Sharon Speedway - August 5, 2007

Dunn-Olivieri Racing traveled to Sharon Speedway for the fifth time this season, and came home with a respectable but uncharacteristic 8th place finish at Hartford Oval.

A week of 90 plus degree weather during the week made the track conditions both dry and dusty, and for the most part a one groove track A field of 26 E-Mods were on hand, and saw Russ finish third in the second eight heat race advancing him the pill re-draw for the feature.

Starting sixth in the 15 lap feature, Russ fell back two spots when a caution flew on lap two. The next eleven laps saw Russ advance no further than seventh through four more caution periods. Trying the high side on a lap thirteen restart, Russ lost a position trying to make the hide side of the track work,but when it was all said and done a eight place finish was the end result.

At the time of this release plans for the upcoming weekend have not been made, but the team plans on being at Sharon Speedway on August 14 when NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Dave Blaney, Kevin Harvick will be racing in a 25 lap special race. The team will also visit Lernerville Speedway on August 16 for a special race on NASCAR night and Sprint Car spectacular .

Sharon Speedway
July 28,2007

Dunn-Olivieri Racing enjoyed a homecoming of sorts Saturday evening, visiting the 3/8 mile Sharon Speedway and for the second time in only four visits came home with it second victory of the at the Hartford, OH power plant and is fourth overall victory of the year.

Russ Dunn, the defending E-Mod track champion was dialed in leading all eight laps in the heat race and all fifteen in the feature. Staring on there outside pole, the initial attempt to start the race was waved off, and from that point Russ jumped out to an early lead and checked out on the 25 car field. Dunn was able to maintain his lead when the caution flew on lap No. 5, and by the midway point had extended his lead by some ten car lengths when the yellows again flew for the second place running car on lap No. 11.

Maintaining the lead, Russ proved he was the car to beat and cruised to the win. Dunn was elated in victory lane stating ” We always have run good at Sharon Speedway. I wish we could run here more often” referring to the fact his work schedule with Lias Tire often has him traveling on Saturdays. Dunn, has been the model of consistency in his four visits to Sharon Speedway this year with two wins and a second and third place finish.

Tri-City July 15 and July 22

The previous two weeks Dunn-Olivieri has been racing at Tri-City Speedway and though they had early season success with a win and two third place finishes, the team is trying to get a handle on it slick surface now that summer is upon us. The results were an uncharacteristic 17th place finish on July 15 as they badly missed on the set up, and improved it a an 11th place finish on July 22. The goal of the team is to see if they can figure out set up that will help them on the slick tracks.

Expo Speedway - July 11th - VICTORY #3!!!

Dunn-Olivieri Racing wanted to travel to more tracks this year, and because of Russ’s work schedule, the mid-week shows are easier for the team to attend. Last night’s race was the third in eight days and the result was the teams third win of the year - Sharon, Tri-City, and now, Expo Speedway in Ohio.

The race was part of the 161st annual Trumbull County Fair and for the 2nd year in a row, the track was re-opened to race cars. The track is a 5/8 mile flat track and extremely fast. Russ had the # 47 DunnTrucking /Laurel Gardens Tire/Vecenie Distributing (Straub & Iron City Beer) Pennzoil Products/McDonald’s Frankland Racing Supply,Rocket powered by a Domhoff Racing engine and shod with American Racer Tires and Lias Tire winning his eight lap heat race in impressive fashion.

Starting fourth in the 15 lap feature, Russ was shuffled back to seventh on the start as he got into some loose dirt. It was at this time Russ put the pedal down as he began to reel in the leader. A caution on lap eight bunched the field, and at this point Russ took off and never looked back as he increased his lead over the second place car by the length of the front straight hitting speeds of 102 mph in route to the victory.

As off this release plans for the weekend are tentative due to Russ’s work schedule, however if it is possible, the team will attempt to visit Tri-City Speedway.

Raceway 7 - July 6th

Dunn-Olivieri Racing headed back to the shores of Lake Erie on Friday July 6,2007, as it was the teams first visit of the year to Raceway 7 to take part in the Jo Ann Clinger Memorial race. The race drew the area’s best E-Mod drivers, and when the evening was over the team brought home a hard fought 6th place finish.

