BROWN DRAWS A PAIR OF SEVENS: Kennington Comes Up with Aces

By Ken Spencer

Doug Brown’s last minute gamble to go west as part of CASCAR’s Super Series schedule has paid a huge return for the NAPA/Autopro sponsored driver.

Two seventh place finishes at Vernon, BC’s Sun Valley Speedway –one in Friday’s 100-lap qualifier and the second in Saturday’s 300-lap feature- have helped jettisoned the Brantford racing veteran into 12th spot (unofficially) in the series’ standing and just 52 short of his goal of tenth, a target he set for himself before the season began.

“It was definitely the right choice in making the trip”, Doug remarked in relaying his results back home. “We even had a good shot of a better finish in the qualifier but the car’s handling started to go away in the closing laps (while running fourth) so I had to back off a bit.”

Brown lined up 14th in the 28-car starting field for the 300-lap feature but went down a lap while running in the top ten when lapped cars created some problems for those running behind the four leaders. Quick pit stops helped keep Doug and the #10 car in the chase eventually gaining him a spot on a fuel and two-tire stop late in the event.

With 25 laps remaining, Doug hooked up with Dave Whitlock and JR Fitzpatrick in a three car challenge for sixth spot with the NAPA/Autopro driver edging past Fitzpatrick for seventh with 15 laps remaining but he couldn’t muster enough to catch Whitlock in the closing laps.

TEAM WORK A BIG FACTOR

For DJ Kennington, the trip west was even more rewarding.

The Castrol Canada Dodge driver set fast time in time trials, won his 100-lap qualifier then shuffled his way past late leader Brad Graham of Glencoe on lap 297 of Saturday’s main event to make it three wins in a row including last week’s 300-lap race in Calgary.

That string of victories and qualifying results has catapulted the St. Thomas driver into third place in the standings up from tenth when the western trip began.

Because both Brown and Kennington went west with skeleton crews, they helped each other out during pit stops and in repairing the damages to the #10 car following the Calgary race, demonstrating the teamwork of CASCAR competitors in this highly competitive series.

DISAPPOINTMENT FOR GRAHAM

For Brad Graham, second place was a bitter disappointment when it appeared he was on the verge of capturing his first ever career Super Series event. Unfortunately a lapped car caused problems by disrupting the battle between him and Kennington allowing Kennington to scrape by for the victory.

Don Thomson Jr. of Hamilton, Peter Gibbons of Stouffville and Ron Beauchamp of Windsor rounded out the top five finishers making it an all-Ontario sweep of the first eight positions in the 300-lap event. Ron VanEs of Smithville completed a successful journey west by finishing tenth behind Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Kevin Dowler.

The teams now return east for the five remaining events on the CASCAR calendar beginning this Saturday, August 6th at the half-mile oval at Mosport Speedway.

Courtesy Brighton Speedway Park

For the first time in over two decades 358 Dirt Modifieds will be competing at the Brighton Speedway. On Saturday September 24th, 2005 at 7:00 PM the 1/3 mile clay oval will host the ImageFactor.ca Applefest 358 Dirt Modified Shootout. Designed to give local 358 drivers a late season 'big' event to attend, its beginnings were very unique.

During the middle of the 2004 racing season several drivers in the northeast expressed the interest in having a series of 'big' events in the fall as an alternative to making the long haul south of the border. The topic was brought up by 358 driver Jeff Ciglich on an internet web forum at DirtTrackDigest.com. After many replies from interested competitors and fans the news traveled to Brighton Speedway promoter Mark Rinaldi. Mark was intrigued by the idea and considered making a late season addition to the 2004 schedule. However, not having enough time to properly promote an event of this magnitude it was decided that a meeting would take place during the off-season to further discuss the possibility for a race in 2005.

On a cold winter day in February race teams, drivers and fans met in Kingston, Ontario to exchange ideas and work out the details for a possible event in late September at Brighton. Long time driver Mark Hitchcock graciously hosted the gathering at his shop. The meeting was a positive one and when the 2005 Brighton Speedway schedule was released a 358 Dirt Modified race had been slotted in for Saturday September 24th. The event is 50 laps in distance with a solid $10,000 CDN purse up for grabs. Although this is a stand-alone event the race will be run under 2005 DIRT 358 rules.

A regular card of racing is also scheduled for the evening, which includes the Canadian Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Novice and Comp 4 divisions. With the world of northeastern Dirt Modified racing up in the air it is apparent that teams and drivers are searching for alternatives. The ImageFactor.ca Applefest 358 Dirt Modified Shootout will be just that, a chance for local teams to compete for a solid purse without having to travel three or four hours to a nationally sanctioned event just to be upstaged by high dollar tour regulars. Instead of packing up their cars and equipment by the second weekend of September the 358 Dirt Modified drivers in the area can now circle a new date on their calendar at a track most have never competed on.

All 358 teams interested in competing are able to pre-register for the event. Those who enter prior to September 1st, 2005 will receive 4 pit passes (1 driver and 3 crew members) for $75.00 CDN. After September 1st, 2005 all pit passes will be $25.00 CDN per person. As an added incentive, every team that pre-registers for the event will have their name entered into a draw. The team drawn will win 4 free pit passes for the September 24th race.

ImageFactor.ca will proudly present the event. ImageFactor.ca is a Motorsports Marketing and Promotional company designed to help race teams and tracks gain a professional image through many different avenues including web and graphic design. As part of their race partnership a web site solely for the event has been created at www.imagefactor.ca/applefestshootout. Fans who visit the site can enter to win a pair of tickets for this inaugural event.

The Brighton Speedway is a 1/3 mile tacky clay oval located in Brighton, Ontario Canada. Nestled closely to the shores of Lake Ontario the track plays host to dirt racing every Saturday night from May to September. The Canadian Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Novice and Comp 4 classes make up a regular night of action. Throughout the season they also host special events, which include the Southern Ontario Sprints, Mid State Vintage Modifieds and Ontario Dirt Late Models.

For more information on the Brighton Speedway visit their web site at www.brightonspeedway.com.