By ohnson 
The Super DIRTcar Series got its 2017 season underway on Friday night at the Volusia Speedway Park after two rainouts in a row. This non-point event is held annually as part of the DIRTcar Nationals.
Forty-two Modifieds showed up for the evening, with only one car missing that had some issues on Tuesday. That was the No. 44 of Stewart Friesen. Friesen was qualifying and competing at the Daytona International Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series event. He unfortunately got involved in a wreck on the first lap and finished in 31st place.
It seemed like Jimmy Horton had engine trouble while leading the Modified main event. It turned out to be a broken oil line. He should be able to return for the race on Saturday night.
Mario Clair and Alan Johnson also faced similar problems. According to Clair’s crew, he ran out of fuel. Johnson had the same issue. Johnson usually uses eight gallons of fuel in New York for a 35-lap feature. He used 10.5 on Friday and still ran dry.
Rick Laubach clocked the fastest lap in qualifying hot lap/time trials at 17.342. As the evening progressed, the Modified lap times got quicker, eventually reaching the 16-second bracket. However, he withdrew during the feature due to running out of tear-offs.
Darwin Green suffered significant damage to his car during the Modified feature. He crashed into the first turn wall, ripping the rear end out of his No. 1g. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to race tomorrow night.
Randy Chrysler flipped during his Modified consolation race. According to his teammate Erick Rudolph, he wasn’t injured but he’s done for the weekend. “Randy’s all done,” Rudolph commented. “He won’t be racing tomorrow. He’s okay. You don’t like to see anyone flip like that, especially a teammate and a friend. He’s okay. We’ll get this car fixed up for him in the coming weeks.”
Mike Mahaney had multiple pit stops during the feature and ended up breaking two shocks on the car.
It’s not very common for Larry Wight and Matt Sheppard to find their way into the consolations. But on this night, they both took the checkers in their respective consolation events.
The DIRTcar Nationals World of Outlaw Late Model feature was called off after 23 laps of 40 due to visibility issues. The Modified non-qualifiers 15-lap feature was also canceled.
The final night of the DIRTcar Nationals is tonight as the Super DIRTcar Series Modifieds race in a 50-lap feature with a $5,000 prize to the winner.