MOSPORT SPEEDWAY RACE RECAP FOR JUNE 18, 2011
(Bowmanville, ON – June 20, 2011) There were smiles all around on June 18 as the weather finally cooperated and Mosport Speedway was able to present a full card of racing action from the homegrown Pure Stock division as well as the visiting OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Models presented by Daymak Ajax and the CRS Ontario Legends. |
As part of this night’s feature race, Daymak Ajax awarded Christopher Delmaire of Scarborough with an Eco Star bike valued at approximately $1,300. PURE STOCK The battle for the evening’s Pure Stock bragging rights was resolved only after a hard-fought, 20 lap scrap between a pair of past champions and a host of potential future title holders. Sophomore driver Kyle Hope was the first out of the gate, snagging the early lead from the outside of the front row. Demoted to second place on lap three by two-time champion Jeff Scott (#96 Sunbird), Hope found himself further displaced when Kevin Hinds (#57) and the hard charging Nick Mulders (#89) pushed through to challenge Scott for the overall lead. Hinds and Mulders were eventually able to wrestle top spot away from Scott and each took their turn on the point until the motor expired in Mulder’s Cavalier, the Turn Two, lap 10 tangle handed the lead back to Scott. Defending series champion Kevin Pickford (#19 Buick Skyhawk), having been involved in an early race incident, hade been charging forward, picking off his rivals one at a time. With five-to-go Pickford moved onto Scott’s back bumper, applying the pressure for three full tours before taking the long, outside route through Turn Two, Pickford edging clear of Scott as the pair streamed down the backstraight and taking the lead, a position that he would not relinquish. “You have no idea how much competition we have here,” exclaimed Pickford. “Once I finally caught up to Jeff, he was protecting the inside line so I knew the only way to get past him was to try going wide coming off of the turns.” To add insult to injury, Duane Jeffery was also able to get around Scott to claim second place, the two drivers crossing the stripe nose-to-tail. The ONTARIO LEGENDS The Ontario Legends made their first of three appearances scheduled for Mosport on June 18 for Round Four of their 2011 calendar. In the first three events of the year, the feature race wins have been split between defending series champion Adam Cuthbertson (2 wins) and former Mosport and Legends champion Andy Warbutton. And Saturday night’s race proved again to be a two-man tussle between the longtime rivals. In the evening’s two, 8 lap heat dashes, Warbutton was able to edge out Cuthbertson to claim the preliminary sprint victories. The 20 lap feature contest however would be a Cuthbertson versus Cuthbertson duel, as younger brother Wes (#12) led the first half-dozen laps from the pole position, with Adam Cuthbertson, Bill Mason (#4) and Warbutton tucked in closely behind. Proving that he still had a few tricks that he had not shown his sibling, Adam took and held the high outside line as the pair rounded the Turn 3/ 4 combination to wrestle away the race lead. At the same time, Warbutton pipped Mason for third place, a position he would hold to the end of the 20 lap, “Clean and Green” contest. Once clear of the pack, Adam Cuthbertson settled into a comfortable rhythm, pulling away to an eight car length lead over his brother at the checkered flag. “This is very much a driver’s track; you really need how to handle the bumps and the different pavement. I thought I had Wes pretty well covered, but he was running an awesome race and I really wasn’t sure if I could get him,” laughed the race winner. The OSCAAR OUTLAW SUPER LATE MODELS Three time, and defending OSCAAR champion Glenn Watson maintained his perfect record for 2011, claiming his third feature victory of the season on Saturday night. Not completely willing to show his hand in the heat sprints with a pair of third place results (behind Drew Spicer and Oakwood’s Dave Taylor), Watson was ready to charge in the 50 lap feature, moving up from his third row starting spot to take the point from Drew Spicer coming to the stripe in lap four. Once in the lead, Watson had a good seat to watch the scramble developing for the runner-up position in his rearview mirrors. Spicer (#89) running in his first event of the year, refused to gently concede the victory to Watson, maintaining a constant pressure while defending his position from the #62 of Lloyd Ritchie, Wayne Isaacs in the ex-Jeff Hanley #00 and the #9 of 18 year-old Brandon Watson. Running in a nose-to-tail four car train behind the race leader, second place was eventually decided on a lap 35 caution period restart when Brandon Watson outbraked Spicer as the pair entered Turn One. Although he was able to mount a late race charge, the younger Watson fell two car lengths shy of the victory with Spicer edging out Isaacs for the final step of the podium. “I spent a lot of time watching my mirrors, but the car was really fast tonight,” explained Glenn Watson. “I would have had to mess up pretty bad for them to beat me.” Ritchie eventually faded to a fifth place result, with Dave Taylor, who had battled an evil-handling car all evening, crossing the stripe in a closing, sixth place. “We missed the setup by a ton tonight. We were lucky to finish in sixth,” admitted Taylor. - 30 - Photo Credit: Peter Brand Photo 1 - Pure Stock feature race winner and defending champion Kevin Pickford. Photo 2 - Ontario Legends feature race winner and defending series champion Adam Cuthbertson. Photo 3 - Three-time and defending OSCAAR champion Glenn Watson won the night's feature race keeping his perfect season (feature races) alive |
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