Paul Guererri Takes a ‘Big’ Step at Canandaigua Speedway in 2008

 

Weedsport, NY – March 7, 2008 – By Dan Kapuscinski, DIRTcar NorthEast PR and Promotions Coordinator

 

After 27 feature wins and two Canandaigua Speedway Sportsman track championships, Paul Guererri has decided now is the time to make the move to the DIRTcar Big-Block Modified ranks.

 

The 2022 season saw Guererri reach victory lane on three different occasions, outpacing Dan Wiesner for last year’s track championship.  After an illustrious Sportsman career, Guererri felt he had nothing left to prove and wanted to make the move up on a high note.

 

“There are always a lot of cars running at Canandaigua, so it feels good whenever you can win a feature, especially a championship,” said Guererri.  “We had done pretty much everything we could do, and between my brother and I we had been running in that division since it started.  I’ve always wanted to run Big-Blocks, and we thought we better do it now.”

 

With the Canandaigua Speedway, and the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Championship as a whole moving to the crate engine program full-time in 2008, a handful of drivers have decided to switch to 358-Modified or Big-Block Modified racing.  Guererri though says that decision did not weigh in at all, and he feels that it is the best move possible for the Sportsman class.

 

“I thought the crate engine was a great idea on the part of DIRTcar.  It made the racing a lot tighter, and prevented people from having to spend $10,000-$15,000 on an engine,” said Guererri.  “That is part of the reason I think that the division was shrinking at one point.  Now, you can buy an engine for $3,500 and go racing.”

 

As an advocate of Sportsman Modified racing, Guererri now feels comfortable that he is leaving the division in a good state.  Now comes the adjustment of sitting behind the wheel of an 800+ horsepower, ground pounding, Big-Block.  Guererri and his team have been busy in the off-season preparing their 2006 Bicknell mount.

 

“We’re going to run the same car we’ve run in the past, but we have put quite a bit of time into it.  We went completely through it, replaced everything with new parts and a body,” said Guererri.  “We know we’re going to go through some changes as a team.  These cars take a beating every week, so our maintenance program is really going to have to step up.”

 

While the weekly maintenance and preparation will have to go up, Guererri knows that the learning curve will be a tough one from the driver’s seat.

“In ways it is like I am going to have to re-learn everything all over again,” said Guererri.  “But really I am just going to go out and drive like I always have.  The biggest adjustment is going to be adapting to the throttle response.  Going from the Sportsman to the Big-Block is quite the jump in horsepower.”

 

As in the past, Guererri will again call Canandaigua Speedway home for the 2008 season.  Seat time will be a main priority for the Big-Block rookie, so look for the no. 7 to make a few stops elsewhere as well.

 

“Running at Canandaigua full-time will be our focus, but we also want to try and qualify for all of the races at Rolling Wheels,” said Guererri.  “If we are looking for more seat time, I’ll probably hit a few shows at Weedsport too.”

 

As far as the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series is concerned, Guererri hasn’t plotted a specific schedule, but says there is the possibility of another addition to his stable.

 

“We’ll hit whatever series shows we can that are local and try to do our best with that,” said Guererri.  “But we are really hoping that by the halfway point of the season we will have a 358-Modified together so that we can try and follow some of those shows.”

 

With weekly racing as the focus, and a stellar past in the Sportsman Modified division, the Guererri team isn’t looking to set the world on fire.  Rather they are looking for smooth, consistent finishes against the best in DIRTcar Racing.

 

“We just want to get some laps in and be consistent this season.  When you move up to this division you are running against the best drivers around.  Running the Sportsman you showed up knowing you had a chance to win every weekend, and that is going to change for a while with us.  If we can stay out of trouble, run smooth, and contend for top5 finishes I will be happy.”

 

Look for Guererri’s 2008 no. 7 DIRTcar Big-Block Modified ride this weekend at the Gater Racing News Motorsports Expo and Exposition Trade Show at the New York State Fairgrounds in the DIRTcar Northeast booth.