Bryan Mercer Carries Momentum into the Year’s Final Events
By Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications
A fast car can help you win races. Good work by the pit crew will get you to the front of the pack, but the most valuable component to assist any racer land a championship isn’t a wrench, screwdriver or anything they’ll find in a toolbox. Its momentum.
With the exception of his 10th place showing in this year’s running of the Summer Sizzler, Bryan Mercer’s 2012 season has been made-up of top 5 finishes. His #81 Sine’s Flooring/Durmach Excellence in Tooling Chevrolet Impala has logged some solid efforts and with just 3 events remaining on the current schedule – including a double point paying show Friday, August 24th – the Port Hope, Ontario speedster sits second in points and is within 20 markers of the lead in Kawartha Speedway’s headline division.
“There have been some rough spots along the way and nights when I didn’t think we had run as well as we could or should, but a number of drivers would like to have the year we’ve had so far,” said Mercer. “I’ve always tried to maintain my composure, no matter what happens on the track. Even when we won the main event Friday, July 27th, I didn’t get too excited because you never know what might happen the next time you’re on the track.”
After a weekend off for the Civic Holiday, Kawartha Speedway had planned to be back in action Friday, August 10th, but heavy rains and thunderstorms in the area changed that idea. That means the next event on the schedule Friday, August 17th includes a 100 lap feature for the NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model teams. Bryan Mercer is looking forward to running the extra distance show and with 2 his 3 most recent victories coming in races of 100 laps or more, he knows his team will be ready for whatever challenges might come their way.
“We’ll spend the early parts of the week going over our notes from last year’s first 100 lap show and Summer Sizzler, then take a look at how we prepared the car for this year’s race on June 15th,” said Mercer. “Even though there are just 3 events left to decide the championship, I’m not planning to race any differently than I ever have before. The goal every time I climb behind the wheel and fasten the safety harness is to try to pass one car at a time and hope for the best. I know who is ahead of me and behind me in points and while I’d like to run better than each of those drivers, there’ll be about 20 cars in the starting field who want to run better than me. No matter what happens, once everything is sorted out at the end of the season, it will have been a great year.”
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
Bryan Mercer is hoping to earn his second win of the season when the NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model teams run a 100 lap feature – Friday, August 17th – at Kawartha Speedway.
Prepared by: Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications
clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com
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