Coming off of a fantastic night of racing 1 week earlier, July 17th’s show had no shortage of racers looking to continue their hot streaks, while others were desperate to right their ship and put their 2010 campaign back on course.
The Owens Corning Mini Stocks kicked off the festivities, with a full field of 27-cars taking to the track for their customary 25-lap A Main. All eyes were on rookie Ken Donaldson Jr. (No. 03 Custom Steering Nissan) to see if the second generation driver could lock up his third victory in as many starts. Although his Donaldson Racing Stable teammate Kevin Vande Beek (No. 51 Custom Steering/Highland Collision Centre Nissan) proved to be a worthy adversary through qualifying. Entering the A Main, both drivers were looking to complete their hat trick, after heading to victory lane in each of their qualifying heat races.
Dan ‘The Bandit’ Britt (No. 41 Douglas Ford Collision Centre/Dr. Parts of Barrie Honda) utilized his second row starting position to glide into the lead on lap 1, and would hold the position for the first 7 circuits, before succumbing to pressure from a surging Vande Beek. While the Aurora, ON product began to distance himself from the rest of the field, his DRS teammate struggled to weave his way through the superbly talented field, before finding Vande Beek’s bumper shortly before the halfway mark.
A mid-race caution would cluster the field together and again the teammates departed from the rest of the pack, dodging and weaving their way through lapped traffic. Vande Beek appeared to be the clear favourite, but the final restart of the event would line Donaldson up on his outside, giving the 2-time defending winner a last chance at making the pass for the lead.
With Vande Beek leading off of the restart, Donaldson would find his opening on the final turn of the final lap. As Vande Beek slipped up high to avoid a lapped car exiting turn-4, Donaldson dive-bombed to the bottom of the racetrack in a last ditch effort for the win. At the checkered flag, Vande Beek would hold on to the lead by a bumper, with Donaldson a close second, Nicole Podewils (No. 79 Active Green + Ross/Fox’s Bakery and Deli Ford) would complete the top-3.
In victory lane, Vande Beek was quick to admit, “I still have alot to learn. And I definitely still have alot to work on, but it really helps to have guys like Kyle [Donaldson] and Stompin’ Tom [Walters] in my corner giving me pointers.”
When asked about the lapped traffic that plagued him for much of the race, Vande Beek laughed, “It does get a little more difficult with the lappers everywhere. I saw the [27 car] coming off of the final turn on the last lap and just thought ‘For the love of God please just keep going’. But its something you just have to deal with.”
The Tim-BR Mart Super Stocks were up next, with many competitors and fans still reeling from Chance Isherwood’s surprise victory only 7 days earlier. With point leader Kyle Donaldson (No. 53 Custom Steering/Planet Recovery Co. Monte Carlo) and many other perennial contenders starting deep in the field, attention was drawn to Isherwood (No. 35 Chris Wheery Snap-On Dealer/Mr. Sub @ Yonge & Little Impala) to see if the underdog could manage two in a row.
An early race caution would remove Isherwood from the race, though another exciting prospect was more than willing to take over as the underdog favourite; ‘Kid Ruckus’ Ryan Semple (No. 64 Anderson Sheet Metal/Lucas Oil Camaro) dominated the first half of the race. The Loretto, ON youngster rolled off in the pole position, and led for the first 22 laps, at times battling side-by-side with his mentor Flyin’ Frank Davey (No. 49 Bradford Print Shoppe/Grass Pro Plus Camaro) to the delight of the packed grandstands.
As the leaders battled, so too did a pair of former champions, with Donaldson and ‘The Deuce’ Dave Doucette (No. 44 Xtreme Auto Machine/Simcoe Auto Recyclers 300C) methodically cutting their way through the pack from their deep field starting position. Donaldson would slip past Doucette for the third position at lap 22, with Doucette making contact with the point leader a straightaway later, spinning the #53 and sending both cars to the tail of the field.
With Donaldson and Doucette seemingly out of contention, the top 3 –along with the dynamic of the race, itself – was shaken up completely. Semple still lead, with Davey pressuring, but young upstart Matt Bentley (No. 21 Thring Race Car Fabrication/Gary Bentley Motorsports Nova) now completed the top-3.
