By Doug Townsend
VARNEY, ONT- For many years, their names were the ones you had to beat each week, at the local speedways across Ontario. This past Friday night they came together at Full Throttle to race each other one more time.
Earl Stroh, Ray Gowan, Roger McGlynn, Mel Preibe, Andy Schmidt, Ron Lipski, Chuck Lawler and Pete Bennett came out of retirement to strap in, this time in Mini Stocks. Although years may have slowed their speed off the track, it has not dampened their passion to race. Also in attendance for this event was Ken Stenhouse, Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee (2012). Ken was the car builder and pit crew chief for Earl Stroh.
Once the green flag waved you could tell this was no "old timer's race." Mel Preibe would take advantage of his pole position to jump to an early lead and try to put some distance between him and the rest of the pack. Chuck Lawler and Pete Bennett both showed they can still wheel a car, as they both quickly jumped through the pack to second and third respectfully. They would bring along Andy Schmidt, who had started at the tail of the field. In the end it would be Mel Preibe for the checker followed by Chuck Lawler, third Andy Schmidt, fourth Pete Bennett and rounding out the field was Ron Lipski, Earl Stroh, Roger McGlynn and Ray Gowan. Full video of this race can be found on You Tube at Full Throttle Motor Speedway or follow the link: http://youtu.be/SIFIbX7Ddsk
V8 Thunder Stocks were also on hand, it was their bonus night with $3000 on the line for any driver who could take all three checkers. With this extra money on the line there were extra cars in the pits and extra excitement for the fans. In feature one it would be a new comer to the track, 21 Matt Bentley, on the pole and he would waste little time getting his car out front and keeping it there as he went pole to pole for his first victory. The 36 driven this week by Shawn McGlynn from Waterloo, got close but had to settle for second, third would go to 01 Brandon McConnell from Tara, fourth was 76 Shawn Arnott from New Hamburg and fifth 17 Tristan Gill from Waterloo. Feature two saw a number of early cautions in the race which allowed 76 Shawn Arnott to move forward from his 5th place starting position. Once he got his car to the front there would be no stopping him, he was en route to the checker. Second would go to 01 Brandon McConnell, third 21 Matt Bentley, fourth 55 Scott Field from Hepworth and fifth 36 Shawn McGlynn.
Feature three of the night saw the speedy young 17 Tristan Gill on the pole and he looked like he was destined for another checker flag. Then with only eight laps left 36 Shawn McGlynn had made it to his back bumper. Just as they were getting into lapped traffic Gill went high, McGlynn stayed low, and was able to make the pass for the lead. In the end he was able to hold off Gill the rest of the way for the checker. Second was Gill, third 01 Brandon McConnell, fourth 76 Shawn Arnott and rounding out the top five 55 Scott Field.
In Mini Stock action this week, it was another lap one wreck in corner 4 which caused damage to a number of cars. Taking the worst of it again was the 9 of Tessa Cremasco from MountForest, by no fault of her own. 35 Tim Tolton out of Guelph used his pole starting position the best he could, but with the number of cautions he could make no real ground on the rest of the field. On a lap 9 restart 36 Cory Young out of Owen Sound was able to get around Tolton on the high side and hang on, despite Tolton trying the same high side move on a lap 11 restart. At the end it would be Young, Tolton, 51 Clark Hartman out of Waterloo for third, fourth would be 7 Paul Boyd from Harriston and 14 Brian Wilson from Rockwood in fifth. Feature two of the night would also see a few cautions, as some fenders got roughed up. The worst one came on lap 13 as 51 Clark Hartman was coming out of corner four he brushed the wall, and coming off the wall he collected 36 Corry Young sending him sideways on the track, where he was hit by 14 Brian Wilson.
Wilson's car took the worst of the impact as Young was able to continue after some minor repairs. Now, with a number of cars in the pits it was down to six drivers to decide this one. In the end it would be 35 Tim Tolton collecting the checker followed by 36 Corry Young, then 7 Paul Boyd, fourth would be 34 T.J. Edwards out of Fergus and rounding out the top five 06 Ryan Hardy from Markdale.
Crazy Trains this week lived up to their name, with lots of action. In feature one it would be Here We Go from Listowel to the line first ahead of Texas Traincar Massacre from MountForest, then Rockford Rednecks and rounding out the field Jonathon Bates Roofing from Owen Sound. Feature two saw a double rollover as the second and third cars from Here We Go went over in the first lap! In the end it would be Rockford Rednecks to the checker first, followed by Texas Traincar Massacre and Jonathon Bates Roofing. Video of this race can be seen on You Tube by going to Full Throttle Motor Speedway or by following this link: http://youtu.be/BLJq7z5YbH4
Next racing action is this Friday August 22nd at 7:30. We will have the Pro Late Models, Outlaw 4 Modified, Mini Stock, Pure Stock and Crazy Trains. Also be sure to check out our updated fall schedule on the web site at www.fullthrottlemotorspeedway.com as we are going to stick with Friday night right through till October 24th!
