Brad Authier (1A) gets by Gregg Haskell (RH21) coming out of turn 4 on lap 17 and went on to win the Rick Haskell memorial Late Model feature on Saturday. (James MacDonald Apex One Photo; Click on photos for larger views).

It looked like it was going to be a perfect fairy tale ending.

Gregg Haskell was less than 10 laps away from his first career feature win.

But it wasn’t just another Saturday night feature - it was a memorial race in honour of his father Rick Haskell, a long-time track worker at South Buxton Raceway who passed away in 2007.

The Chatham driver took the lead at the drop of the green flag for the Dover Sanitation UMP Late Model 25-lapper.

But midnight struck on lap 17 on Haskell’s Cinderella story when his right rear tire turned into a pumpkin.

It allowed the veteran Brad Authier to claim the glass slipper - or in this case, a six-foot trophy honouring Rick Haskell.

“It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow after leading so many laps,” a disappointed Haskell said.

“This would have a good one to win for a first time. The butterflies were going and the mind was going … if we could have gotten a long run, it might have been a different story,” he said.

The caution-plagued race hurt Haskell’s momentum as he was able to maintain a steady lead over Wallaceburg’s Mike Lewis for the first four laps and then Authier for another half-dozen.

Authier took the lead on lap 17 when Haskell bobbled in turn four after a restart following the sixth of eight cautions.

One lap later, Dale Glassford also passed Haskell but the Ridgetown driver had nothing for Authier, who motored on to his second straight and fifth feature win on the season.

Authier admitted he wouldn’t have minded finishing second to Haskell - as long as he finished ahead of Glassford as the duo will take their points title battle to this Saturday’s championship race.

Brad Authier joins the Haskell family in the Winners Circle after winning the fourth annual Rick Haskell Memorial race on Saturday. Pictured, from left: Rick’s father Bill Haskell; Brad Authier; Kristin Haskell and her fiancée J. J. Beaulieu; Rick’s wife Deb; Jason Haskell and his daughter Katelynne; Gregg Haskell; Patrick Haskell, at right, and his girlfriend Chantelle Barr. (James MacDonald Apex One Photo; Click on photo for larger view).

“Gregg was driving a great race, I was just trying to maintain my position, staying on the bottom to keep anyone from getting by me,” Authier said.

But he anticipated trouble for Haskell.

“I could see him smoking the tires off the car,” Authier said.

“I know from experience, it’s a whole different factor when you’re in the lead than when you’re running second. He was doing everything he could to stay in front.

“We were just waiting for a break. He gave me an opportunity when he pushed up going into three and four,” Authier said.

Haskell said the constant delays, which included a red-flag for Don Gordon’s crash into the tire totem pole in turn four, led to his right rear tire going south.

“I had a good run, but going from hot to cold to hot to cold with all of those cautions, the right rear tire just sealed over,” he said, as one four-lap run was the race’s longest green-flag stretch while Haskell was in the lead.

“I had nothing left. Brad was just too fast.”

Authier took the lead momentarily on lap 12 after the leaders made contact coming around the ‘D’, but the fifth flag caution negated his pass.

“There was a mud hole right in front of the flagstand and I hit it,” Authier described the incident, as he shot up the track into Haskell’s driver door.

“I got into him and I tried to pull back to the left to slow it down a bit.

“It wasn’t fair to him and I didn’t want it to look like I needed a black flag … I’ve had enough of them this year,” Authier exclaimed.

Haskell admitted he was upset at what he first believed was intentional contact.

“I let him know that I wasn’t happy with that move but he gave me the thumbs up and apologized. It’s part of racing,” Haskell said.

“I thought at first I had the left front going down, but it had nothing to do with what happened to the (right rear),” he said of the incident.

Glassford held on for his eighth second-place finish to go along with his four wins in 12 features.

Lewis and Chatham’s Kirk Hooker rounded out the top five.

Jason Haskell, Gregg’s younger brother, recovered from two early-race incidents to finish sixth.

Jason Haskell won the second heat race as 13 Late Models were on hand for the largest field of the season - and only the second time two heats were needed.

The feature win capped a perfect night for Authier, the first driver to sweep all three races this season.

Authier was also able to pad his lead to 19 points over Glassford going into this Saturday’s Support Our Troops Championship Night.

Glassford, who led the standings since opening night, surrendered the points lead when he raced with the Ontario Dirt Late Models at Brighton Speedway last Saturday while Authier stayed home and won the feature and heat races, turning a 90-point deficit into a five-point lead.

Authier and Glassford will start side-by-side on the front row of Saturday’s championship race to determine the points champion.

Clements ends nightmarish 364-day feature famine 

Louis Clements was less than three laps away from a feature win last Saturday night when a broken trailing arm extended his nightmarish season.

Things didn’t look any better for the two-time reigning Windride Transportation Sport Stock points and championship race winner this Saturday when his car suffered front-end damage after a three-car incident in the pursuit race.

But thanks to some hard work by his crew, Clements made the call for the feature.

He started on the front row and led all 20 laps for his first feature win in 364 days. His last victory came in the championship race on Sept. 5, 2009.

Louis Clements waves the checkered flag after his first Sport Stocks feature win since last year's championship race.

“I can’t defend the points championship, so now the goal is to defend the championship race,” Clements said, looking ahead to a shot at a third straight title race win.

Clements, who moved up to 12^th in the standings after missing over half the season with motor problems, will start in the sixth row of the championship race as the lineup is set by order of points.

“There will be enough cautions, we’ll get up there and run with Eric (Vanderiviere) and Steve (Shaw),” Clements said.

“We’ll just have to bide our time coming up through the pack and once we get up there, then we’ll put a good charge on for the win.”

Shaw, who ran second for 10 laps in the feature, made one attempt to get by Clements after a restart but lost the grip going through turns one and two. He gave up second place during a caution after lap 12 with a fluid leak and wound up with a DNF in ninth place.

“I didn’t see anybody, except for a couple of noses on restarts,” Clements said of his dominating performance.

