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JOHNSON WINS SHOWDOWN AT CORNWALL




Danny Johnson won the 100-lap Pennzoil Showdown for the small block Modifieds at Cornwall Motor Speedway. The Rochester, New York driver dominated the field of 31 cars including Danny’s brother, Alan, Steve Payne, Pete Bicknell and Brett Hearn. Danny Johnson started the feature in 9th but quickly worked his way through the cars in front of him to move into the top 3 by lap 12. Joel Doiron (started the feature in 1st) and Frank Cozze (2nd) sat in front of Johnson. Coming out of turn 14, Johnson moved highside on Cozze and Doiron, who were jockeying for position amongst themselves. The 27J took over the lead for good down the frontstretch. Finishing the 100-lap race in 2nd and 3rd was “Mr.Small Block” Pete Bicknell and Vic Coffey, respectively. Bicknell had to really work for his finish. The veteran driver from St.Catherines, Ontario started the feature 3rd but had to go to the pits to fix a flat on lap 10. That forced him to go from the back of the field on the restart. By lap 30, Bicknell had worked his way back into contention and less than 20 laps later he was vying for a spot among the top 3. Coffey’s 3rd place finish is more impressive when you consider that the Leicester, New York driver was forced to the pits on lap 36 when he collided with another car down the backstretch. Coffey’s run was aided by several cars having problems at various points of the race. Alan Johnson, Phelps, New York finished 4th. Keith Hoffman from Allentown, Pennsylvania rounded out the top 5. The spot at the season ending race in Syracuse, New York went to Pete Bicknell because Danny Johnson had already qualified at another event. Regular runners at Cornwall Motor Speedway held their own throughout the feature. Kyle Jacobs (11th) placed the best, followed by Chris Herbison (12th), Bill Mullin (13th) and Simon Marcoux (15th). Danny O’Brien was running in the top 3 for most of the race until something broke on lap 84. In the Late Model race, Lee Ladouceur outlasted the competition for his first win of the season at Cornwall. Several drivers including Marc Therrien, Dave Bissonette and Mitch Jock had to bow out of the feature because of mechanical problems. Fortunately for those three drivers they weren’t forced out of the race until near the end. Each of them placed in the top 10. George Renaud took 2nd place with Billy King coming in 3rd. Martin Walter won the 20-lap rookie race special. He edged out Chris Tremblay and Mark Radbourne.

Coming up on Sunday, July 2nd at Cornwall Motor Speedway…it’s the Fireworks Show Night. A full racing program for all classes is scheduled along with a fireworks display. Gates open at 5:30pm with racing scheduled to start at 7pm.