The race was the second three days for Russ and the team, and track number six they have raced at this year. A field of forty cars signed in an heats were spread out in four eight lap heat races. Finishing 6th in the third heat race, Russ missed the pill redraw and was forced to run a B-Main. Finishing second in the second B-Main earned the # 47 the 20th position for the 30 lap feature. The feature was delayed at the start due to it being over watered and the result took it toll in the feature with over ten cautions. Like a turtle slowly worked his way forward during both long runs and short runs when the cautions were grouped together. The final caution came on lap 28, and the short two lap dash had Russ just missing a top five, and ended up with a 6th place finish.

It will be a mid-week show again this week when Dunn-Olivieri Racing will travel to special show and fair held at Expo Speedway on July 11,2007.

July 3 - Eriez Speedway

Dunn-Olivieri Racing traveled North to Eriez Speedway to take part in the tracks mid-week Forth of July special. On of the teams goals for 2007 was to visit other tracks when time permitted. The trip to Eriez Speedway was the first for Russ and the team. The night was very long as racing extended into the wee hours of the morning, and when the checkers flew Russ came home with a fourth place finish.

The racing was the first in almost three weeks for Dunn-Olivieri Racing.Russ’s position with Lias Tire has had him traveling the past weeks and last night was no exception, however the track has an E-Mod division, so Russ was the # 47 Dunn Trucking, Laurel Gardens Tire, Vecenie Distributing (Iron City & Straub Beer) Mc Donald’s,Pennzoil Products, Frankland Racing Supply, Rocket Chassis powered by a Domhoff Racing Engine and shod with Lias Tire/ American Race Tires.

Starting on the outside pole in the third heat race, Russ ran in that position for eight laps coming home second. The redraw gave Russ the third starting position for the feature. There was side by side racing involving the top six cars until a caution on lap seven. After a pair of restarts Russ was running in sixth when three was a four car wreck on lap nine.The final caution came on lap twelve, with Russ able to finish in the fourth place. The first trip to Eriez Speedway was a learning curve for the team, now the team must take what the have learned and put it to good use. They will use that information as the team will again head north, this time to Conneaut, OH on July 6th, when they will visit Raceway 7 for the $1500 to win Jo Ann Clinger Memorial Race.

Sharon Speedway - June 9,2007

Dunn-Olivieri capped off a busy week of racing traveling to Sharon Speedway to participate in a rare race doubleheader. The first feature was a make up from May 19,2007, and the second feature was the normally scheduled weekly feature. The results were favorable , as Russ brought home a third place finish in the first feature and a second place finish in the second feature.

The make up feature had a field of 21 cars and had Russ starting ninth. As green flag was waved, Russ was able to move to sixth on the first caution on lap 4. The second caution flew five laps later on lap nine, and had Russ advancing one sport to fifth. The evenings final caution flew on lap 14. and finishing in third as the checkers flew.

The regular schedule race had an expanded field of twenty-six E-Mods pit side split into three heat races of eight laps. Starting fifth, Russ raced to a third place finish to make himself eligible for the pill re-draw. The re-draw gave Russ a fourth place start for the 15 lap feature.

The drop of the green flag had Russ running second when the caution flag flew on lap 4. On the restart,Russ was able to jump into the lead a position he held for two laps, falling to second on a caution at lap 8. Getting the car to come off the exit off the turn was a problem and allowed the leader to pull away on long green fag runs. A final caution on lap 11 gave Russ another chance, but in the end he had to settle for a second place finish.

The week was a good on for Dunn-Olivieri Racing, as it finished out a busy week of racing with two second place finishes and one third place finish. The team will travel to Tri-City Speedway on June 17,2007 to participate in the first of four schedule E-Series races to be run at the Franklin oval.

Lernerville Speedway-June 5th

Dunn-Olivieri Racing made their third visit of the year to the “Action Track”, and there was plenty of it as Russ mounted an amazing comeback to finish second.

A field of twenty-five E-Mods were on hand for the mid week UMP special run with the All-Star sprints.The field was divided into three heat races. The #47 Dunn Trucking Rocket started on the pole and lead all 8 laps in winning the heat race. The pill re-draw gave Russ the eighth position for the 20 lap feature

The start of the feature saw the “BIG ONE”. Before the cars got to the flag stand, one of the cars go into another spinning that car into Russ sending him hard into the wall while the rest of the field was crashing behind. The result was a flat right front and left rear tires, and seven of the twenty-four starters dropping out of the race with damage. Taking the car pit side, the crew was able to change the tires, survey the damage to the car, and send Russ back out without losing a lap.

