MILLGROVE, Ontario --- The long off-season finally came to a close for Flamboro Speedway, as they hosted their first event of 2021 on Saturday, June 19. Despite a little bit of rain and some rookies in each of the classes, familiar faces were in victory lane by the night’s end.
Grisdale Triple Crown Late Models
One of the crown jewels for all racers across the province, the first round of the 2021 Grisdale Triple Crown highlighted Saturday’s action at Flamboro Speedway. The rules are simple – three races throughout the year 100 laps in length, and the driver with the most points at the end of the final event wins the championship.
It was a very rough and tumble day, with contact being the name of the game. Several drivers found themselves with scrapes and bumps on their cars, courtesy of walls, spins, and contact together. There was also an unfortunate Lap 1 incident which took out several of the big heavy hitters when the pole sitter got loose off of turn two.
Debuting a brand new car on Saturday, there were questions about how well Treyten Lapcevich would perform. However, he rose to the equation as the team put in the work, and he was able to put together a dominating performance en route to scoring the victory.
Shawn Chenoweth was able to rebound back to second despite going for a spin following contact, followed by Shae Gemmell, Connor James, and Kevin Albers. Ray Morneau piloted his last-minute ride to sixth, followed by Jade Franklin, Shane Maginnis, Jake Gilbert, and Kyle Steckly.
Dario Capirchio finished 11th, followed by David Gallinger, Shane McGlynn, Jake Sheridan, Kyle Wood, Rick Verberne, Josh Stade, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Matt Box, and James Horner. Unfortunately, Wally Wilson was unable to take the green flag due to mechanical issues.
Super Stocks
With a new touring series put together this year – Qwick Wick Fire Starter Super Stocks, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the division in the racing that could possibly happen. The first week is in the books, and there are several drivers already trying to put their names to the front of the conversation.
One of the biggest rising stars across the province, Gerrit Tiemersma has been steadily improving behind the wheel, and scored a couple of the big wins at various tracks over the past couple years. He added another to the list on Saturday, by dominating the Super Stock feature at Flamboro Speedway.
Ryden Lapcevich proved the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with a runner-up in his debut, with the wiley veteran in Brad Collison finishing third. Austin Penney and Steve Cashmore rounded out the top-five ahead of David Rockwood.
The rest of the field certainly did not have it easy, with a couple different incidents resulting in some bent fenders and hurt feelings along the way. Flamboro veteran Kevin Gallant was relegated back to a seventh-place finish as a result ahead of Paul Pepper, Jennifer Jarvis-Hatch, Randy Rusnell, and Tyler Bouillon. Notably, it was mechanical issues – blown motor and a fuel leak, which caused Rusnell and Bouillon to fail to finish, respectively.
Mini Stocks
There are some drivers wondering what could have been, while others are proving they are right where they belong.
Will Gibbons once again showed he knows what it takes to get the job done, dominating en route to the victory on Saturday. Dale Millard put together one of his best performances with a runner-up ahead of Cole Quinton with a third in his debut. Kaitlyn Wallace and Mike Thompson rounded out the top-five ahead of Mike Hooper.
Chris Pendlebury and Shawn Taylor spent most of the event up front battling for positions, but contact while racing for second relegated them back to seventh and eighth, respectively. Jordan Morris and Gillian Hils rounded out the top-10 ahead of Ryan Edwards-Kiss and Mike Gilmour.
Pure Stocks
With 30 cars on the property, traffic mayhem just begins to describe what happened at Flamboro Speedway when the Pure Stock feature started. Whether you were at the front or the back, you were surrounded by your fellow competitors. With a couple less experienced faces at the front for the green flag, it made for some interesting first laps, with a couple spins, contact and bent fenders to be spread around.
Once the first jitters were out of the way, though, it became one of the best features to watch of the weekend. The leaders continued to battle all the way around the speedway for the 40 scheduled laps, weaving through lap traffic as they did so.
For Gary Slama, a well-timed move while buried deep in traffic made the difference as he was able to get the lead, and drive away for the victory. Jordan Morris finished second, followed by Jo Lawrence, Hailey McNicol, and Phil Givens. Ohsweken Speedway regular Max Chechalk placed sixth, followed by Kyle Lucas, Leo Labarbera, Dale Lucas, and Gillian Hils.
Zach Hatch finished 11th, followed by Scott Tonelli, Roland Goodfellow, Ken Taylor, Connor Ellis, Cameron Thomson, Alex Stewart, Megan Mitchell, Dan Vis, and Mark Thorne. Steve DeLeeuw placed 21st, followed by Craig Cole, Nicole Stewart, Rueben Fluit, Jimmy Hooper, Reece Bourgeios, and Bobby Mercer. Unfortunately, three drivers did not take the green flag – Jaden Chapman, Rick VanKleef, and Shawn Solomon.
Canadian Vintage Modified
It was a race long battle, but it made it fun to watch for the fans as they witnessed TJ Marshall out-battle Mike Podd for the victory on Saturday. Jerrid Morphy finished third, followed by Joe Arsenault and Mike Klotz. Steve Murdock placed sixth, with Rick Willigar in seventh after a front-end failure.
Quinton Murdoch pushed through some adversity for eighth, while Dale Lucas suffered an axle failure en route to ninth. John Karley was 10th, followed by Connor Ross and Rodney Rutherford, while Brian Pescetti failed to take the green flag.
Flamboro Speedway track officials would like to thank G Force Network for live streaming the event for the fans that could not be in attendance. You can re-watch the broadcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUS7rnKZ9Xw.
Additionally, Ingrid Hartman was in attendance and has video of each of the feature events from Saturday. So if you are looking for a different perspective, check out her videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/petalpower51/videos.
Flamboro Speedway will have details surrounding their next event, and the rest of the 2021 season schedule at a later date. Stay tuned to the track’s social media and website for more details.
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
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