Super Truck Racing-Excitement As Always
It became a battle of who was going to survive Saturday night at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in the caution filled JB Water and Vacuum Service super trucks as only two trucks finished the race on the lead lap. For a lot of the race (35 laps) Larry Cramer was the only truck on the lead lap.
Saskatoon race fans almost witnessed another 'Booger' miracle on Saturday as Jamie McClennon almost pulled off another upset reminiscent of last year's final race win over Trent Seidel.
A pair of cautions in almost identical crashes between corners two and three left the No. 24 truck in the most enviable position - a lap up on the rest of the field and the race half over.
Finishing lap 43, eight trucks were still on the lead lap. Coming around corner one, two trucks tangled and when the dust settled only five lead lap trucks drove away. Because the super trucks count the first three caution laps, Larry Cramer, Jamie McClennon, Doug Fischer, Dan Saunders and Neil Fitzgerald made a pass by the wreck, claiming lead lap.
After cleaning up that mess, we were back to the green flag in lap 47 when a pack of trucks tangled again coming out of corner one and into two. This time the No. 24 truck was the only lead lap truck to drive away and Larry Cramer found himself in a position that can only be dreamed of. Larry was a lap up on everybody else.
The green flag was dropped again and we were back to racing for the next 20 laps when caution flew again in lap 71. By this time McClennon had found himself back behind race leader Cramer, but still a lap down.
Everyone expected to see McClennon charge the green, but Cramer is no slouch and wasn't caught sleeping when the green flag dropped for lap 75. It wasn't until lap 85 that Jamie got by Larry and back on the lead lap.
A lap 87 caution was almost what Jamie wanted to see; with he and Cramer now the only two on the lead lap. It still wasn't playing out the way Jamie wanted it to though, as there was still all the lapped traffic between him and Larry. Jamie kept trying to push his way up in the caution and kept getting put back.
When the green flag flew for lap 91 McClennon started picking off trucks and worked his way back behind Cramer by lap 96.
There was still a lot of real estate between the two trucks though as you know Cramer was watching his mirror and McClennon was hoping of a caution.
It wasn't to be though as Cramer drove to the checkered flag with McClennon crossing the line 1.882 seconds behind him. Neil Fitzgerald picked up third. Conner Mills was fourth, with Len Zimmer in fifth. Earlier, the night started with Jamie McClennon setting a new track record at 14.981 seconds, the super trucks first venture below the 15 second mark. Dan Saunders took Heat A and Brian Sparks Heat B. Jamie took the win in Heat C and Gary Miller Heat D, setting up the Interstate Battery 100 Feature.
At the end of the night, Larry Cramer comes out with only a two point lead over Jamie McClennon in the Bobcat of Saskatoon Super Truck series.
One can only guess this widens Jamie's lead in the overall JB Water and Vacuum Service series to six points from the four he had at the start of the night.
Scrap Metal Anyone?
The Super Trucks weren't the only division with edge of your seat racing Saturday night. Eleven cars hit the track in the Cooper Tire Thunder Stocks, with Kurtis Houben taking the first win in the heat race, with Mickey Pogoda second and Mike Rea in third in a nice quiet caution free race.
The qualifier race was a different story as M.D. Ambulance had to make two trips onto the track and five drivers making the mandatory stop in the ambulance.
In lap four Curtis Moore and Kevin Nixey got together in corner two with both cars slamming hard into the back wall. Karmen Parks came into the back of Moore, lifting the car up onto the wall.
Emergency crews were on the scene in seconds assessing the drivers and planning the clean up attack that would take about 10 minutes. Reports from the ambulance were that all three drivers were being released but they were going to keep an eye on them.
The race got back underway with Cory Kallis in the lead. In lap eight, Kallis kind of spun out of control in corner two, then again in corner three. It looked like something had broken, perhaps only a tire, but the car was out of control.
He spun around again in corner four and came to a stop facing traffic. The caution flew but that didn't stop Ryan Lange from hitting him head on at full speed, once again bringing emergency crews and the ambulance onto the track.
It seemed the rest of the race would be uneventful as the points leaders were now at the front for the last few laps. Mickey Pogoda took the green with Kurtis Houben on her tail and Mike Rea close behind. Houben quickly got around Pogoda and went on to win the race.
With two laps left though, Mike Rea spun Mickey Pogoda out on the back straight, driving by to take second in the race and setting up what fans were expecting to be a showdown in the feature. With Mickey back in fifth, Tristan Ransom took third in the qualifier.
The Cooper Tire feature turned out to be rather uneventful though. With the loss of all the cars in the qualifier, the laps were dropped to 25. When the cars from the lap four crash, somewhat shorter than they started the night, started lining up, the laps was put back to 30. The only cars out were Lange and Kallis.
