2010 Season Underway At Varney Motor SpeedwayThis season marks the 40th anniversary of Varney Motor Speedway. To celebrate this milestone, the track underwent major construction in the off season which included a new concrete wall around 3/4 of the track and a newly paved back staightaway. The new track configuration made for some exciting action on the track as the first two nights of competition yielded no fewer than twenty one different winners as all of the speedway's regular racing divisions took to the track for the Victoria day long weekend double header.
In 1970, Ray Spencer became the first heat race winner on the newly opened Varney Speedway. The track remained virtually unchanged for forty years and when the green flag dropped this past Saturday night, it was Stock 4 driver #7 Charles Embro of Hanover etching his name into the record books as the first heat race winner on the newly shaped and freshly paved Varney Motor Speedway. Embro would back his performance up by claiming another heat race win on Saturday however, the sweep could not be achieved. Embro saw the feature race win fall out of grasp as last year's Stock 4 Champion #51Clark Hartman of Waterloo took advantage of hard battle for the lead between Embro and #09 Britton Lundy of Owen Sound. Hartman was able to slip past the front runners from the third position and hang on for the win. Embro would be redeemed on Sunday night after racing #75 Scott Mast of Cambridge for most of the race and finally taking the lead for good near the halfway mark. Mast would hang on for second while Hartman; after hitting the wall in turn four, would survive for a third place finish.
The Street Stock division looked like 'deja vu all over again' as this season started out for #93 Bill Cole of Hanover exactly the same as last season....back-to-back feature race wins on opening weekend. Last year's Street Stock Champion #99 Jamie Hunt of Hanover was able to keep pace with Cole for the most part but, thanks to challenges on his second position by street stock newcomer #19 Brian Wilson of Rockwood, Hunt was not able to mount a serious threat to Cole's top spot.
The Super Street Stocks featured battles throughout the field amongst several competitive cars. Saturday night's feature race saw #84 Lance Sullivan of Mount Forest battle all race long with #76 Shawn Arnott of Cambridge. The two drivers started the race from the front row and would stay out front all night. When the checkers dropped, Sullivan came out on top with Arnott a close second. Sunday night, Arnott would be rewarded as patience paid great dividends. Chasing pole sitter and race leader #61 Chad Eden of Varney through most of the race, Arnott would use lapped traffic late in the contest to make the pass that would send him to victory lane. Entering turn four, Arnott moved to the outside of Eden as the two approached the lapped car of #29 Dusty Richardson. Using Richardson as the pick, Arnott forced Eden to check the brakes. With nowhere to go, Eden had no choice but to allow Arnott by on the outside and fall in behind on the front stretch. Third place runner, #72 Randy Rusnell also got into the action catching Eden and challenging for the second spot allowing Arnott to cruise home for the win.
The Late Model division is a growing field at the speedway and as notable as the drivers who were in this weekend's field, are the drivers who were not. This past weekend, the Late Model division was without it's 2009 Champion #18 Jason McLellan as well as it's second and third runners up; #96 Monty Kelly and #19 Brian Wilson (who has made the change to Street Stocks for 2010). This proved to be good news for last season's Late Model rookie contender #81 Chris Van Dusen of Guelph. After showing tremendous promise last year as the season progressed, Van Dusen made a statement Saturday night that 2010 will most certainly be a breakout year for the young driver as he led nearly every green flag lap en route to both heat race wins and his first feature race win of the year. Sunday would not be so easy for Van Dusen as #12 Justin Mclellan of Mount Forest unloaded off the trailer fast....very fast! The two would race each other all night splitting the two heat races with a win a piece but, in the feature, McLellan would blow the field away to take the checkered flag.
The All Pro Modifieds ran on the Saturday night only and were blazing fast on the newly shaped track. Taking over where he left off last year, #8 Gary McLean of Conn stole the show winning both heats as well as the feature but it was #1 Ted Patterson who had the full house on their feet. Exiting turn four, Patterson would slip up the track and when he ran out of room, his modified climbed the wall out of control. Helpless, Patterson could only hang on as his car became airborne taking out the signal lights and almost bringing the starter stand down with it. The car clipped the opening of the wall at the start/finish line and barrel rolled down the front stretch before sliding on it's roof and finally flipping back onto it's roof in turn one. As spectacular as the wreck was, the veteran driver Ted Patterson climbed from the car on his own to the roaring applause of the fans in attendance.
Also on the speedway this weekend, the Trains returned for the 2010 season. Last year's champion Markdale Salvage Crushers took the win on Saturday and the Train Wreck would take the checkered on Sunday.
In a brief memorial service on Sunday, fans were asked to observe a moment of silence in recognition of Rick Rickard. Rickard was the first starter at Varney Speedway forty years ago. Over the years Rickard was a frequent visitor to the track. Rickard passed away this past spring.
This season is shaping up to be a monumental year for Varney Motor Speedway as several events are in the planning stages as the track celebrates 40 years of the best grass roots stock car racing in the country. Varney Motor Speedway is home to weekly stock car racing every Saturday night through the summer. For more information, visit
www.varneymotorspeedway.comJody Buschlen - Track Announcer/Varney Motor Speedway
Race Results for Saturday May 22, 2010ALL PRO MODIFIED - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Gary McLean 8
2 Terry Pardy 34
3 Ryan Eccles 27
4 Chris Burrows 65
5 Aaron McLean 4
heat races won by #8 G. McLean (X2)
STOCK 4 - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Clark Hartman 51
2 Britton Lundy 09
3 Charles Embro 7
4 Tim Tolton 35
5 Luke Freeman 28
heat races won by #7 C. Embro (X2), #09 Britton Lundy, #35 Tim Tolton
STREET STOCK - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Bill Cole 93
2 Brian Wilson 19
3 James Hunt 99
4 Bill Keill 06
5 Gary Atkinson 3
heat races won by #02 R. Zettler, #19 B. Wilson
SUPER STREET STOCK - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Lance Sullivan 84
2 Shawn Arnott 76
3 Larry Cameron 64
4 Dusty Richardson 29
5 Chad Eden 61
heat races won by #84 L. Sullivan, #76 S. Arnott
Trains - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Bill Keill 9
2 David Poole 6
3 Ryan Morrison 503
4 Jamie Jackson 305
Varney Late Model - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Christopher VanDusen 81
2 Jeff Lotspeich 85
3 Kent Nuhn 09
4 Jim Bowman 63
heat races won by #81 C. Van Dusen (X2)
Race Result for Sunday May 23, 2010STOCK 4 - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Charles Embro 7
2 Scott Mast 75
3 Clark Hartman 51
4 Billy Schwartzenburg 82
5 Britton Lundy 09
heat races won by #82 R. Schwartzenburg, #75 S. Mast, #28 L. Freeman, #9 T. Cremasco, #51 C. Hartman, #7 C. Embro
STREET STOCK - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Bill Cole 93
2 James Hunt 99
3 Brian Wilson 19
4 Bill Keill 06
5 Tanya McDougall 26
heat races won by #99 J. Hunt, #02 R. Zettler
SUPER STREET STOCK - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Shawn Arnott 76
2 Chad Eden 61
3 Randy Rusnell 72
4 Kevin Albers 21
5 Larry Cameron 64
heat races won by #61 C. Eden, #76 S. Arnott
Trains - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Ryan Morrison 503
2 Bill Keill 9
3 David Poole 6
4 Jamie Jackson 305
Varney Late Model - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Justin McLellan 12
2 Christopher VanDusen 81
3 Kent Nuhn 09
4 Jeff Lotspeich 85
5 Jim Bowman 63
heat races won by #81 C. Van Dusen, #12 J. McLellan
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