Restarting 17th, Russ began his march to the front, moving into the top ten during early lap cautions. By the midway point of the race, Russ was remarkably up to 5th place and looking for more. He had moved into 4th place when a caution on the 18th lap set the stage for a two-lap shootout. Dunn stated ” We were all running the bottom and since no one was using the top, I elected to go to top and found it to be very fast.” Fast it was, as on the lap 18 restart, Russ used the upper groove to move into second on lap 19 and fell just short of the leader as the checkers flew.

The second place finish capped a great comeback, and looking back, one can only wonder what might have been, had they not been caught up in the first lap melee. The team will travel to Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH as Russ will start ninth in the make up race from May 19th and be part of the regular Fantastic Five Racing.

Rain, Rain, and More Rain!

Sharon Speedway

Heavy rain showers forced the cancellation of the weekly show and the make a feature from 5/23. The makeup date for the make up feature will take place on June 9th along with regular Fantastic Five Racing.

Tri-City Speedway

Morning rain showers and the threat of more evening rain forced the cancellation for the second time in three weeks. The make up date for the rained out E-Series race is June 17,2007

Dunn-Olivieri Racing will be at Lernerville Speedway on June 5,2007 ( www.lernerville.com ) and June 9,2007 at Sharon Speedway ( www.sharonspeedway.com )

VICTORY # 2 at TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY

May 27,2007

Dunn-Olivieri Racing made their third visit of the year to the Venango County half-mile oval, and as the saying goes, “the third time is a charm”, indeed it was, as Russ led all sixteen laps while picking up his first win of the year at Tri-City Speedway, and the team’s second of the year, to go with a win at Sharon Speedway.

In his Victory Lane interview Russ stated, “We weren’t going to race tonight,” after picking up his second career win at Tri-City. “My wife was upset we decided to race, but it all worked out. The other drivers made us work for it tonight.”

The evening’s racing almost didn’t happen, as heavy rains hit the Speedway in mid-afternoon and once again for a 38 minute delay during the running of the features. A field of twenty-two cars were pit side and saw the #47 starting fourth in the 8 lap heat race and a resulting third place finish.

The pill re-draw was an invert six, giving Russ the outside pole for the 15 lap feature. From the drop of the green flag Russ was in the lead, despite the race being slowed by six cautions. Each time, Russ was a rocket on the restart, holding off any challengers. This would prove to be important as the race was extended one lap due to a caution on lap fourteen . As in all the other restarts, Dunn was flawless and led the final two en route to the win.

Dunn-Olivieri would like to thank their sponsors: Dunn Trucking, Laurel Gardens Tire Service, Vecenie Distributing (Iron City & Straub Beer) , Pennzoil Products, Oyler Action Photography, Domhoff Racing Engines, Frankland Racing, Lias Tire/American Race Tire. The team would like to send special thanks to Paul & Debbie Oyler for their photos in Victory Lane and the Winners Circle Kids Fans Zone. The photos will be posted on the web site at: www.dunn-olivieri-racing.com.

The team’s travel plans are to be at Sharon Speedway on June 2nd, as they will participate in the weekly show and the make-up feature from May 19th. If all goes well at Sharon the team will go to Tri-City Speedway on June 3rd and for a Tuesday show, June 5th at Lernerville Speedway.

May 19,2007

Dunn-Olivieri Racing made their second visit of the year to Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH. The defending track champion in the E-Mod division, Russ and the team will not be running on a weekly basis this year due to job commitments. After an opening night win the team was anxious to return to what Russ calls his home race track.

A field of twenty E-Mods were in the pits splitting the field into two eight lap heat races. Starting seventh in the first heat race the # 47 Dunn Trucking Domhoff Engines/American Race Tire/ Rocket Chassis advance to take a third heat race finish. The pill redraw had Russ starting ninth in the feature, however a persistent rain
shower hit the speedway around 8 PM and did not let up forcing the cancellation of the evenings races after only one feature. The feature will be made up along with the regularly run show on June 2,2007

Lernerville Speedway - May 15

Dunn-Olivieri Racing traveled to Lernerville Speedway to take part in the Woo Sprint Car Series /UMP special held on May 15,2007.

