 115 Brandon Smith; 11. 12s Matt Shaddic; DNS 21b Gary Brooks

Heat 4: 1. 72 Todd Neiheiser; 2. 9 Kenny Schrader; 3. 35 Steve Arpin; 4. 26 Bob Gierke; 5. 67 Garrett Stewart; 6. 22T Tony Anderson; 7. 65M Michael Davis; 8. 10 Scott Mooers; 9. d4 Dave Jamison; 10. 15 Dave Baker

Heat 5: 1. 7b Jeff Babcock; 2. 18C Matt Cooper; 3. 65 Todd Sherman; 4. K12 Scotty Kincaid; 5. 18M David McWilliams; 6. 182 Randle Sweeney; 7. ’05 Dave Wietholder; 8. 2X Brady Gerdes; 9. 75 Bart Hartman; 10. 77K Joey Kramer; 11. 18s Dave Schroeder; 12. 66 Dale Murray

Heat 6: 1. 1s Brian Shaw; 2. 28 Paul Miles; 3. 36 Kenny Wallace; 4. 2H Nick Hoffman; 5. 22s Chad Kinder; 6. 145 Jason Davis; 7. 17JE J.E. Stalder; 8. 77 Mike Wedelstadt; 9. 25 Tyler Nicely; 10. 17X Richie Michael; 11. 77L Dalton Lanich; 12. 1 Chris Puskas

B-Main 1: 1. ‘0J Bryce Jewell; 2. 17 Heath Weston; 3. 64C Gary Cook Jr; 4. 16 Travis Dixon; 5. 48 Ralph Groomer; 6. 41s Barry Sheffield; 7. 18 Jared Allison; 8. 90 Jason Beaulieu; 9. ’01 Travis Fleshman; 10. 64L Dan Leatherman; 11. z1 George Catanzano; 12. 47 Collin Thirlby; 13. 13C Troy Clark; DNS 27M Roger Moser; DNS ’09 Rob Underwood; DNS 92 Joel Watson; DNS 81 Lawrence Sprague; DNS 129 Rob Penny; DNS 44 Dave Hess Jr; DNS d48 Derek Groomer

B-Main 2: 1. 26 Bob Gierke; 2. 65M Michael Davis; 3. ‘0 Mark Dixon; 4. 6b Dale Baldwin; 5. 1G Devin Gilpin; 6. 10 Scott Mooers; 7. 115 Brandon Smith; 8. 12s Matt Shaddic; 9. d4 Dave Jamison; 10. 83 J.R. Mason; 11. 15R Rich Robinson Jr; 12. 55 Scott Hansen; 13. ’00d Shaun Daugharty; 14. 22T Tony Anderson; 15. 67 Garrett Stewart; 16. 15 Dave Baker; DNS 77g Gavin Landers; DNS 21b Gary Brooks

B-Main 3: 1. 2H Nick Hoffman; 2. 17JE J.E. Stalder; 3. 145 Jason Davis; 4. 77K Joey Kramer; 5. ’05 Dave Wietholder; 6. 77L Dalton Lanich; 7. 22s Chad Kinder; 8. K12 Scotty Kincaid; 9. 77 Mike Wedelstadt; 10. 17X Richie Michael; 11. 25 Tyler Nicely; 12. 77g Gavin Landers; 13. 2X Brady Gerdes; 14. 18M David McWilliams; 15. 182 Randle Sweeney; DNS 75 Bart Hartman; DNS 18s Dave Schroeder; DNS 66 Dale Murray; DNS 1 Chris Puskas

Bullrush Dash: 1. 1G Devin Gilpin; 2. 17X Richie Michael; 3. 12s Matt Shaddic; 4. z1 George Catanzano; 5. ’01 Travis Fleshman; 6. 15R Rich Robinson Jr; 7. ’05 Dave Wietholder; 8. 64L Dan Leatherman; 9. 41s Barry Sheffield; DNS 13C Troy Clark; DNS 17 Heath Weston; DNS 27M Roger Moser; DNS ’09 Rob Underwood; DNS 16 Travis Dixon; DNS 81 Lawrence Sprague; DNS 2X Brady Gerdes; DNS 83 J.R. Mason; DNS 21b Gary Brooks; DNS 55 Scott Hansen; DNS d48 Derek Groomer;

The DIRTcar UMP Modified portion of the University of Northwestern Ohio DIRTcar Nationals by Summit Racing Equipment is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Summit Racing Equipment, Hoosier Racing Tires, GM Performance Parts, University of Northwestern Ohio, Aero Race Wheels, Aerotech Styling, ASI Racewear, Auto Meter, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, Bilstein Shocks, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Vicci, KSE Racing Products, MSD Ignition, Quarter Master, R2C Competition Series Air Filters, XS Power Racing Batteries, VP Racing Fuels.