BRIAN STEVENS FLIES AT MERRITTVILLE, LANDING IN VICTORY LANE TWICE
(By Bruce Bonham)
(Photo courtesy of Monique's Photography Photos)
THOROLD, ON —Making the right adjustments, according to veteran L. St. Amand Enterprises Modified driver Brian Stevens, was key to knocking off a couple of Merrittville Speedway 35-lap features Saturday.
Stevens’ popular wins — which turned another near-capacity, chilly-night crowd into a frenzy, cemented the fact that the two-time track champ (1982-92) also displayed splendid race savvy, overhauling Sanborn, N.Y. pilot Richie Vinson with a Turn 3 sweeper to capture the double whammy.
After getting off to an excellent start for the first, rain-delayed mod main from last week, Stevens’s yellow No. 44 snatched the point on the Lap 9 restart, and stayed there, despite a late-race blitz by second-place finisher Pete Bicknell 25 circuits in and a two-lap shootout when the caution flew with two rounds remaining.
Defending champ Larry Lampman held on to third, while Ricky Richner and Robbie Krull top-five’d.
In almost complete contrast, Vinson seemed a certain winner in the second 35 lapper, making a slick move on Scott Wood, who led from the Lap 2 restart, wrestled the lead, and held it, after Lampman lost a drive shaft three laps later, finishing his night.
Stevens, who clawed his way from starting 15th in the 22-car pack, entered the top five within the first 10 rounds, then took care of Wood, attempting to nose into Vinson’s lead.
With 10 laps left, it was plain Stevens had turned up the wick, rode the Turn 2 cushion and made the pass stick at the next bend.
“Richie’s a clean racer. We were pretty close and maybe he gave me a little bit more room then he had to going through Turns 3 and 4,” said Stevens amid the celebrations of his crew after the dust settled on his dream night. “I was tight up there (in third and fourth turns) in the first race and I was tight up there in the second race. But tight is bite!.
“We made a lot of changes — tires, brakes, height of the car — between the dash and second race, and I think that made difference.”
With Vinson and Wood flagging two-three, Bicknell once again appeared in the closing stages, working his way up from a Lap 14, Turn 4 spin with Paul Ashton and Pete Cosco. Krull scored another top five finish, while Richner, despite blooms of smoke billowing from the No. 26, hung in there for sixth.
Bicknell was no contest in the top 10 in points line up for the 10-lap dash-for-cash, supported by Niagara Lions Club and Glen Rolston, who kicked in a total of $1,700 in extra bonuses for the night’s feature events. Richner finished second while Vinson, Lampman and Stevens accounted for the top five.
In the 25-lap Original Pizza Logs Sportsman war, former mod driver Martin Pohill showed he still has the right stuff, shaking free of the speeding cluster of Chad Chevalier, Greg Panunte and early leader, Mike Ward and taking over half way into the fray.
But the man on fire was Boyd MacTavish who swept by Chevalier on Lap 20, but couldn’t catch the leader.
“I was afraid I was going to screw up after that last caution (Lap 20),” said Pohill, back to the forefront after a four-year hiatus from Modified. “It was tough to stay out front with the 12 (Chevalier) sticking his nose in every lap. I just worked hard. I only ran a few races last year. This year we got a full program in the sportsman division and so far it’s been fun.”
MacTavish, who came close to winning Monday’s holiday 50-lap DIRT tour race, settled for second again while Chevalier took the flag third, ahead of opening-night winner Greg Panunte.
In the Hoosier Stock 21-car scramble, second time winner Rob Murray avoided what could have been ‘the big one’ when rookie runner Danielle Landry swung high out of Turn 4 on the opening lap and cut down in front of the flock. With half the field sideways, all somehow made it to the first turn.
Murray, who started a dozen cars back of pole-sitter Landry, watched the Ron Kingsbury-Dave Dykstra lead battle in the cat-bird seat. With a couple laps remaining in the 15-round contest, Kingsbury left the scene two laps shy of the finish. After getting by second place Dykstra on Lap 11, Russ Davidson filed into third with rookie sensation, Tyler McPherson, fourth.
In the Scott and Mark Seneca Niagara Casino Dwarf Car show, Scott Billing wound up a winner for the fourth time in an exciting, last-lap finish in which Mark Brighton – only other little-car Merrittville winner this season– sat side-ways off Turn 2.
“Actually, Mark and I touched there (in Turn 2). He was sliding high.I cut in to get him on the inside and stayed close to him for the opportunity,” explained Billing. “I’ll have to talk to him.”
