Wrecks And No Rain Checks; Varney Motor SpeedwayWhen it comes to the weather, Varney Motor Speedway has dodged more bullets than Wyatt Earp and this past Saturday was no exception. Every other stock car track in South Western Ontario had cancelled their scheduled night of racing due to the inclement weather that has been sweeping through the province however, the 'litlle track that could' perservered. Yes, we did get soaked by a tarantual down pour a mere two races into the night's card but, after massive track drying efforts and a ninety minute delay, the fans; the majority of which weathered the storm; were treated to a full night of action with all races being run in their entirety! Whoever heard of a 'rain check' at Varney Motor Speedway?
Completely unrelated to the weather, those in attendance witnessed one of the most spectacular crashes in recent years at the speedway. What started out to look like an extremely competitive field in the Super Street Stock division soon turned to a junk yard at the midway point of the second heat race. While leading just past the halfway point of the race, #61 Chad Eden lost his motor at the end of the back straightaway and dropped oil all over the race groove through turns three and four. What ensued was a seven car pile up in the wall at the top of the turns that involved no less than seven of the top eight cars and ended the night; and possibly the season; for four of them. The most severe; #27 Mark Fenton who, at the time of the wreck, was leading the overall points standings in the division. Fenton had arrived at the track with a new body hung on the car but, after his tangled Monte Carlo was pulled from under the pile, the destroyed body was the least of his concerns. A twisted front end, bent frame and a battered ego had the #27 car parked straight on the trailer. Another of the drivers suffering significant damage, #56 Bobby Zee who will have his work cut out for him this week as his car will need a new front clip, suspension and possibly major motor work. Eden's car, while spinning and slamming driver's side first into the wall, did not appear as bad as first estimated with the exception of the blown motor. Other cars involved were #83 Scott Way, #85 Matt Clarke, #9 Dave Silverthorn Jr., and #77 Rob Brown.
When the green flag dropped for the feature, only six cars would make it to the start. Remarkably, three of them; Brown, Way and Silverthorn; recovered from the heat race crash to be amongst those running in the finale. From the front row, #77 Rob Brown took the lead early from pole sitter #07 Shirley Person. Following close behind, #83 Scott Way hooked up with Brown and the two would run away with this one. Brown would go onto win but, Way made it very close in the closing laps getting to the inside of Brown down the back straight on the final circuit. Way settled for second with Silverthorn, #64 Larry Cameron and Person rounding out the top five. Heat races earlier in the night were won by Clarke and Way.
The Street Stock division saw a first time winner in the feature race after #26 Tanya McDougall; who had come so close so many time this season; was finally able to pick up the checkered flag. Taking full advantage of her outside front row starting position, McDougall was able to get around pole sitter #06 Bill Keill early and distance herself from the field. Back in the pack, Street Stock points leader #3 Gary Atkinson and second in the points #99 Jamie Hunt were storming through the field towards the race leader. When the checkers flew, McDougall took the win with #29 Aaron Martin finishing second. Hunt and Atkinson could only climb to third and fourth respectively. Keill finished fifth. Heat races were won by #93 Bill Cole and Atkinson. After starting the season by winning all of the Street Stock feature races between them, Atkinson and Cole have now lost two in a row.
In the Stock 4 feature race, #02 Justin Zettler held the pole position with #12 Jacob Robb on the outside. When the green flag dropped, Robb charged past Zettler to the front and built up almost a full straightaway advantage over second place. Looking to cruise to an easy win, you can imagine the disgust Robb must have felt when the caution flag flew for a spin in turn four involving #32 Glen Vandergeld. The field would be bunched up for the restart and this time, Robb would not have such an easy run to the front. On the back bumper, #35 Tim Tolton challenged Robb on every lap and in every turn. The two ran side by side for the remainder of the race while maintaining an eight car length advantage over the battle for third between #51 Clark Hartman, #7 Charles Embro, #09 Britton Lundy and #38 Sherry Smart. Those four cars ran in a tight pack swapping spots each lap. Back up front, Robb and Tolton came to the white flag door to door and would stay that way for the final trip around the highbanks. The drag race to the checkers was as close as they get with Tolton edging Robb by about two feet for his first feature race win in the Stock 4's! Robb had to settle for second after stopping at the flag stand thinking he had won. That's how close it was! Hartman, Embro and Lundy rounded out the top five. Heat races were won by #28 Luke Freeman, Embro, #77 Phil Givens and #75 Scott mast.