 ”I just kept running my race, staying on the bottom and hoping nothing was going to break this time.”

The points leader Vanderiviere followed Clements for the final seven laps to finish second.

Chatham’s Todd Wellman, in just his second night racing this season, finished third, followed by rookie Tyler Lozon of Dover and Essex’s Doris Lajeunesse to round out the top five.

Vanderiviere, who won the pursuit and was second to Lozon in the heat, padded his lead from 17 to 33 points over Lajeunesse, who was fourth in the heat and seventh in the pursuit.

Clements won the second heat.

McKinlay finally gets a break to return to Winners Circle

Randy McKinlay dominated the Comp 4 class in 2006, winning 13 feature races en route to a sweep of the points title and championship race.

He spent the next three years in the Sports Stock class but didn’t win a feature

A return to the Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4 class in Rick Hornick’s new mini-mod style car this year did not bring the success he and his race team anticipated.

Through the first 10 weeks, McKinlay won seven heat races and a pursuit.

But in the first 10 features, he only had three top-five finishes along with three DNFs and three DNS’s.

Randy McKinlay is joined by Chris Mason and Mark Arnew, from Express Lube in Tilbury, after his first Comp 4 feature win since 2006.

Since mid-season, however, McKinlay had a second and two thirds in four features as it appeared his luck was changing.

Before Saturday’s feature, however, McKinlay came eerily close to another DNS.

“It was a good thing I was starting last, we had to change a tire,” said McKinlay, as a tire went down while the No. 26 machine was in the chute.

His crew made the quick change to get him back on the track to take the green.

And the veteran Chatham driver wasted no time making up ground from his shotgun start.

He passed five cars on the first lap, was all the way up to sixth on the fourth lap and passed four more cars to take over second on lap five.

“It handled awesome,” McKinlay said of his quick trip through the field.

 ”The track conditions were dry-slick and these guys changed the set up,” McKinlay credited his crew. “It drove like it was on a rail.”

His progress from second to the lead, however, was derailed by a rash of cautions.

He ran second to Cottam’s Denis DeSerrano for six green flag laps and several cautions before finally taking the lead with three to go.

“It seemed like I passed him about five times but every time I did, the caution would come out,” said McKinlay, who brought out one caution himself for jumping the green too soon on a restart.

“I’m glad they gave me my spot back,” said McKinlay, who was given the warning flag.

When he got by DeSerrano for the lead on lap 12, the caution came out again but this time the pass stood as the field had passed the flag stand.

 ”I kept getting Denis out of one and two because he was loose on the top, so I just kept to the bottom,” McKinlay said. “The car seemed to run better on the bottom so I stayed down there.”

Nate McNally passed DeSerrano for second on the final lap while Windsor’s Shawn Nelson was fourth and Blenheim’s Shawn Jones fifth.

Jones clinched at least a tie for the points championship as he will take a 70-point lead over Cottam’s Rob Quick into Saturday’s Support Our Troops Championship Night.

All Jones has to do to clinch the points title is start the heat race, as the maximum number of points a driver can accumulate in one night in the Comp 4s is 70 by sweeping all three races.

Quick’s slim hopes of catching Jones in the points race ended early in the feature when something broke on the front end in turn four causing him to shoot down the track and taking out Blenheim’s Reid Fenton.

Nelson won the second heat and pursuit races while McNally took the first heat.

Dale Jr. has 3,000 reasons to look beyond championship race 

Jim Dale Jr. continued his late-season surge with his second feature win in three weeks and fourth of the season in the Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modifieds.

He reduced the deficit to 69 points behind the leader Brad McLeod in the standings but the Merlin driver would have to not start the championship race for Dale Jr. to have a shot at the points - which barring an accident in the heat or pursuit isn’t going to happen.

 ”I’ve got an engine that will stay together,” said Dale when asked about his resurgence.

Jim Dale Jr. accepts trophy from Express Lube's Chris Mason and Mark Arnew after his fourth Modified feature win of the season.

He has two wins and two seconds in the last four features since his last motor issues on July 31. He has also won all four heat races since his last motor change.

Dale Jr. went through three motors in June and July as he saw a 101-points lead turn into a 114-point to McLeod going into August.

The points leaders both won their heat races on Saturday as Dale Jr. drew the outside pole and McLeod the six-pill in the redraw for the feature starting lineup.

A first-lap accident moved McLeod up to the second row for the restart but couldn’t catch Dale Jr. during a pair of three-lap runs in second place.

McLeod had his hands full battling for position behind Dale Jr. as he was involved in incidents with LaSalle’s Mike Demars and Wyoming’s Brian Speelman before coming home with a fourth-place finish.

Woodslee’s Clayton Smith passed McLeod on lap 17 and finished second while Rutherford’s Chris Van De Wiele stole third on the final lap. Chatham’s Jeff Daniel rounded out the top five.

Dale Jr. wasn’t aware of the tight battles behind him as he drove a flawless race.

“I didn’t see anyone,” he said. “I only knew McLeod was second at one point because I heard the announcer under the caution.

“It was slippery so I just stayed on the bottom. You leave the bottom, you’re going to be in trouble, at least for me,” he said.

Dale Jr. had an even hotter streak in August of 2009 when he won all four feature races but finished third in the Sept. 5 championship race, which was won by Daniels.

Although he would love to make amends and win a seventh career championship race, Dale Jr. said he has a bigger goal in mind.

“I’d give up that for the Shootout win,” he said, looking ahead to the Canadian Fall Shootout on Sept. 25, which pays $3,000 to the Modified winner.

Leamington’s Joel Dick, who has been even hotter than Dale Jr. down the stretch, won the pursuit race for his ninth checkered flag in the last five weeks. But something broke on his car during the final three laps of the pursuit and brought out the caution on the first lap of the feature, ending his bid for a second straight feature win.

