Walters Wins Big In 2009’s First Invitational
By Spencer Lewis
Week 5 on Sunset Speedway’s
2009 Schedule played host to the province’s first long-distance invitational
for the Limited Late Model division this season. The Lucas Oil 75 saw
drivers tow from as far as Ottawa and Port Elgin, to do battle with the
Simcoe County Limited Late Model regulars.
The Mini Stock division led
off the night’s feature festivities. Former Four Fun powerhouse Marshall
Pender (No. 9 Bolt-On Performance/#9 Auto Wreckers Honda) started from the
third row and was looking to put a halt to the string of bad luck that has
been hampering his rookie campaign thus far in 2009.
Fellow rookie Shawn Ryan
(No. 2 Dan’s Scrap/Taurus Property Maintenance Honda) led the first handful
of laps, however Pender used both the first and second grooves of the race
track to cut through the pack and overtake the leader.
At times, Pender’s lead
would stretch to almost an entire straightaway as the Beeton, ON teenager
was able to continually put lapped traffic between himself and second place.
Meanwhile, one of the fastest cars on the track was making it’s way to the
front of the pack in the form of Terry Clodd (No. 34 Barrie Tire
Shaving/Bourque Transmission Honda).
Clodd started from deep in
the field and was managing to close the gap in the later stages of the race,
even pulling to within 3 car lengths with two laps remaining. However, Clodd
would simply run out of time; Marshall Pender picked up his first ever
feature win in a Mini Stock trailed by Clodd and Week 1 & 2 feature winner
Doug Butler.
‘It’s great to finally win
one. The motor decided it wanted to stay together for 20 laps this week, so
that’s always good’ quipped Pender in victory lane. ‘I just want to thank my
Dad and Clyde Doucette from Newtech Automotive for all the work they’ve done
on this car’. When asked if his car was beginning to slow up towards the end
of the race, Pender explained it had more to do with the driver. ‘I really
hurt my back at work this week. So when I was free and clear of those guys I
was just trying to take it easy’.
The Thunder Cars were next on
the card, faced with the unenviable task of following up the Mini Stocks’
crowd-pleasing performance. Over 20 cars took qualifying for the 30 lap
affair, and with the previous feature winners starting deep in the field,
Week 5 was anyone’s race.
Port McNichol, ON’s Luke
Gignac jumped to the lead on lap 1, setting the pace for the field as a
battle for second waged behind his rear bumper. One of those battlers was
former Sunset Speedway feature winner Paul Maltese (No. 28 Presto Appliance
& Repair Chevrolet).
Maltese, who had been
experimenting with different setups since making his 2009 debut only two
weeks prior, appeared dominant all evening and was a threat to win since the
early practice sessions. The Innisfil, ON veteran bided his time in behind
Gignac, and as the leader pushed up the track, Maltese sensed the
opportunity and dove underneath for the pass.
Behind the battle for the
lead, Midland, ON driver Brad Holden (No. 97 Holden Electric/Midland
Superlube Chevrolet) was leading a train to the front that included Week 2
winner Flyin’ Frank Davey and rookie sensation ‘Too Quick’ Kenny Britt.
Holden would pull to
Maltese’s back bumper, though would be too pre-occupied with the pressure
being applied by third place runner Charlie Smith to make a pass for the
lead. As the cars exited turn 4 for the final time, it was Paul Maltese,
Holden, Smith, Britt and Davey.
‘I knew Brad was coming
towards the end’ admitted Maltese. ‘I just tried to stay smooth. We’ve been
working on the setup for this car, but it was the 4 brand new Hoosier
[tires] we bolted on tonight that really made the difference’. Maltese then
motioned to the smoke billowing out from underneath his winning ride ‘it
looks like we had something letting go, so luckily it stayed together’.
Maltese would close by thanking his wife for all her hard work and
dedication and expressing disappointment that his young son had to leave
early, missing the Thunder Car feature.
The Late Model division was
primed to close out the evening, with fast qualifier ‘The Professional’ Rob
Poole (No. 45 Visser Farms/Alliston Auto Sales Chevrolet) leading the group
of cars onto the front straightaway for introductions. Once the 20-car field
had been introduced to the crowd, Poole rolled a dice to determine the
invert for the Lucas Oil 75. With a 2 car invert, Poole rolled off from
outside the front row alongside second place qualifier Al Inglis.
Inglis would waste no time
utilizing the bottom line of the race track, nabbing the lead in the first
corner and settling into the track’s first groove. Week 2 winner Stompin’
Tom Walters was not far behind, as the veteran tried high and low to find a
way around Inglis’ Chevrolet.
As the leaders battled for
track position, a group of cars including Jason ‘Bam Bam’ Witty, Rob Poole
and Jason Parker had gathered in a fantastic race for third. Meanwhile,
Walters continued to pressure the leader, eventually resulting in Inglis’
#69 pushing up the track, allowing the duo of Walters and Witty to duck
underneath.
Another perennial
front-runner was also moving to the front of the field; Newmarket, ON driver
Tony ‘The Gun’ Tiemersma (No. 7 Tire Depot Chevrolet) had looked strong in
his Sunset Speedway appearances so far in 2009, and Saturday night was
certainly no different. The second generation star was able to master both
the inside and outside line, picking up track positions left and right.
As Tiemersma completed the
pass for second spot, Walters was stretching his lead to almost a
half-straightaway. With the laps and caution periods ticking away, Tiemersma
was able to pull within a car length of Walters but could not make the pass.
Walters’ use of tire strategy and well-timed aggression handed him the win
in 2009’s first ‘big event’. The Bradford, ON driver was followed by
Tiemersma, Witty, Inglis and Jason Parker.
‘This is fantastic. We wanted
to save those tires through the early stages of this one, so I just followed
the 69 [of Inglis], not wanting to burn anything off. I have to admit, I’m a
little surprised at the patience I showed there’ laughed the 25-time
provincial champion. ‘I wasn’t surprised at all that Tony [Tiemersma] stayed
with us at the end. That’s a good car, I’ve driven it before, and Tony’s a
great driver. We were just better tonight.’ Walters went on to thank his
former car owner Nigel Squires as well as his crew for all the help.