Mike Rea jumped out to an early lead with Barry Stefaniuk on his tail. Mickey Pogoda joined the mix a lap later and the chase was on. Barry was around Mike within a couple of laps putting all eyes on Mickey as fans knew she wouldn't let the qualifier spin go.
Apparently Mike knew that too. Mickey chased him down for a couple of laps. Coming through corner three she stayed right behind him when there was clearly room to go inside. Coming out of three it's debatable whether she even gave him a little kiss as Mike quickly yielded and pulled out of the way. Mickey must have had the motherly look in her eyes.
The caution free race ended that way with Barry Stefaniuk taking the checkered, Mickey Pogoda second and Mike Rea in third.
Street Stocks Face Extra Challengers
Three extra cars joined the Budget Car and Truck Rental street stocks Saturday night as well, with 16 year old Cassandra Walker pulling all the way from Vernon, where she is a member of the Okanogan Racing Association. Trevor Freemantle made another stop in Saskatoon and old CASCAR racer Harold Edwards also brought out a car we haven't seen in years.
Todd Pluhator showed the others how it's done, winning the first heat race. Aaron Anderson was second with Adam Yelland in third.
A quiet caution free qualifier saw Trevor Freemantle work his way to the front and take the checkered flag. Mike Schroeder chased him down for the last 10 laps. He had his nose poked in more that once, but couldn't complete the pass, settling for second place. Aaron Anderson Followed Mike across the line in third.
The Budget Car and Truck Rental Street stock gave fans something we haven't seen in years - a Ford battle at the front. Darryl Potts and Alex Leschenko driving Tristan Saunder's Ford Tornio raced side by side at the front for six laps before Adam Yelland came and broke up the fun, taking the lead for the next eight laps.
Yelland yielded to Pluhator in lap 16, who led the way for another eight laps before being overtaken by Freemantle.
Trevor Freemantle finally got around Pluhator when a third place battle brought out the caution when Mike Schroeder came down on Adam Yelland. A flagman ruling put only Schroeder to the back.
The subsequent five lap dash saw Yelland get around Pluhator, making the finishing order Trevor Freemantle in first, Yelland second and Pluhator in third. Jordan Hill was fourth while Aaron Anderson rounded out the top five in the Budget Car and Truck Rental Street Stock feature.
Vangool Takes Regina
I don't have the final results yet, but have received word that Saskatoon driver Greg Vangool won the TCU Financial Group 150 at King's Park Speedway in Regina on Saturday night. Complete results of the Dakota Dunes WCSLM series race will be released when available.
Complete results and points standing are available at: http://speednetdirect.com/results.php?track_id=8311
Individual lap times are posted at http://www.acmstiming.ca/
Next Saturday brings another exciting night of racing at the Baby Grand Racing Series of Canada makes it's first stop ever at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in their Canadian Championship race.
Joining them will be the WSSL Auto Parts Super Late Models running the inaugural Bryce Mann memorial along with the second last race meets of the Parts Source Mini Stocks and the Budget Car and Truck Rental Street Stocks.
Racing is next Saturday, September 4, with the front gates open at 5:00pm and the first of many green flags at 6:05pm
Complete Results:
Budget Car and Truck Rental Street Stocks:
Heat Race:
1. #15 Todd Pluhator
2. #19 Aaron Anderson
3. #17 Adam Yelland
4. #34 Mike Schroeder
5. #36 Darryl Potts
6. #71 Trevor Freemantle
7. #88 Brad Wrennick
8. #87 Alex Leschenko
9. #13 Jordan Hill
10. #21 Cassandra Walker
11. #44 Craig Katelnikoff
12. #3 Ron Eby
13. #93 Harold Edwards
