Lundy Makes It Count, Jarvis Back On TrackEvery Saturday night, there are winners...and there are losers. More times than not, the stories that makes the headlines revolve around the drivers holding the checkered flag in victory lane at the end of a hard-fought race. Seldomly is there enough room to hear about the drivers who have been creeping up the ladder, or the ones that reappear from the past to fill in for a night and relive glory past.
Saturday night at Varney Motor Speedway centered around two such stories as a young-gun finally got his just desserts and, a former champion continues where he left off.
The Stock 4 feature race saw #02 Justin Zettler start from the pole with #55 Dave Gray Jr. along side. When the green flag dropped, Gray took the early lead from the outside and led the first couple laps. Coming off turn two, #88 Billy Lovell would take over on the backstretch and pace the field for the first half of the race. However, he was not alone. On the back bumper, #09 Britton Lundy was relentless in his pursuit of the top spot and would eventually overtake the leader just past the midway point of the race. Lundy and Lovell would check out on the rest of the pack while the battle for third on back intensified. Coming to the white flag, Lovell would look to the bottom of the track but tucked up under Lundy's back bumper through turns one and two. Heading into the final two turns, Lovell tried once again to get by Lundy but to no avail. Lundy hung on for the checkered flag and his first official feature race win of the 2009 season. Lundy did win earlier in the year in a race that was marred in controversy resulting in the entire field's results being thrown out the window! Lovell continued his late season charge with a solid second place finish while #9 Tessa Cremasco, #38 Sherry Smart and #12 Jacob Robb rounded out the top five. Heat races earlier in the night were won by Cremasco (X2), Lundy and #75 Scott Mast.
When the Street Stock feature came to the green, #26 Tanya McDougall led the charge through the first two turns. However, it was outside pole sitter #06 Bill Keill that would lead lap number one. Keill was able to clear McDougall on the back straightaway and build up a three-quarter straightaway advantage as no less than six cars battled in a tight pack for the second position. Keill was liking what he was seeing in the rear-view mirror but, all good things must come to an end. The field would be bunched for a restart as the first caution flag would fly for a spin in turn two involving #99 Jamie Hunt. The question was, was the spin assissted. Hunt thought so and on the restart, Hunt caught up to #93 Bill Cole on the backstretch and returned the favour. This second caution flag brought the starter down from the flagstand to verbally warn Hunt and Cole that their shenanigans 'stop here'. Keill took charge once again when the race got back underway but, sadly, it was short-lived. Quietly working his way through the pack from the back row, #3 Jamie Jarvis; substituting for regular driver Gary Atkinson; blew by Keill coming out of turn four to take the lead. Hunt and Cole; who got back to racing; were also blazing a trail through the field and found themselves in second and third respectively as the third yellow flag came out for another turn two spin this time involving McDougall. Jarvis now held the undaunting task of keeping the Street Stock's two top drivers behind him as the green dropped on a green-white-checker finish! Under the white flag, Cole was latched to the back bumper of Jarvis as Hunt had faded slightly about a car-length behind the battle for the lead. Off turn four on the final lap, Cole would go upstairs to try and get a run on Jarvis down the front straightaway but Jarvis would hang on for the win! This was Jamie Jarvis' first feature win since clinching the Varney Motor Speedway Super Street Stock Championship almost three years ago. Jarvis also won a heat race in Atkinson's car two weeks ago as the Hanover driver has now posted wins in two consecutive race weekends on the high banks after not racing for nearly three years. Cole and Hunt's consistency continued with second and third place finishes. Keill stayed in this one all night finishing fourth and #29 Aaron Martin came home with a solid fifth place showing. Cole and Jarvis also won heat races earlier in the night.
The field in the Super Street Stock division is tightening up each week and this division is shaping up to be any driver's game on any given night. Saturday's feature race saw #29 Dusty Richardson on the pole and hold the lead for the early portion of the race. Out of turn two, #85 Matt Clarke motored by Richardson on the outside and would stamp out a full straightaway lead within a matter of a few laps. As Richardson began to fade, some fast cars were racing their way into the top five. After starting at the tail end of the field, #83 Jason McLellan; who was substitute driving for Scott Way; tracked down the race leader and as Clarke broke loose off the second turn, McLellan blew by on the inside to take the lead. The thirll was short-lived however as something let go on McLellan's car as he crossed the start/finish line and, after only leading a lap, McLellan would park the car for the night. Redemption would come later in the night but, that's a different story! Clarke regained the lead as the green flag stayed out. McLellan was not the only fast car pursuing the race leader. When the white flag flew, Clarke had some company....lots of company. The top five were nearly nose to tail as they charged down the back stretch for the last time. Clarke did all he could but, #77 Rob Brown got underneath him and snatched the win away as they screamed to the checkers! Clarke hung onto second; his best finish of the year; while #9 Dave Silverthorn Jr., #27 Mark Fenton and #56 Bobby Zee filled out the top five. Heat races earlier in the night were won by Fenton and Silverthorn Jr.
