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More More July 5th 2010
2nd Round Grisdale Triple Crown
Quaker State Team Takes 7th
The fans came in droves to watch the second leg of the Grisdale Triple Crown Late Model race on July 3rd at Flamboro Speedway.
After a fourth place qualifying run, and an invert of 9 cars, the Quaker State car lined up in 6th place on the starting grid.
The field of seventeen cars came on the track for a driver introduction as Bill Grisdale and track owner John Casale headed an entourage of guests to wish the drivers well before the race began.
Beautiful Weather Brings Fans To The Grisdale Triple Crown
Things would soon get ugly as a five-car pile up brought out the yellow flag on lap three. The second and third place cars came together on lap two. Gary quickly caught the struggling car driven by Mark Burbridge. Mark was still trying to get his car under control. As Gary tried to get around Mark, he nudged the rear bumper of the 49, causing the car to spin on the back chute. Unfortunately there were another five cars involved.
Paul Howse, Mark Burbridge and Mike Bentley Wreck On Lap Three
Track officials deemed Gary caused the incident, sending him to the rear for the restart. Over the next forty laps a hard run put the Freedom Village Impala back in contention.
At the half way point Gary was glued to the back of Chris Boschler #3 and did everything he could to pass without making any contact. Finally after patiently following for 20 laps the Quaker State vet made his move to pass. Still not wanting to let him by, the #3 came down in the next turn cutting the right front tire and sending Gary to the pits. The speedy crew changed the tire, but a damaged radiator would end the hard charge, the team finished 7th.
Quaker State Pilot To Battle NASCAR Stars
This Wednesday night Gary and his team will head to Delaware Speedway to represent all their sponsors and Flamboro Speedway in the most talked about race of the season.
NASCAR starts Kyle Busch, David Reutiman and Jason Leffler come to Canada from the United States to take on Canadian racers from all over Ontario. Both Gary and his son David will attend. David is a regular at Delaware driving the #37 Pennzoil machine. David is currently in 8th place, guaranteeing him a spot in the 50 lap race. Gary will have to qualify for one of the remaining 9 spots available.
David Prepares For Summer Showdown
TORONTO, Ont. (July 5) - Rising Canadian road racing star Jodi Christie has fond memories of Mosport International Raceway, even though he has every excuse to hate the place.
At last year's round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship on the fabled 3.9km (2.459-mile) circuit Christie suffered a high speed crash in turn two.
“It was a scary crash,” remembers the 17-year-old from Keene, Ont. “It was the Sunday morning practice session, the track was cold and I was a gear lower than usual. The engine braking came in a little bit harder than I expected, the rear kicked out sideways and I was pitched over the top and I landed in the straw bales at the bottom of the hill.”
Battered and bruised but with no broken bones, Christie was back on his Honda CBR600RR to compete in that afternoon's Pro Sport Bike race, in which he finished seventh to go with a fifth place result in the previous day's round.
More significantly, he gained ground in the chase for the HJC Pro Rookie of the Year award, which he eventually won.
And despite the Sunday morning crash Christie considers the Mosport weekend a key event in his successful rookie campaign.
“That round was probably our best,” Christie says. “We had our best finishes and we were close to [eventual series champion Jordan] Szoke's lap times. It was a real confidence booster.”
Christie comes into this weekend's fourth and fifth rounds of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Mosport not as a rookie Pro but as a firm challenger for Szoke's Pro Sport Bike title. While Szoke has won each of the three races leading up to this event, Christie has been a constant thorn in his side.
In the season opener at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Que. Christie qualified his Jodi Christie Racing / Durham Honda Powerhouse Honda CBR600RR second to Szoke and grabbed the lead off the line. Szoke eventually took the win but his young rival was only 0.503 secs. behind at the finish.
Two weeks ago in the doubleheader round at Calgary's Race City Motorsport Park Christie was the only rider able to offer a challenge to Szoke over the course of the races. In the first event Szoke edged Christie by 0.159 secs. at the finish. A day later the two Honda riders were at it again, trading the lead back and forth over the final lap. Incredibly Szoke's margin of victory was only 0.128 secs., less than the previous day.