Qualifier Race:
1. #71 Trevor Freemantle
2. #34 Mike Schroeder
3. #19 Aaron Anderson
4. #13 Jordan Hill
5. #17 Adam Yelland
6. #15 Todd Pluhator
7. #36 Darryl Potts
8. #87 Tristan Saunders
9. #21 Cassandra Walker
10. #88 Brad Wrennick
11. #44 Craig Katelnikoff
12. #3 Ron Eby
13. #93 Harold Edwards
Budget Car and Truck Rental Feature:
1. #71 Trevor Freemantle
2. #17 Adam Yelland
3. #15 Todd Pluhator
4. #13 Jordan Hill
5. #19 Aaron Anderson
6. #21 Cassandra Walker
7. #36 Darryl Potts
8. #87 Tristan Saunders
9. #34 Mike Schroeder
10. #88 Brad Wrennick
11. #3 Ron Eby
12. #44 Craig Katelnikoff
13. #93 Harold Edwards
Cooper Tire Thunder Stock Division:
Heat Race:
1. #81 Kurtis Houben
2. #49 Mickey Pogoda
3. #18 Mike Rea
4. #49x Cory Kallis
5. #7 Tristan Ransom
6. #56 Kevin MacLaggin
7. #23 Kevin Nixey
8. #12 Ryan Lange
9. #83 Karmen Parks
10. #71 Dallas Andrew
11. #17 Curtis Moore
Qualifier Race:
1. #81 Kurtis Houben
2. #18 Mike Rea
3. #7 Tristan Ransom
4. #71 Dallas Andrew
5. #49 Mickey Pogoda
6. #83 Karmen Parks
7. #56 Kevin MacLaggin
8. 49x Cory Kallis
9. #12 Ryan Lange
10. #17 Curtis Moore
11. #23 Kevin Nixey
Cooper Tire Feature Race:
1. #81 Barry Stefaniuk
2. #49 Mickey Pogoda
3. #18 Mike Rea
4. #56 Kevin MacLaggin
5. #7 Tristan Ransom
6. #71 Dallas Andrew
7. #17 Curtis Moore
8. #23 Kevin Nixey
9. #83 Karmen Parks
10. #12 Ryan Lange (DNS)
11. #49x Cory Kallis (DNS)
SKL Trailers Pro Truck Division:
Heat Race:
1. #38 Rick Kucher
2. #67 Ken Ross
3. #27 Scott Lucas
4. #33 Scott Williams
5. #14 Wade Wohlford
6. #19 Rylan Utigard
7. #49 Ben Busch
8. #18 Bill Zubrecki
9. #8 Andrew Clewes
10. #1 Debra Newnham
Qualifier Race:
1. #38 Rick Kucher
2. #67 Ken Ross
3. #14 Wade Wohlford
4. #33 Scott Williams
5. #19 Rylan Utigard
6. #18 Bill Zubrecki
7. #49 Ben Busch
8. #1 Debra Newnham
9. #8 Andrew Clewes
10. #27 Scott Lucas
SKL Trailer Feature Race:
1. #38 Rick Kucher
2. #14 Wade Wohlford
3. #27 Scott Lucas
4. #33 Scott Williams
5. #19 Rylan Utigard
6. #18 Bill Zubrecki
7. #67 Ken Ross
8. #8 Andrew Clewes
9. #49 Shantel Firth
10. #1 Debra Newnham
JB Water and Vacuum Service Super Trucks Bobcat of Saskatoon Series
Qualifying Time Trials:
Pos. Truck Time (sec.)
1. #33 Jamie McClennon 14.981
2. #20 Neil Fitzgerald 15.145
3. #24 Larry Cramer 15.242
4. #48 Dan Saunders 15.289
5. #99 Doug Fischer 15.379
6. #00 Kevin McLean 15.422
7. #43 Terry Kovacs 15.472
8. #41 Len Zimmer 15.557
9. #79 Gary Miller 15.674
10. #13 Gary Sarnecki 15.682
11. #88 Conner Mills 15.817
12. #18 Ron Elder Jr. 15.837
13. #2 Brian Sparks 15.860
14. #07 Dean Cunningham 15.996
15. #44 Dean Braham 16.109
16. #57 Stan Skinner 16.137
Heat A:
1. #48 Dan Saunders
2. #24 Larry Cramer
3. #33 Jamie McClennon
4. #20 Neil Fitzgerald
5. #99 Doug Fischer
6. #43 Terry Kovacs
7. #41 Len Zimmer
8. #00 Kevin McLean
Heat B:
1. #2 Brian Sparks
2. #57 Stan Skinner
3. #13 Gary Sarnecki
4. #18 Ron Elder Jr.
5. #79 Gary Miller
6. #44 Dean Braham
7. #07 Dean Cunningham
8. #88 Conner Mills
Heat C:
1. #33 Jamie McClennon
2. #24 Larry Cramer
3. #00 Kevin McLean
4. #41 Len Zimmer
5. #48 Dan Saunders
6. #20 Neil Fitzgerald
7. #99 Doug Fischer
8. #43 Terry Kovacs
Heat D:
1. #79 Gary Miller
2. #13 Gary Sarnecki
3. #18 Ron Elder Jr.
4. #57 Stan Skinner
5. #2 Brian Sparks
6. #44 Dean Braham
7. #07 Dean Cunningham
8. #88 Conner Mills
Main Feature Race
Interstate Battery 100
1. #24 Larry Cramer
2. #33 Jamie McClennon
3. #20 Neil Fitzgerald
4. #88 Conner Mills
5. #41 Len Zimmer
6. #44 Dean Braham
7. #99 Doug Fischer
8. #18 Ron Elder Jr.
9. #2 Brian Sparks
10. #79 Gary Miller
11. #57 Stan Skinner
12. #13 Gary Sarnecki
13. #07 Dean Cunningham
14. #43 Terry Kovacs
15. #48 Dan Saunders
16. #00 Kevin McLean
Release Prepared By Richard Woodvine
Media Relations Director
Auto Clearing Motor Speedway
Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association