The ensuing restart saw Davey get the job on his protégé, with Bentley following, relegating Semple to the third position by lap 23. A single circuit later, Bentley would wrestle the lead from Davey, looking to become only the third winner in the Super Stock division so far in 2010. The Acton, ON native would withstand a series of late-race Davey charges, holding on for his first ever Sunset Speedway A-Main victory. Following Bentley to the stripe were Davey, Paul Maltese (No. 28 Graham Contracting & Landscaping Monte Carlo), the returning Mark Adams (No. 51 Rankin’s Auto Monte Carlo) and early leader Semple.
After climbing from his car, amidst a barrage of hugs and high fives from excited family members, Bentley exclaimed, “This is absolutely amazing! It took a lot of patience, I still can’t quite believe I pulled that off. Let me tell you, Kyle Donaldson has been the fastest car in the province so far, and this is the most talented field in the province right now, and coming from 18th every night isn’t easy...but we finally did it!”
Bentley would continue on to thank the fans that have supported him, along with his dedicated crew of family, including his brother, Flamboro Speedway Pro Late Model driver Mike `Lights Out` Bentley.
The CGC Sheetrock Limited Late Models would close the night out, and for the 25 of the 30 laps, the A Main would double as `The Rob Poole Show`. That`s because the Cookstown, ON diehard, who`s been battling a run of bad luck longer than the Boston Marathon, would lead all but the first 5 laps to earn his first victory since opening night 2009.
Second-generation driver Jamie Horner (No. 14 Horner Chassis & Automotive Chevrolet) paced the field early on, and after surrendering the lead to Poole would have phenomenal battles with both `The Bully` Dwayne Baker (No. 48 Zancor Custom Homes/B&B Towing Chevrolet) and Stompin` Tom Walters (No. 47 McColl Racing Enterprises Chevrolet).
After Poole cleared Horner, he would see Jason Witty (No. 19 Matco Tools/LaRue`s Haulage Chevrolet) pull to his rear bumper several times, though `The Professional` did not appear in danger of losing his lead at any time.
Upon climbing from his car in victory lane, a visibly exhausted Poole smiled, ``Boy it feels good to finally get one. These guys behind me have worked so hard on this car, I owe everything to them, my family and my wife for sticking by and supporting me, without all of them this absolutely wouldn’t have been possible``
The 3-time Super Stock champion continued, ``We`ve been fighting a loose race car for a couple of weeks now, but tonight it seemed to come together real nice. I saw Jason coming and knew he was fast, I was just happy we were the faster car tonight``
QUICK RESULTS
MINI STOCK
HEAT 1: Kevin Vande Beek Aurora, ON
HEAT 2: Ken Donaldson Jr. Queensville, ON
HEAT 3: Dave Glaze Angus, ON
HEAT 4: Kevin Vande Beek Aurora, ON
HEAT 5: Ken Donaldson Jr. Queensville, ON
HEAT 6: Dave Glaze Angus, ON
B Main: Ben Melenhorst Stayner, ON
A MAIN:
1) Kevin Vande Beek Aurora, ON
2) Ken Donaldson Jr. Queensville, ON
3) Nicole Podewils Barrie, ON
SUPER STOCKS
HEAT 1: `The Munster` Donny Munce Barrie, ON
HEAT 2: Matt Bentley Acton, ON
HEAT3: Kyle “Wheely” Donaldson Queensville, ON
HEAT 4: Jason Elliott Angus, ON
HEAT 5: Frank Davey River Drive Park, ON
HEAT 6: Kyle “Wheely” Donaldson Queensville, ON
B MAIN: Paul Maltese Innisfil, ON
A MAIN:
1) Matt Bentley Acton, ON
2) Frank Davey River Drive Park, ON
3) Paul Maltese Innisfil, ON
4) Mark Adams Burlington, ON
5) `Kid Ruckus` Ryan Semple Loretto, ON
LTD. LATE MODELS
HEAT 1: `The Bully`Dwayne Baker Stayner, ON
HEAT 2: Stompin’ Tom Walters Bradford, ON
HEAT 3: `Mr. Excitement` Chris Morrow Anten Mills, ON
HEAT 4: Tyler Liscum New Lowell, ON
A MAIN:
1) `The Professional Rob Poole` Cookstown, ON
2) Jason `Bam Bam` Witty Queensville, ON
3) `The Gravedigger` Jamie Horner Bowmanville, ON
4) Stompin’ Tom Walters Bradford, ON
5) `Hollywood` Taylor Holdaway Orillia, ON
By Spencer Lewis
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