BRIGHTON, Ont. (July 4, 2016) – Phil Potts dominated the Canada Day Mid-Season championships at Brighton Speedway, leading 47 laps to earn his second win of the season on Saturday night. He followed it with a podium third-place finish with the Go Nuclear Late Model Series on Sunday night at Cornwall Motor Speedway.
Potts set fast time in time trials at Brighton in his No.29 Vanderlaan Building Products/Brighton Recycling car, which put him on the pole for his heat race. The perfect night continued with a heat win, but the night may have been completely different if not for a late adjustment.
“We set the car up for a heavy track (in time trials) and I watched the Pro Stocks and I watched the times go up and up. I said to Stuart (Archer) “this track isn’t going to take what we’re ready for,” Potts explained. “We went back and made some adjustments. I just rolled the corners slow. The time was pretty good for that track.”
Potts earned the fourth starting spot for the A-main via the revenge redraw, but wasted no time getting to the front. He took the lead on lap three and never looked back.
“The strategy was to ride around, stay out of trouble and stay in the top three. As soon as I hit the gas, the car was there,” Potts said of his ability to pass off the start. “I didn’t want to lead the race from lap three. That’s a long race leading from then, but you have to go when the opportunity is there. We went and it turned out okay.”
Potts opened a massive five-second lead despite the traffic he had to negotiate. His ability to run through the middle of the slick track proved the difference.
“The best thing for me was to get a little jump on the rest of the field. If they’re still trying to get around traffic and I’m going, that’s huge,” Potts explained. “When you don’t have to battle for position and they do, you’re gone.”
His lead was erased by a caution with eight laps to go, but it didn’t matter as Potts escaped unscathed. The second win of the season was even sweeter than the first, Potts said, now with a better appreciation for the strength of the division.
“It’s huge. It gives confidence back to the crew and the driver. We know what to do for a slick night, I know what the car is capable now,” Potts said with a smile. “I’ve got a pretty good feel for what the car is capable of achieving.”
With a win to boost morale, the team headed to Cornwall Motor Speedway on Archer’s Poultry night with the Go Nuclear Late Model Series. Potts was second quick in time trials and earned the same finishing position in his heat. He started fifth for the main event via the redraw and was set for the 35-lap main event.
He drove to third by the halfway point, but the race went green to checkered and never really gave him the chance to catch the top two runners, Adam Turner and Charlie Sandercock.
“We were kind of guessing what to do. If you plow the nose in the slick, you’re in trouble. The car was still good enough to get me to third and I’m happy with that, but we could have been better,” Potts offered. “I’m very happy with the weekend. You can’t kick on a win and third-place finish.”
Potts will return to action next Saturday, July 9 at Brighton Speedway, but Potts is eager to return to Go Nuclear action at the end of July after two straight podium finishes with the tour. The series will visit Humberstone Speedway on July 24 and Ohsweken Speedway on July 25.
“Our next two tracks are western Ontario again and I like both of those tracks. I like the track at Humberstone and we have good luck at Ohsweken. I like that track,” Potts concluded.
Keep up to date with Phil Potts and the Fowl Mood Racing team on their team website at www.fowlmoodracing.ca.
SEASON STATS
Phil Potts – 13 Starts: 2 Wins, 10 Top-5s, 12 Top-10s
FOWL MOOD MEDIA
Website: www.fowlmoodracing.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/FowlMoodRaceTeam
Twitter: @FowlMoodRacing.
The Fowl Mood Race Team’s 2016 season is supported by several dedicated corporate sponsors, including Vanderlaan Building Products, Brighton Recycling, Indewey Excavating and Crow Design.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media (@cjohnsmedia)
Photo Attachment: Phil Potts battled Kyle Sopaz early on during Saturday’s Mid-Season Championships at Brighton. (Rod Henderson photo).
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