SAUBLE BEACH, Ont. – August 15, 2016 – A rainy Saturday couldn’t ruin Andrew Gresel’s race weekend. The London Recreational Racing 100 for the APC United Late Model Series was rescheduled to Sunday afternoon after a Saturday rainout at Flamboro Speedway and Sauble Falls, Ont. native Andrew Gresel dominated the race to earn his fourth series win of the season.
“It was exactly what we needed. Everything went real well and we were happy,” Gresel said excitedly.
The win was also Gresel’s second in as many series events at the Hamilton-area oval this season. The Flamboro sweep is an impressive accomplishment for Gresel who overcame challenges from a number of drivers who call the tight one-third mile track home.
“It’s pretty huge. There’s a lot of guys that have a lot more laps down there than us. We were pretty good there at the start of the season, but we definitely picked up some time,” Gresel said.
The driver of the McRobert Fuels/F1 Freight Systems/CUSW No.81 set a new track record of 15.164 seconds in time trials to start the afternoon. Following the inversion redraw, he lined up second for the 100-lap main event.
“When I was out for the qualifying lap, I knew it was good, but I didn’t think it was that good. When I came in off the track everybody said ‘you got the track record’. I couldn’t believe it,” Gresel said. “I thought maybe I was in the top-five, but I had no idea we took the track record.”
Gresel darted to the lead on the opening lap, passing polesitter Billy Schwartzenburg to do so. The race saw its first caution on lap 18 and then a long green flag run until lap 67 allowed Gresel pace the field in to the final 30 laps.
“It was good the whole race. I think we maintained about a five car-length lead,” Gresel explained. “On the long run, it fell off a little towards the end because everything was getting so hot, but it was still really good.”
Dale Shaw momentarily took the lead from Gresel on lap 82, but the start was called back while an incident occurred on the backstretch, handing the lead to the No.81. He made no mistakes on the following restart or the final one on lap 83 as he led the remaining 17 laps to earn the checkered flag.
The win was particularly special for Gresel with sponsor Mike Schmidt’s London Recreational Racing acting as the title sponsor for the event. Representatives from F1 Freight Systems, McRobert Fuels and Gallinger Ford were also in attendance to support the Sauble Falls Racing No.81 Ford Fusion on the way to victory.
“We had almost every sponsor there,” Gresel beamed. “We have to give a big thanks to all of our sponsors because there were a lot of people out there this weekend supporting us.”
Gresel now holds a commanding 23-point lead in the APC Series championship standings heading in to the final two events of the year. The series travels to Sunset Speedway near Innisfil, Ont. onAugust 27 and to Delaware Speedway near London, Ont. for the series finale on September 17. He has won at both tracks already this season and, as a result, is confident entering the final 200 laps of the season.
“We’re pretty confident. At Sunset there could be some stuff that happens because there’s a lot more side-by-side racing. We’re going to go in to Sunset cautious, but at Delaware it will be game on,” Gresel said. “We’re pretty confident there with what we have in the car. Everything has seemed to work really well there so far.”
Gresel’s next action will be in his Super Late Model at Flamboro’s Gold Rush 100 on Monday, August 22. Event details are available at www.flamborospeedway.ca.
SEASON STATS
Pro Late Model – 9 Starts: 4 Wins, 7 Top-5s, 9 Top-10s
Super Late Model – 1 Start: 1 Win, 1 Top-5, 1 Top-10
SAUBLE FALLS RACING MEDIA
Website: www.saublefallsracing.com
Facebook: facebook.com/saublefallsracing
Twitter: @SaubleFalls81
Andrew Gresel’s 2016 season is supported by several corporate sponsors, including: Sauble Falls Tent & Trailer Park, London Recreational, McRobert Fuels, Hy-Grade Roofing, F1 Freight Systems, Canadian Union of Skilled Workers, Gallinger Ford Lincoln, Castrol Canada, Pro Wraps, Brisk Spark Plugs, Barry’s Construction and RadenGresel@Ehomes.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media
Photo attachment: Andrew Gresel celebrates his win in the London Recrational Racing 100 at Flamboro Speedway on Sunday, August 14. (Thompson Photography photo).
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