Three races and Szoke's combined margin of victory over Christie hasn't been even a full second!
“We gave it our best shot and that's all that counts,” says the calm and unflappable Christie. “We keep on putting out a strong effort.”
The battle will be rejoined at Mosport, where Christie will try to outwit and outride the 31-year-old Szoke, who is bidding for a fifth straight Pro Sport Bike crown.
“What I've learned in the Sport Bike class is you have to be on the ball every lap,” he explains. “You always have to be ready to seize any opportunity.”
While the focus of Christie's attention is on the Pro Sport Bike category, he has also enjoyed some strong results in the feature Parts Canada Superbike division. Despite giving away 400cc to the likes of championship leader Szoke, Christie scored an impressive second place finish in the Circuit ICAR season opener, again pressuring his more experienced rival every step of the way.
Christie was expected to face a greater disadvantage at Calgary's Race City, where the long front straight gives the 1000cc bikes a major advantage. Still, Christie finished 10th and ninth in the two races, putting some supposedly faster machinery to shame in the process.
He comes to Mosport fifth in the point standings and feels he may be able to provide more of a threat in this weekend's pair of races.
“It's a shorter front straight,” Christie points out, “so if I can get a good start and be with the front pack into the first turn I think I can hang onto the leaders. The problem at Calgary was that the straight was so long, even if you made a good start the bigger bikes would just drag right back past you before you even started braking for the first turn.
“I'm hoping we can get into the top five in Superbike this weekend.”
Christie is a big fan of the legendary Mosport track, where he scored an Amateur Sport Bike win in 2008 on his way to the national title. The venue, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer has hosted World Championship events in the past and was the site of Canada's first ever Superbike event back in 1978.
“I love how fast it is, how the corners flow and link together; it's a great place to race,” enthuses Christie.
Not even a high speed crash has dulled his enthusiasm for the place. Now that's saying something.
*****
The fourth and fifth rounds of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship take place July 8-11 at Bowmanville, Ont.'s Mosport International Raceway. For ticket information call 1-800-866-1072 or visit www.mosport.com. For press accreditation, interview or other media requests please contact Ryan Chalmers at Mosport International Raceway at ryan@mosport.com, or John Hopkins at
john@cdnsuperbike.com
*****
The Parts Canada Superbike Championship and Mosport International Raceway will hold a press conference at the Hard Rock Café, Upstairs Lounge at 279 Yonge Street (next to Yonge-Dundas Square) in Toronto on Wednesday, July 7 starting at 11:30am. Please RSVP to Ryan Chalmers at Mosport International Raceway, 800-866-1072 (office) or 519-981-3394 (cell), or email ryan@mosport.com.
Special guests will include Parts Canada Superbike Championship points leader Jordan Szoke, two-time Canadian Superbike champion Francis Martin and 2008 HJC Pro Rookie of the Year award winner Alex Welsh. For more series information, visit
www.cdnsuperbike.com
CHRISTIE SET TO TAKE NEXT STEP AT MOSPORT
Contact: John Hopkins (416) 451-6623
South Buxton Raceway race report and Victory Lane photos for Saturday, July 3.
Four drivers won their second feature races of the season in front of a capacity crowd on Saturday night at South Buxton Raceway.
Chatham's C.J. Field in the Schinkels Gourmet Meats Modifieds, Wallaceburg's Mike Lewis in the Dover Sanitation Late Models, Chatham's Eric Vanderiviere in the Windride Transportation Sport Stocks and Cottam's Denis DeSerrano in the Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4s all won their second features.
Dustin Daggett of Portland, Mich., won the ASCS Sprints On Dirt feature.
Schinkels Meats UMP Modifieds
Chatham's C.J. Field was a man on a mission in Saturday night's Modified feature.
Filling in for Brad Authier in the Dover Sanitation UMP Late Model feature, Field brought out two yellow flags by spinning the 1A car, invoking the track's two-cautions-and-out rule.
The early exit lit a fire under Field, who burned the Modified feature field from the drop of the green.
