NOTHING COULD STOP THE ACTION AT MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY SATURDAY NIGHT
Thorold, Ont……….Though the weather threatened, the night remained dry and race fans on hand saw some of the best dirt track racing of 2001 at Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night. Night sponsors TRW Canada and K & K Insurance Canada presented 5 classes of exciting races with double features for modifieds and sportsmen along with a small car demo derby. Rob Pietz (69) took the first sportsman feature before the sun had set, and Chad Brachmann (3b) took the second. Rick Richner (26) made his first trip to Merrittville’s Victory Lane and returning veteran Pete Bicknell (42) took the second mod feature. Lloyd Cichocki (8c) took the street stock checkered while Ken Sargent (25) racked up another pro stock feature win. The 4-Cylinder’s made their debut at Merrittville Speedway and Kelly Hallett (88) walked away with the feature win.
Rob Knapp (Y2K) took the early lead in the first sportsman feature. Brian Elliotson (30) took the lead on lap two. The yellow came out on lap three as Randy Chrysler (21k) went flying into the tires in turn one and Brad Rouse (75) hit the guard rail on the inside of the first turn. Rob Pietz (69) had garnered the lead going into the caution. Pietz held the lead on the restart as the pack went three, four, and five wide through the lap. The yellow flag didn’t fly again until lap 14 when Knapp spun out and nearly got taken out by the field. Boyd MacTavish (93) was up running on Pietz’s heels on the restart, but couldn’t get around him. Chad Brachmann (3b) made his way through the field and landed in fifth spot on lap 20, coming up from 18th. Pietz held it to the line and was followed in by MacTavish, Brachmann, John Hagerman (71h) with Chad Chevalier (12) rounding out the top five.
The modifieds took to the track next for their first 35-lap feature. Don Turner (39) took the early lead, but Rick Richner (26) was already looking for a way to get around him. The pack went three wide through turns one and two. The yellow came out on lap six as Tammy Willard (x42) spun out between turns three and four. She got it going again on her own, and joined up in tail. Richner took the lead on the restart. Jamie Turner (11) took away his dad’s third spot position on lap 10. Richner had a good lead on the pack after only 11 laps. Greg Panunte (99p) and Dan Miller (22) got hooked together in turn two on lap 13, bringing out the yellow again, both of them got going again and headed pitside. Jamie Turner moved up to challenge Ken Cosgrove (9) for second spot on lap 15, and managed to get around him a lap later to secure second spot, only to relinquish it again to Turner on the back straightaway. Scott Harris (17) went flying into the berm on lap four, bringing out the yellow again. On the restart, Cosgrove and Turner moved into position to challenge Richner for the lead, as Jamie Turner got ahead of Cosgrove for second, only to break on the front straightaway. Pete Bicknell (42) hung back in sixth spot for the restart, and made a move to break into the top five with only ten to go, he got ahead on lap 29. Richner held it to the line and was followed in by Cosgrove, Robbie Krull (123), Bicknell, and Fred Cade (12).
Rob Murray (93r) came to rest in turn one on the first lap of the street stock feature, apparently broken, when the yellow didn’t come out he pulled into turn two and stopped. The field bore down on him, and Chris Ellis (71) rammed into him, and was in turn rammed from behind. Extensive damage was doled out on Ellis’s car. The car had to be cradled off the track by the tow trucks. Jeff Cook (1a) had the lead going into the caution, only to lose it to Aaron Vasas (6) on the restart. On lap three, Lloyd Cichocki (8c) moved up and took the lead. Vasas spun out in turn four and collected Peter Reid (05), Jerry Deschamps (f30) and others. Mike Dooley (310c) moved up to challenge Cichocki for the lead on the restart, but Cichocki held him off. Greg Ayres (17) came powering through the pack and secured third spot on lap seven. Deschamps made it back up to fifth spot on lap eleven after being involved in the earlier crash. Lucky lap 13 wasn’t so lucky for Deschamps who spun out in turn four, bringing out the yellow flag again. Lloyd Cichocki took the checkered; Dooley settled for second and was followed by Ayres, Dave Vogt (32) and Darren Zumpe (11z).
Kelly Hallett (88) led the mini stock feature from green to checkered flag. Hallett got a huge lead on the pack after only a few laps. Yellow came out on lap seven as a car spun out in turn four. Top five at the halfway point were Hallett, Blair Young (2ez), Mike Baxter (22b), Marc Hallett (14) and Lorne Collings (7). Young moved up on Kelly Hallett’s back bumper, but Kelly managed to keep ahead. Marc Hallett spun out in turn two collecting a couple of cars with him. Kelly came around for the checkered, followed by Young, Baxter, Brian Lawrie (54) and Lee Winger (2). The four cylinders make a return visit to Merrittville Speedway June 30th.
