Charlie Sandercock claims second series championship with runner-up finish
By Clayton Johns
BROCKVILLE, Ont. – October 14, 2016 – Brandon Mowat led every lap of the Excel Tower Service 35 and held off Charlie Sandercock on the final lap for his third Go Nuclear Late Model Series win of the season at Brockville Ontario Speedway on Friday night.
Mowat took the lead on the opening lap after starting on the outside of polesitter Dale Caswell. He had to withstand a number of challenges throughout a number of restarts in the second half to claim the win.
“This is not one of my strongest tracks, but I went with a tire selection I normally wouldn’t do and it paid off. I’m happy,” Mowat said. “Just like Humberstone, the first race I won, the cautions helped me. It seemed like they did.”
Mowat was quick to dispatch of Caswell at the drop of the green flag while fourth-starting Phil Potts raced to second in the outside lane. The top-five quickly landed single-file until the first caution of the race on lap six when Norm Mayhew hit the front stretch wall after contact with Steve Baldwin.
The race came back to green with Caswell and Potts exchanging the runner-up spot. At the halfway point, Potts was able to erase any lead Mowat had as he began to make his move for the lead.
The opportunity was taken from Potts on lap 19 when Chad Homan was spun in turn one to bring out the second yellow of the race. Point leader Charlie Sandercock was also involved in the incident when he spun to avoid serious contact.
“We were just kind of holding our own waiting for the tires to come in and let stuff shake itself out. We got tangled up in a wreck in turns one and two and had to go to the back. We could only go forward from there,” Sandercock explained afterward.
The race took two more tries to get back underway with Mowat holding the advantage each time. Adam Turner made his presence felt as he carved a lane forward and raced past Caswell for third on lap 23. With 10 to go, Potts once again caught Mowat as he appeared to get stronger throughout the course of a long green flag run.
Potts showed his nose to the inside of Mowat, but could never muster enough momentum to take the lead away from the driver of the No.46.
“Brandon doesn’t normally run up where he was, but unless I was going to drive off the track there wasn’t any more room. I tried diving to the bottom, but you scrubbed so much speed off, it just didn’t work. I wasn’t going to follow him all day long. We had to try and get around him somehow,” Potts explained.
“I knew starting out, the outside lane was going to be good. I think around lap 25 or so I saw Potts stick his nose in there. I was glued to the top and I wasn’t coming off of it,” Mowat said.
Two final restarts on laps 27 and 30 saw Sandercock dart his way forward between a handful of cars until he got by Potts for second coming to the white flag. Greg Belyea spun off track in turn three with five laps to go while running in the top-five, leaving Homan and Turner to decide the fifth spot.
Sandercock made one final desperation attempt to take the lead from Mowat on the final corner, but couldn’t make the car stick enough to execute a slide job.
“I really thought I had something for him on the last corner. I had a slide job in mind, but when I turned the steering wheel it tightened up on entry and didn’t want to slide down to the bottom. It was a close finish,” Sandercock said in victory lane.
Sandercock’s second-place finish officially clinched the second Go Nuclear Series championship of his career. The Trenton, Ont. driver finishes the season with five wins and holds the record for most wins in series history with 13.
“I have to thank my whole crew and sponsors for slaving away on this car every week to make this happen,” Sandercock said. “The car came in at the end and we got a second-place finish, so we’ll call that a good year.”
The Go Nuclear Late Model Series would like to thank all of its sponsors, fans and supporters for a successful 2016 season. The 2016 Go Nuclear Series banquet will take place on Saturday, November 19 at the Comfort Inn Syracuse. Additional event information will be available at www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com.
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Complete Results – Go Nuclear Late Model Series at Brockville Speedway
Excel Tower Service 35 – Friday, October 14, 2016
ENTRY LIST
Number Name – Hometown – Sponsor
1 Andy Mayhew – Picton, ON – A&A Haulage
5 Steve Baldwin – Trenton, ON – Pro Advantage Sports & Hobbies
8 Brian Down – Trenton, ON – Unique Landscaping
10 Chris Fleming – Auburn, NY – Hottenstein Bus Services
12 Kyle Sopaz – Trenton, ON – Lots and Lines
R19 Dale Caswell – West Monroe, NY – Ameritool
25 Greg Belyea – Stirling, ON – Excel Tower Service
28 Andrew Hennessy – Picton, ON – Brighton Recycling
29 Phil Potts – Brighton, ON – Brighton Recycling
46 Brandon Mowat – Brighton, ON – Target Fabrication
57 Charlie Sandercock – Trenton, ON – Bellevue Fabrication
60 Norm Mayhew – Lakeport, ON – Mayhew Graphics
73x Trevor Lewis – Tyendinaga, ON – Lewis Lacrosse
77 Caley Weese – Carrying Place, ON. – 1000 Islands RV Centre
89 Austin King – Port Hope, ON – Durmach Excellence In Tooling
91 Chad Homan – Macedon, NY – DigTrack.com
92 Adam Turner – Picton, ON – Village Variety and Gas Bar
311 Sam Pennacchio – Niagara Falls, ON – Duguay Haulage
Excel Tower Service 35 presented by Gillee’s NAPA Auto Parts A-Main (35 Laps – Starting Position in Brackets): 1. 46 Brandon Mowat [2], 2. 57 Charlie Sandercock [9], 3. 29 Phil Potts [4], 4. 91 Chad Homan [5], 5. 92 Adam Turner [7], 6. R19 Dale Caswell [1], 7. 12 Kyle Sopaz [8], 8. 28 Andrew Hennessy [16], 9. 10 Chris Fleming [6], 10. 1a Andy Mayhew [13], 11. 5 Steve Baldwin [12], 12. 311 Sam Pennacchio [11], 13. 89 Austin King [14], 14. 73x Trevor Lewis [17], 15. 77 Caley Weese [15], 16. 25 Greg Belyea [3], 17. 8 Brian Down [18], 18. 60 Norm Mayhew [10]. No Time. Margin of victory: 0.122 seconds.
