Bryan Mercer Stays in the Championship Hunt with a 4th Place Finish
By Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications
With just one race remaining on Kawartha Speedway’s 2012 schedule, Bryan Mercer needs to close a 49 point gap between himself and the current NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model division point leader. That’s all that stands between the 39 year old racer from Port Hope, Ontario and a first track championship. Perhaps a daunting task, but with the season he’s enjoyed to this point, anything is possible.
“We’ve been at or near the top of the point standings since the first race of the year,” said Mercer after his most recent start. “Other than the Summer Sizzler, we’ve been a top 5 car in every event. The crew does an incredible job getting things ready and I’m confident that we can still claim the title.”
While Mercer and his #81 Sine’s Flooring/Durmach Excellence in Tooling Chevrolet Impala by McColl Racing Enterprises team reflected on a 2nd place run in their qualifying heat and a 4th place finish in Kawartha Speedway’s August 24th show – where all Late Model teams earned double track points – their thoughts were also on the upcoming test session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for this year’s edition of the ACT Tour Invitational. There would be some long hours put in in the garage converting their Friday night short track machine for a high speed run in the Granite State.
Speeds on the one mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway are much faster than the Late Models run at Kawartha. The car would be stripped to the basic frame and roll cage, with new body panels going on the car, with extra support added to prevent the components from collapsing under the aerodynamic pressure during the test and the race, September 22nd.
“It’s an honour to be invited for the test and we’re going to New Hampshire with our eyes wide open,” said Mercer. “I think we have a great weekly program and it’ll be an incredible opportunity to show our stuff on such a large stage in front of all the NASCAR teams. I feel confident in our ability to earn a starting spot in the race and if we do, we won’t just be going to drive around. That’s not what our team is about. It will be just like a Friday night at Fraserville, especially with Dan and Ryan also making the trip. We’ll be going to do the best possible job to represent our team, our sponsors and Kawartha Speedway.”
Bryan Mercer’s 2012 sponsor appreciation night will be held Friday, September 7th at Kawartha Speedway. Please contact the team if you’re able to attend.
For 2012, Bryan Mercer’s #81 Kawartha Speedway NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model is supported by Sine’s Flooring, Durmach Excellence in Tooling, Creative Edge Graphics, Jim’s Pizza, Appleman Carstar Collision, APX Racewear, B & G Equipment, Cressman Tree Maintenance, DenTec, Glass1Autoglass Mobile Service, LVG Auctions, Northumberland News, Quantrill Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac, Reflection Glass and Accessories, UAP NAPA - Port Hope and Clarke Motorsports Communications.
Photo attachment: Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications/Creative Edge Graphics
From Bryan Mercer’s first checkered flag of the year – shown in the team’s 2012 autograph card – the Port Hope, Ontario racer has been in the hunt for Kawartha Speedway’s NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model track championship.
Prepared by: Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications
clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com
613.968.6410 / 613.922.0654
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