2009 EASTERN STATES RECAP By FRANK CATIZONE

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – The passion to become an Eastern States 200 champion has been etched in the mind of Jerry Higbie for many years.

Higbie has been around racing throughout his lifetime and his entire family has been vital members of the Orange County Fair Speedway fraternity over a span of five decades.

Higbie’s driven desire to succeed, coupled with a red-hot big block Modified racing machine, were too much to overcome last Saturday afternoon as the 37-year-old Slate Hill driver completely dominated a talented 44-car field to capture his first Eastern States title in convincing fashion.

Higbie, who handed car owner Mike Petruska of Atlas Paving his third consecutive Eastern States crown, was a little lost for words following his dominating victory, which was worth well over $20,000, including lap money and contingency awards.

“This really hasn’t sunk in yet,’’ admitted Higbie, who received a kiss on the cheek from Petruska following his win. “I probably won’t realize what I’ve done until I read it in the newspaper. It took me 19 years to get here, but I’ve finally realized my dream.’

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A dream spawned long ago as Higbie watched many first-class drivers compete on the historic five-eighths mile, hard clay oval. His father (jerry) and uncle (Gary) were successful car owners at the track for nearly 30 years, and their chauffers included the likes of former Eastern States winners Frank Cozze, Bobby Bottcher and Jeff Heotzler Sr.

“This is a dream come true,’’ said Higbie. “It’s just an awesome feeling. I remember shaking hands with Kenny Brightbill and Jack Johnson after their Eastern States wins, and just how great it felt standing here in victory lane. I always hoped that some day I would enjoy that feeling and now I have.

“But none of this would have been possible without a tremendous race car. The Petruskas gave me just a great car to drive and I had no doubt that we had the best car on the track today. They kept telling me to slow down during the course of the race. But it seemed the slower I tried to go, the faster we went. This is just unbelievable.’’

Mike Petruska Sr., whose Atlas Paving No. 66 mount carried Danny Johnson and Heotzler to Eastern States victories last year and in 2007, was overcome following Higbie’s win. He leaped on the front of the car to greet his driver as he pulled into victory lane.

“I just can’t say enough about this kid,’’ said Petruska Sr. “A lot of people underestimate just how good of a driver Jerry really is. We’ve been having a lot of fun since we got together and I’m already looking forward to next year. This was a heck of a way to finish our season.’’

Higbie, who notched his 13th OCFS big block victory, enjoyed the most successful campaign of his 19-year racing career in 2009. He shared the OCFS Modified championship with Chuck McKee and also captured the track title at Accord Speedway.

Higbie’s victory in the King of the Catskills championship race at Accord and his first Eastern States crown clearly make him the Hudson Valley area’s most dominant driver this year.

“I’ve had quite a year and this is the biggest win of my career,’’ said Higbie. “But you don’t get to this point without having great equipment to race with. I’ve been fortunate enough to race for some very good car owners throughout my career and I’m looking forward to a very bright future with the Petruskas. We still have to sit down and see exactly what direction we want to go.’’

Mike Petruska Sr., who brought Higbie on board as his driver in August, said he’s hoping to run weekly at both Accord and OCFS in 2010, as well as hitting the ROC Tour.

“We’re not a full-time race team, but when we go racing, we do things the right way,’’ said Mike Petruska Sr. “I attribute a lot of our success to all the hard work my sons (Jared and Mike Jr.) put into these cars as well as our entire racing team, the Higbies and Harry Behrent.

“We use good equipment and don’t put any junk in our cars. That makes all the difference.’’

It made all the difference during the 48th running of this prestigious event, which is considered the longest continuous running dirt-track race in the country. But Higbie admitted that some pep talk throughout the week provided by the Petruskas provided him with a boost of confidence.

“Those phone calls really seemed to work,’’ said Higbie. “They just boosted my confidence, The Petruskas know what they’re doing and assured me they could get me to victory lane. I just had to follow our game plan and it worked to perfection.’’

That all came down to track position and Higbie didn’t miss a beat. Despite losing a spot to Jimmy Phelps at the drop of OCFS starter Jerry Enright’s green flag, Higbie never ran lower than fourth place under racing conditions.

Higbie, who started third, powered ahead of Rite Aid 200 winner Matt Sheppard for the lead on the 48th lap before making his mandatory pit stop under caution with 62 laps completed. All drivers were mandated to enter the pits between the 60th and 150th laps during the event.

“We just topped off the fuel and took off,’’ said Higbie. “This race all comes down to track position and we wanted to get out of the pits as quickly as possible. We went with the extra hard tires and didn’t make a change.’’

Higbie’s quick exit put him good position again as he began his chase of new leader Michael Storms, who stayed on the track after many of the top runners pitted with Higbie. Storms swapped the top spot with Rick Laubach for a few laps before assuming command on the 72nd circuit.

Higbie, meanwhile, took over second place when Laubach pitted and inherited the lead just before the 80th lap was completed when Storms shredded a right rear tire while racing down the homestretch and was forced to the pits.

