[b Bergeron Bags Brockville for First Time in Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot Event]
[i Rich Vleck, BROCKVILLE, Ont. (August 22, 2009)]
There was plenty of incidents taking place in the Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot A-Main on Saturday Night at Brockville, but for Alain Bergeron they were all behind him, leaving him free and clear to run away to his first win at Brockville.
Bergeron, from St. Pie, Qbc., dominated the 25-lap feature for his second win as part of the Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series.
“I like the way the track was tonight,” stated the veteran driver of the No. 8B in Victory Lane. “The top was very good tonight but I could run on the bottom too.”
Bergeron drew the outside pole for the 18th Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot event of the year, and was able to take away the lead on the first lap from pole sitter Kyle Moffit. Moffit would give chase on the leader for much of the race but would have to start his run over on lap 16 when the caution flew.
Multiple yellow flag periods kept Bergeron out of lapped traffic throughout the event, which meant as long as he hit his marks he would be OK.
A month earlier at Brockville, Bergeron had the lead at “The BOS” with four laps remaining and let Bryan Howland get around him. Last week, Bergeron was leading the feature twice when a mistake would cost him a chance at victory. This was sweet redemption for the only competitor from Quebec on the night.
With the win, Bergeron strengthened his point lead in Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series to 14 points. With just one race remaining in that mini series, Bergeron, who had not focused on chasing a championship this year, is poised to pick up a crown.
Bryan Howland was again knocking on the back door of the No. 8B late at Brockville, but this time would have to settle for second. A runner-up showing was solid enough for the Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot point leader, who had to come from 10th.
Howland would have help in his climb to the front, including on lap 17 when Kyle Moffit and Chuck Hebing came together on the backstretch while battling for second. Hebing, who won the Four Laps of Fame Dash, was moving through the pack and had a run on Moffit when contact was made, forcing them both pitside. It would slide Howland to third for the final restart, in which he would get around Shawn Donath.
Donath would hang on for third, which would be his best career finish in a sprint car. The veteran of the modified ranks was quick to point out after the event that he was pleased to have such a strong showing amongst a strong class of cars on Saturday.
Jared Zimbardi, who was the quickest in hot laps and also won his National Parts Peddler Heat, spun on the fourth lap, but would slide the wing back and bounce back to finish in fourth and bust out of his August slump. In the process though, “The Juice” would lose four points on the night to Howland in the tight point race.
Chris Jones, of Picton, Ontario, made his first Lucas Oil ASC Patriot start count as he rounded out the top-five. Jones charged up in the dash to get in the redraw and fought back through the pack late in the race to get back inside the top-five.
Bubba Broderick was the hard-charger on the night, rallying from a tough heat race to move from 16th to 6th. Just behind him was Tommy Wickham who was in the top-five much of the feature but slipped off the banking on the final lap.
Travis Cunningham had his best career Patriot run in eighth, with Brandan Warner and Dave Wickham rounding out the top-five.
A total of 22 cars pulled in to the pits on what turned out to be a fabulous night in Eastern Ontario. Don Adamczyk and Jessica Zemken ran their heats but could not start the feature for issues with their cars.
The crowd favorite Wilson trio of Rick, Kyle and April struggled again with various issues. Rick was caught up in an incident that saw Gordy Button tip over his No. 714 for the second straight Patriot race.
Leading Insinger Race Fuels Rookie of the Year contender Devin Caron also ended upside down when he collided with Paul Pekkonen, who had spun in turn four. Earlier in the night, Pekkonen, another local favorite, dominated NPP Heat 2 for his first career checkered flag in a sprint car.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriots Results: 8/22/09, Brockville Ontario Speedway, Brockville, Ont.
Riverside A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Alain Bergeron (8B), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Shawn Donath (33), 4. Jared Zimbardi (35), 5. Chris Jones (11J), 6. Bubba Broderick (5), 7. Tommy Wickham (75), 8. Travis Cunningham (71), 9. Brandan Warner (10B), 10. Dave Wickham (80), 11. Doug Bowman (57), 12. Brian McDonald (151kb), 13. Kyle Moffit (7), 14. Chuck Hebing (45), 15. Paul Pekkonen (98), 16. Devin Caron (24k), 17. Kyle Wilson (16k), 18. Gordy Button (714), 19. Rick Wilson (01), 20. April Wilson (15aw), 21. Don Adamczyk (21), 22. Jessica Zemken (1k).
Lap Leaders- Bergeron 1-25.
Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Chuck Hebing (45), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Rick Wilson (01), 4. Brian McDonald (151kb), 5. Travis Cunningham (71), 6. Brandan Warner (10B).
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: 1. Tommy Wickham (75), 2. Gordy Button (714), 3. Chuck Hebing (45), 4. Bryan Howland (51), 5. Brian McDonald (151kb), 6. Bubba Broderick (5), 7. Jessica Zemken (1k).
Race 2: 1. Paul Pekkonen (98), 2. Doug Emery (33), 3. Travis Cunningham (71), 4. Chris Jones (11J), 5. Brandan Warner (10B), 6. Doug Bowman (57), 7. Kyle Wilson (16k).
Race 3: 1. Jared Zimbardi (35), 2. Alain Bergeron (8B), 3. Rick Wilson (01), 4. Kyle Moffit (7), 5. Devin Caron (24k), 6. Don Adamczyk (21), 7. Dave Wickham (80), 8. April Wilson (15aw).
Contingency Awards-
Ohsweken Speedway/Canadian Sprint Car Nationals Award- Bergeron
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Passing Points Award- Zimbardi
M&W Aluminum Products Top-5 Award- Donath.
Ultra-Shield Race Products Top-10 Award- Jones
Rod End Supply 20th Anniversary Award- A. Wilson
Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series (Top-10)- 1. Alain Bergeron 444, 2. Bryan Howland 430, 3. Jared Zimbardi 422, 4. Bubba Broderick 408, 5. Brandan Warner 388, 6. Gordy Button 386, Tie-7. Don Adamczyk and Brian McDonald 384, 9. Doug Bowman 382, 10. Paul Pekkonen 372.
Gater Racing News Hard Charger of the Season Standings (Top-10)- 1. Trevor Lewis 52, 2. Jared Zimbardi 48, 3. Bryan Howland 47, 4. Bubba Broderick 35, 5. Tommy Wickham 33, 6. Don Adamczyk 30, 7. Michael Parent 28, 8. Blake Breen 26, 9. Jamie Collard 24, 10. Dan Kaszubinski 21.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot Points (Top Ten): 1. Bryan Howland 2,496, 2. Jared Zimbardi 2,466, 3. Don Adamczyk 2,338, 4. Bubba Broderick 2,260, 5. Bobby Breen 2,002, 6. Blake Breen 1,713, 7. Gordy Button 1,646, 8. Chris Muhleisen 1,442, 9. Scott Kreutter 1,434, 10. Derek Jonathan 1,334.
- Lonnie Wheatley on Aug 25, 2009
- Article Date: 8/25/2009