The T.W.Robarts Photos Late Model feature race was almost a runaway for the top two drivers right up until the final lap. From the pole, #85 Jeff Lotspeich jumped out front with #2 Ed Peterson in tow. The two would be able to pull away from the pack and stay that way for the majority of the race. Lotspeich ran as smooth a line as could be run until the final turn coming to the white flag. Peterson stuck the nose to the inside trying to get a run on the front stretch. The resulting contact caused Lotspeich to spin to the infield while Peterson lost his momentum and fell back to fifth. In the right place at the right time, #19 Brian Wilson siezed the moment and led the final lap enroute to his second feature race win of the season. Hot on his heels, last week's winner #96 Monty Kelly finsished second with #57 Brian McLean, #81 Chris Van Dusen and Peterson rounding out the top five. Heat races earlier were won by Kelly and #18 Jason McLellelan who; after winning five straight feature races; has been unable to finish the last two.
Making their first appearance ever at Varney Motor Speedway, the Pro 4 Modifieds were on the race card and thrilled the fans with their open wheeled, four-cylinder powered machines turning laps almost as quick as some of our regular eight-cylinder powered All Pro Modifieds! The feature race saw #53 Mark Lucas on the pole with #71 Brian Nanticoke on the outside. Nanticoke would take the early lead and #43 John Verney would follow him through into second. The two would hook up and take off from the rest of the pack. Running nose to tail for the majority of the race, Verney would eventually make a move for the lead with five laps to go and take the top spot away from Nanticoke. Verney would soar to the win with Nanticoke second, Lucas third and #8 Craig Shaver and #13 Rob Park rounding out the top five. Heat races were won by Nanticoke and Shaver.
All in all, the rain delay and lengthy clean up from the massive Super Street wreck did not take away the enthusiasm of the best race fans in Ontario. Perhaps the most thrilled...4 year old Ally Kennedy of Euginia who rode away from the track on a brand new bicycle as part of Varney Motor Speedway's Kids Club draw. Every race night, the Kid's Club gives away a bike a night and this coming weekend will be no exception as the fastest 1/4 Mile Track in Ontario gears up for another long weekend double header of exciting racing action with regular racing on Saturday August 1, including a Fish Fry for the fans sponsored by Howell's, and Invitational racing on Sunday, August 2. The green flag drops both nights at 7:00 pm and you can get up to speed with everything going on at the track by visiting the speedway online at
www.varneymotorspeedway.comJody Buschlen - Track Announcer / Varney Motor Speedway
Race Results
Stock 41. #35 Tim Tolton - Guelph
2. #12 Jacob Robb - Varney
3. #51 Clark Hartman - Waterloo
4. #7 Charles Embro - Hanover
5. #09 Britton Lundy - Owen Sound
Street Stock
1. #26 Tanya McDougall - Belwood
2. #29 Aaron Martin - Brussels
3. #99 Jamie Hunt - Hanover
4. #3 Gary Atkinson - Hanover
5. #06 Bill Keill - Chatsworth
Super Street Stock1. #77 Rob Brown - Priceville
2. #83 Scott Way - Fergus
3. #9 Dave Silverthorn Jr. - London
4. #64 Larry Cameron - Brampton
5. #07 Shirley Person - Mount Forest
T.W. Robarts Photos Late Models1. #19 Brian Wilson - Rockwood
2. #96 Monty Kelly - Mitchell
3. #57 Brian McLean - Conn
4. #81 Chirs Van Dusen - Guelph
5. #2 Ed Peterson - Clinton
Pro 4 Modifieds1. #43 John Verney -
2. #71 Brian Nanticoke -
3. #53 Mark Lucas -
4. #8 Craig Shaver -
5. #13 Rob Park -
Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=10227.msg70901#msg70901
