VARNEY MOTOR SPEEDWAY
JULY 4TH 2009

Hot Streaks On The High Banks

As the midway point of the 2009 race season fast approaches, there is very little separation atop the overall points standings in each of the regular racing divisions. In fact some of the classes are seeing as little as a five point spread between first and fifth place. Yet, despite the parity and equal playing field, some very notable trends have been developing over the last several weeks. In particular, we have witnessed a two-car team sweep every feature race in the Street Stock division and, a certain Late Model driver is proving to be almost unbeatable on Saturday nights.

The two-car team of Hanover based drivers #3 Gary Atkinson and #93 Bill Cole have managed to win all the the Street Stock features at Varney so far this season. With Cole racking up five wins and Atkinson snagging two, this dynamic duo headed into this past weekend's feature with their work cut out for them. Starting near the back, they had to work their way through the field and, also work their way past #99 Jamie Hunt; who is third in points and hungry to step out of the 'bridesmaid' role and take his turn as a 2009 feature race winner. As they have so many times this season, #48 Mike Wilson and #26 Tanya McDougall started the feature from the front row. McDougall would take the early lead from outside the front row but, two laps into the race, the caution would fly as #06 Bill Keill and #99 Jamie Hunt; battling for the fourth position; collided in turn three sending Keill spinning to the third turn wall. The advantage Hunt had of starting the race ahead of Cole and Atkinson was erased as Hunt was moved to the back for the restart as an involved car in the caution incident. The ensuing restart saw Cole and Atkinson shuffled ahead in the pack and when the green flag dropped, the two wasted very little time moving into the top three. Atkinson was the first to reach race leader McDougall and took advantage of a wide turn two exit to duck to the inside and take the lead. Cole would make the same move out of turn four bumping McDougall back to third. As the laps wound down, the gap between the top two cars of Atkinson and Cole grew to as much as a full straightaway. The Hanover Team was certain to win their eighth straight feature but, the question was, which one would win! When the white flag flew, Cole dropped to the inside coming off the final turn but to no avail. Atkinson hung on for the win. Running third, McDougall slid up the track coming off the fourth turn and slammed the wall. Scrambling to avoid McDougall, Wilson and #29 Aaron Martin were able to slip by and claim the third and fourth positions respectively. With the win, Atkinson now has three feature wins this season, second to Cole's five. Everyone else is still seeking their first as these two drivers continue to dominate the Street Stocks with their collective eigth straight win. Qualifying heat races were won by Cole and Wilson.

Another Hot Streak of late is coming out of the T.W. Robarts Photos Late Model Divison where series points leader #18 Jason McLellan had won the last three features and an impressive five out of seven so far this year. Starting from the back row, McLellan had the deck stacked against him as the Late Models took the green for the eighth time this year. From the pole position, #27 Jason Ahlborn brought the field to the green. From his outside row one starting position, #81 Chris VanDusen took the early lead bringing #2 Ed Peterson with him into second. The two began to pull away from the field and then Peterson made a move to the inside on the backstretch taking the lead away from VanDusen. Five laps later, McLellan; who had been creeping through the pack; caught the top two cars and took all of two laps to make his move to the front. Peterson was able to keep pace with the points leader but had nothing for him as they came off of turn four and under the checkers. The win was the fourth in a row for McLellan and sixth of the year. Peterson finished second with #19 Brian Wilson; who has a one feature win this year; finishing third. Fourth spot went to #12 Justin McLellan with VanDusen rounding out the top five. Qualifying heat race were won by Jason McLellan and Justin McLellan.

