Corey Dripps Heads to Maine for Driver Swap
By: Bucky Doren

WATERLOO, IA (July 18) - Corey Dripps Racing is preparing for a driver swap this weekend. Corey Dripps (Iowa) and Jack Bateman (ME) will take turns in a one of a kind driver swap that will have each driver turning a few laps in each others cars. The unique twist on this swap is that Dripps drives a open-wheel dirt modified in the Midwest, and Bateman drivers what Midwesterners know as an “East Coast Modified” that races on pavement.

Dripps will travel to Oxford Plains Speedway (Oxford, ME) to compete against a steller field of pavement drivers in the TD BankNorth 250. The program will see a series of heat races, last chance races, and then the 250-lap main event.

“It all started with a conversation with Karl Fredrickson,” explain Dripps. Fredrickson writes for Speedway Illustrated. The two have met up several times over their careers in motorsports. The most recent coming when Dripps help set-up an IMCA SportMod during that division’s first ever visit to the IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, IA. The combination was a successful one as Fredrickson drove the limited modified to eventual win.

“Carl told me that I should try coming out east one time and try a night in one,” Dripps went onto say. “We never really got pushing the thing very hard until this past off season. We talked, and we decided to have me come out there and try a ride in his car.

“I ran into Jack Bateman while I was at the P.R.I. (Performance Racing Industry) show, and he told me he had heard that I was thinking about coming out that way to race an East Coast Modified,” Dripps said. “He told me that if I was serious about, he would put in one of his cars.”

Bateman has been competing in the New England based modified class for over thirty-five years. Whether he was running a regular weekly program or on the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series, he was a threat. Bateman has currently moved his latest racing adventures to the foundation of the True Value Modified Racing Series.

“The event he has me racing at this weekend won’t be easy,” Dripps expressed when asked about the entry list. “There are over 170 drivers entered in that race, and just listen to some of the names entered: Terry Labonte, Kevin Lapage, and Mario Gosselin. There are guys that have scored championships in NASCAR, NASCAR Busch North and East, CASCAR, ACT Canadian, Hooters Pro Cup, and the list goes on and on.”

Dripps has seen a very limited amount of time on pavement. He drove a car once for Arlo Becker at Hawkeye Downs in 1999. The team has also traveled with their dirt car to compete at the annual Octoberfest in LaCrosse, WI a time or two.

“I really don’t know what to expect,” Dripps replied when asked about his thoughts of the upcoming weekend. “I think it will be harder to pass. With those bigger tires, I do expect to have more grip under me than I’ve every had before.”

“If I make the show, that would great,” Dripps thought. “I just want to bring it back to the trailer in one piece.”

Jack Bateman will head to the Midwest to try his hand at one of the B.C. Chassis house cars on August 7th and 8th. Bateman too doesn’t know what to really expect, but is looking forward to competing those two nights with the United States Modified Touring Series teams.

To learn more about Corey Dripps Racing, visit the team’s web site at www.coreydripps.com