Mullin wins second straight at Cornwall, Earl and Tremblay also three time winners now
Bill Mullin took a victory the old fashioned way, he earned it. Mullin captured his 3rd third feature win of the season and second in a row on Sunday night at Cornwall Motor Speedway, but it was anything but easy.
Mullin had his share of problems in the early going. He failed to qualify in his heat race. He managed to get into the big dance with a better showing in the Modified consi. The Iroquois pilot then started 17th in the feature, however it was clear from the drop of the flag that he had a strong car. He took his Troyer chassis into the top 10 in the first 6 laps, moving up to second spot by lap 10. He passed Peter Mantha on lap 15 on the outside of track and led the rest of the way for an impressive victory. Mullin easily survived a few late restarts that put top guns like Laurent Ladouceur and Danny O Brien right behind him. Neither could muster a serious threat.
Ladouceur settled for second spot followed by O Brien, Stephane LaFrance and Chico Dingwall. The heat races featured a spectacular three car accident in turn 3. The contact sent Embrun’s Graham Gorman into the air and ripped off the roof of his Modified. Gorman was not injured but the car was done for the evening.
Randy Earl continues to dominate the Late Model division. He joined Mullin as a three time winner this season as he took the 20 lap main. Earl took the lead on lap 5 and was able to pull away from the field after each caution flag. The Brockville driver has not finished worse than second so far this season. Daryl Steele made a nice outside move on the final turn to claim second spot in front of Billy King, Marc Therrien and Dave Bissonnette.
Mike Tremblay also flexed a little muscle. Tremblay took both his heat as well as the 15 lap Duke Stock feature. Tremblay led the entire distance winning by about 5 car lengths over defending track champ Stephane Lemire and Tammy Jalbert.
The Midstate Vintage Antique Club also paid a visit on Sunday night with their race cars from a different era. Ally Amell of Watertown Centre NY won the 70's class while 60's class honours went to Pat Sonnenberg of Stevensville and Dick Ackerman of New Berlin NY was tops among the 50's machines.
Not to be outdone by Mullin or Earl, Chris Tremblay also became a third time winner. Tremblay took the Rookie class 10 lap main event over Maurice Lamarche and Mark Radbourne.
Next week at Cornwall Motor Speedway features an big doubleheader. The always popular Empire Super Sprints will make their lone visit of 2001 to the fast quarter mile oval for the Pennzoil Classic. Quebec’s Alain Bergeron will try to defend his title after his surprising victory in the ESS main event a year ago. In addition the program will feature the 358 Modifieds, Late Models and Rookie stocks. The green flag drops at 7:00 pm, next Sunday, June 24th.
Modifieds 30 laps:1. BILL MULLIN Iroqouis 2. Laurent Ladouceur Alexandria 3. Danny O Brien Kingston 4. Stephane LaFrance Brockville 5. Chico Dingwall Brockville 6. Billy Cook Hogansburg NY 7. Chris Jones Demorestville 8. Dave Heaslip Smiths Falls 9. Richard Chauvin St. Cyrille QC 10. Marcel LaFrance Cornwall
Late Models 20 laps: 1. RANDY EARL Brockville 2. Daryl Steele Renfrew 3. Billy King Hogansburg NY 4. Marc Therrien Alexandria 5. Dave Bissonnette Apple Hill
Duke Stocks 15 laps 1. MIKE TREMBLAY Fort Covington NY 2. Stephane Lemire Drummondville 3. Tammy Jalbert Cornwall 4. Randy Andre Cornwall 5. Gaetan Amesse St. Timothe QC
Rookie Stocks 12 laps: 1. CHRIS TREMBLAY Cornwall 2. Maurice Lemarche St. Isidore 3. Mark Radbourne Cornwall 4. Marc Decoste Alexandria 5. Glen Dorie Williamstown
Antiques 12 laps: 50's Dick Ackerman New Berlin NY 60's Pat Sonnenberg Stevensville 70's Ally Amell Watertown Centre NY
Heat winners
Modifieds: Brian MacDonald, Peter Mantha, Joel Doiron, Danny O Brien
Late Models: Billy King, Marc Therrien
Duke Stock: Stephane Lemire, Mike Tremblay
Rookie Stock: Danielle Lagault, Eric Smirle, Mark Radbourne
Antiques: 50-60's Pat Sonnenberg,70's Ally Amell