GILL WINS MODIFIED, DRUM CAPTURES FIRST EVER EMPIRE SUPER SPRINT WIN AT BROCKVILLE
BROCKVILLE-It’s not unusual for a 17 year old to be talking on a cellular phone on Friday night anymore. However, when the call is back home to Mom in Wayland, New York from victory lane it’s something to remember. 17 year old Kyle Drum picked up his first ever Empire Super Sprint feature win before a capacity crowd at Brockville Ontario Speedway on Friday night.
Drum took the lead just after a restart from Ray Preston and cruised home for that first victory followed by a dance on the wing atop his sprint car and the customary call to Mom. Scott Holcomb was second followed by Preston, Mike Woodring and Randy Years.
A couple of Canadians threatened to win the event. Ryan Coniam of Burlington was as high as second in the 20 lap affair before a flat tire sent him to the pits. Local favorite Rick Wilson moved into the top 5 just past the halfway mark however the hood on his car became loose and needed attention sending him to the back of the pack. The race was red flagged once after the cars of Steve Dow and Justin Barger came together and both rolled in turn 2 neither was injured but both cars were done for the evening. A total of 31 ESS cars were on hand for the event with 22 taking the green flag in the feature go round.
Lee Gill looked awful in his heat race. However by feature time, the defending track champ had his Bicknell chassis dialed right in again. Gill made an outside move to go from third to first on the 10th lap and then ripped off laps half a second faster than the rest of the field to capture the 30 lap Modified feature. Mark Hitchcock was second with Todd Stewart, Brian MacDonald and Chico Dingwall rounding out the fast five.
Randy Gaudet unofficially clinched the Sportsman track title. The North Augusta driver took a another feature win in the 20 lap event taking the lead from Adam Moore early and was never really challenged. Moore settled for second, followed by Lance Willix, Kyle Wilson and Jessica Zemken.
Randy Earl’s win total in 2001 at the BOS went into double digits as he captured the 15 lap Pro Stock event despite a gallant challenge from Mitchell Jock. Greg Hale who bested Earl in the heats was third with Sheldon Hoogwerf putting in his most impressive run of the season for fourth and Todd Raabe in fifth.
There was a first time winner in the Rookie class as Richard Brunette stayed out of all of the incidents in the 10 lap main and ended up with a checkered flag in his hand. Kees Van Winden tore through the field after being involved in a late accident to finish second with Jamie Eglinton, Danielle Legault and Don Hall, third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Next Friday, August 31st, will be the final points night for the Sportsman and Modifieds. The program will begin where things ended on August 17th with the second of three Mod heats on the race track. The heats for the Sportsman and Rookies will also be completed before features in all 5 regular divisions. Once that is complete, another complete program including the heats in all classes and the features will be run.
EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS 20 LAPS: 1. KYLE DRUM 2. Scott Holcomb 3. Ray Preston 4. Mike Woodring 5. Randy Years 6. Tim Zimbardi 7. Bubby Kerrick 8. Don Sharp Jr. 9. Bill Coffey 10. Rob Dietrick
MODIFIEDS 30 LAPS: 1. LEE GILL 2. Mark Hitchcock 3. Todd Stewart 4. Brian MacDonald 5. Chico Dingwall 6. Stephane LaFrance 7. Chris Herbison 8. Paul Pekkonen 9. Ben Tucker
SPORTSMAN 20 LAPS: 1. RANDY GAUDET 2. Adam Moore 3. Lance Willix 4. Kyle Wilson 5. Jessica Zemken
PRO STOCKS 15 LAPS: 1. RANDY EARL 2. Mitchell Jock 3. Greg Hale 4. Sheldon Hoogwerf 5. Todd Raabe
ROOKIE STOCK 10 LAPS: 1. RICHARD BRUNELLE 2. Kees VanWinden 3. Jamie Eglinton 4. Danielle Legault 5. Don Hall