Higbie, who stayed away from trouble in an event that featured 21 caution periods, remained in front the remainder of the race. McKee, who said he made hard contact with the fourth-turn wall early in the race, grabbed second place on the 86th lap, but could really never mount a serious challenge for the win.

“That car is really potent,’’ said McKee. “He just took off after every restart. But I’m happy with this second place finish.

“I hit the wall pretty hard early in the race and pancaked the right side. I almost pulled the car in, but stayed out there and it turned out to be a good thing I did. Jerry was just too strong today.’’

Higbie said he had no problem with tire wear and that the car stuck to the track like glue. However, it was a different story for most of his competition.

“Today it felt like we were having an ice skating race and I had the sharpest

blades,’’ said Higbie. “We really stuck the corners, while everyone else seemed to have problems getting a bite to the surface.
“Lapped traffic was really never a problem because of all the cautions. It seemed like as soon as I was lapping a car or two, the yellow flag would come out. We were very fortunate with that.’’

Phelps, for the second straight year, had to settle for a third place perform

ance with Andy Bachetti, Laubach, Brett Hearn, Steve Dodd, Rick Mill, Billy Decker and Craig Mitchell rounding out the top 10.
Hearn, who has won this event eight times, led from his outside pole starting position for the first 33 laps. However, Sheppard outgunned Hearn following a restart on the 34th lap and remained there until Higbie took over for the first time on the 48th circuit.

Hearn, following the event, felt that Sheppard should have been penalized for jumping the restart on lap 34. He said Sheppard also clipped his left front following a restart on the 46th lap, which forced Hearn to spin and the contact also forced Donnie Wilson’s car to roll on its roof.

The race went under red flag conditions and probably cost Hearn any shot at earning another Eastern States championship. The incident pushed Hearn from second to 23rd position.

But this day belonged to Higbie and the Petruskas. Higbie realized his dream and three really turned out to be a charm for Mike Petruska Sr. and the entire Atlas Paving No. 66 racing team.

“Big Daddy” Don Carlson survived several caution periods to earn his first Eastern States championship in the Pro Stock ranks as he captured the 30-lap title event.

Carlson, a regular competitor at the Lebanon Valley Speedway, was the class of the 21-car field as he outraced Rob Yetman, OCFS track champion Bill Pascual, Sean Corr and Troy Arnold to the checkered flag.

Carlson, who claimed the Street Stock Rookie Division race during Eastern States Weekend in 2004, started on the outside pole by virtue of his victory in the second qualifying race. Corr was victorious in the first heat event to grab the pole.

The race was delayed for several minutes just beyond the midway point when Tim McCarthy flipped and his car landed over the fourth turn wall after crashing through the fencing. McCarthy’s car also knocked down an electrical pole and some wiring.
Track maintenance was summoned to the scene to repair the damage and emergency crews checked over McCarthy, who wasn’t injured.

The Northeast Vintage Modified 20-lap championship race was captured by Jake Schlagel.

Eastern States 200 Feature Finish: 1. Jerry Higbie, 2. Chuck McKee, 3. Jimmy Phelps, 4. Andy Bachetti, 5. Rick Laubach, 6. Brett Hearn, 7. Steve Dodd, 8. Rick Mill, 9. Billy Decker, 10. Craig Mitchell, 11. Clinton Mills, 12. Bob McGannon, 13. Danny Creeden, 14. Tommy Meier, 15. Erik Holmgren, 16. Mel Schrufer, 17. Colin Jackson, 18. Ric Hill, 19. John Lieto, 20. Matt Sheppard, 21. Mitch Gibbs, 22. Jeff Heotzler Sr., 23. Jimmy Johnson, 24. Rich Eggers, 25. Mike Kolka, 26. Pat Ward, 27. Anthony Perrego, 28. Michael Storms, 29. David Van Horn Jr., 30. Ken Tremont Jr., 31. Tim Hindley, 32. Donnie Wilson, 33. Tom Hindley, 34. Bruce Kline, 35. Bobby Varin, 36. Gary Edwards Jr., 37. Kirk Horton, 38. Danny Johnson, 39. Billy Eggers Jr., 40. Billy Lowden Jr., 41. Chris Shultz, 42. Jeremy Markle, 43. Richie Eurich, 44. Mike Walther.

Pro Stock Feature Finish, 30 Laps: 1. Don Carlson, 2. Rob Yetman, 3. Bill Pascual, 4. Sean Corr, 5. Troy Arnold, 6. Tom Vigh Jr., 7. Jason Casey, 8. John Velde, 9. Walt Brownell, 10. Steven Shortway, 11. Stevie Galgano, 12. Ron Nuzzaro Jr., 13. Tom Cilurso, 14. Jim Smith, 15. Pete Stefanski, 16. Jason Casey, 17. Robbie Speed, 18. Tim McCarthy, 19. Matt Shadic, 20. Terry Arnold, 21. Jay Pepin.