Bernard Spoils Near-Perfect Performance by Bouwman

Greg Cybulski, WINNIPEG, MB (May 15, 2010) Chris Bouwman ran the perfect feature race on Thursday night. From the drop of the green flag, he entered turn one with the lead and never looked back. He was solidly in front of his fellow competitors. To all in attendance at Red River Co-op Speedway, Bouwman appeared to be on his way to his first Northern Lightning Sprint Association win and driving his 4C Sprinter into victory lane.

Everyone knew it was Chris' race, except for 2009 defending NLSA champion Roland Bernard.

The 12-lap feature began with a yellow flag when Dave Sobczak's axle broke on his #17 car, ending his evening. Starting from the outside of the front row, Chris Bouwman took the lead going into turn one and placed some distance between himself and Roland Bernard who started right behind Bouwman, in fourth, in his #2 Lightning Sprint.

Two laps into the race, the red flag was thrown after a hard-charging Jennifer Carlson got too close to the berm in turn 2 which resulted in a rollover. The speedway's fire and rescue crew assisted the uninjured Carlson from her #6 Sprint.

Lead by race leader Chris Bouwman, the race resumed with Amber Balcaen taking over third place from Chris Unrau entering into turn 1.

Heading into turns 3 and 4, with the white flag showing, Roland Bernard had one last opportunity to go for the win. Coming off of turn 4, Bernard dove inside of Chris Bouwman to take the lead on the last lap. A similar maneuver that had collected Jennifer Carlson earlier had given Bernard enough bite to get by his opponent and take the checkered flag for the win.

While Chris Bouwman served notice that he is going to be a contender this season, 2009 NLSA points champion Roland Bernard just found another way to win.

Rounding up the top five was Roland Bernard, Chris Bouwman, Amber Balcaen, Chris Unrau and Darren Pallen.

In earlier action, NLSA heat races were won by Roland Bernard and Amber Balcaen.

The next Northern Lightning Sprint Association race is scheduled for Thursday, May 27 at Red River Co-op Speedway.

Northern Lightning Sprint Association
Red River Co-op Speedway, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Thursday, May 13, 2010

Heat 1
1. 2 Roland Bernard
2. 4C Chris Bouwman
3. 18 Ryan Harms
4. 11 Darren Pallen
5. 17 Dave Sobczak
6. 6 Jennifer Carlson

Heat 2
1. 10 Amber Balcaen
2. 64 Tyson Hiebert
3. 27 Chris Unrau
4. 3X Bob Charney
5. 5 Chris Sorin
6. 28 Jeff Laurin

Feature
1. 2 Roland Bernard
2. 4C Chris Bouwman
3. 10 Amber Balcaen
4. 27 Chris Unrau
5. 11 Darren Pallen
6. 18 Ryan Harms
7. 64 Tyson Hiebert
8. 5 Chris Sorin
9. 28 Jeff Laurin
10. 3X Bob Charney
11. 6 Jennifer Carlson (DNF)
12. 17 Dave Sobczak (DNF)

About the Northern Lightning Sprint Association:
Created in September of 2008, the Northern Lightning Sprint Association is a rapidly growing organization committed to the creation and maintenance of safe, fast, fun, and affordable open wheel racing. Many of the organization’s members are dedicated to helping charities such as the Children’s Hospital Foundation and Cancer Care of Manitoba. More information can be found at http://www.nlsprints.com