Field started on the outside of the third row but took the lead from Mt. Brydges' Brad Simpson on the second lap, leaving the rest the field in his fumes for his second feature win of the season and his career.
“As soon as I seen the hole, I dove for it,” Field said of his amazing start as he passed four cars before exiting turn two. He ran down Simpson and made the pass for the lead between turns one and two on the second lap.
“When you get that opportunity, you either take it or you get caught up in traffic,” he said of his jump on the green.
“I knew once I was out front, it was just a matter of maintaining every lap, to stay consistent.”
Points leader Jim Dale Jr., who started beside Field, moved into second on lap three but his night ended five laps later when his engine expired for the second time in three weeks.
Leamington's Joel Dick had his best finish of the season as he followed Field for the final 11 laps. While he had nothing for the leader, Dick held off veterans Clayton Smith of Woodslee and Brad McLeod of Merlin in a great battle to finish second. Wyoming's Brian Speelman rounded out the top five.
Dover Sanitation UMP Late Models
When Mike Lewis headed for the pits midway through the heat race, it looked like it was going to be another long night for the Wallaceburg race team.
Lewis posted his first career feature race in the Dover Sanitation UMP Late Models on June 5 but has had nothing but problems ever since.
He finished last in the next two features, including crashing out of the June 19 feature while battling for the lead.
“We've been fighting a tight condition and a lot of other problems in the car, probably from when he got into Mark (Glassford),” Lewis said, referring to his accident two weeks ago.
“I told my brother (Dan), that if we can't get the car fixed, we're selling it!” Lewis laughed.
They laughed all the way to Victory Lane on Saturday, leading all 20 laps to become the first driver in the division to win two features this season.
After exiting the heat race with carburetor issues, Lewis' race team made about eight major changes, working on the car right up to the moment they were called to the chute for the feature.
“We changed shocks, the bars, the suspension … everything,” Lewis said.
“We just tried a bunch of different things … we're not even sure what worked.”
Lewis started on the pole and took the lead on the first lap, holding off four different drivers to post his second green-to-checkered victory.
A trio of Chatham drivers took turns trying to chase down Lewis - Jason Haskell for the first two laps, Jim Jones the next 10 and Kirk Hooker for another seven.
Hooker gave Lewis his biggest challenge, getting the nose of his No. 38 car under the leader after a restart coming out of turn two on lap 16.
Hooker, however, couldn't pull off the pass, backed off and was never able to mount another challenge.
Ridgetown's Dale Glassford passed Hooker on the last lap but had no time left to run down Lewis.
It was Glassford's fifth straight second-place feature finish after winning on opening night.
Chatham drivers Jim Jones and Gregg Haskell rounded out the top five.
Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4s
Cottam's Denis DeSerrano would love nothing better than to see his father Norm DeSerrano win a feature race at South Buxton Raceway sometime soon.
But for the second straight Saturday night, it was Denis who made the turn into Victory Lane while Norm gave his son a congratulatory wave on the cool down lap after the Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4 feature.
Norm DeSerrano, from Kingsville, led the first six laps before getting passed by both his son as well as Blenheim's Shawn Jones coming out of turn two on lap seven.
The younger DeSerrano led the final eight laps to post his second straight feature win while his father settled for a fourth-place finish.
“Not at all,” Denis laughed when asked if he felt guilty passing his father for the lead.
“I wasn't sure if I was going to get by him. He was definitely running strong.
“But he'd be mad if I'd let him win,” he laughed again.
Last week, DeSerrano ran second for 12 laps and inherited the lead with less than two laps to go when Rob Quick, also from Cottam, suffered a flat tire.
“It's all luck,” DeSerrano said of his back-to-back wins.
“I just try to stay out of trouble and be consistent.”
Chatham's Randy McKinlay rallied for a second-place finish followed by Jones, Norm DeSerrano and Essex's Patrick Lajeunesse to round out the top five.
Windride Transportation Services Sport Stocks
The Windride Transportation Services Sport Stocks feature turned out to be the second 1-2 finish for the Vanderiviere brothers this season.
And for the second time, it was Eric waving the checkered flag and Eren waving to his brother as he drove past Victory Lane.
