VARNEY, ON - This past Saturday night, Varney Motor Speedway took a moment to recognize the efforts put forth by our Canadian Armed Forces as well as remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. For the third year in a row, members of the Canadian military stationed at CFB Borden made the trip from the Alliston, Ontario base in armored vehicles to give the race fans a personal connection to our troops. With on track pre-race activities completed, the armored vehicles were moved behind the grandstands for the fans to explore and the thunder in the skies was soon joined by the rumble of motors as all six of the speedway's regular racing divisions came to life.
It's been a long haul this season for All Pro Modified driver #34 Terry Pardy of Mt. Forest who has been amongst the front runners all year long but unable to reach the checkers first. After running upfront all race long, a late caution put victory in jeopardy. Pardy started on the outside of the front row for the All Pro feature race with #27 Les Eccles of Conn sitting on the pole. From the drop of the green, pardy would assume the lead in turn two, passing Eccles on the outside. Following Pardy into second place, #4 Brian McLean of Conn latched on to Pardy's back bumper and the two would stay nose-to-tail through the first half of the race. Blazing his way through the pack, #8 Gary McLean of Conn worked himself into the third position but was not able to gain on the leaders as easily as he hoped.
The equalizer for G. Mclean occured when #65 Chris Burrows of Ayton spun on the backstretch bringing out the caution and bunching the field up for the restart. Pardy and B. Mclean would line up on the front row with G.McLean ready to contend for the lead. When the green dropped, Pardy would gain the upper hand coming out of turn two. Battling for second, B. Mclean and G. Mclean came together on the back straightaway. B. Mclean would spin to the bottom of the track as G. McLean was able to contiue on. The second yellow flag came out as a result and, more importantly, send both McLeans to the back of the pack for the restart. Once again, Pardy would take command at the drop of the green and build up a comfortable lead over the field. Determined to make a run for the front, G. McLean and B. McLean were able to claw their way back to second and third respectively but, that would be as close as they would get to the leader as Terry Pardy would hang on for his first feature race win of the year. Finishing fourth was #1 Ted Patterson of Mt. Forest and Eccles rounded out the top five. Heat races were won earlier in the night by G. McLean and B. McLean.
The Stock 4 feature race saw #55 Dave Gray Jr. of Hanover and #73 Scott Schlueter of Milverton start on the front row but, entering the first turn after taking the green, #19 Dennis Cremasco of Arthur and #28 Luke Freeman of Meaford rocketed up into the top two spots. A little further back on the field, #88 Bob Tolton of Guelph and #38 Sherry Smart of Hanover made contact in turn three while racing in the top five. The end result sent Smart's car spinning into #51 Clark Hartman of Waterloo who had been steadily working his way up into the top five. The yellow flag came out and all three drivers were sent to the back for the restart. Once again, Cremasco would take command of the race as #86 Nick Clarke of Mt. Forest, Freeman, #7 Charles Embro of Hanover and #35 Tim Tolton of Guelph all battled for the second spot. Cremasco would benefit from this multi-car feud and build up a near full straightaway advantage as he cruised on to his second feature race win in the last three weeks. Clarke held off T. Tolton for second while Hartman muscled his way back to fourth. B. Tolton rounded out the top five. Qualifying heat races were won by Clarke, #75 Scott Mast of Cambridge, B. Tolton and Hartman.
Saturday's Street Stock feature saw #19 Brian Wilson of Rockwood take the lead from outside the front row and never look back. Five laps into the race, #93 Bill Cole of Hanover closed in on Wilson's back bumper but, could not make the pass. Cole would fade in the late stages, falling back to two car lengths as Wilson rolled on to the win. Cole finished second with #99 Rob Brown of Priceville, #06 Bill Keill of Chatsworth and #58 Kyle Fox of Hanover rounding out the top five. heat races were won by Wilson and Cole.
Super Street Stock action saw a fantastic three car battle for the lead. Side by side for several laps, #84 Lance Sullivan of Fergus and #61 Chad Eden of Varney exchanged the lead at the start/finish line every lap. All the while, #83 Scott Way of Fergus stayed right on the tail of the two lead cars waiting for an opportunity to make a challenge for the front. Eden would eventually get by Sullivan to take the lead and Way would also make a pass to put himself into the second spot. Eden would soar out front to claim his second straight feature race win in as many weeks. Way settled for second with Sullivan third and #85 Matt Clarke of Mt. Forest fourth. Both heat races were won by Scott Way.
The Late Model feature was highlighted by the battle up front as #81 Chris Van Dusen of Guelph and #12 Justin McLellan of Mt. Forest took off from the pack in the early laps. Van Dusen would hold a comfortable lead through the first half but, nearing the midway point of the race, McLellan would latch on to the race leader and begin to go to work. Jetting to the inside out of turn four, McLellan would try for several laps to take the lead but, Van Dusen was able to pull away down the straightaways. Van Dusen would also pick up on McLellan's favorite spot to pass and take the inside lane away over the remaining laps to hold off the Late Model front runner and pick up the win. McLellan would have to settle for second while #63 Jim Bowman of Alma, #85 Jeff Lotspeich of Rockwood and #09 kent Nuhn of Williamsford rounded out the top five. Heat races were won by McLellan and Van Dusen.
Other action on the track saw members of the Canadian Armed Forces pilot a train to a third place finish as The Redneck Special took the Trains feature race win. This weekend, regular racing highlights the night with the ever popular 'Kids Rides' at intermission. For more information on what is going on at the provinces fastest 1/4 mile asphalt oval, visit the seepdway online at www.varneymotorspeedway.com
Jody Buschlen - Track Announcer/Varney Motor Speedway