Cornelius Takes First Step Toward Title Contention With Second Straight Victory
May 21, 2011 - Spencer Lewis -
After losing week 2 to rain, the Sunset Speedway competitors appeared poised for an action-filled event to kick off the 2011 points-season on week 3.
The Limited Late Model A-Main saw 17-cars take the green flag. ‘The Bully’ Dwayne Baker (No. 48 Clearview Heating/St. Onge Recreation Chevrolet) took top-qualifier honours after a pair of strong heat races, rolling a ‘6’ on the re-draw to start from outside the third row.
Baker’s re-draw would hand the pole position to sophomore Sean Grosman (No. 29 Landing Strip Gentleman’s Club/Stompin’ Tom Motorsports Chevrolet) who would lead the field to green, commencing the 30-lap event.
Grosman’s time at the front of the field would be short lived, as four-year veteran Sean Cronan (No. 84 Women in Stride Physiotherapy/Sturdy Power Lines Chevrolet) utilized an excellent start to remove Grosman from the point position by the time the pack entered turn-2.
Jason ‘Bam Bam’ Witty (No. 19 LaRue’s Haulage/Toronto Bearing Chevrolet) and fast qualifier Baker would follow Cronan to the front, bouncing Grosman from the top-3 as the cars completed the first lap.
The lone caution would slow the event at lap 6, just as Week 1 winner Kevin Cornelius (No. 17 Halton Crushed Stone/Lee Sand & Gravel Chevrolet) had reeled in the top-3 from his fifth place starting position.
The ensuing restart would see Witty usurp the lead, utilizing the outside line to find a way past Cronan’s McColl Racing Enterprises chassis, bringing Cornelius with him as the pair worked to distance themselves from the rest of the field.
Cornelius would follow Witty until lap 9, when the Orangeville, ON native was able to find room on the bottom of the race track to complete the pass for the lead, snatching the top spot as Witty chased an ill-handling racecar up the banking in turn-4.
With ‘Bam Bam’ working overtime to settle his Chevrolet back into the racing groove, Baker and Cronan also found room to pass on the bottom of the racetrack, in pursuit of Cornelius.
The rest of the event would be contested under green flag conditions, with Cornelius putting more and more distance between himself and the second-placed Baker as the laps wore on, eventually holding a commanding full-straightaway lead over the remaining 16 cars.
Cruising under the checkered flag for the second straight week, Cornelius led a train of cars comprised of Baker, Cronan, defending Stompin’ Tom Walters (No. 47 McColl Racing Enterprises/Pro Floor Sanding & Refinishing Chevrolet) and ‘Mr. Excitement’ Chris Morrow (No. 11 Morrow Electric/CRS Rentals Chevrolet) to complete the top-5.
After climbing from his winning ride, Cornelius was all smiles, musing “Well, we talked about consistency last time [in victory lane]. I guess 2 wins in a row is about as consistent as it gets right now”
“We want to just keep things rolling, but we’ll have to come from the back next week, so no doubt it’ll be tough racing”
When asked about the handling of his new car as the event wore on, Cornelius explained “We felt as though we had an absolute rocket at the beginning of the race. But as the green flag stayed out, the car just kept getting looser on entry.”
“My guys told me that I had a big league, kept me calm and just told me to stay smooth”
With the victory in hand, Cornelius will walk out with the Limited Late Model points lead for the first time in his career.
After a spectacular Super Stock event on opening night that saw Marty Monette (No. 66 aatel.com/Arnott’s Automotive Camaro) grab the checkers to kick off the 2011 campaign, all eyes were on the field of 19 starters to see who would break through with a victory on the first points-paying night of the season.
The field was set through time trials earlier in the evening, with top-qualifier honours going to third-year competitor ‘Too Quick’ Kenny Britt (No. 14 TSS Top Shops/Paint by Watson Mustang) after a blistering lap of 16.084 seconds.
With a invert dice roll of ‘8’, Britt would roll off the grid from outside row four, handing the pole position to Innisfil, ON veteran Paul Maltese (No. 28 Bradford Bowl/Graham Contracting & Landscaping Monte Carlo).
Unfortunately for Britt, after a strong start that saw the Midhurst, ON upstart advance several positions in short order, a kill switch wire would malfunction on lap 2, effectively removing the Mini Stock graduate from contention.
Maltese would control the field from the drop of the green flag, but would spend the second-half of the 30-lapper fending off motivated prospect Matt Bentley, (No. 21 Gary Bentley Motorsports/Thring Race Car Fabrication Nova) who oft-appeared poised to take his first victory of 2011, only to have Maltese rally back and hold on to the lead.
