VARNEY MOTOR SPEEDWAY
JULY 18TH 2009

Two Streaks End As Another Begins

This past Saturday night was a pivotal turning point for many drivers in the 2009 season at Varney Motor Speedway. Over recent weeks, we have witnessed driver domination as Jason McLellan of Mount Forest took the checkered flag in five consecutive feature races and Bill Cole and Gary Atkinson; team mates and both of Hanover; won nine straight feature races in their division. All eyes were focused on these three drivers as the packed house at Varney saw both streaks come to an end.

In the T.W. Robarts Photos Late Model feature race, #18 Jason McLellan had the disadvantage of starting from the next to last position when the field came to the green flag. McLellan appeared to be struggling with an ill-handling car for most of the night and the Mount Forest driver's problems came to a head just before the midway point of the feature when he took his car to the pits and straight onto the trailer. From outside of the front row, #96 Monty Kelly took the lead away from pole sitter #85 Jeff Lotspeich at the drop of the green and proceeded to leave the rest of the pack in his wake. Kelly would indeed lead every lap of the race to claim his second Late Model feature win of the '09 season. A race-long battle for second had fans cheering every lap as #81 Chris Van Dusen held off strong challenges from #19 Brian Wilson and #2 Ed Peterson who reluctantly settled for the third and fourth positions. Lotspeich would finish fifth. Heat races earlier in the night were won by Kelly and Van Dusen.

All season long, #99 Jamie Hunt had watched #93 Bill Cole and #3 Gary Atkinson take the checkered flags in the Street Stock features. Despite finishing on the back bumper of both drivers on numerous occasions, Hunt was never able to make the pass and claim the win. All that would change on a night that saw the win streak of Cole and Atkinson come to a staggering hault. Hunt had the fortunate opportunity of starting the feature in the second row while Cole and Atkinson were near the rear of the field. From the pole position, #38 Al Kusick would take the early lead from #06 Bill Keill and hold the top spot for several laps. Hunt was on a mission and after trying the inside lane for a few laps, went to the top of turn two and took the lead away down the backstretch. Hunt stayed on the gas and built up a lead that was near impossible to erase. Cole and Atkinson would eventually work their way into the top five but Hunt dominated taking the checkered flag by nearly a full straightaway over second place. With one of his strongest runs so far this season, #29 Aaron Martin nailed down the second spot with Atkinson third, Kusick fourth and Cole rounding out the top five. Heat races earlier in the night were won by Hunt and Cole.

While two streaks came to an end at Varney Motor Speedway this week, another began. After seasons of running in the middle of the Stock 4 field, #88 Billy Lovell emerged as a force to be reckoned with after winning three in a row; sweeping both his heat races and taking the checkered flag in the Stock 4 feature race. Starting from the front row, #28 Luke Freeman and #4 Zach Pendergast fought early for the lead with Pendergast going out front for the first few circuits. Lovell would run the leader down and take charge on the back stretch as he stamped out a five car length advantage in a matter of a couple laps. The caution flag would come out early in this feature as a spin involving #7 Charles Embro and #64 Jamie Burrows would bunch the field up for a restart. Again, Lovell would take off from the rest of the pack. Meanwhile, chipping through the field from his seventh row starting position, Stock 4 points leader #51 Clark Hartman would finally make it through the pack and into the second spot ready to challenge for the lead. Unfortunately for Hartman, that opportunity would not happen as Lovell would take the white flag with a sizeable advantage and coast to his first career feature race win in the Stock 4 divsion. Hartman finished second with #86 Scott Way, #38 Sherry Smart and #35 Bob Tolton rounding out the top five. Heat races were won by Lovell X2, #9 Tessa Cremasco and #15 Tom Hartman.

The All Pro Modified feature race saw #1 Ted Patterson start on the pole but, it was the outside front row driver #4 Aaron McLean who would jump out front and take the lead as the field came off of turn four to complete lap one. The first half of the race proved to be a task for McLean as #2 Dale McArthur would be relentless in his quest for first challenging McLean on the inside as the two exited each turn. McLean would eventually be granted some breathing room as McArthur soon had the unenviable task of trying to keep #8 Gary Mclean from taking the second position away. As McArthur and G. McLean race for second, A. McLean took advantage and built up as big a lead as he could. G. McLean would manage to squeeze by McArthur and, in the closing laps, catch up to race leader A. Mclean. Thw two McLeans would race hard for several laps with Gary diving to the inside out turn four in a drag race to the checkered flag. Aaron would hold off the hard charge and take the win.G. Mclean settled for second with McArthur, #12 Jusstin McLellan and Patterson filling out the top five.

Heat races were won by A. Mclean and McLellan.

Other excitment at the track included another feature race win in the Trains for the Markdale Salvage Crushers as well as a surprise visit from Toronto Maple Leafs forward #39 John Mitchell. Mitchell; who was vacationing in the area; spent nearly the entire night meeting race fans and hockey fans alike signing autographs right up until the drop of the final checkered flag.

A pre-race tailgate party hosted by Country 93 proved to be success as did the West Grey Fire Department's charity Bar-B-Q. This Saturday, July 25 will be a special night at Varney Motor Speedway as the extremely quick Pro 4 Modifieds make their first appearnce ever at the fastest 1/4 mile in Ontario. For a complete schedule of events, news and track information, visit the track online at www.varneymotorspeedway.com

Jody Buschlen - Track Announcer/Varney Motor Speedway

Race Results

Stock 4

1. #88 Billy Lovell - Neustadt

2. #51 Clark Hartman - Waterloo

3. #86 Scott Way - Fergus

4. #38 Sherry Smart - hanover

5. #35 Bob Tolton - Guelph

Street Stock

1. #99 Jamie Hunt - Hanover

2. #29 Aaron Martin - Brussels

3. #3 Gary Atkinson - Hanover

4. #38 Al Kusick - Durham

5. #93 Bill Cole - Hanover

T.W. Robarts Photos Late Models

1. #96 Monty Kelly - Mitchell

2. #81 Chris Van Dusen - Guelph

3. #19 Brian Wilson - Rockwood

4. #2 Ed Peterson - Clinton

5. #85 Jeff Lotspeich - Rockwood

All Pro Modifieds

1. #4 Aaron McLean - Conn

2. #8 Fary McLean - Conn

3. #2 Dale McArthur - Durham

4. #12 Justin McLellan - Mount Forest

5. #1 Ted Patterson - Mount Forest

Trains

1. #94 Markdale Salvage Crushers

2. #503 The Train Wreck

3. #13 On The Edge

4. #305 The Pain Train

Maple Leafs Mitchell Takes in Action at Varney

While vacationing in the area, Toronto Maple Leafs forward #39 John Mitchell stopped by Varney Motor Speedway to take in the action from Ontario's fastest 1/4 mile asphalt oval. Celebrating his father's birthday, Mitchell and his family decided to try something different. Having never been to a stock car race, the Mitchell's were treated to the best hospitality the track and the fans had to offer including laps in the Varney Motor Speedway 2-seater ride along race car.

Any one interested in purchasing pictures or videos
please email:
t.w.robartsphotos@gmail.com or call Terry or Brenda @ 519-881-0395
website : www.twrobartsphotos.net