With two Brewerton Speedway dwarf invaders, Jeff Baker and Don Fenner, appearing for the U.S. Memorial Day, Baker held the lead briefly, but spun off in turn 4. Fenner finished second, while Wally Billing continued his up-front runs in third.
Rob Goulding made a Lap 4 slide job into Turn 3 to overtake veteran four cylinder driver Norm Mark to win his second 15 lapper. After getting by, Goulding opened up a decent lead, taking Barry Davidson’s checkered flag while Mark Brighton drove home third.
Jeff Shields survived the first spectator one-on-one race.
Tail Pipes: Gary Kruchka, who introduced one-way radios for teams four seasons ago, and veteran former driver Ted Renshaw, checked all drivers’ equipment, pre-race ... Currently only modified and sportsman require the valuable radio aids where the race director can communicate with drivers ... The dwarf cars volunteered their use ... Next season all, all teams will need to install the inexpensive system. Once again the Turn 4 lights dimmed, in the closing stages of the Hoosier Stock main, creating a half-hour delay for crews to install a portable spot light and a call to race crews to use their auxiliary lighting ... But the new mercury vapor lights flickered to life. Scouts of Canada got close and personal with the modified dash field while the track’s Fat Cat Kids Club convened their first gathering. For the first time this season, racing in the north east was run under clear skies with no threat of rain ... despite the chilly temps, hardy fans almost filled the grandstands. Next Saturday is the first autograph night.
RESULTS
L. St. Amand Enterprises Modified (35 laps - Makeup from May 22): BRIAN STEVENS, Pete Bicknell, Larry Lampman, Ricky Richner, Robbie Krull, Fred Carleton, Todd Gordon, Paul Ashton, Rob Pietz, Richie Vinson, Tim Murdock, Pete Cosco, Scott Wood, Chris Ricker, Dwayne Winfield, Brad Malloy, Brad Gravestock, Kenny Winfield, Tim Jones, Corey Gruhl, Gary Kruchka, Jamie Turner.
Dash-for-Cash (10 laps): PETE BICKNELL, Ricky Richner, Richie Vinson, Larry Lampman, Brian Stevens, Fred Carleton, Scott Wood, Todd Gordon, Rob Pietz, Robbie Krull.
L. St. Amand Enterprises Modified (35 laps): BRIAN STEVENS, Richie Vinson, Scott Wood, Pete Bicknell, Robbie Krull, Ricky Richner, Tim Murdock, Pete Cosco, Todd Gordon, Brad Malloy, Jamie Turner, Kenny Winfield, Rob Pietz, Dwayne Winfield, Chris Ricker, Brad Gravestock, Corey Gruhl, Larry Lampman.
Original Pizza Logs Sportsman (25 laps): MARTIN POLHILL, Boyd MacTavish, Chad Chevalier, Greg Panunte, John McKenney, Mike Ward, Adam Ferri, Darrell Ebersole, Wayne Conn, Billy Willard, Dereck Lemyre, Billy Bleich, Don Spiece, Bobby Davidson, Dennis Giancola, Darren Zumpe, Kevin Sharpe, Tom Flannigan, Dave Flannigan.
Heats: 1. Mike Ward 2. Greg Panunte
Hoosier Street Stocks (15 laps): ROB MURRAY, Dave Dykstra, Russ Davidson, Tyler McPherson, Mike Dooley, Ed Fargnoli, Kevin Kocarik, John Johnson, Rob Knapp, Rick Beales, Rick Champigny, Danielle Landry, Brad Sheehan, J. P. Gosselin, Ron Kingsbury, Chris Schneider, Graham Mackay, Greg Ayres, Peter Reid.
Heats: 1. Ron Kingsbury 2. Rick Beales
Seneca Casino Dwarf Cars (15 laps): SCOTT BILLING, Don Fenner, Wally Billing, Bill Perry, Chris Steele, Justin Sharp, Bob Bredon, Nol King, Dave Ackler, Jeff Baker, Wayne Robins, Rick Brubacker, Kory Howe, Denis Kemper, Ken Knapp, Shawn Sliter, Mark Brighton, Dave Russell, Ray Sliter, Kellie Mason, Dave Arnold.
Heats: 1. Dave Russell 2. Wally Billing,
Four cylinder (15 laps): ROB GOULDING, Norm Mark, Trevor Goulding, Gord Bates, Jeff Mark, Paul Klager, Mike Giberson, Vic Mealing, Kevin Soules, Larry Erskine, Tony Kelly, Corey Gore, Roger Shenstone, Glen Leinen
Heats: 1. Norm Mark 2. Mike Giberson.
Spectator one-on-one: Jeff Shields