Auto Clearing Motor Speedway Results - Saturday, August 14, 2010

SASKATOON, SK - A lot of fiberglass went home inside the cars Saturday night at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway as the Dakota Dunes Western Canada Super Late Model Championship Series Propane Plus 150 became a crash-fest.  No less than half the field sustained at least heavy cosmetic body damage, while several went home needing more serious underlying repairs.  Even the leaders weren’t immune to finding themselves picking up the pieces in their pits. Only 12 cars finished the race started by 20, with only four cars on the lead lap.

Trevor Emond went home with a smile though.  The past ARCA West champion finally won the race that has eluded him so far this year, picking up a bonus pay cheque and a 30 point lead on the way.

Timing in fastest at 14.404 seconds, Emond elected to start at the back and go for the $1,000 bonus if he wins.  Emond hesitated, even as the fans cheered encouragement.  Emond had twice tried and failed.

Finally, a note from his pit crew telling him ‘they believe in him and they believe in the car.  If he doesn’t go for it we all quit’ sealed the deal and Trevor was at the back.  It was probably a blessing as the subsequent dice roll of 12 for inversion would have had him starting mid pack.  From the back he got to watch as a first lap caution in front of him saw the first bits of fiberglass fly.

Jim Gaunt was feeling good about his car as well, the Sky Financial Mortgage Machine Ford Fusion.  Qualifying second at 14.603 seconds, Gaunt was much more confident than Emond.  “This is an opportunity I’ve never had before.  I’m going to  go for it.”

Gaunt’s luck wasn’t as good as Emond’s though, as he was taken out in a lap 91 wreck that took out a third of the Saskatoon field, including Jim Gaunt, Trent Seidel and Howard Crossman.  Emond and Gaunt were at the front of the pack by lap 84.

Trevor drove the balance of the race basically unchallenged.  Dave Bone inherited second place after the lap 91 wreck, with Chris Campbell behind him.  Two laps later PJ Kondra was in third and spent the next 44 laps battling Bone for position, allowing Emond to leave it in cruise control.  Kondra finally worked his way around Bone with 1-1/2 laps remaining and hung on for second, his best finish in a major super late model race.  Dave Bone took third.  Darrel Vallie (in Trent Seidel’s old car) was the last lead lap car and in fourth.  Gary Lister, even with his heavily damaged Talon Energy Monte Carlo was fifth with 149 laps.

The Propane Plus 150 took 68 minutes to run.  There were seven cautions with 18 caution laps counted, 32 not counted.  There were two short red flags in lap 35 and lap 91.

Schroeder Stretches Street Stock Lead:

Mike Schroeder stretched his lead atop the Budget Car and Truck Rental street stock division points chase to 23 Saturday night at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.  Aaron Anderson sits at 476 points to Schroeder’s 499. Schroeder is looking for his first championship, driving last year’s championship car.

Jordan Hill started the night off with his first ever win in the Budget street stocks, picking up the checkered in the heat race.  Todd Pluhator took second, with Aaron Anderson taking up third in his Dodge Demon.

A couple of past champions took the top two spots in the street stock qualifier with Cory Kallis taking first and Clint Whyte second.  Mike Schroeder was the top local finisher in third, with Les Hillacre driving Adam Yelland’s car picking up fourth and Aaron Anderson fifth.

Mike Schroeder got it all together for the Budget Car and Truck Rental street stock 25 lap feature, taking the lead in lap five and driving to the caution free finish.  This is Schroeder’s third feature win.

Cory Kallis was second while Les Hillacre brought Adam Yelland’s car home for third.  Jordan Hill was fourth but later failed tech inspection and was DQ’d.  Aaron Anderson was ffifth.

Hill’s tech DQ was because the street stock rules call for a maximum wheel radius around the tire of five inches.  Jordan’s was over six inches on Saturday night.

Head of Tech Doug Giordano explains that Hill’s car passed this tech item earlier in the year and the new mandatory Cooper Cobra tires are larger than the old tires.  He suspects a spring change may have raised the car and Hill team didn’t compensate for that in the wheel well radius.

Dan Shirley Makes Presence Known

He may not have the Western Elite StockCar Tour championship in his sights this year, but when Dan Shirley is at the race track he makes sure other drivers know he is there. Nathan Weenk, fresh off his two NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races in Vernon and Saskatoon, qualified fastest at 15.361 seconds.  Dan Shirley was second at 15.493 seconds and Nicholas Jewel was third at 15.525 seconds.

Jason Hankewich took the win in the first heat race, with Dan Shirley and Nathan Weenk following him across the finish line. Tim Kammer picked up his second win of the year in the second heat, finishing ahead of Nathan Weenk and Jason Hankewich.

The Express Foods 50 was being run as the Neil Wagner Memorial, a friend we lost to a motorcycle accident earlier this year.  In honour of Neil, the racers paced in the traditional “lost soul formation”, where no car occupies the pole position.  That spot was left open for Neil. When the green flag dropped, Nicholas Jewel got off to a quick lead with Ben Busch right behind him.  Dan Shirley made his was around Busch in the first lap and Jewel in lap four.  Shirley went on to lead the balance of the race.

A caution for debris in lap 29 bunched the cars back up with Jason Hankewich behind Dan Shirley.  The return to green saw Hankewich challenge Shirley for the lead, but Nathan Weenk had a different idea. Weenk worked his way around Hankewich in lap 33 and set sights on Shirley.  Getting around Shirley though would prove impossible and Weenk would have to settle for second with Jason Hankewich taking third. Following the race, the winners were congratulated by the Wagner family. Mrs. Wagner also made a presentation to the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association, accepted by President Trent Seidel, for a future memorial feature at the track.

From Richard Woodvine // Media Relations Director // Auto Clearing Motor Speedway