MILLGROVE, Ontario --- J.R. Fitzpatrick’s strangle hold on Flamboro Speedway victory lane continues, as he made it three trips in a row, making the late-race move on Andrew Gresel to win the APC Auto Parts United Late Model Series London Recreational Racing 100 on Saturday evening.
J.R. Fitzpatrick was quickest in time trials with a lap of 15.032 seconds in front of Kyle Steckly (15.037), Matt Pritiko (15.054), Blair Wickett (15.109), and Dale Shaw (15.114).
Following the invert, it’d be Wickett and Pritiko pacing the field to the green flag, with Pritiko grabbing the early advantage. Steckly used the early laps to slot into second in front of Wickett, Jake Sheridan, and Shawn Chenoweth. The first caution then came out on Lap 13 for Chenoweth going around off of turn four, courtesy of contact from Dale Shaw. The restart would see the pair get together once again, this time in turns one and two.
Kyle Steckly got a good restart to take over the top spot, with Sheridan following him through a lap later. Andrew Gresel now ran third in front of J.R. Fitzpatrick and Danny Benedict. The top-five remained the same until the halfway mark, when Gresel used the lap car of Jade Franklin as a pick to get by Sheridan, moving him up into second. Fitzpatrick would then get by Sheridan for third on Lap 57, as the battle for seventh got interesting at this same time. It’d produce a caution at Lap 68, with contact occurring between Connor James and Spencer-Walt, as Spencer-Walt went around in turns one and two off of James’ front bumper.
Steckly got a good restart in front of Gresel and Fitzpatrick as Sheridan and Pritiko battled for fourth in front of Gemmell. Pritiko got the spot on Lap 73, bringing Gemmell, Stade, Benedict, Ryan Kimball, and Billy Schwartzenburg through with him over the next three laps. Gemmell continued his climb forward, taking over fourth on Lap 78, bringing Stade with him to bump Pritiko back to sixth ahead of Benedict.
The battle for the lead got interesting at the same time, with Andrew Gresel taking over the top spot on Lap 80 in front of Steckly, Fitzpatrick, Gemmell, and Stade. Sheridan’s strong run came unraveled on Lap 88 with him going around for a spin in turns one and two.
The restart saw Gresel hold serve, with Fitzpatrick moving into the runner-up spot and Gemmell taking over third in front of Steckly and Stade, before the caution came out for Schwartzenburg getting into the turn four wall.
The restart would see an incident in turns three and four involving Kimball and Jade Franklin. The second attempt went smoother, with a battle for the lead between Fitzpatrick and Gresel, as Steckly battled Gemmell for third. However, there would be another yellow flag on Lap 92 for Sheridan and James Horner going around in turns one and two. The restart saw chaos on the frontstretch as contact between Spencer-Walt and James would see both drivers go around.
J.R. Fitzpatrick was deemed the leader, and was able to utilize the bottom to his advantage in taking the top spot to lead the rest of the way for the victory. Kyle Steckly placed second, followed by Andrew Gresel, Shae Gemmell, and Josh Stade. Matt Pritiko fought back to sixth in front of Tom Gibbons, Danny Benedict, Billy Schwartzenburg, and Dale Shaw.
Despite being fast early, the pair of spins landed Jake Sheridan in 11th, followed by Rick Spencer-Walt, Connor James, Matt Box, Shawn Chenoweth, Erik Dalla Riva, Jade Franklin, James Horner, Ryan Kimball, Blair Wickett, and Dwayne Baker.
Qwick Wick Super Stock Series
Lane Zardo timed in quickest during qualifying with a lap of 16.287 seconds ahead of Gerrit Tiemersma (16.432), Ryan Dyson (16.437), Trevor Collver (16.451), and Rick Verberne (16.499). When the invert was done, though, it’d be Verberne leading the field to green in front of Dyson, Tiemersma, Zardo, Roy Wilkie, Shawn Chenoweth, Pete Vanderwyst, Carson Nagy, Nick Troback, Cory McAllister, Jason Parker, Randy Rusnell, Brandon McFerran, Chad Corcoran, Nic Ramsay, Steve Cashmore, and Justin Collison.
The drop of the green saw a battle for the top spot between Rick Verberne and Trevor Collver, with Zardo moving into second as Tiemersma ran side-by-side with Dyson, and Wilkie battled Chenoweth. Tiemerma took over the fourth spot on Lap 3, bringing Wilkie and Chenoweth through with him.