Pit Notes

• Express Lube in Tilbury was the night sponsor as Mark Arnew and Chris Mason presented trophies to all four feature winners.
• It was naturally an emotional Winners Circle trophy presentation for the Rick Haskell memorial race after Gregg came so close to winning his father’s trophy. Even Authier was a little teary as he hugged the third-place finisher, knowing how much the race meant to the Haskell family.
• The Haskell family had a second chance for a feature win as J.J. Beaulieu of Tilbury, fiancee of Kristin Haskell, was driving his brother Ryan Beaulieu’s No. 52 car in the Comp 4s. J.J. finished sixth in the feature. His own car has been parked since late July with mechanical issues.
• Dale Jr. and Clements both had their points championships locked up going into the final night in 2009 while Glassford led Authier by 23 points. Last year, however, the points ended after the pursuit and did not include the championship race.
• Feature wins in the Late Model and Modified classes are worth 75 points under UMP rules, with a five-point descent from first to sixth, then two points from seventh to 11^th, and one point through the rest of the field. In the Sport Stocks and Comp 4s, feature wins are worth 40 points with a two-point difference in position through the field. Heat wins are worth 20 points, with a two-point differential, and pursuit wins worth 10 points, with a single-point difference, in all four classes.
• McLeod has seven career points championships while Dale Jr. and Authier have six each and Shaw four. Dale Jr. has six championship race wins, McLeod and Shaw five each and Authier two.
• Jeff Daniels’ Support Our Troops modified car will be on display at Aaron’s on Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Fans can sign the car at Aaron’s or at the track Saturday before the Support Our Troops Championship Night.
• There will be a military opening ceremony starting at 6:45 p.m. prior to Saturday’s races.
• There will be no racing on Saturday, Sept. 18, as many track staff members have committed to help out at Ohsweken for the Canadian Sprint Nationals that weekend.
• The Canadian Fall Shootout will offer a $3,000 winner’s purse for the Modifieds and $2,000 for the Late Models. The Sport Stocks will be the support class after the Comp 4s were a part of the 2009 Shootout.
• Apologies to Joel Desjardins, who was incorrectly identified in the heat and pursuit races in the original Week 14 (Aug. 28) results. The mistake has been corrected on this site.

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Brad Authier joins the Haskell family in the Winners Circle after winning the fourth annual Rick Haskell Memorial race on Saturday. Pictured, from left: Rick’s father Bill Haskell; Brad Authier; Kristin Haskell and her fiancée J. J. Beaulieu; Rick’s wife Deb; Jason Haskell and his daughter Katelynne; Gregg Haskell; Patrick Haskell, at right, and his girlfriend Chantelle Barr. (James MacDonald Apex One Photo; Click on photo for larger view).

The following is a message from Deb Haskell to race fans, competitors and staff at South Buxton Raceway, following Saturday’s fourth annual Rick Haskell Memorial Late Model feature race, held in honour of her husband who passed away in 2007. Racing is a family affair for the Haskells, a tradition started by Rick who worked on the infield crew for many years. Deb and daughter Kristin work in the ticket office, sons Gregg and Jason drive in the Late Model class and son Patrick, a former driver, is the flag man.

“Last night at South Buxton Raceway was Rick’s fourth annual memorial race.

Before the race, I was (jokingly) asked by (track announcer) Dean (Outhouse) which one of my children was my favourite and who I wanted to see win the most.

I just said that I loved all four of my children, more than any mother could possibly love her children.

Pat and Kristin don’t race but they’re at the track every night.

It would have been wonderful to see either Gregg or Jason win.

As it turned out, Gregg led most of the race and Justin was right in there too, despite starting at the back.

Both boys tried very hard and both were disappointed at the end when neither won.

But they should know that their Dad would have been proud of both of them for trying so hard.

I also couldn’t be any prouder of all of my children.

I am proud to be their mother.

Who knows, maybe next year Gregg or Jason will win and the other will be second.

And maybe it Patrick races again, we’ll have all of the boys finish first, second and third.

Congratulations to Brad Authier for winning Rick’s fourth race, from all of the Haskell family.”

Deb Haskell

Includes driver’s car number in brackets and hometown.

Dover Sanitation UMP Late Models

Rick Haskell Memorial Feature (25 laps)

1. Brad Authier (1A) Chatham

2. Dale Glassford (60) Ridgetown

3. Gregg Haskell (RH21) Chatham

4. Mike Lewis (05) Wallaceburg

5. Kirk Hooker (38) Chatham

6. Jason Haskell (RH94) Chatham

7. Jim Jones (34) Chatham

8. Norm Bechard (18) Chatham

9. John Vanderlinden (13X) Chatham

10. Tim Mackenzie (81) Chatham

11. Jeff Jardine (28) Dover Centre

12. Paul Rivait (11) Tilbury

13. Don Gordon (33) Chatham

First Heat (10 laps)

1. Authier; 2. Glassford; 3. G. Haskell; 4. Lewis; 5. Jones; 6. Hooker

Second Heat (10 laps)

1. J. Haskell; 2. Mackenzie; 3. Vanderlinden, 4. Gordon; 5. Rivait; 6. Jardine; 7. Bechard.

Pursuit (10 laps)

1. Authier; 2. G. Haskell; 3. Jones; 4. Jardine; 5. Lewis; 6. Vanderlinden; 7. Mackenzie; 8. Glassford; 9. J. Haskell; 10. Gordon

Schinkel’s Gourmet Meats UMP Modifieds

Express Lube Feature (20 laps)

1. Jim Dale Jr. (00) Shrewsbury

2. Clayton Smith (55) Woodslee

3. Chris Van De Wiele (0) Rutherford

4. Brad McLeod (43) Merlin

5. Jeff Daniels (20D) Chatham

6. Joe Brosseau (47) Merlin

7. Mike Demars (75) LaSalle

8. Brian Speelman (22S) Wyoming

9. Emerson McIntyre (71) Windsor

10. Dan McIntyre (77) Windsor

11. Brad Simpson (53) Mt. Brydges

12. Joel Dick (09D) Leamington

DNS - Mario Toniolo (25) Belle River

DNS - Gary Vyse (99) Wallaceburg

First Heat (10 laps)

1. Dale Jr.; 2. Demars; 3. Daniels; 4. D. McIntyre; 5. Simpson; 6. Vyse; 7. Brosseau

Second Heat (10 laps)