Eren led the first five laps and Eric the last 15 to win his second feature of the season.
Eric, from Chatham, won the May 29 feature, with Eren second.
Eren, from Merlin, won the June 12 feature, with Eric finishing ninth that night.
Saturday's feature was slowed by eight cautions as virtually every driver in the 14-car field was involved in the mayhem, with the exceptions of the Vanderiviere boys, who spent the entire race up front.
The Vanderivieres were running one-two from the drop of the green, as Eric bided his time, waiting for an opening around his little brother.
It finally came on lap six when he made an inside pass in turn two.
“Just kept showing my nose, putting the pressure on him … knowing he'd choke!” he said, laughing with his brother at the haulers following the race night.
“I just got out a little high in one …” Eren started to say.
“Whatever!” Eric interrupted, to the laughter of family and team members.
“I'm always happy to finish second to him … no one else, just him,” Eren exclaimed.
Kingsville's Jim Ellis finished a season-best third, while Essex's Doris Lajeunesse and Wheatley's Paul Gossmann rounded out the top five.
ASCS Sprints On Dirt
Dustin Daggett won his second straight ASCS Sprints On Dirt feature at South Buxton.
The Portland, Mich., native took the lead from Gregg Dalman of Bellevue, Mich., with a pass in turn four on lap 17 and led the final eight circuits to collect the checkered flag.
Daggett, who won the feature in the SODs lone visit to South Buxton in 2009, started in the fourth position in row two of the 14-car field.
Dalman started on the pole and led for the first 16 laps with Daggett in tow.
Justin Martin of Shedden was the top Canadian finisher in third, while Ryan Grubaugh of St. Johns, Mich. and Ben Rutan Jerome, Mich., rounded out the top five.
Tilbury's Kyle Patrick started fifth and finished seventh while Chatham's John Riegling started 12th and finished ninth.
Patrick won his heat while Riegling was sixth.
Daggett made it a Canadian sweep as he also won the feature race a night earlier at Ohsweken Speedway in the Northern Summer Nationals, an event which drew 51 cars from five sprint car series.
Only seven SOD regulars made the Canadian trip. The rest of South Buxton's field was comprised of drivers from Ohsweken's Cor-Pak Sprint division.
South Buxton officials had hopes of drawing cars from the Patriots and Empires series but major shows in western New York kept those drivers home.
The SODs return to South Buxton on Aug. 21.
Pit Notes
*A moment of silence was observed before the race program in honour of Wallaceburg native Major Corporal Kristal Giesebrecht, who was killed at the age of 34 in Afghanistan on June 26. Giesebrecht, a medic on her second tour of duty, is a niece of South Buxton infield track worker Bernie Rombouts.
*The top six points drivers in the SOD standings all made the trip across the border. Grubaugh, who finished third a night earlier at Ohsweken before his fourth at South Buxton, goes home as the SOD points leader by 28 points over Dain Naida of Tecumseh, Mich., who was ninth at Ohsweken and 12th with a DNF at South Buxton.
*Three local sprint drivers failed to qualify for the Northern Summer Nationals 'A' Main at Ohsweken. Ridgetown's Adam West, who races on the Southern Ontario Sprint series, was fourth and Patrick sixth in the first 'B' Main while Riegling was 11th in the second 'B', as the top two finishers in each race transferred to the 'A' Main.
West was fifth in his heat and 10th in the first qualifier while Patrick and Riegling were both seventh in their heats, then sixth and eighth respectively in their first qualifiers.
*This Saturday will feature regular racing in all four classes, followed by the Mid-Season Championship Night on July 17.
For further information, please contact Mike Bennett, 519-351-4765
Feature winners pictures, in order:
Chatham's C.J. Field, Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modified
Wallaceburg's Mike Lewis, Dover Sanitation UMP Late Models
Chatham's Eric Vanderiviere, Windride Transportation Sport Stocks
Cottam's Denis DeSerrano, Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4s
Portland, Mich. Dustin Daggett, ASCS Sprints On Dirt
(Photos by James MacDonald, Apex One Photo) - www.southbuxtonraceway.com