Making their second visit to the Saver Oval the team was looking to improve on their previous 13th place finish in April. For the second time this year at Lernerville Russ did not make it out of the heat race. Starting 6th in the first heat race,Russ was involved in a first lap caution, and again coming to the checkers in the 8 lap heat race Russ had to avoid a spinning car and came to a stop in turn four resulting in a 9th place finish.

Starting 17th in the twenty lap feature, Russ had his hands full during both long and short runs. No being able to find a groove that worked Russ tried both the high and low side of the track advancing to eight on lap six, but falling back to twelfth on a lap fourteen caution. Getting no forward bite the Russ could only advance one more spot for a 11th place finish. For a team that is used to top five finishes the evening was a huge disappointment as it marked the second time they have been outside the top ten.

Dunn-Olivieri Racing will get a chance to redeem itself next month when the All Star sprints and UMP E-Mods will team up for a Tuesday night special on June 5,2007.

May 13 - Tri-City

Dunn -Olivieri Racing after taking a week off made its second visit of the year to Tri-City Speedway located in Franklin, PA and for the second time came home with a third place finish.

Nineteen E-Mods were on hand and saw Russ staring on the outside pole for the second heat race, Leading the first four laps, Russ fell back to third at the end of the eight lap race. The fifteen lap feature had the # 47 stating third and had Russ dropping back to sixth on a caution at lap three. Running the high side on the race track, Russ was able to use a long green flag run to advance to second on the evenings final caution on lap 14. Tri-City rules mandate a green white finish so the race was extended to sixteen laps. The final two laps saw Russ battling with the third place car, and at became a drag race off of turn four to see who would get second. It was announced the Russ had finished second, however that finish was overruled giving Dunn-Olivieri Racing its second straight third place finish.

The team will travel to Lernerville Speedway on May 15,2007 as part of the Woo Sprint Car Race.

April 29, 2007 Tri-City Speedway

Dunn-Olivieri Racing traveled to Tri-City Speedway on Sunday for the track’s 2007 season opener. Tri-City Speedway is a half mile oval located near Franklin, PA.

The team decided earlier this year that it was not going to run at any one track on a weekly basis and that it would travel around the Tri-State area and race on any given night of the weekend. This far, Dunn -Olivieri Racing has a fifth place finish at Mercer Raceway Park, a thirteenth place DNF at Lernerville Speedway, a first place finish at Sharon Speedway and picked up a third place finish at Tri-City Speedway.

A field of twenty nine E-Mods were present with the field divided into three heat races.The #47 Dunn-Olivieri entry had a seventh place starting position for the eight lap heat race.

Finishing second earned the team an opportunity for the pill redraw for the feature. The redraw was an invert nine, giving Russ a fourth place start for the fifteen lap feature.

Two cautions on the first lap slowed the field at the initial start of the race, however, green flag racing was fast and furious until the third caution on lap twelve. Running the high side was not the quickest way and saw Russ dropping to seventh.

You have to make the most out of an opportunity and when the fifth and sixth place cars made contact, ending both of their evenings, Russ became the benefactor, moving up two places, to fifth. On the lap fourteen restart, Russ was able to work his way to the bottom of the track for the first time in the race, and it proved to be the faster way as #47 was able to rocket past two cars and when the checkers flew, garnered a well-earned third place finish.

The Tri-City experience will be a valuable one for the team as they plan on running the four-race Allegheny Toyota E-Series.

The car, as Dunn stated, “needed more drive coming off”, and running the high side made it all the more difficult.

“The bottom had more bite and was definitely faster, it took us too long to get there.”

April 21, 2007 - VICTORY in Season Opener at Sharon Speedway

Dunn-Olivieri Racing traveled to Sharon Speedway Saturday April 21, 2007 and the defending track champion earned its first victory of the year in the season opener at the Hartford, OH facility.

After a tough outing Tuesday at Lernerville Speedway the team worked hard during the balance of the week to get the car ready for Sharon. That effort paid dividends as a fourth place start in the second heat race saw Russ take the lead on lap two and lead the last seven laps in impressive fashion in route to the first heat race win of the year. The feature redraw saw the # 47 Rocket Chassis/Domhoff Engine starting 7th. Much like the chassis namesake,Russ rocketed up 2nd during two early first lap cautions. Russ gained the lead on lap four and began stretching his lead when the evening final caution flew on lap seven. The final eight laps Russ in the Domhoff power plant dominated the rest of the field riding the high groove of the track to win by more that half a track as the checkers flew in the 15 lap feature.

