FENWICK FLYER: WILD WIN

By Tommy Goudge (June 24, 2010) – Tom Huppunen and the #12c Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel Sprint Car team visited victory lane at Ohsweken Speedway for the first time last Friday night. Tom toughed it out on a rough track surface and overcame a mid-race challenge from Keith Dempster to get the win on Best Western Cairn Croft night at the Speedway.

The night started with Tom running fast in hot laps. He drove the #12c to fourth in the first heat race, good enough to transfer directly to the feature and a spot in the redraw. Tom got the outside pole and took off at the start of the twenty lap feature, but was being a bit too cautious on the rough track and lost the lead to Dempster on lap seven. Tom got the lead back after a mid-race restart, and led the rest of the way to get his first win of the season.

“The car needed some TLC with the steering rod bent and loose, and the right rear shock losing its oil,” says Tom. “The oil scavenge lines got crushed on the motor from mud, and the rad mounts got loose and almost wrecked the rad. I took the whole driveline apart and checked all the torsion bars just to be sure there wasn't any damage that wasn't as obvious. Oh yeah, wore the brake pads to dust too.”

A week before the win, Tom got back on track with a solid sixth place finish after a rough start to the season. Earlier that night in hot laps Tom was extremely fast, running a lap time just one hundredth of a second off his own track record. The sixth place finish coupled with last week’s win has Tom back in the top ten in the championship standings at Ohsweken, as he and the #12c team try to defend their 2009 title.

This week is another weekly event at Ohsweken for Tom and the #12c team, and also serves as one last tune-up before the Northern Summer Nationals at Ohsweken scheduled for July 2.

WHAT’S HUPPUNEN?
Charlie from Brantford asks: "Can you tell in the car when you're running track record laps?"

Tom answers: “I know I am doing a good lap time when I don’t have to put much steering input going into the corners, and I can let the car drift out towards the wall near the middle of the straightaway. It feels much like karting back in the day - just a bit faster.”

Tom and the #12c team would like to thank all their sponsors, friends, and partners for their support during the 2010 season, including Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel, NGK Spark Plugs, Cobra Motorhomes & Trailers, Five Star Racing Products, Excalibur Crossfit, OMNI Media, Jawzy Graphics, Kim Arndt Photography, Niagara Custom Powder Coating, Gaerte Engines, Maxim Racing Chassis, Mom's Videography, Colleen, Meghan, Andrew and Jimmy's Crew Service, MW Graphics and Outlaw R/C Motorsports.

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