Weekend Wrapup
May 15 & 16, 2009
By John Houghton
Mother nature has not been on Delaware Speedway’s side so far this season, but that didn’t stop the racers from making laps this two-day weekend. Drivers came out in force to put on two days of racing at the historic half-mile.
Friday night featured an ambitious line-up of racing which began with the J.B.M. Auto Leasing Triple Crown event for the APC Late Models, rained out from the week before. The race featured a stunning line-up of 28 drivers participating. Jesse Kennedy (#10) of Southwold took the win in the first 25-lap section for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Shortly after the second section began, Kennedy suffered a flat tire and was forced to pit. Rocket Ron Sheridan (#52) of Mt. Brydges would ultimately take the win with Showtime Steve Robblee (#28) of Dorchester in second and Jesse Kennedy (#10) rallying back up to third position. The race had a number of significant crashes that took many strong competitors out of the competition, including an early wreck that took Mark Watson (#02) of London and Scott Lindsay (#20) of St. Marys out of the race. Those drivers had been registering as some of the fastest on the track before the incident.
“Thank God that one’s over!” said Sheridan in victory lane. “The track was getting slippery, but I didn’t want to say it was getting slippery. I think those wrecks weren’t because of the track being slippery people just weren’t taking the opportunity to get heat back into it.”
Next, the POWERADE Open-Wheel Modifieds took to the track to run their rained out feature from the week before. David McCullough (#39) of Glencoe was the led much of the race, fending off early challenges from Paul Shipway (#88) of Ailsa Craig. Shipway’s challenges faded and McCullough found himself being tracked down in the closing laps by Jamie Cox (#3) of Dorchester. Cox made a successful pass down the back straightaway with ten laps to go, taking the win.
“It’s good to get a good start of the year,” said Cox in victory lane. “The car was working good. The first few laps it wasn’t quite there but it came around. I started to notice Dave [McCullough] was picking up a bit of a push so it left the door open there.”
The Delaware Super Stocks then ran a pair of heat races. The first was won by Jason Lidster (#77) of St. Thomas, the other by Stephen Richmond (#24) of Appin.
With the a light rain falling at the speedway, the remainder of the Weekly Program was suspended. The Throne King’s of the Hill event with street tires on the cars took to the track. The event was won by a mysterious “Black Subaru” from Kitchener that was able to defeat a previous Throne King’s of the Hill winner, Ken Farquar and his black old-style Mustang. Funds raised from this week’s Throne King’s of the Hill were donated to Jesse’s Journey.
Saturday afternoon’s racing began under a light rain that kept conditions slick throughout much of the afternoon. With their rules package the drives in both the Transmission Direct Enduro and Ultimate Sandblasting & Coating Chaos cars can run their events in the rain. Both divisions put on their best racing of the year.
The Transmission Direct Enduro heat races were won by Piet Blaauboer II (#777) of Strathroy and Don Goertz (#16) of Arkona.
The Ultimate Sandblasting & Coating Chaos Car obstacle course concluded with a thrilling photo finish between defending champion Snotrod (Tyssen Toll of London) and newcomer Blue Thunder (Gary Triska of London). Snotrod was able to beat out the scrappy Blue Thunder by mere inches at the line to claim the victory. The win was a solid showing for the new Blue Thunder team and vindication for team Snotrod who had failed to finish in the season opener on April 25 after mechanical problems appeared the morning of the event.
“I had Blue Thunder lined up just where I wanted him to be,” said Toll in victory lane. “I just stayed in the throttle and pushed him out of the way, just like I told you! It looks fun doing it, but when you get out there smacking fenders: there’s nothing like it.”
By the time the Transmission Direct Enduro came around the track was beginning to dry up. The 150-lap race would lead to one of the closest finishes in recent memory for the series. Dave Goertz (#15) of Arkona and Steve Book (#64) of Brantford manoeuvred through traffic no more than a car length apart in the closing laps of the event. Goertz was able to take the win, Book finished second, David McCullough (#39) of Glencoe finished third.
The next race event at Delaware Speedway is this Friday night presented by O’Tools Rent or Buy. Racing will feature NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action with the POWERADE Modifieds and Delaware Super Stocks, Demar Aggregates Trucks. The night will also host the first Transmission Direct Enduro Challenge of the year at the end of the evening. Gates open at 6:00 pm, racing starts at 8:00 pm.
Photos / Video Captures Courtesy: Checkered Flag Media
