Thanks to Spencer Lewis for the report and to Al McLean for sending them along.
Going to try to make it to Sunset on Saturday. Spoke to Mark Dilley and Linda Jones on the weekend and they're very excited about the future of the speedway. (GregM)
***
SUNSET SPEEDWAY: Butler Makes It A Deuce; Walters Bounces Back On Week 2
STROUD, ON (MAY 23, 2009) - When it comes to Mini Stock racing at Sunset Speedway, New Lowell, ON driver Doug Butler has been showing fans for 2 seasons exactly how good he is. However, on Saturday night, the youngster had a chance to show he could also be lucky when need be.
The majority of the 20-lap feature saw a highlight of the night battle between pole sitter Rob Krystal (No. 99 Taurus Property Management/Dan's Scrap Honda) and brother Terry Clodd (No. 34 Barrie Tire Shaving/Bourque Transmission Honda).
For what seemed like an eternity, Krystal kept his Civic glued to the bottom line of the race track, with firm control over the lead. Glued to his bumper was Clodd, who made every effort to search for a chink in the armour of the 2008 Four Fun Rookie of the Year.
The turning point of the race came with 3 laps to go. With Clodd's sense of urgency rising, the Holland Landing, ON veteran dive-bombed to the inside of Krystal in an attempt to capture the lead. Unfortunately for Clodd, Krystal anticipated such a move and held his ground to perfection, resulting in Clodd making contact with the leader and suffering a blown right front tire.
And the drama didn't stop there. During the resulting caution period, the call was made to place Krystal at the back of the pack as an involved car, drawing a chorus of boos from the stands. With the combination of an unfortunate incident and a controversial ruling taking out the top-2 contenders, the lead was handed over to Week 1 winner, Doug Butler.
Butler (No. 10 Jeff's Towing/South Barrie Collision Nissan) would cruise to victory unchallenged followed by Bryan Daluz, Warren Paxton, Brian Love and Pookie Brown.
"This is terrific winning two weeks in a row" smirked the third year pilot "I saw a lot of beating and banging going on in front of me, and I really tried hard just to stay out of it and keep it clean. That's what this sport is all about, racing hard and staying clean. We haven't really changed anything from week 1, so hopefully we can come back out next Saturday and make it three in a row. I just want to thank my family and my crew, and especially all the fans that came out to watch us race."
The Thunder Car 30-lap feature witnessed a homecoming 2 weeks in the making. River Drive Park, ON's Flyin' Frank Davey made his return to Sunset Speedway on opening night and though quick, was relegated to the runner-up position by the uber-fast Darryl St. Onge. However, Davey entered Week 2 intent on securing his first "W" of the young
2009 season.
Though a trip to victory lane would be easier said than done, as Davey had to contend with two of the quickest cars on the property in the form of Mark Adams (No. 51 Rankin's Auto/Oakville Trailers Chevrolet) and Brad Holden (No. 97 Country Homes/Holden Electric Ltd Chevrolet).
Adams would be the first to lead, taking the top spot from the pole position, with Holden nipping at his heels. The Midland, ON veteran would work Adams over, eventually finding his way through on the inside.
As Holden made his move, so too did Davey (No. 49 Barney's Auto Electric/M&Y Chiropractic Chevrolet), pulling into second spot a half-car length behind Holden's Lumina. Lap after lap, Davey would remain in Holden's rear-view, applying pressure with hopes of goading Holden into over-driving his car.
Shortly past the half-way mark, Holden would make his first and only mistake of the night. As the cars entered turn-3, Davey made light contact with the rear-end of the race leader; As Holden shot up the racetrack, both Davey and Adams found their way by on the inside, forcing the one-time leader back to third.
Adams would at times appear to be strong enough to challenge for the lead, though Davey's dominance of Sunset's middle groove would prove to be too much. Davey would finish ahead of Adams, Holden, Charlie Smith and Stan Coe.
"Man this feels great!" exclaimed Davey in victory lane "It's real nice to come back to Sunset. I've got a lot of friends and fans here.
