Surrounded by a field of veterans and experience, it was one of the sport’s younger stars capturing the glory in the Don Biederman Memorial on Saturday, June 18 at Flamboro Speedway.
The famed 75-lap race marked the kick-off event for the Ontario Outlaw Super Late Model Tour, and it brought out some of the province’s top competitors.
Starting at the front of the field, Brandon Passer was able to get the advantage early, and not look back en route to scoring his second series victory after getting his first triumph at Peterborough Speedway in 2021. Multi-time division champion Glenn Watson kept him honest, though, chasing him down throughout for a crack at the victory en route to a runner-up.
John Cadman, who set the quickest time in qualifying, finished third with Dario Capirchio and Ethan Cournyea rounding out the top-five. Mike Wilkinson placed sixth, followed by Todd Campbell, Sean Grosman, Mike Miller, and Chris Borrows. Adrian Foster and Trevor Monaghan failed to finish due to separate mechanical issues.
Canadian Vintage Modifieds
The diversity of winners continues, with Mike Podd becoming the fifth different victor in the first feature after taking the lead on Lap 3 from the front row and not looking back. TJ Marshall continued his consistency with a second, followed by Scott Tonelli, Quintin Murdoch, and Rodney Rutherford. Brian Pescetti placed sixth ahead of Connor Ross, Ricky Willigar, and Jae Pepin.
TJ Marshall showed why he is a past series champion, winning the second feature in dominating fashion, with Rodney Rutherford second for a season-best performance. Two-time feature Quintin Murdoch finished third, followed by Brian Pescetti and Mike Podd. Connor Ross was sixth ahead of Jae Pepin, while Ricky Willigar and Scott Tonelli did not take the green flag.
Mini Stock
Shawn Taylor kept his impressive season alive, taking the lead on Lap 15 en route to another trip to victory lane. Bobby Mercer’s consistency led him to another podium with second, followed by Mike Thomson, Karl Sault, and Mike Gilmour. Tyler Lewis placed sixth ahead of Kaitlyn Wallace, Cole Burrows, Michael Kenny, and Mike Hooper. Nikki King was 11th, while Roland Goodfellow and Rick Robinson failed to finish.
Karl Sault turned his first start of the year into a trip to victory lane in the second feature ahead of last week’s feature winner Mike Gilmour, Tyler Lewis, Cole Burrows, and Nikki King. Shawn Taylor and Bobby Mercer followed after an incident in turns one and two, while Kaitlyn Wallace was failed to finish due to an incident on the backstretch. Mike Hooper suffered a disqualification, while Michael Kenny and Rolland Goodfellow failed to finish. Rick Robinson and Mike Thomson did not take the green flag.
Pure Stocks
It seems that persistence paid off as continuing to get better on a weekly basis allowed Alex Stewart to lead flag-to-flag on Saturday night en route to his first career victory in front of Reece Bourgeois, Cameron Thomson, Chance Rogers, and Phil Givens. Kyle Lucas placed sixth, followed by Rick VanKleef, Mark Allan, Leo Labarbera, and Moses Ruiz.
Cameron Thomson got his first win a week ago, and decided to replicate the feeling with another trip to victory circle on Saturday. Phil Givens drove his wife Nicole’s car to a runner-up, followed by Kyle Lucas, Reece Bourgeois, and Alex Stewart. Chance Rogers placed sixth ahead of Mark Allan, Leo Labarbera, Moses Ruiz, and Rick VanKleef.
The next event at Flamboro Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, June 18, with Meet the Drivers Night. Fans will be welcome to come onto the race track, meet your favourite driver, take some photos, get an autograph, and see the cars up close. The night will feature the Pro Late Models, Canadian Vintage Modifieds, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Pure Stocks. The front gate will open for fans at 5pm, with the show set to kick off at 6:30pm.
Be sure to keep up with the latest by checking out Flamboro Speedway’s website at http://www.flamborospeedway.ca.
Thanks to Derek Smith (http://www.racepulse.com), Peter Anderson (pandersonphotos@gmail.com), and Zoompics.com for their images of the racing action each week.
Thanks to Ingrid Hartman for filming each week. Be sure to check out her videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/petalpower51/videos.
