Sheridan Wins PartSource 141!

John Houghton

June 27, 2008

“Rocket” Ron Sheridan (#52) of Mt. Brydges placed his name in the history books Friday evening with his win in the PartSource 141.

As the race began the majority of the drivers took a conservative approach to the race, saving their equipment for later in the event.  Dion Verhoeven (#77) of Kerwood was the driver out front with Scott Lindsay (#20) of St. Marys and Rocket Ron Sheridan (#52) of Mt. Brydges right behind him.  A spin involving Doug Stewart (#2) of London would bring the yellow out on lap 20.  As the race resumed Jesse Kennedy (#10) of Southwold and Kirk Hooker (#38) of Blenheim fought a spirited battle for fourth position.  Kennedy took the spot and shortly after and Steve Robblee (#28) of Dorchester was able to follow him through to take fifth.

As the completion yellow period approached, drivers dropped the conservative approach in favour of gaining track position before stopping for service.  Steve Robblee executed a pass on Jesse Kennedy moving himself into a better position and eventually taking fourth spot.  Sheridan was able to pass Scott Lindsay and bring Steve Robblee in tow.

The competition yellow came out on lap 65, and the drivers headed to pit road for tire changes and in fuel to be able to complete the event.  The running order coming out of the competition yellow was Dion Verhoeven, Ron Sheridan, Steve Robblee.  The caution came out early in the run after Dan Delisle (#7) of Lasalle got out of shape on the front straightaway, but managed to save the car from coming back into traffic.  Soon after the restart Delisle made contact with Kennedy entering turn one in a tight pack of cars.  The drivers showed their Delaware determination and kept going, avoiding a yellow.  The near miss slowed up the back of the field while the top three leaders took off with Dion Verhoeven leading Ron Sheridan and Steve Robblee.

 

Sheridan used the space to line up a series of different pass attempts on Verhoeven, some of which got the #77 sideways on the race track as Sheridan gave him room to gather the car back up.  Verhoeven would eventually fall victim to a mechanical failure handing the lead to Sheridan who was followed closely by Robblee.  With a good show of sportsmanship, Scott Lindsay (#20) of St. Marys yielded right of way to the leaders.  Lindsay had previously had a car to beat before fuel problems sent him to pit road multiple times putting him laps down.  By yielding right of way Lindsay allowed the lead lap cars to have a great battle heading to the finish.

Sheridan would win with Robblee close behind.  Jesse Kennedy finished second.

“Ron is a great friend and a great racer,” said Robblee.  “You can trust him and that’s the way he races.  We just didn’t have enough to catch the 52.”

“It’s just like six or seven years ago!” exclaimed Sheridan in victory lane.  ‘We had a lot of fun six or seven years ago!  We get in the corners so well here.  Once we got to the lead I knew the 28 was behind me.  They also told me the 10 [of Kennedy] was coming as well - - he’s a fast car.”

Time trials earlier in the evening were won by Duke Sawchuk (#5) of LaSalle with a 18.964 lap time.  Time trials also contained an unusual incident that saw Ron VanEmery (#00) of Oneida hit the outside wall in turn two after his throttle hung.  The driver was ok after the incident that many fans are calling one of the hardest hits they have ever seen.

The Peterbilt of Ontario Super Stock event was won by Scott Nagy (#99) of London.  Jim Mairs (#5) of London led the opening pas before being passed in turn two by Don Dadson (#1) of Union.  For the second week in a row Dadson would lead the race only to be denied in the closing laps.  Nagy launched to the high side beginning a nail biting drag race around the half-mile at full speed.  After the pair crossed the line they were so close together that Delaware Speedway officials had to briefly confer before declaring Nagy the winner.

“The car was a bit tight, I was waiting for it to loosen up a bit before trying him on the outside! “said Nagy.  “It was kind of touch and go, but I figured we had enough of a lead we could play around a bit.”

The POWERADE Open-Wheel Modified race was won by Mark Watson (#20) of St. Thomas.  Watson managed to get out to an early lead followed by Jamie Cox (#3) of Dorchester who finished second.  Third was “Danger” David McCullough (#39) of Dorchester.

“With the #3 behind you, you have to be aware at all times,” said Watson.  “We wrecked this two weeks ago and I told Mike McColl ‘lets turn a negative into a positive and cut this thing up and make it quicker’.  I think he did a good job of that.”

The race also saw the introduction of Stephen Richmond (#24) of Appin into the class.  Richmond is a regular competitor in the Peterbilt of Ontario Super Stocks and graduate of the Krown Body Maintenance Junior Racing League.

The next racing event at Delaware Speedway is the Peterbilt of Ontario Super Stock Showdown on Friday July 4.  The event also features the POWERADE Open-Wheel Modifieds and Challenger Motor Freight Trucks along with the special Friday debut of the Ultimate Sandblasting & Coating Chaos Cars.  Gates open at 6:00 PM, time trials are at 7:30 PM, racing starts at 8:00 PM.

DVD's Available for Order