LONDON, ON - The first NASCAR Late Model race since the Delaware Summer Showdown, and this one for points, ran caution-free for 35 exciting laps. It began bookended by Robblees. Matt’s #51 had the pole and his father, defending champ Steve, ran one lap in the 28 to gather points for starting before taking it to the pits.
Scott Lindsay (20) took the lead at the second lap and fought off Jonathan Urlin (04) for a couple of dozen laps before Urlin made it out front at lap 27. Ron Sheridan stayed on Urlin’s heels and also moved up a spot. Sheridan would have loved to rack up another feature win but he told announcer Jamie Maudsley after the race that, “I had nothing left for him (Urlin) at the end.”
Urlin rode to Victory Lane in his Siskins sponsored car on the law firm’s sponsored night. Sheridan was second, Lindsay came in third.
Disappointment for Stephen Richmond during Super Stocks practice but it was lessened because of the generosity of a pal. Richmond broke an axle on his #24 and crashed into the wall at turn 4. The car sustained enough damage to keep it out of the feature race. But Andrew Perkins stepped up and offered his car to Richmond so he could gather some points. The #3 was hastily renumbered 24 and Richmond was back in the game. (Perkins and Richmond came up together through Delaware’s Junior Racing League.) About one-third of the way into the Super Stocks feature, the 3/24 got a couple of flat tires and Richmond decided to call it a night.
An unusual sight early in the first Super Stocks heat. The #69 of Kris Root was tagged and sent flying backwards, smack into the front of the Delaware Safety Truck. No one was hurt but Whitworth Towing had to come by and separate the vehicles. The delay gave Root enough time to get his car repaired and back out when the heat resumed. The Safety Truck stayed on duty with a crumpled front bumper.
It was a night of vindication for Delaware Super Stocks driver Jason Lidster (11) who was denied a win last week on a call by officials.
The Super Stocks feature started with Rob Windis out front. Two cautions – one at lap 2 and one on that caution’s restart – both involved Dave Chant (19) and the second took (74) Al Bowman out of the race.
At lap 5, Windis had an increasingly cushy lead as Devon Bloemendal (66) lost the battle to keep his 3rd position and within a lap, had fallen to 6th.
At lap 8 a dramatic crash occurred on turn 3. Kris Root (69) spun and Jake Ott (60) and Matt Humphrys (04) ran into him giving the clean-up crew and Whitworth Towing plenty to do. One side of Ott’s car was nearly sheared off and Humphrys went to the pits but Root got back out to race.
Last week’s feature winner, Jeremy Reid, took enough damage in that scrap to end his night.
A new leader at lap 10 – Jason Lidster (11) with Kris Lawrence pulling ahead of Windis to take second. At lap 14 the 99 of Scott Nagy took a solo spin and brought out Sharpie’s yellow flag again.
Another minor tangle involving Ott on turn 3 brought out another caution at lap 14.
With Lidster and Lawrence fairly secure in their positions, the battle for the right to join them on Victory Lane featured a half dozen drivers over 11 laps. Third place went to Scott O’Connor.
In Demar Aggregates Trucks, Gary Triska (57) had the pole but it only took a lap and a half for Devon Bloemendal (01) to take the lead. Division points leader Paul Fothergill (33) bulleted from14th place to take second at lap five and by then Bloemendal had a half-a-straightaway lead.
The scoreboard showed Jordan Dupuis in third but there was a whole lot of pavement separating him from the two leaders. Fothergill closed the gap by the halfway point and spent about a lap side-by-side with Bloemendal before capturing the lead at lap 18.
Dupuis took some bumps from Jeff Showler (56) for third as Fothergill lost the lead to Bloemendal at lap 21 after getting snarled in lap traffic.
A caution at lap 22 as Derek Clark (7) and Craig Marche (15) made contact just off turn two. Clark took a spin through the pits and was able to rejoin the race when the green came back out and raced with a dislocated shoulder and no power steering left.
Lap 23 saw Fothergill reclaim the lead and he kept it through the checkered flag. Bloemendal’s error cost him a top-three place, landing fourth. Jordan Dupuis was second, Jeff Showler, third.
Last week’s winner, Michelle Koricina, finished 9th.
We are back tomorrow with more racing sponsored by Transmission Direct and presented by All-Round Truck and Auto Care. David McCullough leads Emmanuel Demelo by just five points in the deep Transmission Direct Enduro field. The Enduro race is sponsored by George’s Auto Wreckers and Recycling.
Saturday’s program also features Ultimate Sandblasting and Coating Chaos Cars where Blue Thunder ranks first. Racing starts at 7 pm.
For more information and our complete racing schedule see www.delawarespeedway.com.
From Lisa Brandt, PR
