Team Ultimate - The Ultimate Truck Team?
Entering the final night of racing at Delaware Speedway for the Demar Aggregates Truck division, the championship picture was as clear as mud. It turned into one of the most dramatic championship races in Delaware history as four drivers came into the evening with a decent shot at the track title. The track championship would be decided by the owners' points, while the NASCAR Weekly Series championship would be decided by the driver's point standings. Sid McDonald, Paul Fothergil, Jeff Showler, and Justin Demelo and their teams would all be involved as the titles shook out.
The side note adding to the final night of drama was the fact that McDonald owned both his truck and the one driven by Fothergil , and had built Demelo's ride as well.
In the heat race, Fothergil was able to win and pull himself into a tie with McDonald heading into the feature, but in the main event Sid bowed out early due to a blown motor. That turned the head to head battle to Showler and Fothergil, as Paul would be chasing his third championship in the truck division. The next shake up wouldn't take too long, as Jeff and Paul would both be involved in the same incident. Fothergil explained, "I felt something break and thought I had slowed down enough to make the corner, but I didn't. I thought I was going into the wall and the next thing I know, I bounce off of Jeff. I thought someone was outside me, but I had no idea it was Jeff. He had gone to the outside and we both hit each other and he got into the wall. I'm lucky he was there or our truck would have been destroyed. We changed the tire, but realised there was a problem with the suspension when we let the truck down and started to drive away. Next thing you know, Justin Demelo is winning the championship after coming into the race fourth in the owner's points ."
Demelo had a substitute driver earlier in the season for one event, which gave Fothergil the NASCAR drivers' championship as he hadn't missed a race, but that almost wasn't the case. Paul said, "We were actually going to miss the first race, because I couldn't get the time off work, so the opening night rain out saved us. It was pretty neat to win another title, and it was hit or miss for us this year � we won three features, and I think we might have also had the most DNF's as well."
McDonald is the owner of Ultimate Sandblasting and Coatings and has been a tremendous supporter of both the speedway and a number of race teams over the years. "Last year we were on the cars of Kirk Hooker, Paul Shipway, Pete Vanderwyst, Ron Sheridan, Marc Jacobs, Jesse Kennedy, Ray Morneau, Kathleen Hosang, plus four Enduro cars, and three or four trucks and karts and Grand Bend. We also sponsor the Chaos Cars, and it's great to be able to help people move up. We spent a lot with sponsorship in 2009, and in 2010 we're going to apply more of our sponsorship to kids racing events. That's the area of our sport that we would really like to focus on, because it is the future."
While he enjoys racing, it's the engineering and fabrication of the full-size Delaware trucks that really intrigues McDonald. "We're just as proud of the trucks that we've built as we are of our own team. We built five of the top 11 trucks last year."
McDonald is also convinced that he's found the best solution to a driver behind the wheel of his truck in Fothergil. "Paul is an incredible driver, and so dedicated to our team. He works long hours on the trucks and is a big part of us always having our stuff prepared when we get to the track to race."
Fothergill started his racing career in an Enduro car in 1994 and moved into a Late Model in 1997, but the season was a disaster and the results were poor. "We jumped up too quick and had no idea what we were doing," admitted Fothergil. "We had a street stock engine in the car, which was an old show car to begin with and were down so much horsepower. After getting out of that, I raced Enduro again for a season and then climbed in Rick Hay's Dodge at the end of 1998. I ran that truck for three years and won two championships, before trying a Street Stock for a couple of years. I ended up back in the trucks again and love racing them. I've known Sid for a while and this deal just came together last year and I love driving for him. We have a big team which is an advantage. When I was racing for myself, we'd have two or three guys. It makes everything a lot tougher at the track with such a small crew."
The three-time champ also likes the way the trucks handle, after racing almost everything but a modified. "For some reason, we corner faster than the Super Stocks. I can get through the turns with them. I'm not sure if it's the track width, or the wheelbase that makes the trucks more stable, but then they kill us getting out of the corners."
For the 2010 campaign, Fothergil will be at the controls of the #33 truck, while the second seat is still in the air. It could become a rental program by the time the season starts. With Demelo's move to an Open Wheel Modified, it also leaves the seat in his Chevy vacant for now.
As for the upcoming season for Fothergil, his outlook is a championship battle, and being prepared right off the bat. "We'll be ready this year. Last year it came together so late and it was a rush to get ready for the first race. We should be in much better shape for opening night this year."
If Fothergil was unprepared for last year's season and won the championship, everyone could be in a lot of trouble if he's ready to go on night one in 2010.
Story by Jamie Maudsley
Photos by Maudsley Motorsports