1. McLeod; 2. Smith; 3. Daniels; 4. Van De Wiele; 5. Speelman; 6. E. McIntyre; 7. Toniolo

Pursuit (10 laps)

1. Dick; 2. Toniolo; 3. McLeod; 4. E. McIntyre; 5. Speelman; 6. D. McIntyre; 7. Dale Jr.; 8. Daniels; 9. Demars; 10. Simpson

Windride Transportation Services Sport Stocks

Express Lube Feature (20 laps)

1. Louis Clements (3) Chatham

2. Eric Vanderiviere (93) Chatham

3. Todd Wellman (25) Chatham

4. Tyler Lozon (1A) Chatham

5. Doris Lajeunesse (38) Essex

6. Bob Chapman (5) Leamington

7. Tiffany Ellis (88) Kingsville

8. Ken Morrison (28) Chatham

9. Steve Shaw (17) Merlin

10. Eren Vanderiviere (29) Merlin

11. Gerald Martin (43) Essex

DNS - Paul Gossmann (92) Wheatley

DNS - Jim Ellis (32) Kingsville

DNS - Brian Simard (50) Toronto

First Heat (10 laps)

1. Lozon; 2. Eric Vanderiviere; 3. Shaw; 4. Lajeunesse; 5. T. Ellis; 6. Eren Vanderiviere; 7. Martin

Second Heat (10 laps)

1. Clements; 2. Chapman; 3. Gossmann; 4. Wellman; 5. J. Ellis; 6. Morrison

Pursuit (9 laps)

1. Eric Vanderiviere; 2. Shaw; 3. Clements; 4. Lozon; 5. T. Ellis; 6. Lajeunesse; 7. Wellman; 8. Martin

Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4s

Express Lube Feature (15 laps)

1. Randy McKinlay (26) Chatham

2. Nate McNally (8) Charing Cross

3. Denis DeSerrano (69) Cottam

4. Shawn Nelson (20) Windsor

5. Shawn Jones (27) Blenheim

6. J.J. Beaulieu (52) Tilbury

7. Norm DeSerrano (96) Kingsville

8. Joel Desjardins (23D) Chatham

9. Jamie St. Pierre (21) Chatham

10. David Bacon (29) Belle River

11. Steve Shaw Jr. (62) Merlin

12. Bill Harrison (15) Tecumseh

13. Reid Fenton (47) Blenheim

14. Rob Quick (18) Cottam

DNS - Murray Van Hooste (13) Ridgetown

First Heat (10 laps)

1. McNally; 2.N. DeSerrano; 3. D. DeSerrano; 4. Quick; 5. Jones; 6. McKinlay; 7. St. Pierre; 8. Beaulieu

Second Heat (10 laps)

1. Nelson; 2. Fenton; 3. Bacon; 4. Harrison; 5. Van Hooste; 6. Desjardins; 7. Shaw

Pursuit (10 laps)

1. Nelson; 2. Quick; 3. McNally; 4. St. Pierre; 5. D. DeSerrano; 6. Harrison; 7. Jones; 8. Fenton; 9. Bacon; 10. Beaulieu

Two of the four, however, may have needed a GPS to find the Winners Circle, because it had been awhile since they won a feature.

Randy McKinlay of Chatham took the checkered in the Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4 class, his first feature win since the 2006 season when he won 13 features.

Louis Clements, the two-time defending points champion in the Windride Transportation Sport Stocks, won his first feature race of the season as he missed more than half the season with motor problems. It was his first feature win since taking his second straight season championship race last September.

Chatham’s Brad Authier won his second straight and fifth feature of the season as he took the checkered in the Rick Haskell Memorial race in the Dover Sanitation UMP Late Models.

Gregg Haskell, son of Rick Haskell, led the first 16 laps of the 25-lap feature and eventually finished third, three spots ahead of brother Jason Haskell.

Jim Dale Jr. of Shrewsbury led all 20 laps to win his fourth Schinkel’s Gourmet Meats UMP Modified feature of the season.

 Please go to Track Stats for Saturday’s official results.

South Buxton Raceway promoters announced  its title night has been named Support Our Troops Championship Night.

The Support Our Troops Championship Night takes place on Saturday, Sept. 11, which coincidently marks the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington which prompted Canada’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Members of the Canadian forces will be honoured in a pre-race military ceremony.

Military vehicles will be on display and all active service personnel will be admitted free, with proper ID.

Jeff Daniels, the defending Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modified championship race winner, has a new paint scheme on his No. 20D in honour of the occasion.

His Support Our Troops modified car will be on display at Schinkels Gourmet Meats, 145 Richmond St. in Chatham, this Saturday morning and afternoon before going out to the track for the night’s races.

The vehicle will also be on display on Sept. 11 at Aaron’s on St. Clair St. Ext. in Chatham.

Fans will be able to sign the Daniels’ car with a special pen. After championship night, the car wrap will be removed and sent to the Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

Everyone at South Buxton will be encouraged to make donations to the Soldier On Fund on the Support Our Troops Championship Night. Please visit www.woundedwarriors.ca for information on the Solider On Fund.

Support for our Canadian armed forces is special in the hearts of everyone in the grandstands and pits at South Buxton, and especially to infield worker Bernie Rombouts, brother of promoter Anne Rombouts, and track promoter Blake Outhouse.

Bernie’s niece, Major Corporal Kristal Giesebrecht of Wallaceburg, was fatally wounded in Afghanistan on June 26. Giesebrecht, a medic on her second tour of duty, was 34.

Blake’s son Ian Outhouse served a tour of duty with the Canadian Army in Afghanistan.

There will be three classes of competition - the UMP Modifieds and Late Models as well as Sport Stocks as a support class.

The Modified race winner will receive $3,000 while the Late Model winner gets $2,000. The full field purse will be announced.

Track officials were hoping to include sprint cars in this year’s Canadian Fall Shootout but major events in Michigan and New York states are scheduled for the same date.

