|
|
Millgrove, ON – As the cool nights of September slowly transform into the brisk nights of October, ending race seasons for many surrounding tracks, Flamboro Speedway continues to keep things hot with wild racing action right up to October 13th and 14th which will mark the Octoberfest Racing Classic Weekend. But that’s still three race weeks away, and as has been said so many times before, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” The Flamboro point standings, like the front gates, won’t close until the end of the race day on October 14th. The same goes for the Ontario Late Model Challenge Cup Series, and we’ve already seen point battles change or tighten up over the month of September. Drivers who were once considered untouchable now find themselves less than 20 points ahead of their pursuer, while other leaders have been hostilely dethroned.
Kevin Gallant’s recent struggles in the #31 Thunder Car have been well documented in the last four weeks. The “Corn King” who was also the reigning King of the Thunder Car point battle, was leading by over 100 points a couple weeks back. But as drivers have started to fill in their best 20 races, closing point gaps, Gallant’s lead grew smaller. Not being able to consistently finish in the top five in recent weeks, a task proved easy in the first two thirds of the season, has severely affected Gallant’s point standing, and may be the cause for his ousting. Mike Post, the aggressive driver of the #12, has climbed steadily through the ranks to remove Gallant from his top seating. Stretching ahead by more than 30 points, Post has pushed Kevin back to second, and with few races remaining will hope to keep him there. Other drivers coming to the top, or suffering a similar fate as Gallant are: the team of Dave “the Hammer” Habel and Art Nicholas, drivers of the #43 who fell from the top and out of the top five after some bad luck. They’ll be looking to climb back up in the next few races, if they can get an engine put together; Randy Rutherford, the most recent success in the Thunder Car division, has brought the #38 to the front of the features multiple times in the past few weeks and in doing so has climbed to just outside the top five; and Jeff Kearnes and Rob Vanderveen, drivers of the #03 and #93 respectively. These drivers have both suffered some hard luck in the 2001 season but both have been able to stay within the top ten. With a couple races left these will be two drivers racing to improve past finishes to jump up a couple spots in the standings. Anything could happen in the upcoming weeks, and a champion won’t be truly crowned until the checkers have been thrown on October 14th.
Kevin Gallant isn’t the only driver who had to be sweating while at the top. Go Four driver Robert Allerellie (#85) has felt the extreme heat of rising pressure from the #77 Bryn Rennie. In mid-summer, Allerellie had a 1000 point lead and seems absolutely untouchable. But a few weeks ago the #85 suffered a bad smack with the front straight wall. That put Allerellie out for the night. The next week, while leading the race, the #85 lost the radiator with two laps to go. The next week he suffered more problems, and it wasn’t until September 22nd that the little Geo returned to victory lane. In the meantime, while Allerellie fought problems, Bryn Rennie raked in wins, both heat and feature, and has now climbed within 20 points of the #85. But that’s not the only close battle. There’s a one-point difference between #17 Jim Hill and #73 Ron Larkin Jr. for third, and a two-point difference between #2 Crash Myers and #22 Ken Turner for sixth. Tight battles all over the Go Four division, and the race for points will only get harder as the car counts jump to 24 plus with the closing of competing tracks.
One guy who only now may be noticing the closeness of his competition is defending Street Stock points champion #72 Randy Rusnell. “The Rocket” soared to an early lead in the beginning of the season and has yet to really relinquish his firm grip on the top spot. But #45 Dave Bennett and team #20 of Sean Warren and Gary Slama are slowing starting to peel back his unwilling fingers. Bennett fell from second to third only a few weeks ago, but returned with a fury to win his first ever feature win on September 15th (after four years trying). And what better way to top your first win then to win another, which he succeeded in doing on September 22nd. Warren/Slama finished top three in both of those races, as the have consistently done in the latter half of the season. But what does this have to do with Rocket Rusnell? Slama and Warren have pulled within 40 points of the #72, and Bennett is only 40 points back of them. The rest of the points battles in the Street Stock division are close, including a 13-point difference between fourth and fifth, but the main focus is at the top. Will Rocket hold on and repeat? Or will Slama and Warren or Bennett overthrow the reigning champ? Their races have been nothing less then heart stopping, with leaders taking each other out and unexpected mechanical break downs (the most popular in recent weeks being the loss of axles and wheels), and all in the middle of close point battles.
One guy who is yet to break a sweat over worrying about points is
#36 Bill Jackson. Earlier in the season the #36 was driven by his
teammate Jim MacDonald who built up quite a substantial lead. The
top pursuers of recent were Chris Bochsler, who fell from second after
missing some races after a bad wreck and blown engine, and Petey Shepherd.
Shepherd climbed up to second, with fellow rookie Kenny McNicol Jr. sitting
close behind him in third. Both rookies have had some ups and downs
in their first season as Late Model drivers, but McNicol has worked through
more downs than ups. In the beginning of the season it seemed that
McNicol was having a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings in the
Lucknow Auto Parts #77, but slowly got smoother on the track, and finally
winning his first race at the beginning of the summer. But then Kenny
fell into a bad string of mechanical problems. Many of these mechanical
problems made themselves known while the #77 was running out in front,
the win within McNicol’s grasp, but then the #77 would find it’s way to
the infield leaving the checkers to be collected by another. Petey
Shepherd has had similar problems, losing two engines around mid-season,
waiting through the learning curve at the beginning of the season, but
the mechanical problems have not been there to the same extent. Petey’s
biggest problem has been staying clear of those bad situations that all
rookies seem to find. No one can question, Shepherd is a talented
driver, and has had no fear in sticking the #7 in some pretty tight spots,
digging in, and racing with the big boys. But in doing so he has
also opened himself up to a lot of criticism and vulnerability. When
he races to the front and wins he’s a hero and a favourite. But when
Lady Luck leaves his side and he is sent spinning across the grass, or
through the air (over other cars, as fans watched in horror on September
22nd, crashing to the asphalt), all of a sudden comments are made about
his moving up to a Late Model, his skill is questioned, and his person
attacked. The 2001 season has been an emotional roller coaster for
Petey and the rest of Team Shepherd, from winning one of the Triple 25’s
back in August while fighting the flu, to blowing engines and continuously
having to fix bumpers and fenders. Now it’s realized that that is
a part of racing, but to have other drivers painting your number on their
front bumpers as personal incentive, it gets to be a little much for anyone,
especially a 15 year-old kid. But hey, both rookies have been hanging
in there. Up until September 22nd Shepherd and McNicol were seated
2nd and 3rd in point standings. The big change that moved them each
down a spot was the entering of #8 Paul Howse into the equation.
Howse moved into second 40-points ahead of Petey, and 50-points back of
Jackson. Another driver to not count out yet is #57 Rob Maas.
Also a rookie, Mass is currently fifth in the point standings, and more
than a hundred points back of Jackson, but less than 20-points back of
McNicol. There are two more scheduled Late Model race dates, plus
the Octoberfest Twin 50’s. A lot could change between know and victory
lane on October 14th, and like the Go Fours, racing for points just got
harder. On September 22nd 24 cars started the Late Model feature,
and if that’s a sign for what is to come at Octoberfest, qualifying for
the feature may be a battle in it’s self. Best of luck to all the
drivers in their endeavors, as we wind down our season at Flamboro Speedway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|