By Dave Vokey
It has become a night known for special prestige over the years, and July 5th was no different as Barrie Speedway played host to its Mid Season Championships, with extended distance features the order of the night for all three divisions. In the track’s featured Wahta Springs Late Models, it was #31 Rick Walt of Hawkestone who captured both 50 lap features, further extending a streak of 4 feature wins in succession and counting, as the 2014 season is set to kick off it’s second half. The current streak Walt is on is reminicent of a tear the driver went on to begin the 2012 season while in the Thunder Car ranks, as the driver ripped off the first five feature wins to begin that season en route to his first career points title. Speaking of the Thunder Cars, it was the current point leader #00 Luke Gignac of Port McNicholl who strolled to victory in their 50 lap feature, marking the 5th feature win of the season for the venerable veteran. In the Pure Stock ranks it was another current point leader that came up big, as #10 Doug Butler of New Lowell claimed his 4th feature win of the season, in a 35 lap affair that featured one of the biggest accidents in the 50 year history of the track.
In the first Late Model 50, it was #24 Leonard “The Bandit” Johnston who took the initial lead from the outside pole position, gaining the advantage on #27 “Smilin” Sam Reckzin from the drop of the green. Also trying to make a challenge on the outer groove was #5 Mike “The Hulkamaniac” Langley, as the division sophomore pulled alongside Reckzin for second, as a game Reckzin held firm and was able to maintain the position. On lap 6, Langley would finally muster the power under hood to complete a pass of Reckzin, quickly leading the way for the front running #00 of Darryl St. Onge to follow and claim third. Johnston, would soon build up a half straightway lead at the front of the pack, as St. Onge would slip past Langley for 2nd, with a clean inside pass in turn 3. Also on the move in the early going was #91 Andre Pepin, as the third year driver would pass Langley for 3rd inside of turns 1&2, on a special night for Pepin who was racing in honor of former car owner Ron MacLennan, whom the night was being dedicated to after his unfortunate passing in the early part of May. Also beginning to make noise on lap 15 was the current point leader #10 Gord Shepherd, as the defending track champ would follow the super fast 31 of Walt to enter the top 5 after both drivers would work past the 5 of Langley on the inside line midway down the backstretch. Walt, would soon chase down the third place car of Pepin and execute a clean pass, with Shepherd having a bit more trouble working around the pesky Pepin, finally taking over third entering turn three two laps later.
On lap 19, Walt would continue his charge towards the point, working around St. Onge for runner up positioning, with leader Johnston still holding a near half straightaway advantage at the front of the field. It was on lap 27 Walt would make the winning pass, getting along the inside of Johnston on the exit of turn 4, and taking control of the race lead as the duo raced into turn one. Walt, would soon run into lapped traffic on lap 30, working through cars with surgeon like precision, while St. Onge would put on a challenge of his own towards Johnston, eventually taking over 2nd place positioning, as the alert 10 of Shepherd was quick to follow St. Onge’s move to enter podium positioning. At this point in the race the best battle on track was the race for 5th, as veteran #12 Dwight Brown would pass Pepin for that spot, after a hard fought three laps door handle to door handle. On lap 37, Shepherd would continue to make progression, working past St. Onge for 2nd with an inside move while racing out of turn two. At this point in the race leader Walt had checked out by a half straightway at the front of the pack, but that margin would soon be erased when the first and only caution flew on lap 46, as Reckzin spun out of turn four. This turn of events would set up the stellar duel of Walt and Shepherd from the front row on the restart, as Shepherd looked to be breaking out to a slender lead on the outside, with Walt fighting back hard along the inside line and eventually regaining control of the race lead while racing out of turn two with 2 laps remaining. Walt, would parade on to victory lane by a slender 2 car lengths over Shepherd at the checkered, as St. Onge, Brown, and Johnston would complete the top 5.