You'll see me here full time in 2009". When asked about his mid-race pass for the lead, Davey explained it was nothing more than a veteran move "Heading into the corner there, I just gave [Holden] a slight touch and got by. Sorry Brad" chuckled Davey in closing.
May 23 also saw Sunset play host to the Ontario Pro Challenge Series for their second scheduled of 2009. The Series' night started out with a first, as Malcolm McMaster notched his first career win during the first round of heat races.
Not to be out-done, Barrie, ON's Tim Forbes was also in the hunt for a career first in the form of a feature win. Forbes has gained pro-challenge experience at tracks from Ontario to Florida to Indiana and back, though was looking forward to bringing home his first victory in his backyard.
Forbes started near the front and wasted little time in disposing of early race leader Kyle Batty. Forbes was followed to the front defending champion Dennis Thompson, who cut through the field from his 7th place starting position.
Though the race was slowed mid-way by a pair of cautions, Forbes'
momentum was never disrupted and though Thompson stayed close to his bumper, the Barrie, ON driver remained unflappable.
Forbes crossed the line followed by Thompson, Josh Nicholson, Tim Norris and Malcolm McMaster.
"It's nice to win so close to home" remarked Forbes "those cautions didn't affect my strategy, I just wanted to make sure I got off to a strong restart. I knew Dennis [Thompson] was there, and I was just trying to stay smooth, we had a little problem with the lapped traffic, but we made it out alright".
The night was closed out by the Limited Late Models and their 30-lap main event. Only one week after nearly destroying his primary Sunset car in a practice session wreck, Stompin' Tom Walters (No. 47 G&D Wholesale Tires Chevrolet) returned with a second car and the intention of commencing his 2009 schedule properly.
The second car Walters brought, was actually the car modified to ACT Late Model specs for full-time Friday night competition at Kawartha Speedway. However, due to the damage suffered by Walters' full-time Sunset ride, his crew had no other option but to bring the Kawartha Speedway car back to its Limited Late Model setup.
Walters started the feature on the outside of row number 1, alongside his long-time rival and fellow ageless veteran, "Quick" Vic Parsons (No. 1 Jackson's Toyota Toyota). Though Parsons had proven to be quick all night, Walters led the way into turn 1 on the opening lap, eventually opening up an almost half-straightaway long lead.
The 25-time champion would feel some late race pressure in the form of hard-charger Tony Tiemersma, though it would prove to be a case of 'too little, too late'. The Top 5 at the line were Walters, Tiemersma, Parsons, Jason 'Bam Bam' Witty and Darin Malcolm.
Stompin' Tom led all 30 laps en route to his first victory of the season, a stark change from his experience only 7 days earlier. "We're definitely very happy with this. Especially after last week" said Walters "We're a little banged up, and it's going to take quite a few more [feature wins] to pay for last week" admitted the veteran with a chuckle. "The bottom line on this race track was working great for me tonight. I just stuck to the bottom and it didn't look as though these other guys could touch me. We even ran the heat races on old tires, I can't tell you how happy I am with this car. I just want to take the time to thank an old sponsor of mine, Nigel Squires is in the stands tonight. He's helped me get to where I am today". Walters would go on to thank Mike McColl of McColl Racing Enterprises for his efforts in repairing Walters' primary Sunset ride after the incident on opening night.
LEFTOVERS
- After a strong start to his rookie season, Thunder Car driver Mike "The Strut" Weeda was unable to answer the call for the feature, after experiencing a blown motor in qualifying.
- Former Four Fun and Mini Stock pilot Ethan Courneyea made his Thunder Car debut on Saturday. The Innisfil, ON youngster is hoping to contender for Rookie of the Year honors in 2009.
- "Hollywood" Matt Henderson assured fans on Saturday night that Epic Motorsports' first ever Outlaw Mini Stock is completed and will be ready to debut when the class makes its return on June 6th.
- Other news out of the Epic Motorsports camp has 2008 Sunset Speedway Mini Stock champion, Smokin' Joe Ireton returning to active competition in 2 weeks. Ireton has decided to run a part-time schedule in 2009, after a 2008 season that saw him make an incredible late-season charge that culminated in his first ever championship.
0 comments:
Post a Comment