Earl wins 10th but Therrien takes Mr. Radiator Crown
It could called a reversal of fortune. Randy Earl couldn`t beat Marc Therrien for the Cornwall Motor Speedway track title last year but he did manage to win the Mr. Radiator series. In 2001 Earl has visited victory lane 10 times at Cornwall and with one week remaining looks good for the track crown but this year Therrien is the Mr. Radiator champ.
Earl captured the 50 lap final event in the five race series on Sunday night but Therrien`s third place finish was good enough to capture the overall Mr. Radiator title. The Mr. Radiator series included 2 events at Cornwall as well as races at Brockville, Frogtown and Edelweiss. Billy King who started 14th ripped through the field to finish in second spot. Daryl Steele who ended second in the point standings 8 points behind Therrien was fourth with Joe Woods rounding out the top 5. Earl`s lead is 60 points going into the final race of the Cornwall points season next week.
The Modified feature resumed on lap 7 where the rains came on August 19th. Kevin Fetterly held the top spot as the green waved again. Brian MacDonald quickly moved up to challenge and took the lead on lap 10. Fetterly suddenly found the right groove and was closing back in on the Cornwall driver when the heavens let go again. Thunderstorms pounded the race track and the race was called complete at lap 23. That gave MacDonald his third feature win of the season with Fetterly second, Dave Heaslip in a brand new car was third with Graham Gorman and Bill Mullin rounding out the fast five. The fifth place finish means Mullin will just have to make an attempt to qualify for next Sunday`s Jiffy 100 to clinch his first ever Cornwall Track title.
The Duke Stock feature saw a first time winner as Cornwall`s Dan Mitchell finally put it altogether. Mitchell grabbed the lead on lap 4 and survived a late challenge from Randy Andre to score the triumph. Wayne Marsolais was third in front of Stephane Lemire and Gaetan Amesse. Andre leads Lemire by 10 points heading into the final week.
Ron Tyo also made a first time trip to victory lane at Cornwall. Tyo grabbed the lead on the first lap and went wire to wire in the 12 lap affair. Bruno Richard got close with about 2 laps remaining before skidding off course and then having to settle for second best. Randy Tremblay, Rosco Garreau and Franklin Colpitts rounded out the top 5. Chris Tremblay has clinched the Rookie crown.
The remainder of the show was rained out. Next Sunday night will feature the Sunoco Super DIRT Series for 358 Modifieds in the traditional Labour Day Weekend Jiffy 100. The best small block drivers from the Northeast will be on hand for the big event competing for a purse of $25,000. The Late Models, Dukes and Rookies will also run for their final points night of the 2001 season. The green flag drops at 7pm on Sunday, September 2nd.
MR. RADIATOR LATE MODEL SERIES 50 LAPS: 1. Randy Earl Brockville 2. Billy King Hogansburg NY 3. Marc Therrien Alexandria 4. Daryl Steele Renfrew 5. Joe Woods Cornwall 6. Todd Raabe Pembroke
MODIFIEDS 23 LAPS: 1. BRIAN MACDONALD CORNWALL 2. Kevin Fetterly Massena NY 3. Dave Heaslip Smiths Falls 4. Graham Gorman Embrun 5. Bill Mullin Iroqouis 6. Mark Hitchcock Kingston 7. Dan Jalbert Cornwall 8. Chico Dingwall Brockville 9. Stephane LaFrance Brockville 10. Joel Doiron Alexandria
DUKE STOCKS 15 LAPS: 1. DAN MITCHELL CORNWALL 2. Randy Andre Cornwall 3. Wayne Marsolais Newington 4. Stephane Lemire Drummondville 5. Gaetan Amesse St. Timothe QC
ROOKIE STOCKS 12 LAPS: RON TYO CORNWALL 2. Bruno Richard Gatineau QC 3. Randy Tremblay Cornwall 4. Rosco Garreau Alexandria 5. Franklin Colpitts Cornwall