Dave Riopelle Survives Late Race Restarts for Legend Victory at Sunset Speedway

Following four restarts at the very end of the Ontario Legends Series feature, it’d be Dave Riopelle coming away victorious as part of Sunset Speedway’s Velocity 250 weekend.

Nick Ledson won the first heat ahead of Matt Haufe, Robin Jongen, the 79, Dave Riopelle, Bill Mason, Jamie McArthur, Andre Fiorini, Jeff Drimmie, Rob McCall and the No. 78.

Cole Ledson won the second heat ahead of Terry McCelland, Mike Gettliffe, Cole McFadden, Don Arnott, Andrew McFadden, John Demaria, Bailey Brown, Fred Jordan and Rick Eades.

The third heat saw a quick caution when Drimmie spun in turn two. Nick Ledson went for the daily double ahead of Haufe, the 79, Riopelle, Jongen, Mason, McArthur, Fiorini, Drimmie, McCall and the 78.

Cole Ledson went for the daily double in the fourth heat ahead of Gettliffe, Cole McFadden, Arnott, McCelland, Brown, Jordan, Demaria and Eades.

Come feature time, it’d be Terry McCelland starting pole ahead of Mike Gettliffe, Matt Haufe, Cole Ledson, Cole McFadden, Nick Ledson, the 79, Robin Jongen, Dave Riopelle, Don Arnott, Bill Mason, Bailey Brown, Jamie McArthur, Andre Fiorini, John Demaria, Andrew McFadden, Jeff Drimmie, Fred Jordan, Rick Eades, Rob McCall and the 78.

Cole Ledson jumped out to the early lead on Lap 1 as McCelland battled Gettliffe for second. They both lost out, though, as it’d be Riopelle taking the second spot on Lap 2 with Gettliffe and McCelland now side-by-side for third ahead of Nick Ledson. Gettliffe was able to clear McCelland a lap later, with Ledson following him through. Ledson then got alongside Gettliffe for fourth, taking the spot on Lap 6 and bringing Jongen through with him.

Gettliffe now ran sixth as Haufe and McCelland battled for seventh. Haufe got the spot on Lap 8, bringing the 79, Cole McFadden and Mason through with him to bump McCelland back to 11^th. As of Lap 10, it was McArthur running 12^th ahead of Brown, Fiorini, Drimmie and Andrew McFadden. The shuffling continued for positions with Haufe passing Gettliffe for seventh at Lap 11, as McCelland got alongside Mason for 10^th a lap later. The 79 then got alongside Gettliffe for eighth, completing the pass on Lap 15.

The climb for Haufe continued as he passed Jogen on Lap 16 to move up into fifth. Behind him, the 79 ran seventh ahead of Gettliffe, Cole McFadden, McCelland, Arnott, Fiorini and Brown.

The race was set to go caution-free from flag-to-flag, however it wasn’t meant to be with the yellow flag flying just before the white flag as a result of the 78 spinning in turn two. From there on, it seemed like an impossibility to get the final lap in the books. The first restart brought forth a caution for Fiorini spinning in turn two, followed by a spin by Brown in the same corner on the second restart. The third restart resulted in Arnott spinning in turn two, while Gettliffe made significant contact with Jongen.

The fourth restart went smoothly as Dave Riopelle picked up the victory while it was three-wide for second behind him. Be sure to check in with the Ontario Legends Series to get the full, complete results.

Ashley McCubbin

Joining OnPitRoad.com mid-2013 season, Ashley McCubbin is now the Managing Editor and contributes to each racing division as needed. Since studying journalism at the University of Guelph-Humber, Ashley has published articles on a couple of different websites, while serving as a public relations representative for different short track teams. Born in North York, Ontario, Ashley currently lives in Bradford, Ontario and spends her weekend at the local short tracks in the area. She has spent her entire life at the short track level, falling in love with the sport at the age of five. Beyond her love of short track racing, she also has grown an interest for both NASCAR and the IndyCar Racing Series. She also enjoys taking photos and working on websites, while playing a couple rounds of Candy Crush afterwards.

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