At the front, Collver took sole procession of the top-spot on Lap 4 with Zardo moving past Tiemersma for second ahead of Wilkie, with Chenoweth alongside Verberne for fifth. He was unable to complete the pass, though.
Lane Zardo would track down Collver for the top spot, getting alongside him for the lead on Lap 9. The battle did not last long, with the No. 36 taking the top spot just two laps later. Tiemersma tried to follow him through, but was unable to do so, as Wilkie continued to run fourth in front of Verberne. Chenoweth would get back alongside Verberne for fifth on Lap 16, completing the pass, bringing Nagy, Vanderwyvst and Dyson through with him over the next four laps.
The battles inside the top-five would get interesting as the laps winded down, with Tiemersma now up to second, right on Zardo’s back bumper for the top spot. Wilkie would track down Collver for third, with Collver going wide in turns one and two to open the door for Wilkie to get the spot on Lap 43.
Lane Zardo led the rest of the way to score the victory in front of Gerrit Tiemersma, Roy Wilkie, Pete Vanderwyst, and Carson Nagy. Trevor Collver placed sixth, followed by Ryan Dyson, Nick Troback, Rick Verberne, and Randy Rusnell. Cory McAllister was 11th in front of Jason Parker, Nic Ramsay, Chad Corcoran, Steve Cashmore, Shawn Chenoweth, Brandon McFerran, and Justin Collison.
Qwick Wick T.Q. Can-Am Midgets
Following their heat races, Cassidy March started pole in front of Daniel Hawn, Brody Rickwood, Craig Pitchell, Jeff Blackburn, Cory Whittam, David Miller, Paul Harrison, Jaden Riddell, James Stanley, Mike Coleman, Andrew Whelan, Bob Bailey, and Roberto Polillo.
The race started off with a yellow flag, with Rickwood driving up on the left rear wheel of Blackburn, causing him to go for a couple spins on the backstretch. Blackburn’s day would unfortunately be over as a result. Daniel Hawn would grab the advantage on the restart ahead of Whittam, Miller, March, Pitchell, Harrison, and Stanley. However, another caution came out on Lap 4 for Polillo spinning in turn four.
Hawn got another good restart ahead of Whittam, Miller, and March, with Whelan jumping up to fifth in front of Harrison. Harrison was able to maintain the spot, until he went around on the backstretch at Lap 14.
The restart was exactly what Cory Whittam ordered, as he was able to grab the advantage ahead of Hawn, Miller, March, Stanley, and Whelan. Stanley then got alongside March for fourth on Lap 18, with the caution coming out a lap later for Polillo going around after battling for position with Harrison.
Another restart played out perfectly for Whittam ahead of Hawn and Miller, with March and Stanley side-by-side for fourth in front of Whelan. Stanley got the spot on Lap 21, bringing Riddell through with him. The race was not over, though, with another yellow flag for March slowing on the frontstretch with two laps to go.
Cory Whittam got another good restart, pacing the field to the checkered in front of Daniel Hawn, David Miller, James Stanley, and Andrew Whelan. Jaden Riddell finished sixth, followed by Craig Pitchell, Cassidy March, Brody Rickwood, and Paul Harrison. Roberto Polillo was 11th in front of Bob Bailey, Cassidy March, and Jeff Blackburn.
Thank you to G Force Network for coming out and filming the event, showcasing it to thousands of fans live via their YouTube channel and facebook page. You can re-watch the broadcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhU0OMa2D4M.
Thanks to Derek Smith (http://www.racepulse.com), Peter Anderson (pandersonphotos@gmail.com), and Zoompics.com for their images of the racing action each week.
Thanks to Ingrid Hartman for filming each week. Be sure to check out her videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/petalpower51/videos.
The next event at Flamboro Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, June 11, with the first of the three rounds for the Grisdale Triple Crown, featuring 100 laps for the Pro Late Models. They will be joined by the Ontario Pro Challenge Series, Canadian Vintage Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks, and Pro 4 Modifieds. The front gate will open for fans at 5pm, with the show set to kick off at 6pm.
Be sure to keep up with the latest by checking out Flamboro Speedway’s website at http://www.flamborospeedway.ca. You can also keep up via your favorite social networking website by following the speedway on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FlamboroSpdwy and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/flamborospeedway. Fans are encouraged to like the speedway’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Flamboro-Speedway-Authorized-Page-102328664646735/.
By: Ashley McCubbin
