Hometown Brown Comes Shining Through at High Line ----------------------------- By Dave Vokey
Absolutely ideal race conditions would bless the racing fans and drivers alike, as a nice cool breeze filled the air on July 20 at Barrie Speedway, leaving the track very racy and with an ample amount of grip on the outside line., The speedway itself would play host to the good folks from long time sponsor Industrial Commutator in Barrie. The evening's big winner's were #2 "Hometown" Mike Brown of Hawkestone, and current point leader #10 Gord Shepherd of Oro Station, as each driver would capture a 30 lap feature race win in the track's premier Wahta Springs Late Model division. With the win, Shepherd increased his point lead by 4 markers over 2nd place #57 Ron "The Dominator" Quesnelle of Penetang, who finished 2nd to Shepherd in the first 30, as 31 points now separate the pair heading into this weekend's action. The win for Brown was somewhat more meaningful, as the talented pilot was forced to a back up car after his primary car crashed hard into the turn 3 wall just two weeks ago. Brown, only running on a part time basis, and debuting in the Peter Schotanus prepared chassis would lock himself inside the top 15 in points with the victory, making the driver eligible for the year end points fund and awards.
The first 30 would kick off with #44x Rick Meyer of Orillia taking the initial lead from pole positioning, as outside pole sitter #74 Roy Manary would battle back fiercely on the high side to move out front, with #24 Leonard Johnston slipping past Meyer on the high side to move to 2nd, as the 2 of Brown would snatch third just a few laps in. Brown's strong start would soon be negated however, when the driver brought out the first caution when he slowed in turn two on lap 7 with mechanical issues. On the restart, Johnston was quick to stake his name as a factor, as the staunch rookie would power past Manary on the high side for the race lead, as also now at the front and knocking on the door for 2nd was #69 Al " Red Rocket" Inglis, who began to work the top side in an attempt to sneak past the 74 of Manary and run down the race leader Johnston. On lap 11, Manary would drift a little high out of turn 2, as Inglis would run into the back bumper and turn Manary on the exit of that same corner , and as the field checked up in behind a huge pile up occurred involving Manary, #5 Mike "The Hulkamaniac" Langley, #14 "Hurricane" Thayne Hallyburton, #02x John Gaunt, and Quesnelle, with only Gaunt being unable to continue the race.
This turn of events would set the stage for Johnston and #91 Andre Pepin of Midland to do battle from the front row, as Johnston would again find the point after a tough 2 laps side by side with Pepin. It was at this point in the race the 10 of Shepherd began to make his mark, working to the inside of Pepin in turn 1 and completing the pass for runner up positioning midway down the backstretch, as Johnston was still clinging to a single car length lead at the front of the pack. Also back near the front was the 57 of Quesnelle, who after the earlier misfortune began to pressure Pepin for 3rd, eventually completing a clean inside pass in turn 2 to take over the spot just shy of midway. On lap 19, the action hit a fevered pitch when Shepherd would take the lead to the inside of Johnston between turns 3&4, as Quesnelle had now caught the duo in front and was welded to Johnston's bumper and looking for any type of slip up. Quesnelle, would eventually take over 2nd place, with Shepherd now free and clear by three car lengths up front with laps in the 15.1 second range. Over the duration, Quesnelle was able to marginally slice into the lead Shepherd had built up at the front of the field, as Johnston still sat comfortably in 3rd, despite increasing pressure from the duo of Pepin and Inglis. It was clear this race would would belong to Shepherd however, as the 2009 track champ would take the win by a single car length over an oncoming Quesnelle at the checkered. Johnston, would have a solid race in coming home 3rd, while Pepin and Inglis rounded out the fast five.
In the 30 lap finale to the evening, it was Brown who broke out front early, after gaining the advantage on the 69 of Inglis from the drop of the green. Also making a strong effort to find the front was the 24 of Johnston who landed in 3rd, with Langley and Hallyburton involved in an intense door to door battle for 4th in the running order, as Hallyburton would come out the victor in that duel. The Hallyburton/Langley battle in behind would allow the three car train of Brown, Inglis, and Johnston to break away by half straightaway at the front of the field, as front runners Shepherd and Quesnelle lurked just outside the top 5. Quesnelle, would be the first of that pairing to test the outside, working around the 5 of Langley for 5th place positioning on lap 6, as the duo of Shepherd and Gaunt was quick to follow, dropping Langley further back in the running order after being trapped to the high side. At the front, Brown would be steadily pacing the field with laps just a shade over the 15 second barrier, holding a 5 car length advantage over Inglis, as Johnston once again sat comfortably in 3rd, with Quesnelle and Shepherd now waging war for 4th, after that pair would slip past the 14 of Hallyburton just short of the midway point. On lap 22, Shepherd would dive down inside of Quesnelle in turn 1, eventually completing the pass three laps later after a fierce tooth and nail dice for 4th place. Shepherd, would run out of time before tracking down the lead trio, as Brown would record his first Barrie feature victory in nearly 3 years. Inglis, would cap off a solid point night with a workmanlike 2nd place showing, while Johnston, Shepherd, and Quesnelle would comprise the remainder of the top 5 in the caution free affair.
