ASA/NSRA Montgomery Defends Daffodil Cup

Courtesy Ken Keating

Langford, BC. Canada (Aug.19, 2006) -- In front of his home crowd and his family Jeff "The Hurricane" Montgomery put on a driving clinic in his quest to defend his title in the 44th Annual Times Colonist – Alpine Group Daffodil Cup Race Saturday Night at Western Speedway.

Close to four thousand people stood watching as twenty high powered cars came out of turn four in perfect formation as the N.S.R.A. flagman waved the green flag signaling the start of the fourty lap Daffodil Cup feature race. Gord Smith of Duncan and Ralph Deaver of Edgewood Washington shared the front row and battled side by side for the initial lead with Deaver taking top spot on lap two.

The yellow flag waved one lap later when Chris Root and Scott Aumen made contact sending Root around in turn four. Ralph Deaver continued to lead on the restart with Kyle Vantreight second, Monte Zema Jr of Spirit Lake Idaho third and Pat Bliss of West Linn Oregon fourth.

On lap six, Randy Price of Cobble Hill moved up to second with a heart stopping display of driving, sliding dirt style high on the outside passing the inside cars. On lap seven, Price took the lead from Deaver but the yellow flag waved once more as Chris Root again spun in turn four. Under N.S.R.A. rules, with a restart pending, Deaver was placed back in the lead as the entire field had not completed the lap on which the lead pass was made.

On the restart, Price held back several car lengths behind Deaver with Monte Zema Jr. in third with Jeff Montgomery now fourth Vantreight fifth and Darren Yates sixth. Price worked his way back to the front and again on the outside made the pass for the lead. Just a few laps after Price had taken the lead, Craig Deaver got into the back of Monte Zema Jr. and spun him around, both drivers were sent to the back of the field.

By lap twenty five, Price had Montgomery all over his rear bumper in a battle for the lead as Montgomery closed in quickly after gaining the second spot. Three laps later Montgomery blew by the leader and made the pass.

On lap thirty, the red flag waved for a spectacular crash in turn one involving Kyle Vantreight and Mike Basher of Tacoma Washington. They battled side by side trading paint and rubs for several laps until the heavy contact locked them together with Basher t-boning Vantreight in mid turn pushing him up against the concrete wall. Basher’s car ended up with the nose of the car in the cockpit of Vantreight’s car. Both drivers walked away uninjured.

Up front it was still Montgomery, Price, Scott Aumen and Darren Yates all four wanting the win but Montgomery was much faster of the four and with a clear track pulled away. He shot out of turn four on the restart and was never challenged for the lead.

Behind him Aumen moved to second around Price with Yates also looking for a way around. Both were sideways through all four turns with Pelk looking for a way to sneak into the battle. He also had his hands full with the Jake Mann, and Justin Mack looking to move up for position.

Yates, who won the Platinum Cup in Calgary the previous weekend, had to go through the B-main putting him in the back of the A-main. Yates moved very quickly from his fourteenth starting position to the front hoping to make a challenge for the win.

Craig Deaver as well started to make his way back towards the front when more bad luck struck the N.S.R.A. points leader. When Basher and Vantreight tangled Deaver realized he had a flat tire sending him to the pits and the back of the field for the restart and only ten laps remaining.

Deaver made his way up to ninth in the final ten laps and Andy Alberding, who entered the night second in points, was also plagued with bad luck all night. Alberding started in the back of the A-main and slowly made his way forward until Gord Smith ran him off the track in turn three. Alberding kept the car going, but again was forced to the back.

Jeff "The Hurricane" Montgomery, who has had his share of bad luck in previous races, would not be denied his first ASA/NSRA victory of 2006 however. He used a lot of patience and smart driving to get to the front in a very exciting race. With his victory he captured the Denny Rand Memorial Trophy as well as the prestigious Daffodil Cup.

He was followed across the line by fellow Canadian drivers Scott Aumen, in second with Randy Price holding on for third. Darren Yates and Jimmy Pelk rounded out the top five.