Gord Shepherd sweeps Wahta Springs Late Model feature victories at Barrie Speedway

So far this season hasn’t gone as smoothly as defending Wahta Springs Late Model Champion Gord Shepherd would’ve hoped for. Still, the Ridge Road Racing driver currently leads the points and would win both 30-lap features on Mobile 1 night at Barrie Speedway. As a result, Shepherd now has four victories on the season.

The first feature started off with Sam Reckzin on pole behind the wheel of his No. 27 SRDS Trucking, DS Motorsports, Reckzin Consulting and Samco Auto Late Model ahead of Rob Bromley, Shepherd, Al Inglis, Mike Langley, Leonard Johnston, Andre Pepin, Dwight Brown, Darryl St. Onge, Rick Walt and Taylor Holdaway.

Reckzin, unfortunately, wouldn’t hold the lead long as Rob Bromley used the outside to his advantage, clearing Reckzin on lap two to put the No. 44 Bromley Automotive Late Model out front. Reckzin would get bumped back through the field, all the way back to ninth by lap 11. Bromley continued to lead, now ahead of Shepherd, Inglis, Johnston, Brown, Holdaway, Walt, St. Onge, Reckzin and Pepin.

Shepherd, though, tracked down Bromley and got alongside him at lap 13, and then passed him at lap 16 to put the No. 10 Progressive Waste, Shelswell Racing, Castrol, Montana’s Cookhouse Orillia, Bill Le Boeuf, Fox’s Bakery and Deli, Liberty North, Shepherd Family Trucking, TrustYou, Hwy 400 Transmission, Krueger Electrical Services, Cowden-Woods Design Builders Ltd. and Classic Towing & Storage Late Model out front. Bromley slipped back to second ahead of Inglis while Johnston and Brown battled side-by-side for fourth. Brown would grab the spot on lap 17 while Johnston kept himself ahead of Walt and Holdaway as they battled for sixth. The pair would battle for a good four laps side-by-side, with Walt grabbing the spot as Holdaway fell back to eighth after being passed by St. Onge as well. Holdaway would get back by St. Onge, while Walt passed Johnston to move up to fifth, bringing Holdaway through with him.

Meanwhile at the front, Gord Shepherd would run away from the field and grab the victory while Al Inglis grabbed second with a pass on Rob Bromley with four laps to go. Rick Walt would finish fourth after a late race pass by Dwight Brown. Taylor Holdaway finished sixth, followed by Darryl St. Onge, Leonard Johnston, Andre Pepin, Sam Reckzin and Mike Langley.

For the second feature, Reckzin would start on pole once again, followed by Langley, Bromley, Johnston, St. Onge, Inglis, Shepherd, Pepin, Brown, Holdaway and Walt. Sam Reckzin and Mike Langley would battle for the lead on the start, with Reckzin grabbing sole leadership at lap two as Langley dropped back with Bromley grabbing second followed by St. Onge, Shepherd, Brown, Walt and Holdaway.

Reckzin would continue to lead ahead of Bromley at lap seven while St. Onge and Shepherd battled for third. As they battled, Bromley would track down Reckzin and make the pass to grab the lead at lap 13. Reckzin then began to fall back with St. Onge grabbing second ahead of Shepherd and Holdaway. Shepherd would make the move on St. Onge for second on lap 14, and then passed Bromley two laps later to take the lead. St. Onge would followed suit to grab second at lap 18, bringing Holdaway, Walt and Brown with him.

The top pair would run single-file to the end as Darryl St. Onge was unable to track down Gord Shepherd, allowing Shepherd to pick up his second win of the night. Rick Walt would finish third after passing Taylor Holdaway with three laps to go. Dwight Brown rounded out the top five, followed by Al Inglis, Rob Bromley, Andre Pepin, Mike Langley, Leonard Johnston and Sam Reckzin.