The green flag will wave at 7 p.m., with gates opening at 5 p.m.

The rain date is Sunday, Sept. 26, with a 3 p.m. starting time.

Admission prices will be announced.

Castrol Heavy Duty Lubricants is back on board as a major sponsor of the Canadian Fall Shootout.

Blenheim’s Andrew Reaume is the defending Late Model Shootout winner while Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich. is the two-time reigning winner in the Modifieds.

This Saturday is the fourth annual Rick Haskell Memorial race, named in honour of the former track worker who passed away in 2007.

The Haskell family is heavily involved at South Buxton Raceway this season.

Rick’s wife Deb and their daughter Kirsten work in the ticket office.

Sons Gregg and Jason (RH94) drive in the Late Model class while son Patrick, a former driver, is the flagman.

The Late Models will race for the Rick Haskell Memorial Trophy, which was won by Joe Field in 2007, Andrew Reaume in 2008 and Dale Glassford in 2009.

Gregg will join host George Brooks on Pit Pass, which airs Friday at 6:40 p.m. and Saturday at 10:40 a.m.

Official Results

Following are the official results from Saturday’s races, including car number in brackets and driver’s hometown.

Windride Transportation Services Sport Stocks

Country 92.9 FM/630 AM CFCO Feature (20 laps)

1. Eric Vanderiviere (93) Chatham

2. Tyler Lozon (1A) Dover

3. Steve Shaw (17) Merlin

4. Gerald Martin (45) Essex

5. Paul Gossmann (92) Wheatley

6. Doris Lajeunesse (38) Essex

7. Ken Morrison (28) Chatham

8. Todd Van Hal (06) Chatham

9. Tiffany Ellis (88) Kingsville

10. Louis Clements (3) Chatham

11. Bob Chapman (5) Leamington

12. Jim Ellis (32) Kingsville

13. Todd Wellman (25) Chatham

14. Scott MacKenzie (28M) Maidstone

DNS - Eren Vanderiviere (29) Merlin

First Heat (10 laps)

1. Gossmann; 2. Lozon; 3. Shaw; 4. Lajeunesse; 5. Martin; 6. Eric Vanderiviere; 7. T. Ellis; 8. Eren Vanderiviere

Second Heat (10 laps)

1. Morrison; 2. Wellman; 3. Chapman; 4. J. Ellis; 5. Van Hal; 6. Clements; 7. MacKenzie

Pursuit (9 laps)

1. Lozon; 2. Shaw; 3. Clements; 4. Martin; 5. Martin; 6. Lajeunesse; 7. MacKenzie; 8. Ellis; 9. Eric Vanderiviere.

Schinkel’s Gourmet Meats UMP Modifieds

Simpson’s Fence Feature (20 laps)

1. Joel Dick 09D Leamington

2. Jim Dale Jr. (00) Shrewsbury

3. Clayton Smith (55) Woodslee

4. Brad McLeod (43) Merlin

5. Ray Jackson (31J) Ohio

6. Mike Demars (75) LaSalle

7. Mario Toniolo (25) Belle River

8. Gary Vyse (99) Wallaceburg

9. Brad Simpson (53) Mt. Brydges

10. Chris Van De Wiele (0) Rutherford

11. Emerson McIntyre (71) Windsor

12. Jeff Daniels (20D) Chatham

13. Brian Speelman (22S) Wyoming

14. Dan McIntyre (77) Windsor

DNS - Ben Johnson (31B) Ohio

First Heat (10 laps)

1. Smith; 2. Demars; 3. Van De Wiele; 4. Toniolo; 5. E. McIntyre; 6. Jackson; 7. D. McIntyre; 8. Vyse

Second Heat

1. Dale Jr.; 2. Dick; 3. McLeod; 4. Speelman; 5. Daniels; 6. Simpson; 7. Johnson

Pursuit (10 laps)

1. Dick; 2. Toniolo; 3. Speelman; 4. McLeod; 5. Daniels; 6. E. McIntyre; 7. Demars; 8. D. McIntyre; 9. Dale Jr.; 10. Simpson

Dover Sanitation UMP Late Models

All Canadian Tools and Industrial Supplies Feature (20 laps)

1. Brad Authier (1A) Chatham

2. Greg Haskell (RH21) Chatham

3. Mike Lewis (05) Wallaceburg

4. Eric Vanderviere (91) Chatham

5. Jeff Jardine (28) Dover Centre

6. Norm Bechard (18) Chatham

7. Paul Rivait (11) Tilbury

Heat (10 laps)

1. Authier; 2. Haskell; 3. Lewis; 4. Vanderiviere; 5. Rivait; 6. Jardine; 7. Bechard

Pursuit (4 laps)

1. Haskell; 2. Lewis; 3. Jardine. Black flag - Authier

Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4s

Feature (15 laps)

1. Rob Quick (18) Cottam

2. Reid Fenton (47) Merlin

3. Shawn Jones (27) Blenheim

4. Nate McNally (8) Charing Cross

5. Shawn Nelson (20) Windsor

6. Steve Shaw Jr. (62) Merlin

7. David Bacon (29) Belle River

8. Norm DeSerrano (96) Kingsville

9. Brett Hope (49) Blenheim

10. Rick Balasin (21) Chatham

11. Ryan Beaulieu (52) Tilbury

12. Joel Desjardins (23D) Chatham

13. Bill Harrison (15) Tecumseh

14. Denis DeSerrano (69) Cottam

15. Randy McKinlay (26) Chatham

DNS - Kyle Hope (93) Blenheim

DNS - Murray Van Hooste (13) Ridgetown

First Heat (10 laps)

1. McNally; 2. D. DeSerrano; 3. Jones; 4. N. DeSerrano; 5. Balasin; 6. B. Hope; 7. Beaulieu; 8. McKinlay. Black flag - Quick.

Second Heat (10 laps)

1. Nelson; 2. Shaw Jr.; 3. Fenton; 4. Desjardins; 5. Bacon; 6. K. Hope; 7. Harrison; 8. Van Hooste.

Pursuit (10 laps)

1. Quick; 2. Jones; 3. McNally; 4. D. DeSerrano; 5. Balasin; 6. McKinlay; 7. N. DeSerrano; 8. Bacon; 9. Desjardins; 10. Beaulieu.

