CONN TAKES FIRST MODIFIED WIN WHILE SARGENT AND HALLIWELL SPLIT PROSTOCK EVENTS AT MERRITTVILLE
Thorold, Ontario...Second generation driver Wayne Conn of St. Catharines ran to his first ever 358 Modified feature win - the only rookie to visit Victory Lane as part of the David Chevrolet Oldsmobile sponsored City of Welland night. Veterans came home on top in the other divisions with Ken Sargent and Brian Halliwell splitting the ProStock Twin 15 lap features while Rob Pietz, Harry Vanderzanden and Rick Simons also winning in the Sportsmen, ModStock and Street Stock divisions respectively.
Chris Ricker was first to lead the 35 lap 358 Modified feature before Jamie Turner took control along the back-stretch of the first lap. Just as Turner took control an early caution would slow the field. Turner's pace was slowed once again on lap 5 but to the half-way point the second generation driver would pull away to almost a half lap lead through increasing lap traffic. Caution would slow the field again on lap 22 with the leader Turner unfortunately tangling with a lap car. Chris Ricker would return to top spot on the restart with Wayne Conn Taking control in turn 1. A caution on lap 24 would see Don Martin head into the infield with front suspension problems while Ricker unfortunately would head pitside with a flat tire. Conn would set the pace on the restart with one final caution on lap 27 again slowing the rookie's pace.
Through to the finish Conn would open up a 10 car lead on the field with Terry St. Amand also having his best finish of the season in taking the runner-up spot. 'Flyin' Brian Stevens, the 'Electrifying' Harvey Hainer and 'Mr. Small Block' Pete Bicknell would close out the top 5 while 'Flash' Doug Gordon, Jamie Turner, Ken Cosgrove, Scott Wood and George Jowdy would close out the top 10.
"It's a tough thing to do," relates an overwhelmed first time winner in a post race interview, "I'm happy to be here though...happy for my crew..they've put a lot into this year." Conn was the first driver to earn the Bicknell Bounty - a fund that would go to the first driver that won with Bicknell in the top 5.
Todd Gordon was first to lead the first ProStock 15 lap feature with a caution just before the half-way mark slowing the field. Gordon resumed control on the restart setting the pace until contact with lap cars saw Steve Heigl as the new leader along the back-stretch of lap 14. Heigl unfortunately lost the lead after contact with another car sent him spinning. At the finish the leader and winner was the 'King' Ken Sargent. Todd Gordon settled for the runner-up spot while Randy Hollingshead and Brian Halliwell closed out the top 5. Kevin Sharp, Chris Charest, Len Wiley, Rob Murray and Todd Zelichowski rounded out the top 10.
The Second Pro-Stock 15 lap events saw Brian Halliwell in control on the start with Ron Reece taking control in turn 4 of lap 5. Caution would slow the field onlap 7 with the 'Ruler' Reece in control once again on the restart. Brian Halliwell never lost sight of top spot and regained the lead along the back-stretch of lap 9. Another caution slowed the pace on lap 12 with Halliwell out front when action resumed. At the finish Halliwell had a 10 car advantage over Ron Reece while Ken Sargent, Todd Gordon and Steve Heigl closed out the top 5. Kevin Sharp, Bill Bleich, Herb Hunter, Paul Dortono and Todd Zelichowski finished out the top 10.
Ken Walsh set the pace of the 20 lap Sportsmen feature with a lap 2 caution slowing the early pace. Joe Meisel became the new leader with Walsh resuming control along the back-stretch. After another caution on lap 4 Rob Pietz became the new leader. Another caution at the half-way point - lap 10 - would slow Pietz's pace with the Port Colborne driver taking control once again on the restart. The race was stopped with a red flag on lap 16 after an incident involving Bob Davidson and Ken Walsh sent the two cars off turn 4. Walsh's car would roll over but both drivers were all right. Pietz regained control on the restart and at the finish had a lead of some 10 car lengths over Jay Mallory's Mongrel with Paul Ashton, Larry the 'Lion' Lampman and Bill Baker as the top 5. Joe Meisel, Don Anderson, Scott George, Pete Cosco and Bill Podwinski closed out the top 10.
Dave Colavecchia was first to lead the 12 lap Mod Stock feature - setting the pace until Ken Hildreth took control along the back-stretch of lap 3. The driver on the move was Hurricane Harry Vanderzanden with the veteran closing in on the leader by lap 7. Hildreth set the pace though until the last lap. Coming out of the turn Hildreth became hung up in lap traffic which allowed Vanderzanden to take control and ultimately the win. Ken Hildreth settled for second with Dave Colavecchia, Kevin Reichel and Tony the 'tiger' Royston as the top 5. Jeff Kline, Captain Kirk Wilson, Gary Kruchka, Mike Boisvert and Tom Dobson rounded out the top 10.
Tim Knapp set the pace on the restart before a multi-car incident slowed the field on the first lap. Rick Simons was the new leader on the restart. Simons pulled away to a 20 car advantage at the half-way point with Paul Reichel on the move and challenging Knapp for runner-up spot. Reichel eventually took over second and quickly closed in on the leader. The two ran side-by-side in lap 9 with a caution finally slowing the pace on lap 11. Simons regained the lead on the restart and in the one lap dash retained top spot despite a flattening rear tire. Tim Knapp, Jeff Dayman, Bob Deswiage and Chris Crawford closed out the top 5. The late race incident saw Reichel fall to 6th spot.
Action continues through August with the Empire Super Sprints making the final '97 appearance at Merrittville Speedway on Saturday August 16th. Also on the Raybestos Brakes Summer Sizzle Race Card presented by Davey Automotive and Shaw MovileComm are the 358 Modifieds, Sportsmen, Pro Stocks, Mod Stocks and Street Stocks - the real men of summer. Gates open at 5:30 with the first race at 7:30. A NO BLANKET POLICY WILL BE IN EFFECT. Call 905-892-8266 for race details.