Both the Sportsman class and the Modified classes ran B Main’s to select the positioning for the cars that didn’t qualify after the first feature.
Dan Gilbert (400) and Gord McKey (14) lined up side by side for the pro-stock feature. Gilbert took the early lead, but McKey tried to chase him down. Rick Baker (78) snuck up on the leaders and moved into second spot on the second lap. The caution came out on the second lap as Steve Devos (13) spun out in turn four and needed to be towed from the track. Baker almost got around Gilbert for the lead, but got a little side ways and couldn’t get around him. McKey spun himself out in turn four on the third lap bringing out the yellow flag again. Baker and Gilbert were side by side on lap six, but got too close and took themselves out, leaving Ken Sargent (25) with the lead. The yellow came out once again on lap 12 as Tom Green (15) and Mike Martin (99) tangled. Sargent held the lead through the last three laps followed by Roger Chrysler (t21), Scott Kirwin (1s), Bill Bleich (108) and Brad Malloy (5m).
Randy Chrysler (21k) and Gary Kruchka (21) started the second sportsman feature of the night on the lead row. Chrysler took the early lead. Yellow on lap five as Brad Gravestock (90) spun out in turn four. Chad Brachmann (3b) moved deftly through the pack to land in fifth spot before the caution. Chrysler retained the lead on the restart, as Wayne Conn (8c) tried to get around Kruchka for second spot. Brachmann slipped into third spot on lap eight by taking the low line on the track. A caution came out on the track on lap eight as Rob Knapp (Y2K), Pete Cosco (17c), Dave Leich (16) and Bob Davidson (73) got tangled in turn four. Kruchka took the lead on the restart, but Brachmann was knocking on his back door. Lap 10 saw another caution as Knapp tangled with Garry Moreash (124). Chrysler was quick to take the lead on the restart. Jones was up to fourth spot on lap 11 after starting 13th. Caution on lucky lap number 13 as Knapp and Cosco tangled once again. Brachmann tried to get around Chrysler on the restart, but Chrysler shut the door. Jones moved up into third spot on the restart. Chrysler went high coming out of turn four on lap 19, and Brachmann slid underneath him to take the lead with only six to go. Stewart Friesen (10a) got around Conn and took away the fourth position with only three laps to go. Brachmann took home his third sportsman feature win of the season. Chrysler was the runner up, with Jones, Friesen, and Adam Ferri (1) rounding out the top five.
Harry Sittler (44) and Billy Krull (z1) started the second modified feature on the front row. Krull moved up to the early lead, as Sittler fell behind. Ken Cosgrove (9) went into the infield on the first lap, but came back out onto the track and stalled on his way to the pits bringing out the first caution of the race. Krull retained the lead on the restart as Don Spatorico (65) made a run on Sittler and took away his second spot. Pete Bicknell (42b) wormed his way up into fifth spot by the fourth lap and into third by the seventh. The yellow flag fell on lap 10 as Greg Panunte (99p) got turned around in turn four. The top five after ten laps were Krull, Spatorico, Bicknell, Larry Lampman (42l) and Sittler. Bicknell got around Spatorico on the restart, and started making his move on Krull. He finally got the lead coming out of turn four on lap 15. The yellow came out again on lap sixteen as Panunte (99p) and Corey Gruhl (35c) tangled in turn one. Krull got the better of Bicknell on the restart and shot into the lead. Lampman scooted under Spatorico on lap 22 to nab third spot. A caution on the track again on lap 23 as Don Turner (39) spun out. Rich Vinson (93) moved up to challenge Spatorico for fourth spot on lap 28. Yellow on lap 29 as Todd Gordon (8eh) headed into the cornfield off of turn one. Krull still had the lead on Bicknell on the restart. For the next six laps Krull raced hard to hold off Bicknell who was gaining ground each circuit – rounding turn four of the last lap Krull went a little high giving Bicknell his shot. In one of the closest finishes of the season, it was Bicknell at the line by a foot, followed by Krull. Lampman came in third followed by Spatorico and Vinson.
Join us at Merrittville Speedway Sat June 9th when Ford/CAA presents National Student Auto Skills Competition + Fabulous 50th Full Card. Students from across Canada vie for the title in the Skills Competitions.
Pit Notes: 7 features were completed in record time on Saturday night. TRW Canada provided all feature winners with $100 gift certificates to White Oaks. Long-time Merrittville race fan Mel Swart recovers at home after a short hospital stay; as does Kacey Lynn chair Mary Dolan.