In the 50 lap finale to the evening, it was the 27 of Reckzin who broke out to the lead early, with #49 “Flyin” Frank Davey slipping inside #44 Rob Bromley in turn two, advancing runner up positioning just a couple laps in. Just one lap later, Bromley would get loose on the backstretch, forcing the 00 of St. Onge high and into the outside retaining wall. The result of the contact would see the night end early for both drivers, with a rough driving black flag sent Bromley’s way, and St. Onge forced to the infield for the duration as a result of the damage incurred. On the restart, with fast 49 of Davey would wrestle away the lead from Reckzin along the outside line, with the 12 of Brown looking to follow that progression to enter the top three. The caution would again appear a short while later, when #69 Al “Red Rocket” Inglis would give Brown a bump entering turn one, with both drivers sent careening towards the outside wall, as the 91 of Pepin would also make slight contact with the duo while looking to avoid. All three drivers would be summoned arrears for the restart, as the 49 of Davey found the point once again, despite a gritty performance from the 27 of Reckzin while working the top side of the track. Once again it was the 31 of Walt who was nearing the front, taking over 2nd from Reckzin with 2011 track champ #34 Ron “The Dominator” Quesnelle also in the mix, taking over third from Reckzin with an inside pass entering turn three. Just two laps later the race would go sour for Reckzin however, when Shepherd would make slight contact with #79 Cory Horner while racing for 5th, forcing Horner high and causing a brush against the outside retaining wall on exit of turn four, and as he tried to collect his ride Horner would slam into the side of Reckzin, sending him for a wild spin along the infield grass approaching turn one.
The race’s third caution would set the stage for a Davey/Walt battle on the restart, with Walt quickly finding the point entering turn two after a tough lap wheel to wheel with Davey. Walt, would eventually bust out to a 4 car length lead at the front of the field, with Davey finding challenge from the 10 of Shepherd to the outside, with Shepherd eventually moving up to runner up positioning. Davey, would soon come under fire from the 34 of Quesnelle who was making a special appearance, also in honor of MacLennan his former car owner for 20 plus years. Quesnelle, would take over third in the running order after Davey drifted high out of turn two after a hard nosed battle, also allowing the 12 of Brown the opening he needed to take over 4th in the running order. At the front of the field leader Walt was setting a steady pace, completing laps in the 15.1 second range while holding a half straightway lead over the 10 of Shepherd, with an equal distance back to the developing dice for 3rd, as Brown would take that position from Quesnelle along the inside of turn one, after Brown ran up over the curbing causing slight contact with his counterpart along the way. On lap 35, Quesnelle would see a strong run suffer a setback, when the 91 of Pepin would make inadvertant contact entering turn 1 while racing for top 5 positioning, with Quesnelle sent spinning and both drivers to the back of the back for the ensuing restart. As was the case in the first feature, the stage was again set for a Walt/Shepherd dice from the front row, with Brown also in the mix running third and looking to challenge Shepherd towards the inside. Walt, would again break out to a marginal lead, with Brown diving to Shepherd’s inside on the exit of turn two, and as the drivers raced into turn three Brown would cut a right front tire after making contact with the 10 of Shepherd, with both drivers sent arrears and only 8 laps remaining. This would totally reshuffle the top 5 to now include leader Walt, the 69 of Inglis, Davey, Johnston, and Quesnelle. After a late race caution set the stage for a two lap shootout, Walt would again power to the point, as the wily Inglis checked into 2nd, with Johnston slipping inside Davey to take over 3rd. Walt, would take his division leading 7th feature win of the season in convincing fashion over runner up Inglis by 3 car lengths at the checkered. Johnston, would cap off a solid point night with a season best 3rd place result, while Davey and Quesnelle would comprise the remainder of the fast five.
In Triple Sick Skin Tattoo Thunder Car action, it was #37 Robbie Sikes who went to the front early, after surviving a tough two lap duel with rookie #11 Adam Misener from the drop of the green. Misener, would soon find pressure to the inside from #55 Shawn Goggins, with the latter taking over 2nd place, leading the way for #22 Jason Elliott to follow through to third on lap four. The race would see its first lead change on lap 8, when Goggins would run up on Sikes and complete a clean inside pass between turn 3&4. Sikes, would suffer some misfortune a short while later, when on lap 11 he would make contact with #57 Mike Shumilak while trying to put him a lap down, sending Shumilak for a spin along the backstretch, with Sikes sent to the back as an involved car. The ensuing restart would see Goggins again take the point, despite a valiant effort from the 11 of Misener on the outside line, with Misener eventually losing 2nd to Elliott who executed an impressive pass along the inside of turn four on lap 14. Misener, would suddenly find himself trapped to the high side, and was in turn passed by the duo of Gignac and #21 Desi Walt, thus dropping Misener back to 5th place in the running order.