Eric Vanderiviere holds the Country 92.9 Guitar Trophy after his fifth feature win of the season in the Sport Stocks. (James MacDonald Photos; click on photos for larger views.)

Eric Vanderiviere won the coveted guitar trophy while Brad Authier moved to the top of the charts on Country 92.9 FM/630 AM CFCO Night At The Races on Saturday.

Vanderiviere inherited the lead with three laps to go in the Windride Transportation Sport Stocks feature when Chatham’s Louis Clements broke. Vanderiviere led the rest of the way for his track leading fifth feature win of the season.

Vanderiviere also won the coveted Country 92.9 Guitar Trophy for his feature win, which ironically Clements won last year.

Chatham’s Brad Authier won his fourth Dover Sanitation UMP Late Model feature of the year moved to the top of the points standings, thanks to Dale Glassford’s absence.

A pair of Leamington-area drivers performed a duet on Country Night At The Races, as Leamington’s Joel Dick in the Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modifieds and Cottam’s Rob Quick in the Four Seasons Driver Education Comp 4s both won their respective feature and pursuit races.

Simpson’s Fence and All Canadian Tools & Industrial Supplies were co-sponsors of Saturday’s races.

 Please go to Track Stats for Saturday’s official results. Click on Multimedia and Photos for James MacDonald’s photographs from Saturday and the 2010 season.

Vanderiviere strings together a Country Night to remember

It was hard to tell what made Eric Vanderiviere happier - winning his fifth Windride Transportation Sport Stocks feature of the season or making an impressive debut in the Dover Sanitation UMP Late Models.

Vanderiviere won the coveted guitar trophy from Country 92.9 FM/630 AM CFCO with his track-leading fifth feature win of the season.

But he had little time to celebrate as he had to race back to pits and climb into Brad Authier’s second car to make his Late Model debut.

Vanderiviere ran with the leaders for 20 laps as he brought 91A car home in fourth place in the Late Model feature, which was won by Authier.

“It was exciting to do both, I had a blast in Brad’s car,” Vanderiviere said.

“I thank him for giving me the opportunity.”

Eric Vanderiviere is joined by staff from Country 92.9 FM/630 AM CFCO in the Winners Circle.

Vanderiviere hopes his strong showing will land him another ride in Authier’s car.

“I asked him if I can do the Shootout,” he said. “We’ll see how he thinks I made out.”

If he does get a second chance in Authier’s Late Model, the diminutive Vanderiviere said he has to move the driver’s seat up a few notches.

“My arms are killing me from reaching out so far,” he smiled.

But the big reason behind Vanderiviere’s smile was the beautiful guitar trophy he had strived to win.

“I really wanted to win this guitar, I was disappointed when it (Country Night) was rained out the first time,” he said, holding up the special decaled trophy from the night’s sponsor.

Vanderiviere had all but conceded the win to Louis Clements of Chatham, who was pulling away in the waning laps.

But on the restart after a caution, Clements drove straight off the track between turns three and four after a trailing arm broke and ripped off the drive shaft.

“I was points racing at that point, just trying to stay in second and keep the 38 (Doris Lajeunesse) behind me,” said Vanderiviere, who added three points to his division lead over his Essex counterpart.

“Louis was fast, I thought he had it won. I got lucky again with people breaking in front of me,” he said, as he held off rookie Tyler Lozon over the final three laps.

For the first half of the race, however, it appeared the rookie Lozon was on his way to his first career feature win.

Lozon led the first 13 laps with Vanderiviere in hot pursuit from lap four.

At one point, Vanderiviere bumped Lozon coming out of turn two just before a caution came out.

“It looked like he got on the brakes when I was on the throttle and I just got in to him,” Vanderiviere said.

“That’s why I got up beside him (under caution) to tell him I was sorry.”

Clements moved into third place on lap 11 and three laps later, dove to the inside while Vanderiviere went up high to sandwich Lozon back to third place.

“I figured it was time to go but Louis was down on the bottom and he ended up passing both of us,” Vanderiviere said.

But three laps later, Clements’ latest hard-luck moment turned to be another stroke of good luck for Vanderiviere.

His feature win salvaged what was shaping up to be a bad points night.

Vanderiviere entered Week 14 with a 14-point lead over Lajeunesse but gave seven points back in the preliminary races. Lajeunesse was fourth in the heat and sixth in the pursuit while Vanderiviere was sixth and ninth, cutting the spread in half.

But Vanderiviere’s win and Lajeunesse’s sixth-place in the feature allowed the leader to emerge with a 17-point lead with two race night to go.

“It’s nothing to get confident about, it’s going right down to the wire,” Vanderiviere said.

Lozon hung on for his second runner-up feature finish of the season while Merlin’s Steve Shaw recovered from two restarts at the back to come home in third.

Essex’s Gerald Martin and Wheatley’s Paul Gossmann rounded out the top five.

Maidstone’s Scott MacKenzie and Gossmann won the heats and Lozon the pursuit.

Authier’s feature win caps outstanding night for race team

Saturday was quite a night for Brad Authier’s Dover Boys race team.

His feature and heat wins, coupled with Dale Glassford’s absence, unofficially puts Authier five-points up in the Dover Sanitation UMP Late Model standings with two race nights remaining.

As pleased as he was with his own performance, he was just as happy to see Tyler Lozon’s solid effort in the Windride Transportation Sport Stocks and Eric Vanderiviere’s outstanding debut in Authier’s back-up Late Model.

“Tyler is going to be a heckuva driver,” Authier said, after Lozon finished second to Vanderiviere in the feature and winning his pursuit race.

Lozon’s car is another one of Authier’s former machines, which he still works on for the Sport Stock rookie.

“Eric has been asking me for weeks about driving my Late Model, and he did pretty good for the first time.”

Brad Authier is joined by Doug Davies, owner of All Canadian Tools & Industrial Supplies, co-sponsor of Saturday's races.

