Mosport Speedway Race Recap - August 22, 2009

MOSPORT SPEEDWAY RECAP- August 22, 2009

Employees from The Cash Store got full bang for their buck last Saturday as the local financial institution sponsored a full night of stock car racing action, courtesy of the visiting OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Models and the homegrown THORSONS EVT Six or Less and R.P. Oil Modified divisions.

The OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Models

Pressing on through the occasional light rain showers, the OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Models managed to complete three heat sprints, (won by Jeff Dunford, Jeff Hanley and Mark Gordon) in preparation for their 50-lap feature contest.

The 12-car field lined up for the feature showdown with two-time Mosport Late Model champion Ian Bourque bringing the field to the green flag. Heading the pack for three laps, Bourque relinquished the point to 2007 series champion Derrick Tiemersma as the pair exited the long Mosport back straight. Jeff Hanley, the winner of the previous race at Kawartha Speedway, took advantage of the hole created by Tiemersma to slide through into second place, Bourque was relegated to fourth spot one lap later when he was overtaken by the hard-charging Michel Beyore.

With the field stringing out behind the leaders, all eyes were focused on the battle at the front, where Tiemersma and Hanley seemed to be almost welded together. Just before the half-way mark, (lap 19), the lead pair touched in Turn One, with Tiemersma spinning out and stalling the #7 WayFreight Chevy.

“Derrick closed the door a little and ‘round he went,” explained Hanley.

Stranded sideways on the track, Tiemersma saw his night end when he was tagged by Beyore, as the Bowmanville Ontario-based driver came upon the scene and couldn’t avoid the #7 machine. Following a quick visit to pit lane to have some broken bodywork removed, Beyore was able to rejoin the field albeit at the very end of the lead lap.

On the ensuing restart, Hanley assumed the race lead, and pulled away from the field at will in his #70 machine, with defending series champion Glenn Watson valiantly trying to stay in close contact but relegated to a distant second place.

Another yellow flag brought out by a three-car incident involving Jeff Dunford, Wayne Isaacs and Ed Bowlby regrouped the pack, but Hanley would not be denied as the Georgetown, Ontario driver launched away quickly on the restart and cruised to a ten-car length victory.

“We’ve had three years of bad luck,” declared Hanley. “I think the luck is finally swinging back my way.”

Watson crossed the line in second place; with Beyore recovering from his earlier contact to score a well deserved top three finish.

“It was a good points night for us, we’re happy with second place,” said Watson. “We were hoping that Jeff would mess up, that was the only way we could catch him, but obviously he didn’t.”

Ian Bourque (#83), Charlie Gallant (#40P), Neil Smith (#95) and Wayne Isaacs (#00) rounded out the lead lap finishers with Rob Bickle (#16) the only other driver to complete the 25-mile feature.

The R.P.Oil Ltd. Modifieds

Former Mosport Modified competitor Bill Burrows returned to the Speedway last Saturday, bringing with him his three-car, Burrows Brothers Racing Team. The extra cars, entered for Bill’s sons Dave and Chris as well as Mike White, would add some extra depth to the field, but unfortunately it was not enough to slow down current class dominator Jim Rossiter.

‘Professor’ Rossiter staged another driving clinic on Saturday powering his #66 CCEI/ DANCO Impala to two heat wins, leading perennial shadow Gary Tryon (#82 Tryon Masonry) to the stripe in each case.

Lining up in the middle of the nine car field, it took Rossiter three cautious laps to break clear of the pack, working the low line through Turn Three to wrestle the lead away from Tryon. Rossiter’s progress was slowed by a mid-race caution period for an incident involving Bill Pickford and Dave Burrows. Once the race went back to green, Rossiter sprinted away, eventually taking the checkered flag by a half-lap over Tryon.

“More guys are coming out every week,” emphasized Rossiter. “You can only stay on top so long before you get beaten, you never know what’s going to happen out there.”

Although the top two spots weren’t contested, there was plenty of action slightly further back in the field.

Recovering from his earlier tangle, Bill Pickford (#61 TechTonix Construction) went on a charge, hounding the #62 RB’s Auto Recyclers Modified of Randy Hollingsworth for seven full laps before edging past his long-time rival to claim the final step of the podium with two laps remaining. Dave and Chris Burrows were engaged in a little sibling rivalry of their own as Dave outlasted Chris taking home a top five finish.

The THORSONS EVT Six Or Less

The momentum continues to shift in the entry-level Six or Less division, as part-time competitor Kevin Hinds rallies to make his mark in the win column while Jeff Scott builds on his recently acquired points lead. At the other end of the scale, defending series champion Ryan Oosterholt and recent feature winner Tyler Betts continue to both struggle with engine problems.

Hinds, in his freshly rewired #57 RadMan Pontiac, showed no mercy on Saturday, sweeping to a pair of heat race victories, with wins going to Scott and series rookie Betts.

Taking the green flag from the middle of the 16-car field, Hinds went into full chase mode and eventually closed in on the race leading trio of Scott, Tony DiBello (#27) and Chris Mulders (#99) by lap five.

Following a pair of caution period restarts, Hinds found himself perched directly behind Scott’s red, #96 Cowan Pontiac Buick Sunbird. Pestering the race leader for five full tours of the Mosport half-mile, Hinds used a high/low dive to squirt past Scott in Turn Two, slipping along the inside line to assume the race lead as the pair launched down the back straight.

“I wanted to stay really close to Jeff so that he couldn’t see where I was looking. He got a little wide coming out of (turn) One and I got under him in the next corner,” explained Hinds.

Hinds carried on for his third feature win of the season, while Scott desperately hung on for the runner-up position, edging out Tony DiBello and Mulder for the spot. Tiffany Taylor (#88 Lankie Transport Sunfire) rounded out the top five.

Ryan Oosterholt, who had been the points leader until an engine failure on Aug.15, continued to struggle with motor problems which relegated him to a tenth-place finish.         

Coming up this week: The Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport featuring the American Le Mans Series returns to Mosport's road course this weekend (Aug. 27-30). Joining the ALMS cars are six other open-wheel and sports car championships. Four-day weekend SuperTickets are $80 at the gate. Single day tickets are also available. General camping is $35 and RV camping is $60. Mosport Speedway hosts the first annual Mini-Stock Invitational featuring the THORSONS EVT 6 or Less class. Tickets are available at the gate. Adults $13, Students $8 and kids 12 and under are free with a paid adult admission. For more information call (905) 983-9141, email info@mosport.com or visit www.mosport.com.

Photos by www.PeterBrand.ca