O Brien wins Modified 100 lapper, McDonald grabs Canadian DIRT Series crown at Cornwall
-Danny O’Brien showed his flair for the dramatic in his first visit of 2002 to Cornwall Motor Speedway, while Brian McDonald was Mr. Consistent as they both went away winners on Sunday night. O Brien was the winner of the 100 lap Modified feature, the third and final event in this year’s Canadian DIRT Challenge series. A third place showing gave McDonald, the points title for the three race battle that included races at Granby, Edelweiss and Cornwall.
O Brien topped off an intense 9 lap battle in the closing laps by going around David Hebert on the final lap in turn 2 and beating the up and coming Quebec pilot by less than 2 tenths of a second at the finish line. The win was even more impressive considering O Brien actually spun in the early going and was forced to go to the back of the field.
O Brien was very complimentary to Hebert in victory lane, "It was great to be back here at Cornwall," he said. "I have to give David Hebert alot of credit, it’s not often you can run so close with someone and run so cleanly."
McDonald himself led near the midway mark until being involved in a minor incident. He too, charged back through the field for his third place finish and the series title. Richard Chauvin and Dave Heaslip rounded out the top 5.
McDonald ended up 10 points in front of Granby regular Steve Poirier in the three race series. Poirer was leading the series coming into the final event but had mechanical problems early in the race. Poirier made the repairs but still finished in 13th place. Kayle Robidoux was third in the overall series after a 8th place finish.
Dave Bissonnette grabbed his third feature win in the Late Model division. Bissonnette used the exact same high groove that worked for O Brien to charge through the field and take the top spot. He survived numerous restarts and was still pulling away from second place Stephane Lebrun at the checkered. John Lazore was a solid third in front of Marc Therrien and Marcel Pecore.
Three cars went wheel to wheel in the final 3 laps of the Duke Stock feature. Kees VanWinden finally pulled ahead for good on the next to last lap and held on for his third win in his last four starts. Early leader Dave Renaud was half a car length behind in second spot with Tammy Jalbert on his back bumper in third spot. Randy Andre and Robin Laframboise were fourth and fifth respectively. The race was red flagged for a spectacular rollover with Charles Galipeau on the backstraight. Galipeau was uninjured.
The Rookie feature was a wild and wooly affair. Kevin Fetterly Junior captured his first ever feature win at Cornwall with some nifty moves in late traffic to retake the lead. Danielle Legault was second with Nico Leblanc, Stuart Mullin and Billy Woodward Jr. rounding out the fast five.
The event was red flagged after Roch Aubin tagged the wall heavily in turn 4. Aubin was taken to hospital as a precaution after the impact.
The night closed out with a Powder puff event won by 19 year old Williamstown teenager Christie Thompson.
Next Sunday night at Cornwall Motor Speedway includes the traditional Civic Holiday program including a 50 lap Syracuse qualifier for the Modifieds. The Late Models, Dukes and Rookies will also be in action along with a tire race for children. The green flag drops at 7pm.
Modifieds 100 laps: 1. DANNY O BRIEN 2. David Hebert 3. Brian McDonald 4.Richard Chauvin 5. Dave Heaslip 6. Joel Doiron 7. Billy Cook 8. Kayle Robidoux 9. Peter Mantha 10. Bill Mullin 11. Marcel Baron 12. Lee Ladouceur 13. Steve Poirier 14. Perry Francis 15. Pierre Dagenais 16. Laurent Ladouceur 17. Mario Moreau 18. Chris Herbison 19. Stephane LaFrance 20. Mark Hitchcock 21. Simon Marcoux 22. Chico Dingwall 23. Kyle Jacobs 24. Chris Jones 25. Luc Plante 26. Claude Marcoux 27. Dan Douville
Late Models 20 laps: 1. DAVE BISSONNETTE 2. Stephane Lebrun 3. John Lazore 4. Marc Therrien 5. Marcel Pecore 6. Gilles Godard 7. Dave Marshall 8. Jody Beckstead 9. Roy Tarbell 10. Greg Hale
Duke Stocks 15 laps: 1. KEES VAN WINDEN 2. Dave Renaud 3. Tammy Jalbert 4. Randy Andre 5. Robin Laframboise
Rookie Stock 12 laps: 1. KEVIN FETTERLY JR. 2. Danielle Legault 3. Nico Leblanc 4. Stuart Mullin 5. Billy Woodward Jr.
Heat Winners
Modifieds: Dingwall, LaFrance, MacDonald, Plante
Late Models:Ladouceur, Lebrun, Pecore
Duke: McRae, VanWinden, Laframboise
Rookies: Legault, Mullin, Leblanc
Modified Consi: Mantha