Authier brought out his second Late Model because several drivers in the Dover Sanitation class were running in an Ontario Dirt Late Model event the same night at Brighton Speedway.

“We didn’t know how many cars we were going to have so we brought the backup for the car count,” said Authier, as seven Late Models were on hand for the night.

Authier said he considered putting the rookie Lozon behind the wheel but decided to go with the more experienced Vanderiviere.

While Authier obviously couldn’t monitor Vanderiviere’s performance, he was told by his race team how his driver ran with the leaders for the entire 20 laps.

Vanderiviere is already putting the bug in Authier’s ear to drive it again in the Shootout on Sept. 25.

The car count has been down all year in the Late Models, as a 10-car field on Aug. 7 was the largest of the season.

Along with the points leader Glassford, South Buxton regulars Jim Jones, Kirk Hooker and Mark Glassford traveled to Brighton for the final ODLM event of the season, which was originally scheduled for last Saturday but was rained out.

Authier said he doesn’t begrudge the other drivers’ decision to go Brighton since he used to drive in the series and also spent a couple of summers racing in the United States.

“We need to support this track and stick together,” said Authier, echoing the feelings of several drives who are concerned with the future of the class.

Authier and Glassford dominated the class over the previous five weeks, with Glassford winning three features and Authier twice. They finished first and second for four straight weeks.

Chatham’s Gregg Haskell played Glassford’s role on Saturday as he came up with his best performance of the year to push the six-time champion Authier.

Haskell stayed right with Authier for the first 15 laps, even getting the nose of the RH21 under the leader.

“I seen him a few times coming out of one and two,” Authier said of Haskell. “I knew he’d be good on a dry slick track.”

Haskell, however, lost ground on lap 15 when it took him a little longer than Authier to get around the lapped car of newcomer Norm Bechard.

Haskell said a slow tire leak also hurt his momentum.

 ”I thought we had something for him, but next week’s the one we want,” said Haskell, looking forward to the fourth Rick Haskell memorial feature in honour of his father on Sept. 4.

Wallaceburg’s Mike Lewis finished third, followed by Vanderiviere and Dover Centre’s Jeff Jardine.

Authier won the heat race with a slingshot pass of Haskell coming out of turn four on the final lap.

Haskell won the pursuit with Lewis second while Authier was black-flagged for a tangle with Lewis.

Authier tried the same slingshot move to get by Lewis in the four-lap pursuit but made contact, prompting the black flag.

“I got three flags … two checkered and one with no white,” he laughed.

Despite collecting no points in the pursuit, Authier’s 75 points for his feature win and 20 for his heat victory will unofficially put him five points up on Glassford.

Modified rookie makes another statement to wrap up hot August run

Joel Dick has already been mathematically eliminated from the Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modified points race.

But the Leamington driver has to be considered a favourite for the season championship race on Sept. 11.

Dick’s feature win was his second in August as he has won a total of eight races over the last four race nights.

Dick started on the pole and led all 20 laps of Saturday’s feature. He finished second in the heat race before winning the pursuit and feature for another solid night.

“We had to a little work after the heat race - it was just a little off - but the guys did an awesome job again,” Dick said.

“We knew we were starting on the pole so we changed some settings to find more speed.”

His only scare came on lap 15 when Shrewsbury’s Jim Dale Jr. got a run on the inside and was just about to pull ahead coming out of turn two when a caution came out.

Leamington's Joel Dick is joined in the Winners Circle by Ted Simpson, owner of the night's co-sponsor Simpsons Fence, and his grandchildren Hannah and Cole Murray.

After the restart, Dick hugged the bottom as Dale Jr. was unable to mount another challenge.

 ”I was overdriving the car a little bit coming out of (turn) one, he was watching what I was doing and he was making adjustments,” Dick explained how Dale Jr. was able to run him down.

It was a lesson learned for Dick for the final five laps.

 ”I stuck to the low line because I knew that was the only spot he was going to get by me,” he said. “The bottom was fast anyway and the top had gone away.”

Clayton Smith of Woodslee, who won a heat race earlier in the night, finished third with points leader Brad McLeod of Merlin fourth and Ohio driver Ray Jackson was fifth with his best finish of five trips to South Buxton this season.

Dale Jr. won the other heat race as he unofficially shaved nine points off McLeod’s lead to 80 with two nights to go.

Quick’s feature win keeps the air in his points title hopes

A first-lap tangle between Cottam’s Rob Quick and Charing Cross’ Nate McNally is nothing new.

But this time, Quick got his spot back - and kept his tires inflated.

The two got together in the first turn after taking the green for the Four Seasons Driver Comp 4 feature.

Quick was given his spot back while McNally was penalized and had to go to the back for the restart - a reversal of their first two incidents at the same spot on the track in earlier features this season.

After the restart, Quick wasted no time as he passed Kingsville’s Norm DeSerrano for the lead on the second lap and led the final 14 circuits.

“I don’t know what the deal with him was,” Quick said of the incident with McNally.

Rob Quick pumps his fist as the checkered flag waves for his third Comp 4 feature win of the season.

Quick said McNally gave him a couple of shots from behind in the chute as the cars were lining up before taking the track.

“I backed up and gave him one back,” Quick admitted, “then on the track, he never let off and drove right through me.

“Maybe he wanted to cut a tire so I’d have to go to the back,” he smiled.

Quick was virtually unchallenged as he drove to is third feature win of the season.

A tight three-car battle between Blenheim drivers Reid Fenton, Shawn Jones and McNally allowed Quick to pull away.

 ”The car was hooked up good, the track was nice … and we finally kept the air in the tires,’ Quick said with a smile, as flats have cost him a chance at winning at least two other features this season.

Despite his two wins, Quick actually lost ground to the points leader Jones with two race nights left in the 2010 season.

Quick went into the night 49 points in arrears but a black flag in the heat race cost him some valuable points, as he unofficially trails by 58 points.

Quick was disqualified from the heat race for an incident with Jones, which he said was an accident.