One of the teams goals this season was to win more races. “The car has been fast in the prior two races, however a broken shock and a flat tire didn’t give us the finishes we expected, tonight we got want we wanted a victory and a dominating one at that”. The win is special one for the team as it dedicated it to TJ Bertges who is battling leukemia. For more information about TJ you can visit him at www.tjsjourney.com.

Ed Miller Signs in and effort to remember those students who were injured or lost their lives in the Virginia Tech shootings gave drivers a VT decal to display on their cars. As the evening unfolded the team was proud to display the VT colors on the car in victory lane.

The next race for Dunn-Olivieri Racing will be Saturday April 28,2007, when they travel to Sharon Speedway.For more information you can visit their web site at www.sharonspeedway.com.

Dunn-Olivieri Racing would like to thank their 2007 Sponsors: Dan Dunn Trucking, Laurel Gardens Tire Service,McDonald’s, Vecenie Distributing (Iron City & Straub Beers),Pennzoil Products, Frankland Racing,Oyler Action Photography,Ed Miller Signs,Dommhoff Racing Engines,Lias Tire/American Race Tire.

04/17 Lernerville

Dunn-Olivieri Racing traveled to Lernerville Speedway to take part in the “Showdown at Sarvertown” UMP/E-Mod race on April 17,2007.

Three days of rain and temperature in the 30’s greeted a field of twenty-one UMP/E-Mods for the first of five races to be held at the Sarver oval.The night was a deflating one for the Dunn-Olivieri race team as flat tires put an early end to both the heat and feature races. The flat tire and a ninth place finish in the heat relegated the # 47 to a 18th place starting position for the 20 lap feature. Rough track conditions and early season aggressive driving saw six cautions in the first five laps. To make up for a poor starting position in the feature Russ used the high side of the in his march toward the front. Cautions continued to slow the race and had Russ as high as fourth on lap eight when misfortune struck as the right front tire hit hard into the clay brim knocking the tire off its bead on the rim causing the tire to go flat ending the night early for the # 47 and a 13th place finish. The race was reduced to 15 laps due to a township ordinance.

When you miss the pill redraw it makes it so much more difficult to get to the front, “the high side was very fast but was very rough its a chance you have to take if you are going for the win”, however this time it did not pay off.

The next regular date of racing for Dunn-Olivieri Racing will be Saturday April 21,2007, when they travel to Sharon Speedway for the tracks season opener. For more information on Sharon Speedway go to www.sharonspeedway.com.

Dunn-Olivieri Racing would like to thank their sponsors for the 2007 season. Dan Dunn Trucking,Laurel Gardens Tire Service,McDonald’s,Vecenie Distributing (Iron City& Straub Beers), Pennzoil Products,Frankland Racing,Oyler Action Photography,Ed Miller Signs,Domhoff Racing Engines,Lias Tire/American Race Tire.

2007 Season Opener

Dunn-Olivieri Racing opened their 2007 season this past Saturday when they traveled to Mercer Raceway Park for the tracks “Chiller Thriller” on March 31, 2007.

A field of twenty three E-Mods were in the pits,and a third place finish in the second heat race and the ensuing pill redraw gave the # 47 the outside front row starting position. The Domhoff Racing Engines power plant had Russ out front despite a total of eight cautions early and midway through the race.The final of the cautions came on lap seventeen. On the ensuing restart heading into turn one the right front shock came loose as Russ hit a rut causing him to loose traction and also the lead. Fighting an almost un drivable car it was all that Russ could do to finish fifth.

“It’s a really a shame that the shock came loose because we had a great race car.” The track was real fast on the bottom and we definitely had a chance to win the race.” The shock failure was unfortunate, things like that happen,”

The next regular date of racing for Dunn-Olivieri Racing will be Tuesday April 17,2007, when they travel to Lernerville Speedway for a UMP/E-Mod race as the under card for the OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series. For more information on Lernerville Speedway please visit www.lernervillespeedway.com .

Dan and Russ Dunn and Dave Olivieri would like to thank their sponsors for the 2007 season; Dan Dunn Trucking, Laurel Gardens Tire Service, McDonald’s , Vecenie Distributing, Pennzoil Products, Frankland Racing , Oyler Action Photography,Ed Miller Signs, Domhoff Racing Engines, Lias Tire /American Race Tire.