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The Tokyo T-Bird Soars To History Making
Win
by Spencer Lewis
Mike Zinkie has long been considered one
of the finest drivers to ever grace the Mini Stock division. Over
the course of his 5 year tenure behind the wheel of a 4-cylinder
powered stock car, Zinkie was able to put together a catalogue of
impressive outings at a multitude of different speedways. In 2008,
Zinkie announced his intentions of building the first ever
V6-powered Acura Legend Thunder Car. Many old-school purists laughed
at the thought of a V6 powered, front wheel drive car ever finding a
way to topple the traditional V8 rear wheel drive cars that populate
the Thunder Car division across the province, though Zinkie
continued with quiet persistence.
September 12th, matched
against a field of cars so large a B-Main was required to trim the
field, was ‘The Tokyo T-Bird’s chance to prove the naysayers wrong.
Zinkie (No. 83 Acura) rolled off from
the second row to start the 30-lap affair, and by the conclusion of
lap 1 found himself with a three car length lead. The Barrie, ON
rookie reached lapped traffic before the halfway mark, as the
absence of a caution period allowed the field to stretch out early.
Showcasing the control and handling
allowed by his front wheel drive, Zinkie weaved through traffic with
stunning efficiency, giving his Acura a larger lead as the laps
ticked by.
By lap 20, a quality group of
challengers, including Steve Lang (No. 57 Caledon Transmission/Auto
Connection Chevrolet) and Dave Case (No. 5 Just Lubes/Joe’s Tree
Removal Chevrolet) had broken away from the rest of the pack in an
attempt to reel in Zinkie.
Lang was able to pull to Zinkie’s back
bumper, though could not muster his way past. With Lang crowding his
rearview mirror, Zinkie took home his first ever Thunder Car feature
victory. Dave Case captured the remaining spot on the podium.
“To try something like this, you’re
right, I am nuts!” laughed Zinkie when asked about what he had to
say to the skeptics and doubters.
“I’ve been able to start playing with
the suspension a bit now. We started the season with bone-stock
suspension. Now that it’s willing to turn, it’s a lot easier” added
the race winner.
“I’ll absolutely be back tomorrow, and
now I can even afford tires!” added the good-natured rookie with a
laugh. “And I just want to thank all you fans that come out here
every week to support us. I don’t have any sponsors, you fans are my
sponsors!”.
2009 has been a season worth forgetting
for defending Limited Late Model champion Chris Morrow. Prior to
September 12th, the Anten Mills, ON pilot had visited
victory lane only once as he and his Morrow Electric racing team
struggled with setup all summer long.
With the 2009 campaign nearly complete,
and the pressure of the points battle lifted (Morrow was
mathematically eliminated from contention), ‘Mr. Excitement’ was
able to shake the monkey from his back in spectacular fashion.
Morrow (No. 11 Morrow
Electric/Contractor Rental Supply Chevrolet) paced himself for the
first handful of laps behind early leader Mike Wietzes (No. 93
Wietzes Toyota Toyota) before capturing the lead on the race’s sole
restart.
From there, the highlight battle would
be between title contenders Stompin’ Tom Walters (No. 47 G&D
Wholesale Tires/South Simcoe Special Olympics Chevrolet) and Jason
‘Bam Bam’ Witty (No. 19 Toronto Bearings/Larue’s Haulage Chevrolet)
as they carved their way through the 20+ car field; All the while
watching Morrow’s #11 check-out on the field ahead of them.
At the line, it was Morrow, Witty,
Walters, Steven Mathews (No. 88x Mathews Motorsports Ford) and Ernie
Fumerton (No. 10 Coves of Keswick Chevrolet) completing the top-5.
Upon exiting his winning ride, Morrow
had a simple explanation for the car’s change in performance. “Now
that we’re out of the points chase, we’ve been able to concentrate
on experimenting with some stuff. Trying new things.”
“We’re looking ahead to next season.
We’re kind of known for being a slow starter, we’d like to change
that” added the 2008 track champion.
“This place is notorious for being
awful greasy during the day, but once the sun goes down it totally
changes. With the show starting early we just needed the right tire
setup to accommodate” Observed ‘Mr. Excitement’ when asked about the
slippery track conditions.
Morrow closed the post-race festivities
by thanking the fans and his crew for all their support and help.