Being a rookie can be tough enough let alone trying to progress in a divsion like the T.W. Robarts Photos Late Models on the tightest 1/4 mile in the province but, #81 Chris VanDusen is earning respect every race night and has been quick and clean all season long. Could this be the young driver's night? Starting from the pole postion was definately a good starting point. VanDusen jumped out to the early lead and seemed to be showing the way early on. After an extremely popular heat race win earlier in the night, #57 Brian McLean decided it was his turn to show the way and so it was to be as McLean dispatched Van Dusen to the second position. Seemingly out of nowhere, #96 Monty Kelly torn up the backstretch taking the lead and, bringing #18 Jason McLellan along with him. Kelly, McLean and McLellan ran in a tight pack challenging each other on every pass for the top spot. Not to be outdone, #12 Justin McLellan; a regular driver in the All Pro Modified division; had caught the lead group and decided he might want to have a turn on top. Jason McLellan had gotten by Kelly and Justin McLellan was now challenging for second. All this action and we haven't even reached the midway point of the race. At the half, Jason McLellan led a tight single file train aroung the track with Justin McLellan, Kelly, McLean and VanDusen all nose to tail and unable to afford the slightest miscalculation in their driving. A near miss for the race leader in the closing laps as the lapped car of #22 Darryl Rettinger was moved out of the way by Jason McLellan exiting turn four. Rettinger spun to the infield and, after not being able to get his car restarted before the lead pack came back around, the yellow flag flew for the first time. On the restart, Jason McLellan would hang on for the remaining two laps to claim yet another feature race win and some redemption from the Super Street Stock feature that got away. Justin McLellan was second with Kelly third, McLean fourth and, after a last lap pass on VanDusen, #19 Brian Wilson celebrated his birthday with a hard-fought fifth place finish. Heat races were won by McLean and Jason McLellan.
Other highlights on Saturday night saw a clean sweep in the Trains division as ' On The Edge ' won both their heat race and the feature race; which was shortened due to a major wreck that included a multiple roll over by the middle car in the ' Markdale Salvage Crushers ' train. Saturday's intermission kept the fans 'on the edge' of their seats with a 'trucks only' King Of The Hill! This one was a thriller as one unfortunate participant had the displeasure of nailing the wall in turn four and then rolling their white GMC pick up into the infield. Try explaining that to the Mrs. when you get home!
This Saturday, August 22nd marks a very special night at Varney Motor Speedway as it will be the track's annunal 'Support Our Troops' night. Fans are asked to wear the colour
RED as we welcome members of the Canadian Armed Forces to the speedway. In addition, an array of military vehicles will be on display all the way from CFB Borden as we pay a special tribute to those Canadians who 'stand up' to defend freedom in the world. For a complete schedule of events, news and track information, visit the track online at
www.varneymotorspeedway.com Jody Buschlen - Track Announcer / Varney Motor SpeedwayRace ResultsStock 41. #09 Britton Lundy - Owen Sound
2. #88 Billy Lovell - Varney
3. #9 Tessa Cremasco - Arthur
4. #38 Sherry Smart - Hanover
5. #12 Jacob Robb - Varney
Street Stocks1. #3 Jamie Jarvis - Hanover
2. #93 Bill Cole - Hanover
3. #99 Jamie Hunt - Hanover
4. #06 Bill Keill - Chatsworth
5. #29 Aaron Martin - Brussels
Super Street Stocks1. #77 Rob Brown - Priceville
2. #85 Matt Clarke - Mount Forest
3. #9 Dave Silverthorn Jr. - London
4. #27 Mark Fenton - Port Elgin
5. #56 Bobby Zee - Goderich
T.W. Robarts Photos Late Models1. #18 Jason McLellan - Mount Forest
2. #12 Justin McLellan - Mount Forest
3. #96 Monty Kelly - Mitchell
4. #57 Brian McLean - Conn
5. #19 Brian Wilson - Rockwood
Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=10352.msg71888#msg71888
