Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
Russ Aicken picked up right where he left off after winning the Mini Stock Championship last season, winning both features on Saturday night at Flamboro Speedway.
Mike Hooper started pole ahead of Jake Gilbert, Russ Aicken, Carson Nagy, Michael Kenny, Chad Ditner, Scott Mast, David Gallinger, Rick Robinson, Rodney Rutherford, Shawn Taylor, Johnny Paradzinski, Gerrit Tiemersma, James Levi, Miles Tyson, Kyle Istead and Blair Wickett.
Unfortunately, a red flag before the start of the event didn’t go Gilbert or Pradzinski’s favor as neither got their cars re-fired, therefore unable to start the feature. They weren’t the only one with issues as Wickett got into the wall on the second lap, resulting in right-side damage to his car to force him pit side.
Russ Aicken grabbed the early advantage at the front of the field ahead of Scott Matt on Lap 3 as Shawn Taylor battled Michael Kenny for third. Taylor got the spot on Lap 4, bringing Chad Ditner through with him to kick Kenny back to fifth as Tiemersma and Tyson battled for sixth.
The second caution flew a lap later as Rutherford spun around in turn three. With 15 laps to go, Aicken led Mast, Taylor, Ditner, Kenny, Tyson, Tiemersma, Robinson, Hooper, Gallinger, Levi, Nagy, Istead and Rutherford.
Aicken kept the lead on the restart as Mast and Taylor battled for second, with Mast securing the spot on Lap 7 ahead of Taylor and Tyson as Levi pulled off with a problem. Ditner rounded out the top-five at Lap 8 ahead of Tiemersma and Kenny. Tyson continued his charge to the front, passing Taylor for third at Lap 9, with Ditner following him through a lap later.
Aicken continued to pull away from the field as Tyson got alongside Mast for second at Lap 11, completing the pass a lap later. Ditner now ran fourth ahead of Taylor, Tiemersma, Kenny, Robinson, Gallinger, Hooper, Nagy and Rutherford. Nagy cracked the top-10 with five laps to go, passing Hooper; Rutherford followed through a lap later to move up to 11th.
At the front of the field, Tyson was able to close the gap some, but not catch Russ Aicken as he’d cruise to victory. Miles Tyson finished second, followed by Scott Mast, Chad Ditner, Shawn Taylor, Gerrit Tiemersma, Michael Kenny, Rodney Rutherford, Carson Nagy, David Gallinger, Rodney Rutherford and Mike Hooper.
“That 49 is fast,” Aicken said in victory lane. “He had me a little worried there. (It) feels good to get the monkey off my back.”
For the second feature, it’d be Rick Robinson starting pole ahead of Michael Kenny, Shawn Taylor, Chad Ditner, Scott Mast, Russ Aicken, Caron Nagy, David Gallinger, Miles Tyson, Gerrit Tiemersma, James Levi, Rodney Rutherford, Mike Hooper, Kyle Istead and Johnny Paradzinski.
It wouldn’t take Shawn Taylor long to get to the lead once the green flag dropped as he quickly made his way by both Robinson and Kenny. Tyson would make his way up to second at Lap 7 ahead of Aicken, Mast, Ditner, Tiemermsa, Robinson, Levi, Kenny, Gallinger, Rutherford, Paradzinski and Hooper. Levi was able to get alongside Robinson for sixth on Lap 8, but was unable to complete the pass.
The feature took a drastic turn at Lap 13 as Shawn Taylor would go up in smoke while leading, oiling down the track. Nagy spun in the oil behind him, while Rutherford and Paradzinski got together. As a result, Tyson restarted as the leader ahead of Aicken, Mast, Ditner, Tiemermsa, Robinson, Levi, Kenny, Gallinger, Hooper and Nagy.
Russ Aicken got a good restart to take the lead and led the rest of the way, while Miles Tyson crossed the finish line second. Tyson was deemed as jumping the final restart, though, resulting in him being scored third with Chad Ditner getting credited for second. Scott Mast and James Levi rounded out the top-five, followed by Rick Robinson, Gerrit Tiemersma, David Gallinger, Rodney Rutherford, Michael Kenny, Mike Hooper and Carson Nagy.
