Cremasco Cream Of The Crop
VARNEY, ON - The season continues to breeze by at Varney Motor Speedway. With only one rain-out on the summer and two straight weekends where the weather could have gone either way, another fantastic Saturday night was about to be highlighted by a Stock 4 feature race whose winner had been waiting almost a month to get back into victory lane.
Including the night's qualifying heat races, the Stock 4's saw five different drivers take the checkers. When the field rolled out for their feature race, #73 Scott Schlueter of Milverton and #7 Charles Embro of Hanover sat on the front row. Embro would take the early lead getting around Schlueter and bringing #9 Dennis Cremasco of Arthur with him. Cremasco would then take the lead on the back straightaway leaving Embro and teamate #38 Sherry Smart of Hanover to battle for second. Blazing a trail through the pack after starting near the back, #51 Clark Hartman of Waterloo challenged early for a top five position with #28 Luke Freeman of Meaford when the two would get together on the front stretch coming off of turn four. The end result saw Freeman hit hard into the wall on the front stretch while a cut tire gave out and sent Hartman spinning in turn two bringing out the first yellow flag of the race. Freeman's night was done while Hartman would change the tire and rejoin the race restarting from the back.
The ensuing restart would see Cremasco; who had a full straightaway lead prior to the caution; challenged by Smart for several laps. Meanwhile, steadily working through the field after starting way back, #35 Tim Tolton of Guelph was coming. Tolton would try for a couple laps to get around Smart as Cremasco began to pull away once again. Working around a slower car in turn one, Smart and Tolton would run out of room and contact would send Smart spinning. Both drivers had heat race wins earlier in the night but, after being involved cars in the second caution of the race, Smart and Tolton would have to restart from the back.
Embro would find himself along side Cremasco once again when the green flag dropped and the two would swap the top spot at the line for many laps. Also on the heels of a heat race win, #86 Nick Clarke of Mt. Forest stayed near the front but, would find himself involved in a caution that saw #75 Scott Mast of Cambridge; who was also on a charge to the front; spin in turn four.
Cremasco had been able to regain the lead after surviving two previous restarts and after battling door to door with Embro once again, Cremasco would find himslef up front. The story now would be the ressurection of the fast cars involved in cautions who had been steadily making their way back to the front. With just a few laps to go, Hartman would get around Embro and, remarkably, recover to find himself in second place. Cremasco would see his advantage over second shrink but, time and laps had run out for the competion. Cremasco hung on for the win with Hartman second. Embro stayed up front all race long but, would settle for third. Tolton; who had to race back up through the pack twice; got past his nephew #3 Jason Tolton on the last lap to finish fourth while the younger Tolton; who had also remained in the top five all race long; rounded out the top five. Heat races earlier on the night were won by Smart, J. Tolton, Clarke and T. Tolton.
The first five laps of the Street Stock feature race were about as exciting as it gets. Starting outside of row one, #99 Jamie Hunt of Hanover took the lead away from #06 Bill Keill of Chatsworth while #93 Bill Cole of Hanover followed through for second. Cole would stay on Hunt's bumper trying to set up a pass for a few laps before seizing his opportunity on the back straightaway. Also in the battle, #19 Brian Wilson of Rockwood would make this three-car feud one of the race highlights of the night. Cole would get out front and eventually take off and claim the win with Wilson getting by Hunt for second. Keill would finish fourth with #58 Dan Cairns fifth. Heat races were won by Hunt and Cole.
A tough break in the Super Street Stock feature race saw pole-sitter #83 Scott Way of Fergus break just as the field was about to take the green. The yellow would stay out as the line up shuffled and now, #85 Matt Clarke of Mt. Forest sat on the pole with #84 Lance Sullivan of Fergus alongside. Sullivan would take the early lead but, moving towards the front, #61 Chad Eden of Varney was soon to challenge. Finding his way to the inside of Sullivan on the front straightaway, Eden would get by the race leader and then check out on the field to claim his third feature race win in as amny starts. Heat races were won by Way and Eden.
The front of the Late Model pack stayed close for the first half of their feature race. Pole sitter, #98 Steve Smith of Durham held the lead for the first several laps but, hot on his heals, #81 Chris Van Dusen of Guelph was determined on this night and, the Late Model points leader would take the lead and pull away for the win leaving Smith in second. Third place would go to #85 Jeff Lotspeich of Rockwood after holding off #63 Jim Bowman of Alma. Smith and Van Dusen also split wins in the heat races earlier in the night.
The season may be winding down through the next two months but, the action on the track is just heating up. Regular racing resumes this Saturday night when the Trains return to the highbanks and, intermission will be highlighted by the always popular 'Trucks Only' King-Of-The-Hill. For more information on where to find the best value family entertainment in Southwestern Ontario, visit www.varneymotorspeedway.com.
Race Results - Saturday, August 7, 2010
STOCK 4 - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Dennis Cremasco 9
2 Clark Hartman 51
3 Charles Embro 7
4 Tim Tolton 35
5 Jason Tolton 3
STREET STOCK - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Bill Cole 93
2 Brian Wilson 19
3 James Hunt 99
4 Bill Keill 06
5 Dan Cairns 58
SUPER STREET STOCK - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Chad Eden 61
2 Lance Sullivan 84
3 Matt Clarke 85
4 Scott Way 83
Varney Late Model - FEATURE
Pos Driver Car #
1 Christopher VanDusen 81
2 Jeff Lotspeich 85
3 Steve Smith 98
4 Jim Bowman 63
From Jody Buschlen / Photo courtesy of T.W. Robarts