The battle would culminate on the final lap of competition, as Bentley drove hard to the inside of Maltese’s Chevrolet in search of the track room and grip necessary to complete the pass. Maltese would diffuse the challenge with a phenomenal run on the outside of the racetrack off of turn-4, edging ahead of Bentley with scant inches to spare. Jason Elliott (No. 22 Simcoe Auto Recyclers/Aqua Magic Mobile Wash Monte Carlo), Flyin` Frank Davey (No. 49 Grass Pro Plus/Bradford Print Shoppe Camaro) and Lane Zardo (National Exhaust/Holmes on Homes Monte Carlo) completed the top-5.
In victory lane, Maltese would have his tongue firmly planted in cheek when asked about the new Time Trial format, ``Well, I was sideways just about the whole time for my 2 laps of qualifying. We weren`t very good at it. So I guess you could say that, for now, I don`t like it``
On his competition, Maltese explained ``We were worried about everyone tonight. From Matt Bentley all the way back through the field. I was even worried something was going to fall off the car towards the end. Every guy out here tonight made me drive harder``
``We`ve changed so much on this car, and we`re going to make more changes as we move forward. I still feel the car was stronger last year, so I feel there`s still more to work on``
Of the 28 Mini Stocks that arrived to qualify for Saturday`s event, 23 took to the track for the 25-lap A Main. Conspicuous by his absence was 2-time defending track champion Doug Butler (No. 10 Homeworks Certified Home Inspections/Classic Pro Tube and Muffler Nissan) who had rear-end troubles in practice, suffering a disappointing DNF for the second time in the 2011 season.
With the drop of the green, perennial contender `Mr. White Walls` Nick Brown (No. 48 Metrowide Auto Recycling/Sterling Tire Dodge) assumed control of the point, with relentless veteran – and week 1 victor – Terry Clodd (No. 34 Pennzoil/ShipCanada.ca Honda) nipping at his heels from the word `go`.
Brown would pace the field until lap 6, when his Dodge Neon would yield to Clodd`s pressure, relegating `Mr. White Walls` to the runner-up position.
Clodd would appear dominant until lap 17, when an incident with a lapped car would hand Clodd`s CRX race-ending suspension damage, handing the lead – and subsequently the victory – back to Brown, who would survive a strong late-race challenge from former Four Fun champion Nicole Podewils (No. 79 Central Appliance and Repair/Fox`s Bakery and Deli Ford) to claim the checkered.
After victory lane ceremonies, Brown explained how tough it was to hold on to the top spot nearing the end of the race, ``We were real bad on restarts tonight. When the tires build up rubber on these cars, they`re real tough to control. The 79 car is so quick, she‘s been dominant here in the past because she‘s such a strong competitor`
`We had some mechanical problems in 2010 that were associated with building this thing brand new. But we`ll absolutely be here full time for 2011`
SUNSET SPEEDWAY QUICK RESULTS
SATURDAY MAY 21ST, 2011
Mini Stocks
Heat 1: Nicole Podewils Barrie, ON
Heat 2: Rob Gibson Jr. Barrie, ON
Heat 3: Terry Clodd Holland Landing, ON
Heat 4: ‘Mr. White Walls’ Nick Brown Keswick, ON
Heat 5: Rob Gibson Jr. Barrie, ON
Heat 6: Terry Clodd Holland Landing, ON
B Main: James Lowe Stroud, ON
A Main:
1) ‘Mr. White Walls’ Nick Brown Keswick, ON
2) Rob Krystal Holland Landing, ON
3) Nicole Podewils Barrie, ON
4) Rob Gibson Jr. Barrie, ON
5) Brandon Bullen Holland Landing, ON
Super Stocks
Time Trials
1) ‘Too Quick’ Kenny Britt Midhurst, ON
16.045
2) Lane Zardo Brampton, ON
16.118
3) Jason Elliott Barrie, ON
16.155
4) Matt Bentley Acton, ON
16.195
5) Randy ‘The Rocket’ Rusnell Cambridge, ON
16.274
A Main:
1) Paul Maltese Innisfil, ON
2) Matt Bentley Acton, ON
3) Jason Elliott Barrie, ON
4) Flyin’ Frank Davey River Drive Park, ON
5) Lane Zardo Brampton, ON
Limited Late Models
Heat 1: ‘The Bully’ Dwayne Baker Stayner, ON
Heat 2: Kevin Cornelius Orangeville, ON
Heat 3: Sean Cronan Barrie, ON
Heat 4: ‘The Frequent Flyer’ Sean Grosman Miami, FL
A Main:
1) Kevin Cornelius Orangeville, ON
2) ‘The Bully’ Dwayne Baker Stayner, ON
3) Sean Cronan Barrie, ON
4) Stompin’ Tom Walters Bradford, ON
5) ‘Mr. Excitement’ Chris Morrow Anten Mills, ON
