Hurricane Midgets Swoon On Highbanks
On their second appearnce of the month and, final scheduled turn at Varney Motor Speedway, the touring Hurricane Midgets did not dissapoint in a feature race that saw multiple drivers take a turn up front as well as heartbreak for some who saw victory slip through the fingertips.
Starting from the pole position, #11 Paul Dermo of Georgetown led a full field of the miniature open wheelers to the green flag. Dermo would hold the early lead until the first caution of the race came out for a spin in turn three involving #00 Glen Blaker of Dundalk and #47 Brent McLean of Conn. Both would recover to continue the race but, would restart from the back. On the restart, #48 Brian Woodland of Orangeville used the outside lane to get a run on the race leader and, thundering down the backstretch, Woodland would take lead heading into turn three. Eager to keep pace, #7 Jeff Blackburn of Newmarket and #5 Dave Carson of Milton stayed on Woodland's tail and the top three, with Dermo still holding fourth, would begin to pull away from the pack. The yellow flag flew once again; this time for a spin in turn two involving #15 Sean Reuther of Orangeville. A quick pause in the action and the green was out again. Not content with the view from second position, Blackburn would challenge for the lead and after a few laps eventually get past Woodland to hold the top spot. Meanwhile, a little further back in the field, #18 Amanda McCall of Brechin was storming through the field in an unstoppable march to the front. At the halfway point of the race, Blackburn was in charge with Carson, McCall and Woodland close at hand. Caution number three comes out for what eventually ended up being the first of two shoking turn of events in this race when McCall, who may have had the quickest car on the night, clipped the wall coming off turn four and spun down the front straightaway. With major damage on both right side wheels, McCall's night would be over. Second lap in on the ensuing restart, Carson (who had two heat race wins on the night) would get by Blackburn for the lead and then, coming off turn four, the second shocker of the race occurs when Carson clips the wall on the front stretch and Blackburn, running a close second, can not avoid Carson's car as the two collide and end up in a pile at the end of the front straight. With the top three eliminated in two consecutive caution flag incidents, Woodland would find himslef back in the lead. Woodland would survive another restart and caution period to go on take the win in an amazing Hurricane Midget feature race. Heat races earlier in the night were won by Carson (X2), McCall and #10 A.J. Emms of Brechin.
Not to be outdone, The Stock 4's were ready to rumble and rumble they did. The pole sitter, #09 Britton Lundy of Owen Sound and number two starter #88 Billy Lovell battled early for the lead. Swapping the top spot at the line with each lap, the frantic pace upfront would soon be halted when #28 Luke Freeman of Meaford and #91 Bruce Moran of Brampton made contact in turn four resulting in Moran drawing the short stick. Moran was turned sideways and slammed the frontstretch wall head on while #51 Clark Hartman of Waterloo did all he could do to stop his car before slamming into the driver's side door of Moran's car. On the restart, Lovell would lead the pack to green and hold the top spot for several laps. Further back in the field, #3 Jason Tolton of Guelph and #38 Sherry Smart of Hanover agressively raced each other for position and, in a battle that no good could come from, Smart spun in turn three. Unhappy with his team mate's circumstances in turn three, #7 Charles Embro of Hanover drove into Tolton's car in turn two while under the caution; a stunt that would be repeated by Smart herself on the backstretch. All three would be given the black flag and parked for the rest of the race. Back up front, Lovell would eventually give way to #9 Dennis Cremasco of Arthur with Lundy and #35 Tim Tolton of Guelph following in his wake. Trouble in turn four again as the leaders worked through lapped traffic. Lundy and T. Tolton would be collected while trying to avoid the car of #10 Evan Rydall of Durham. All three would end up in the wall as the hopes of a top five finish vanished. Cremasco would hang on for his first win of the year while Hartman, who restarted from the back earlier in the race, recovered for a second place finish and Lovell secured his first top-three finish of the year. Heat races were won earlier in the night by Lovell, Cremasco, #86 Nick Clarke of Mt. Forest and #75 Scott Mast of Cambridge.
An opening lap caution slowed the Street Stock feature for the only time as #93 Bill Cole of Hanover took the lead from #19 Brian Wilson of Rockwood on the restart and began to check out on the rest of the field. A side-by-side battle for second between Wilson and #99 Jamie Hunt of Hanover allowed Cole to pull away as the two ran door-to-door for several laps. Hunt would eventually dispatch Wilson but, the gap between first and second was too large to overcome. Or was it? Hunt would drive possessed and when the white flag dropped, he was on the leaders tail. A quick move to the inside in turn one yeilded no results and Cole would take a two car advantage down the backstretch and into the final turn to claim another feature race win. Heat races earlier in the night were won by Cole and #02 Randy Zettler of Stratford.
In Saturday's Late Model feature race, #12 Justin McLellan of Mt. Forest would start in the second row but, by the time the field reached the start finish line for the first time, McLellan was able to get by front row starters #89 Tommy Robb of Durham and #85 Jeff Lotspeich of Rockwood to take the lead. McLellan would indeed cruise on to vicory while the battle on the track would be for second. Robb and #81 Chris Van Dusen of Guelph stayed close for several laps before coming together in turn two. Robb would spin and continue in the race while Van Dusen's night was done. Making his return to the Late Model division at Varney Motor Speedway, #98 Steve Smith finished second. McLellan would also win both qualifying heat races to complete the sweep on the night.
Regular racing returns to Varney Motor Speedway this saturday night as all divisons take to the track. After a week off, the All Pro Modifieds will be back and, after two weeks of dismal car counts, hopes are positive for a full field of Super Street Stocks. The green flag drops at 7:00 pm. For more informaiton, visit www.varneymotorspeedway.com
Jody Buschlen - Track Announcer/Varney Motor Speedway
Race Results - Saturday, July 10, 2010
STOCK 4 - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Tessa Cremasco 9
2 Clark Hartman 51
3 Billy Lovell 88
4 Billy Schwartzenburg 82
5 Nick Clarke 86
6 Luke Freeman 28
7 Britton Lundy 09
8 Scott Mast 75
9 Tim Tolton 35
10 Evan Ryall 10
11 Craig McLean 99
12 Bruce Moran 91
13 Dave Gray Jr. 55
14 Sherry Smart 38
15 Charles Embro 7
16 Jason Tolton 3
STREET STOCK - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Bill Cole 93
2 Brian Wilson 19
3 Gary Atkinson 3
4 Mike Wilson 48
5 James Hunt 99
6 Justin Zettler 2
7 Bill Keill 06
8 Randy Zettler 02
Varney Late Model - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Justin McLellan 12
2 Steve Smith 98
3 Kent Nuhn 09
4 Jeff Lotspeich 85
5 Tommy Robb 89
6 Christopher VanDusen 81