In Canestoga Property Maintenance Thunder Car action, it was #00 Darryl St. Onge of Barrie who paraded to victory lane to notch his 4th feature win of the season in a caution free 30 lap feature. With the win, St. Onge would retake the point lead by a slender 3 markers over defending track champ #10 Rick Walt of Hawkestone and super sophomore #39 Travis "The Enforcer" Hallyburton of Hillsdale, with 2007 track champ #44 Dave "The Deuce" Doucette of Angus just 12 points behind St. Onge, in a batlle that appears as if it might go down to the final night of competition to crown the 2013 track champion. Despite the impressive performance of St. Onge, the story of this race was rookie #16 Bryan Penny of Angus who nosed into the early lead after getting the best of a game #55 Shawn Goggins from the onset. Penny, would continue to soldier on at the point, as another rookie #37 Robbie Sikes would move into 2nd, with former track champs St. Onge and #12 Jim "Polish Prince" Belesky locked in a door handle to door handle dice for 3rd, with St. Onge coming out on top, after executing a inside pass of his fellow competitor in turn 3 on lap seven.
Nearing the ten lap mark, St. Onge had now found the back bumper of the 37 of Sikes for 2nd, pulling off a cunning inside pass of Sikes in turn one, as Sikes was now trapped to the high side and shuffled by the quartet of Doucette, Walt, Belesky, and Hallyburton, dropping the impressive Sikes outside the top 5. At the midway point, Penny who was easily having his best race to date, was still steadily pacing the field with laps in the 16.2 second range, holding St. Onge at bay through a series of high side pass attempts, as St. Onge nearly lost runner up positioning to Doucette in the process. On lap 19, St. Onge would finally make the winning move, working around the high side of Penny in turn 1, as an alert Doucette was quick to follow one lap later to wrestle away 2nd. Penny, would then come under fire from Hallyburton to the inside, and Walt to the outside, as the impressive rookie was able to fend off all challenges, until Walt would finally slip past inside of five laps remaining, leading the way for Hallyburton to follow a short while later. At the front of the pack, St. Onge was still holding a comfortable 3 car length lead over Doucette, with a reversal of last weekend taking shape it was Doucette's chance to try and run St. Onge down. Despite a valiant attempt it was not to be for the veteran Doucette however, as St. Onge would cruise to the win by 2 car lengths at the checkered. Defending track champ Walt would parade to the line in 3rd, as Hallyburton, and Penny rounded out the fast five.
Heat wins went to Doucette with a pair, St. Onge, and Hallyburton.
The St. Onge Recreation Pure Stocks would put in another thrilling feature race, as veteran #09 Dean Curry of Singhampton would bring his Dinsmore Auto Wreckers/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge Neon to victory lane to claim his first feature win of the season. For the fourth week running, the feature would be clean and green in a streak that now covers a remarkable 90 laps and counting, in what has become one of the most competitive and intense divisions in the province. The race would begin with #83 Sean Sikes taking the lead from pole position, as #3 Randi Seguin and #06 Ryan Hardy battled side by side for 2nd, with Hardy coming out on top of that early duel. Hardy, would continue his charge towards the front, passing Sikes for the race lead on the outer groove on lap 2, as Sikes would slip back, and was eventually passed by the duo of Curry and #63 Jamie Cairns to the inside just one lap later. Cairns, would take over at the front of the field on lap 5, powering past Hardy on the high side entering turn 3, with Curry also slipping past teammate Hardy just one lap later.
On lap 9, Curry would make the winning pass, getting to the inside of Cairns in turn 3, with it being Cairns turn to be stuck to the high side, as the quartet of #77 Mike Gettliffe, #10 Doug Butler, #400 Justin Holmes, and #9 Charlie Smith all filed past. Curry, was looking calm and collected at the front, holding just a single car length advantage over the hard charging 77 of Gettliffe, while a little further in back Holmes and Smith would momentarily brush together down the backstretch, halting the charge to the front for both drivers. On lap 17, the 10 of Butler would slip down inside point leader Gettliffe in turn 3 to take over runner up positioning. It was clear nobody was catching Curry at the front of the field however, as the former Thunder Car pilot would notch the victory by a slim margin over Butler at the checkered. Gettliffe, would continue a recent string of podium results in coming to the stripe in 3rd, as Holmes and Cairns would round out the top 5.
Four different heat winners came in the form of Curry, Butler, Gettliffe, and Holmes.
Be sure to join us this coming Sat evening for Air Liquide Night as all three divisions are back in action, and with many points battles becoming increasingly tight and only 6 points nights remaining expect another night of highly competitive and hard fought racing action.. Pit Gate is open at 2pm, with spectator gates opening at 5pm, and green flag slated to fly at 6:30pm sharp.
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