ELBRIDGE, N. Y. -- The Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series battle for points heats up for the 100-lap, 150-point ninth round Sunday, September 2, at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. With only a few races left before NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLI and the Sixth Annual Lowes Foods World Finals, and with the winner's share of points increasing from 100 to 150, anything can happen between now and the championship.

Jimmy Phelps, second in points, trails leader and defending series champion Matt Sheppard by just 50 points and hopes resurrecting some old tactics can bring him success at the Stars & Stripes 100. The Baldwinsville, N. Y., native began his career racing regularly at Rolling Wheels, but his 2011 season saw uncharacteristic results with seventh- and eighth-place finishes. However, some retrospective strategizing helped him to an improved fourth-place finish at "The Fast Track's" 66-lapper during All-Star Weekend in May.

"We crept back toward some of our old notes in the spring race and that put us in the right direction, and we've just got to take it a bit further and see what happens," Phelps said. "I think the biggest thing is that we've worked so hard to get better at race tracks that we struggled at, that we forgot what we were doing at home."

Although Phelps has yet to see a series victory for the 2012 season, his performance has been impressive with two fast times and five first-place heat finishes during qualifying events at the past eight series races. Recent events have seen Phelps narrowly missing out on victory lane, with a second-place finish to Hearn at Lebanon Valley Speedway Thursday, Aug. 16, after leading 70 laps and a fourth-place finish at I96 Speedway after leading 50 laps.

"We're looking to hopefully rebound and try to get a good finish out of this coming race," Phelps said of the Stars & Stripes 100 at Rolling Wheels. "Our goal is to do the best we can. Matt's got a decent lead, but with some good finishes and depending on how he finishes, we have a shot at catching him. There're a handful of races left and the majority of them at the end are 150-point races so anything can happen."

After sudden illness caused him to miss two series races, seven-time champion Brett Hearn is also hoping to shake up point standings with the Stars & Stripes 100.

"We've got some ground to make up," said Hearn, whose stunning victory at Lebanon Valley Speedway has already taken him from sixth to third in points. "Things can shake out real fast when there're that many points on the line."

In addition to the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, a full show for DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds and DIRTcar Stock Cars round out the racing action for the night. The pit gate opens at 4 p.m. and grandstand gates at 5 p.m., with racing scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

General admission seats are $25 each or $10 each for students 10 to 17 years old. Children nine and under are FREE!

Call DIRTcar Northeast Headquarters at (315) 834-6606 or visit www.rollingwheelsraceway.com for more information about the Stars & Stripes 100. Tickets can be purchased in advance online by visiting www.DIRTcar.com/tickets or over the phone by calling (877) 395-8606. All tickets purchased in advance include a FREE Fan Pit Pass!

For the latest news and updates about DIRTcar Racing, like the Facebook page or follow the @DIRTcarNE Twitter feed. For live updates and results the night of the race and for the latest news about the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, follow @SuperDIRTcar on Twitter.

EVENT DETAILS:
What: Stars & Stripes 100, Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series Round 9
Who: Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified, DIRTcar Sportsman Modifed, and DIRTcar Stock Car drivers and teams
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, September 2; pit gate opens at 4 p.m. and grandstand gates at 5 p.m.
Where: Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Route 5, Elbridge, N. Y.

2012 Point Standings, after Lebanon Valley Speedway, August 16, 2012

Pos. No. Driver Total Series Bonus Diff Money Wins Top 5 Top 10 Starts
1 9s Matt Sheppard 703 703 0 0 $25,000 2 5 8 8
2 98H Jimmy Phelps 653 653 0 -50 $13,325 0 5 7 8
3 20 Brett Hearn 568 568 0 -135 $31,800 1 5 6 6
4 49 Billy Dunn 567 567 0 -136 $9,850 0 4 5 8
5 27J Danny Johnson 545 545 0 -158 $19,000 2 3 5 7
6 8R Rob Bellinger 509 509 0 -194 $6,750 0 1 5 8
7 3 Justin Haers 508 508 0 -195 $7,000 0 1 5 8
8 21a Pete Britten 472 472 0 -231 $4,300 0 0 2 8
9 8 Rich Scagliotta 410 410 0 -293 $2,925 0 0 0 8
10 10 Tim Currier 373 373 0 -330 $2,950 0 0 1 8
11 56 Vince Vitale 338 338 0 -365 $4,000 0 1 2 6
12 91 Billy Decker 336 336 0 -367 $8,000 0 2 4 4
13 48T Dave Rauscher 325 325 0 -378 $2,400 0 0 0 7
14 5* Tyler Siri 280 280 0 -423 $1,825 0 0 0 6
15 673 Gary Tomkins 254 254 0 -449 $3,000 0 1 1 5
16 72 Tommy Flannigan 239 239 0 -464 $1,875 0 0 0 6
17 77x Dale Planck 233 233 0 -470 $5,400 0 2 2 4
18 1Jr. Stewart Friesen 213 213 0 -490 $4,200 0 1 2 3
19 66x Carey Terrance 163 163 0 -540 $3,700 0 1 2 2
20 22c Mario Clair 145 145 0 -558 $4,300 0 1 1 2
21 6m Mat Williamson 136 136 0 -567 $3,700 0 1 2 2
22 97 Michel Chicoine 134 134 0 -569 $900 0 0 0 3
23 7x Steve Paine 131 131 0 -572 $1,600 0 0 2 2
24 115 Kenny Tremont Jr. 127 127 0 -576 $1,525 0 0 1 2
25 21K Randy Chrysler 122 122 0 -581 $975 0 0 0 2
26 1 David Hebert 118 118 0 -585 $1,150 0 0 1 2
27 97 Bobby Varin 101 101 0 -602 $6,000 1 1 1 1
28 34b Andy Bachetti 95 95 0 -608 $2,500 0 1 1 1
29 54 Steve Bernard 86 86 0 -617 $600 0 0 0 2
30 21 Derrick Podsiadlo 85 85 0 -618 $600 0 0 0 2