“He got loose right in front of me and I tried to get on the brakes and get under him, but I got into him and he turned around,” Quick said of the black flag.

Jones finished third in the feature and heat race and was second to Quick in the pursuit to pad his points lead.

 ”We’re not giving up, I want it just as bad as he (Jones) does,” Quick said of his chances of a second career points title. “But he’s in a pretty good spot right now.”

Fenton finished second while McNally recovered from the first-lap incident for a fourth-place finish. Windsor’s Shawn Nelson was fifth.

Cottam’s Denis DeSerrano’s bid for a second straight and fourth feature win went up in smoke when he cooked his motor on the fourth lap while running in the top three.

McNally and Nelson won the heats.

Pit Notes

• The car count increased as four drivers made their season debuts along with Vanderiviere driving Authier’s second Late Model. Norm Bechard of Chatham also made his Late Model debut.
• Wallaceburg’s Gary Vyse, a former Sport Stocks driver, unveiled his new No. 99 Modified car, finishing an impressive eighth in the feature.
• Two-time Sport Stocks championship race winner Todd Wellman of Chatham made his first appearance at South Buxton since 2008. He was second in his heat but left the feature race early, finishing 13^th. Bob Chapman of Leamington also marked his return to the Sport Stocks class with a third-place finish in the heat and an 11^th in the feature.
• Bill Harrison of Tecumseh finished 13th in his first Comp 4 feature.
• Running second is just not the place for Maidstone’s Scott MacKenzie. He was second behind Lozon early in the Sport Stocks feature when he cut a tire and never returned. He suffered two flat tires in the Aug. 14, both times while running in second.
• South Buxton Raceway promoters had hoped to make a major announcement regarding the format for the Sept. 25 Shootout but it was put off until this week as plans are still being finalized.

Ted Simpson climbs into his Mark Martin No. 01 U.S. Army Monte Carlo at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. (Click on photos for larger view).

His Simpsons Fence is a co-sponsor of Saturday’s races at South Buxton

When Ted Simpson watches the cars go around South Buxton Raceway’s three-eighth mile dirt oval on Saturday night, he can smile knowing he is one-up on the local drivers.

Last weekend, Simpson took a little 60-lap joyride on NASCAR’s biggest track - the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

Simpson, owner of Simpsons Fence in Chatham and Tecumseh, is a long-time race fan who always wanted to experience the thrill of driving an actual NASCAR stock car on a NASCAR track.

He whet his appetite at Las Vegas Speedway in 2002 in the passenger seat of a Richard Petty Experience car, but it left him wanting more.

Simpson has been part of John Thompson’s local contingent who have made an annual pilgrimage to the spring race at Talladega the last few years.

After attending the 2009 race, he began looking into various opportunities where he could actually drive a race car instead of going for another ride-along.

He looked at various schools at different tracks and discovered the Dale Jarrett School at Talladega was exactly what he wanted.

The price - $3,000.

The experience - priceless.

Simpson had the unique opportunity of driving Mark Martin’s former No. 01 Army Monte Carlo.

He drove 60 laps for a total of 160 miles. His top speed was 177 miles-an-hour, a lap time of 58.5 seconds.

 ”How often do you get to drive a car like that?” he said with a grin.

“It’s something I was going to do when I won the lottery, but since that wasn’t going to happen, I thought I’d do it now because I’m not getting any younger,” the 66-year-old said.

Simpson underwent expert instruction before getting behind the wheel of the former Martin machine and had an instructor in the passenger seat to help navigate the track.

Ted Simpson takes Mark Martin's old car for a lap speed of 170 mph at Talladega.

But no classroom lessons or expert advice could prepare him for the experience of driving around the superspeedway at over 170 miles-per-hour.

“It was exciting. The first two corners weren’t too bad but the third and fourth corners are 33 degree banking, so you almost have a heart attack because you’re right at the top of the track heading through the turn against the wall,” he said.

The 60-lap session was broken into 10 and 15 lap segments to give the drivers a break and allow track crews to change tires, refuel and check over the cars.

“It wasn’t too bad because you could get out of the cars and stretch … and it was a good thing because was it hot!” he exclaimed “It was 90 and even hotter inside (the cars).”

Four other cars ran at the same time, mainly spaced out over the massive superspeedway.

Late in the session, drivers were able to get up behind other cars to experience the sensation of Talladega’s famous draft and complete a pass.

Simpson said it was challenging enough driving at Talladega with only four other cars - he couldn’t imagine what it would be like driving in a tight pack of 43 cars in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

“That would be unreal,” he said.

“When you go into turns three and four, it’s so steep and you’re doing 170, 180 miles an hour around that corner.

“I came up behind a car and drafted through those turns - and that was even more hairy. The hood started to flutter, the side net started moving … and that was just two cars.”

When he goes back to Talladega next April, he will have a greater appreciation for NASCAR drivers and a new perspective of the race itself from his seat, 63 rows up from the start-finish line.

“Riding in a race car at Las Vegas was just a little taste, but this was different because I was doing the driving and I was the one working the track.

“It will be a different experience when I go back and watch the race because I’ll know exactly what they’re doing when they go through the corners.

“You really don’t appreciate what it feels like to go straight and then have to make that turn.”

Ted and Susanne’s grandchildren - Hannah and Cole Murray - also made the trip and were excited to watch grandpa behind the wheel of a NASCAR machine.

While he loves NASCAR, Simpson also enjoys local dirt track racing and shows his support for South Buxton Raceway by sponsoring a night every summer.

His Simpson Fence business is co-sponsoring Saturday’s racing with All Canadian Tools & Industrial Supplies.

He will bring the grandkids and other family and friends to enjoy a night out at South Buxton.

And he will certainly have a unique appreciation when he shakes the hand of the Schinkel’s Gourmet Meats UMP Modified feature race winner who conquers South Buxton’s little ‘D’.

After all, he conquered the big ‘D’ at Dega.

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Ted Simpson was happy his grandchildren - Hannah Murray above and Cole Murray in photo at right - were able to make the trip to see him drive at Talladega.