Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
After battling in the late stages with both Derrick Tiemersma and Mike Beyore, Kevin Cornelius would come out on top on Saturday night at Sunset Speedway in the Dickies OSCAAR Outlaws Presented by London Recreational Racing. It marks his third straight victory at the Innisfil, Ontario oval.
Tiemersma kicked off the night in victory lane, winning the first heat ahead of Corey Jones, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Beyore, Roy Passer, Charlie Gallant and Ethan Cournyea.
The second heat would see trouble for Rob Gibson as he headed down pit road before the 10 laps were complete. Cornelius picked up the victory ahead of Kelly Balson, Todd Campbell, Glenn Watson, Shane Stickel, Sean Grosman and Tyler Hawn.
The third heat didn’t go smoothly with the caution flying at lap four for Gary Passer spinning off of turn four. On the restart, J.R. Fitzpatrick would break on the restart while running in the second spot. The caution then flew for a third time at lap seven for Jones going around in turn two. Then on the restart, Jones would make contact with Hawn, causing him to go around in turn one. Cornelius went on for the daily double ahead of Grosman, Jones, Stickel, Hawn, Cournyea and Passer.
The fourth heat saw more problems for Gibson as he headed down pit road at lap seven. Glenn Watson went on to win ahead of Tiemersma, Beyore, Campbell, Gallant, Balson and Roy Passer.
With the invert following qualifying, Kelly Balson would start pole ahead of Mike Beyore, Todd Campbell, Glenn Watson, Corey Jones, Derrick Tiemersma, Kevin Cornelius, Sean Grosman, Charlie Gallant, Tyler Hawn, Ethan Cournyea, Rob Gibson, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Gary Passer and Shane Gowan. Of note, Fitzpatrick was driving Roy Passer’s car for the feature after his issues in the second round of qualifying.
The start of the race would see Mike Beyore put the No. 54 Stemac New & Used Machinery Industrial Tools, CNC Custom Machining & Fabricating Inc. – Oshawa, Millennium Crane Service, Metals Plus (Oshawa-Whitby), Praxair Oshawa, Don’s Auto Repair – Bowmanville, MGS Performance, Mayhew Graphics and Crossby & Dewar SLM out front ahead of Watson, Balson, Tiemersma, Jones and Cornelius. The first caution would fly on lap two as a result of a flat tire for Campbell. Behind those listed above was Grosman restarting seventh, followed by Fitzpatrick, Gowan, Gallant, Hawn, Passer, Gibson and Campbell.
Beyore would get a good restart to keep the lead ahead of Watson as Tiemersma moved into third followed by Cornelius and Balson. Cornelius would get alongside Tiemersma for third at lap three, but was unable to complete the pass. Balson continued to run fifth ahead of Jones, Fitzpatrick, Gallant and Grosman as Passer and Gowan raced side-by-side for 10th. Tiemersma would use the green flag run to chase down Watson for second, completing the pass before the caution flew for Fitzpatrick going around in turn two. With 36 laps to go, Beyore led Tiemersma, Watson, Cornelius, Balson, Jones, Grosman, Passer, Stickel, Hawn, Campbell, Gibson and Gallant.
Derrick Tiemersma would use the restart to his advantage, putting the No. 7 Wayfreight, Speedy Auto Machine, Castrol and Spira Fire Protection SLM out front of the field ahead of Beyore, Cornelius, Watson, Balson and Jones as Passer and Hawn battled for sixth. At the front, Tiemersma continued to lead as Cornelius would caught Beyore for second, completing the pass to snag the position at lap 20. Balson would then move into fourth ahead of Watson, Jones, Passer and Hawn. Hawn would continue his climb to the front, moving past Passer at lap 25. Meanwhile, Jones would try Watson for fifth at lap 28, but was unable to complete the pass.
The field would get into a long green flag run with Tiemersma stretching his lead to almost a full straightaway ahead of Cornelius as many competitors fell a lap down in the process. The whole field would be brought back together with a caution at lap 41 when Gallant spun in turn four. With 10 laps to go, Tiemersma led Cornelius, Beyore, Balson, Watson, Jones and Hawn as the lead lap cars. Grosman was also on the lead lap in eighth, having gotten the lucky dog when the caution came out. Campbell ran ninth as the first car a lap down ahead of Fitzpatrick, Passer, Stickel and Gallant.
Tiemersma would choose the top-side for the restart, in which it wouldn’t go that cleanly. Coming off turn four, contact was made between Tiemersma and Cornelius, getting Cornelius sideways down the frontstretch. Cornelius got the car back straight, though losing two spots in the process. The caution would then fly for Jones having a flat tire. OSCAAR rules state upon the caution coming out, you go back to the last completed lap. As a result, Tiemersma would restart leader ahead of Cornelius, Beyore, Balson, Watson, Hawn and Grosman.
The second attempt at a restart brought forth more contact between Tiemersma and Cornelius. Through the scramble, Beyore would sneak by both to take the lead. Tiemersma would then stop in turn one with a mechanical problem a lap later, bringing forth the fifth caution of the evening. Beyore would restart the leader ahead of Cornelius, Balson, Watson, Grosman and Hawn.
Cornelius would get a good restart, putting the No. 17 Shane Michaels Sales, Sandbox Tech Child Care, Triplecrete, GM MacMaster, Ed’s Automotive, Hanson, J.D. Smith Carpentry & Renovations, Fierce Wraps, McColl Racing Enterprises SLM out front in the lead. He would then lead the final laps en route to scoring the victory.
“It sucks that there’s some people out here that just can’t race clean,” Cornelius commented post-race. “Derrick had the quickest car tonight. He could’ve easily won this race. On the restart, he just came down on me off of turn four. I got back into him in turn one, and I guess it ended his night. It sucks that it happened.”
For Cornelius, it marks his third straight OSCAAR victory at Sunset Speedway, and his second victory of this season in the first two races of the 2015 tour. Looking at the overall championship picture, the Orangeville, Ontario driver said it’s huge.
“But we just come out to win races,” he added. “If we can keep winning races, the points will just take care of themselves and we’ll be there at the end.”
Mike Beyore would finish second, ahead of Kelly Balson, Sean Grosman, Glenn Watson and Tyler Hawn.
The OSCAAR Super Late Models will return to Sunset Speedway on June 26 for their third race of the 2015 season.