Scott Jeffrey’s Performance Hard Charger: Andrew Hennessy +8 (16th to 8th)
Dynamic Diversified Halfway Leader: Brandon Mowat
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 2 Redraw, Top 5 Qualify): 1. 29 Phil Potts, 2. 92 Adam Turner, 3. 46 Brandon Mowat, 4. 25 Greg Belyea, 5. 57 Charlie Sandercock, 6. 311 Sam Pennacchio, 7. 1a Andy Mayhew, 8. 77 Caley Weese, 9. 73x Trevor Lewis. No Time.
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 2 Redraw, Top 5 Qualify): 1. 12 Kyle Sopaz, 2. 91 Chad Homan, 3. R19 Dale Caswell, 4. 10 Chris Fleming, 5. 60 Norm Mayhew, 6. 5 Steve Baldwin, 7. 89 Austin King, 8. 28 Andrew Hennessy, 9. 8 Brian Down. Time: 1:57.002.
Time Trial Group 1 (Invert 4): 1. 57 Charlie Sandercock, 14.146 seconds; 2. 92 Adam Turner, 14.274; 3. 29 Phil Potts, 14.421; 4. 46 Brandon Mowat, 14.426; 5. 25 Greg Belyea, 14.464; 6. 73x Trevor Lewis, 14.631; 7. 311 Sam Pennacchio, 14.709; 8. 77 Caley Weese, 14.747; 9. 1a Andy Mayhew, 14.786.
Time Trial Group 2 (Invert 4): 1. 10 Chris Fleming, 14.237 seconds; 2. R19 Dale Caswell, 14.396, 3. 12 Kyle Sopaz, 14.522; 4. 91 Chad Homan, 14.667; 5. 60 Norm Mayhew, 14.781; 6. 5 Steve Baldwin, 14.784; 7. 8 Brian Down, 15.328; 8. 89 Austin King, 15.751; 9. 28 Andrew Hennessy, No Time.
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SEASON WINNERS: Charlie Sandercock – 5 (Brighton Speedway on June 25, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 3, Mohawk International Raceway on September 17, Brighton Speedway on September 24, Fulton Speedway on September 30); Brandon Mowat – 3 (Humberstone Speedway on July 24, Mohawk International Raceway on September 16, Brockville Ontario Speedway on October 14); John Waters – 2 (Utica-Rome Speedway on April 24, Ohsweken Speedway on July 25).
MEDIA LINKS
Website: www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com
Facebook: facebook.com/gonuclearlatemodelseries
Twitter: @GoNuclearSeries
About Excel Tower Service: Excel Tower Service specializes in building wireless networks. Excel Tower Service is your source for professional installation of telecommunications and transmission towers, technical services, equipment supply, network maintenance and mandagement. Excel Tower Service has installed networks for some Canada’s largest telecommunications company. Find out how they can help you at www.exceltowerservice.ca.
The Go Nuclear! Late Model Series is supported by several dedicated corporate sponsors including Excel Tower Service, Humber Nurseries, Gillee’s Heavy Truck Parts, Adam Nayler Plumbing, Dibbits Excavating, B Tech Concrete & Construction, Tenace Diversifeid, Tenacious Sound, C. Smith Machine Shop, Deerhaven Farm and Garden, Victory Motorcycles, Valley Automation and Control, Laguna Ponds, Guillevin International, Superior Crane, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants Canada, Beyea Headers, and Scott Jeffrey’s Performance.
About the Go Nuclear! Late Model Series: The Go Nuclear! Late Model Series is touring Crate Late Model series based in the state of New York. The tour typically runs 12-15 races each season from April to October to allow drivers the opportunity to travel with a competitive group of racers while maintaining their home track loyalty. For more information about the Go Nuclear! Late Model Series, visit www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com.
Media Contact: Clayton Johns Media
claytonjohns@hotmail.com
Photo Attachment 2: Charlie Sandercock poses after his runner-up finish to earn the 2016 Go Nuclear Late Model Series championship. (Don’s Imaging/Don Simpson photo).
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