‘Mr. White Walls’ Nick Brown has been a
veteran of the Sunset Mini Stock wars for 4 seasons, and has
fashioned himself as one of the favourites to win each and every
Saturday.
On September 12th, Brown (No.
48 Brown Brothers Roofing/Sterling Tire of Keswick Honda) reminded
the capacity crowd exactly why he’s considered one of the division’s
elite, when he was able to out-handle and out-motor some of the top
Mini Stock shoes in the province.
Rookie Shawn Ryan (No. 2 Dan’s
Scrap/Rust Check of Newmarket Honda) led early, building a sizeable
lead before the race’s first caution for a multi-car incident in
turn-1. The ensuing caution brought some of the division’s “big
dogs” to the youngsters back bumper, including Warren Paxton (No. 33
Blue Mountain of Collingwood Honda), Terry Clodd (No. 34 Pennzoil of
Newmarket/Bourque Transmission Honda) and Brown.
The restart saw a mad dash of vehicles
clambering for their preferred line, in a bid to find their car
leading the train. When the dust settled 2 laps later, Brown had
made his way through, flanked by Paxton and Clodd.
As the trio of Hondas launched a cat &
mouse game worthy of Tom & Jerry, points leader Doug Butler (No. 10
Jeff’s Towing/South Barrie Collision Nissan) was flexing his
horsepower, gliding through traffic from his deep-pack starting
spot.
With a handful of laps remaining,
Butler had infiltrated the top-3, and was looking for any sizeable
opening to power past Brown into the lead. However, to the surprise
of many, Brown’s Honda was able to out-power Butler’s Nissan;
Pulling the #10 machine several car lengths down the straightaways.
As the checkered flew, Brown withstood
Butler’s advances, followed by Clodd, Paxton and Ryan.
When asked about the sudden influx of
horsepower, Brown was quick to credit his father’s handiwork. “I was
actually taking a nap this morning, and my Dad went out and cleaned
the air intake. That definitely seemed to be what was holding us up”
“We’re looking to go for the title in
2010. We’ll be building a new car to take these guys on” added the
native of Keswick, ON.
“I just want to thank my Dad, real
quick. As well as Paul Geniole Jr and Sr.” said Brown. “They work on
the car a little more than I do….actually, they work on the car a
lot more than I do” added ‘Mr. White Walls’ with a smile.
Brown closed by thanking his sponsors
and confirming his attendance for Sunday’s matinee.
QUICK
RESULTS
LATE MODEL
Heat 1: ‘The Professional’ Rob
Poole Cookstown, ON
Heat 2: Stompin’ Tom
Walters Barrie, ON
Heat 3: ‘The Professional’ Rob
Poole Cookstown, ON
Heat 4: Jason ‘Bam Bam’
Witty Queensville, ON
A-Main:
1. ‘Mr. Excitement’ Chris
Morrow Anten Mills, ON
2. Jason ‘Bam Bam’ Witty
Queensville, ON
3. Stompin’ Tom
Walters
Bradford, ON
4. Steven
Mathews
New Liskeard, ON
5. Ernie Fumerton
Alliston, ON
THUNDER CAR
Heat 1: Mark
Adams
Mississauga, ON
Heat 2: Dave
Case
River Drive Park, ON
Heat 3: Brad
Holden
Midland, ON
B-Main: Ken Weisbrod
Burlington, ON
A-Main:
1. ‘The Tokyo T-Bird’ Mike Zinkie
Barrie, ON
2. Steve
Lang
Bolton, ON
3. Dave
Case
River Drive Park, ON
4. ‘The Upgrade’ Rick
Walt Barrie, ON
5. Ryan Semple
Loretta, ON
MINI STOCK
Heat 1: Warren
Paxton
Holland Landing, ON
Heat 2: Terry Clodd
Holland Landing, ON
Heat 3: Paul Geniole
Jr. Keswick,
ON
B-Main: ‘Good Luck’ Chuck
Ireton Richmond Hill, ON
A-Main:
1. ‘Mr. White Walls’ Nick
Brown Keswick, ON
2. Doug
Butler
New Lowell, ON
3. Terry Clodd
Holland Landing, ON
4. Warren
Paxton
Holland Landing, ON
5. Shawn
Ryan Holland
Landing, ON
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