The Stock 4 feature saw the top five drivers in the overall points standings starting well back in the grid as #55 Dave Gray Jr. and #4 Zach Pendergast brought them to the green. From the second row, #9 Tessa Cremasco split the two lead cars on the backstretch to take the lead as she began to build a ten car length advantage over second place. Two laps later, #09 Britton Lundy and #88 Billy Lovell were racing for a position in the top five when they came together and spun in turn two bringing out the first caution flag. This was a tough break for Lundy who sits in second in the standings and forced to the back for the restart. When the green flag flew again, Cremasco took off leaving the rest of the bunch to fend for themselves. That is until the caution flew once again for a spin involving #10 Evan Rydall. Cremasco would hold the lead on the restart but some of the other faster cars would be right up front with her. The top three would pull away; Cremaso, #35 Tim Tolton and #51 Clark Hartman as #12 Jacob Robb and #38 Sherry Smart battled side by side for fourth. When the white flag finally flew, Cremasco stayed low and held her line as Hartman made a move underneath Tolton in an attempt to take second. The battle allowed Cremasco the breathing room she needed to coast on for the win and Hartman made the pass stick coming out of the fourth turn to wrangle second place away from Tolton. Robb and Smart filled out the top five. Qualifying heat races were won by Cremasco, Tolton, #86 Nick Clarke and Smart.

Last year's Super Street Stock points champion has had his share of bad racing luck this season so far and was hoping to put it behind him. With a 'For Sale' sign on his championship car, #77 Rob Brown started the feature from outside the front row. When the green dropped, Brown took the lead from pole sitter #85 Matt Clarke in the first turn. Brown would stretch that lead out over the first few laps until a caution came out for debris in turn one. On the restart, Brown would build his lead up once again as Clarke was engaged in a door-to-door duel with #61 Chad Eden that would last for several laps. The yellow would come out once again as Clarke; who was running fourth at the time; spun coming off the fourth turn nearly collecting #27 Mark Fenton and #56 Bobby Zee. Bunched up for the restart, Brown had his hands full as the top six cars stayed packed up for the remainder of the race. Eden did all he could to work over Brown but, the Champ was not to be denied on this night. On the final turn of the final lap, Eden made a last ditch attempt to steal the win away but, Brown outran him down the straighaway and under the checkered flag. Eden held second with #83 Scott Way, Fenton and Zee rounding out the top five.

The Train feature came out with a twist last week electing to go with a three-wide standing start. This proved to be not only a crowd pleaser but, also made for an extremely competive event. On the heels of that exciting race, standing starts has been deemed the norm and this past Saturday's Train feature had the best finish of the season. Five trains would start the race but early problems on the #13 Train quickly reduced the field to four. By the midway point, this appeared to be a race to the checkered flag between the #6 Redneck Special and the #94 Markdale Salvage Crushers. The two trains ran side-by-side for almost the entire race, slamming doors and crushing bumpers in every turn. They stretched the lead out over the battle for second between the #503 Train Wreck and the #305 Pain Train to almost half a lap. On the next to last lap, contact between the Special and the Crushers sent one to the wall and the other to the infield. The impact broke the steering on the Redneck Special while the Crushers lost their momentum. Limping around for the white flag, the Redneck Special; still in the lead; could barely run a straight line. The Crushers had to get turned around and going in the right direction. All the while, The Train Wreck and The Pain Train were building up steam from over half a lap back. Ready to sieze the moment, The Train Wreck moved past The Pain Train as the white flag flew. With debris scattered all over, The Train Wreck would snake past the Crushers and the Special coming off the final turn to take the win by less than a single car length in the most thrilling Train Feature to date at Varney, and this one didn't even have a roll-over!

Next Saturday is mid-season championships for all our regular racing divisions. The action on the track so far this year has only been an appetizer as we get ready to set the table for a main course to feed the hungriest of race fans in Southern 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. #9 Tessa Cremasco - Arthur

2. #51 Clark Hartman - Waterloo

3. #35 Tim Tolton - Guelph

4. #12 Jacob Robb - Durham

5. #38 Sherry Smart - Durham

Street Stock

1. #3 Gary Atkinson - Hanover

2. #93 Bill Cole - Hanover

3. #48 Mike Wilson - Caledon

4. #29 Aaron Martin - Brussells

5. #26 Tanya McDougall - Belwood

Super Street Stock

1. #77 Rob Brown - Priceville

2. #61 Chad Eden - Varney

3. #83 Scott Way - Fergus

4. #27 Mark Fenton - Port Elgin

5. #56 Bobby Zee - Goderich

T.W. Robarts Photos Late Models

1. #18 Jason McLellan - Mount Forest

2. #2 Ed Peterson - Clinton

3. #19 Brian Wilson - Rockwood

4. #12 Justin McLellan - Mount Forest

5. #81 Chris VanDusen - Guelph

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