At the front of the field Goggins continued to set a torrid pace, running laps just a shade over the 16 second mark, holding a 3 car length lead over Elliott, who then came under heavy fire from the 00 of Gignac, as the point leader would move to 2nd just shy of lap 30, with a smooth pass along the inside line. With 15 laps remaining, Gignac would close in on the bumper of leader Goggins, eventually relieving his counterpart of the point with an inside pass entering turn one. On lap 43, Elliott would get to Goggins inside in the race for 2nd, with the two racing multiple laps side by side while trying to take control of that position. Elliott, would win the battle with Goggins, with the latter falling back into the clutches of the 21 of Walt for 3rd. On the last lap, while trying to work around a lapped car, Walt would perhaps make slight contact with the 55 of Goggins who went for a spin on the outside of turn three. The race would be declared official with Gignac having already flown past the checkered at the time of the caution, as the steady wheelman would take the feature win for the second week in a row. Elliott, would put in a solid race of his own in coming home 2nd, while Misener, Sikes, and #10 Jordan Latimer would round out the top 5. Unfortunately, the 11 of Misener would get caught up in the post race technical inspection, negating a career best finish in a Thunder Car.
Earlier heat wins went to Misener, Sikes, Goggins, and Walt.
In St. Onge Recreation Pure Stock action, #18 Tim Gagne and #6 Josh Inglis would lead a 25 car field to green, with Gagne grabbing the point from pole position, as Inglis, and #8 Paul Bogensberger checked into 2nd and 3rd respectively. Fast on the move from the 5th place starting position was #88 Jeremy McLean, as the talented wheelman would slip inside Bogensberger for 3rd, then beginning the hunt for Inglis in 2nd. An early caution would fly on lap 4, when contact was made mid pack between #28 JP Rosevear and #68 Brandon Crumbie, with Crumbie coming to rest against the outside retaining wall in turn 2. On the restart, Gagne again assumed control, with Bogensberger taking 2nd from Inglis, with Rosevear and McLean also working their way past, as Inglis was trapped to the high side. On lap 10, Gagne was still holding a slender lead, with Rosevear working his way around the outside of Bogensberger for 2nd, quickly leading the way for the front running #09 Dean Curry to assume control of third. The second caution would fly on lap 12, as #06 Ryan Hardy, #3 Randi Seguin, and #77 Mike Gettliffe collected in turn four. On the restart, Rosevear would take the lead on the outside of Gagne, as once again the quick #09 Neon of Curry would follow that move to check into runner up positioning.
At this point in the race sitting comfortably in third place was the point leader Butler, when on lap 14 Curry would slip into the lead inside of Rosevear in turn three, with the crafty Butler following that progression to move up to second. After caution flew at the midway point, Butler would again slip past Rosevear for 2nd, with #57 Ryan Toon also making his presence felt, working to the inside of Rosevear for third on lap 18, and completing the pass on the exit of turn two. On lap 22, the hard charging Bulter would pull alongside leader Curry midway down the backstretch, finally completing the pass on lap 25 entering turn 1, while a little further in behind Toon had his hands full while trying to fight off #400 Justin Holmes for third. After a lap 32 caution came about when Rosevear came to rest against the turn 4 wall. The restart would go horrifically wrong as Butler again found the front, and the 2nd place car of Curry would cut across the nose of Holmes on the exit of turn 4 while trying to find the inside line. Curry, would then get crossways as a gaggle of cars collected in behind, with the ensuing damage being enough to end the race for several of the involved cars. When the race went green after a lengthy clean up period, Butler was again the class of the field, taking the win by a comfortable margin at the checkered. #57 Ryan Toon would record a season best in coming to the stripe 2nd, while #63 Jamie Cairns, #68 Brandon Crumbie, and Holmes would round out the fast five.
Earlier heat wins were claimed by Butler and Curry with a pair each, Holmes, and #3 Randi Seguin. The win for Seguin was her first career victory after 4 years spent in the division, a fitting result for a hard working and sportsmanlike driver.
PIT NOTES ———– A couple new drivers would make their 2014 debut’s in the Wahta Springs Late Models, as #34 Ron “The Dominator” Quesnelle of Penetang and #79 Cory Horner of Blackstock took to the track for the first time since the 2013 Garry Reynolds Memorial last September. Quesnelle, a former track champion, would go on to record an impressive 5th place in the 50 lap finale, also capturing a 10th place in the initial feature. Horner, a former Pure Stock regular at the track, would also impress in turning in 9th and 11th place efforts in a very balanced 13 car field. Also making their initial 2014 appearances were #88 Thunder Car Len Beaton and #34 Pure Stock TJ Edwards. Beaton, would feel the track out throughout the heat races in his first stock car start, but would unfortunately encounter mechanical gremlins before the start of the 50 lap feature. Edwards, would also impress in his first Barrie start of 2014, turning in a 17th place feature finish, also looking good in the heat races with 5th and 6th place efforts. Be sure to join us this coming Saturday as all three divisions are back in action with pit gates open at2pm, spectator gates commencing business at 5pm, and green flag slated to drop at 6:30pm sharp.. If this past weekends racing is any indication this will prove to be another can’t miss event!!!!
