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One thing is for sure, much was learned after the first night
out. Team Shepherd, after Petey T-boned the wall the week before,
spent all week rebuilding the front end of the #7 car. Petey Shepherd
learned a lot about reaction, the speed of a late model, and the effect
of new hard tires on cold asphalt. He recognized that maybe some
more time at the back would benefit his learning curve.
Also, we learned that Jesse Fair broke a fuel pickup on April
28, and that was his reason for not returning in the feature. Unfortunately
Kenny McNicol Jr. did not learn of all the problems in the #77, and would
have another tough night. In Thunder Cars the question was whether
Ray Gowan would repeat his success from the week earlier; In Street Stocks
the late success that the #4 team had in 2000 carried on into this season;
and in Mini Stocks Tony Darmon was celebrating his life in pink in victory
lane.
In Late Model action, Mosport driver #10 Grant Edwards ran away from the field in the first heat to claim the checkers, and #56 Jeff Stewart pulled away from the chasing #48 Gerry Wheaton for his win in the second heat. In round two of qualifying #36 Bill Jackson claimed a win, and the #48 of Wheaton was able to pass the #56 of Stewart to win a heat. During the couple of hot laps before the Late Model feature the #56 of Jeff Stewart blew up, and dropped fluid all around the track. Under the new rules he would have been allowed to get to the pits and return under caution to take the green, but was unable to get the car fixed and return to the race. From the drop of the green flag late models were scrapping for position, but the battles were for second or further back. Jason Shaw’s #82 Ford Mustang was on rails as he pulled far away from the rest. The biggest excitement was when the #10 of Edwards got sideways in corners three and four while he was running 2nd. Wheaton hit the brakes hard in the #48 and didn’t make any contact; #19 Trevor Warren, #9 Chris Boschler, and #36 Bill Jackson all drove around; and #7 Petey Shepherd stopped on the highside, as he barrelled into the corner, before driving by the #10. The only car to get involved was the #77 Kenny McNicol Jr. who didn’t make contact with the #10, but stalled the engine when he stopped to avoid contact. Problems would continue with Kenny’s car and before the end of the night McNicol was watching racing from the infield, after there was a fire under the hood of the #77. On the race track, Jason Shaw had re-established his full straightaway lead after the caution, and the rest of the late models were spread out around the track. When the white flag flew fans knew there would be no stopping the #82, but there was a heated battle for second. Around the track Trevor Warren tried his best to get his #19 by the #48 Gerry Wheaton. He would be held off in the end, and across the striped line it was #82 Jason Shaw, for his first feature win of 2001, then #48 Gerry Wheaton, #19 Trevor Warren, #36 Bill Jackson, and then #10 Grant Edwards.
All eyes were on the Ray Gowan in the Thunder Car feature to see if the veteran could win back-to-back feature races and keep the #10 under the checkered banner in victory lane. Gowan was held winless in qualifying, with heat wins going to the #7 Robert Disher, #31 Kevin Gallant, and 2 to the #12 Mike Post. In the feature Gowan got the #10 in front early, but was closely followed by the #6 Jim Ball, #50 John Burdick and the #91 Randy Richard. In the back there were to cars on the move. The #55 Jesse Fair was slowly picking up positions, while #12 Mike Post was rocket fast in his mission to get to the front. With 5 laps to go Jesse Fair moved into sixth in front of the #43 Dave Habel, and Mike Post already had the #12 in the top five. With two laps to go Post was all over the back of the #10, not wanting to settle for second. Into corner three Mike Post made the pass and got by the #10 Ray Gowan, and out of corner four was shown the white flag, one lap to go. Around the track one more time, it was made obvious that Mike Post had everything under control and that Ray Gowan would not repeat. Down to the checkers it was the #12 Mike Post winning the feature, followed by #10 Ray Gowan, #50 John Burdick, #91 Randy Richard, and #6 Jim Ball.
It was a very similar scenario in the Street Stock class, as #41 Dave Miskolczi was looking for a repeat performance from the previous week. He found success in qualifying winning both of his heats, while #72 Randy “The Rocket” Rusnell won both of his. Going into the feature, both drivers were looking to complete the hat trick, three wins in one night. Both efforts would be thwarted. On the first lap, street stocks raced side by side all the way around the track, until driver Bill Barfoot brought his #4 into the lead. The front six then broke from the rest of the pack and spread themselves out, the #41 and #72 were at the back of this lead pack. At the halfway point Bill Barfoot was still leading, #02 Jim Mannen was second, and Miskolzi and Rusnell and made their way to third and fourth, with sights set on the leader. Nearing the end of the race, the leaders came up on slow traffic. This would prove to be an exciting twist. The #02, #42 and #72 were all looking to make a move at the time they came up on the slower #95 of Kevin Benish. Three wide into corner three, all drivers scrambled to avoid contact with the wall and each other, and succeeded, but lost ground on the #4 of Barfoot. Down to the line on the last lap, #4 Bill Barfoot would cross first and win his first feature since September 4th, 2000. Finishing second was the #41 of Dave Miskolczi, followed by #72 Randy Rusnell, #02 Jim Mannen, and the #20 of Gary Slama.
It was a two car battle in the Mini Stock division last week.
Heat wins were split between #85 Robert Allerellie and #66 Tony Darmon.
Both cars were fast, the #85 excelling in the corners and the #66 pulling
away on the straights. This was the basis of the feature race.
From the beginning it was the #66 of Darmon leading, followed closely by
Allerellie’s #85. The two cars battled ferociously up front, getting
side by side, and bumper to bumper. At one point Allerellie got around
the #66 of Darmon, but the little pink car proved stronger, and Darmon
drove back to the lead on the outside. Allerellie continued his pursuit,
but would not get by the #66 again. Winning the feature was #66 Tony
Darmon, followed closely by the #85 Robert Allerellie.