With two consecutive weeks in the seat, for both the drivers and volunteers, there was plenty of excitement Saturday night to keep the fans entertained. With nearly 40 cars in attendance there was no shortage of action as racers began preparing for the Rea Memorial two- day show during the Emo Fall Fair as well as trying to score every last point available with only four nights of racing on the calendar. With only one race worth of points separating the top few positions in all classes, a rain-out can ruin a driver’s championship hopes so to keep the battles close, the Emo Speedway has booked Rain dates for every Sunday in August with hot laps at 5 p.m. and racing at 5:30 p.m.
The Emo Street Stocks may have started the night caution-free but that didn’t stop them from putting on a great show. In the first heat the #54X of A.J. Kellar was able to get a great start from the pole position and was able to check out from the rest of the field down the backstretch, but the battle for second raged on as the #54 of Dean Kellar worked both ends of the race track to find his way past the #18 of Abe Germain before the checkered flag flew. In the second heat race the #55 of Tylar Wilson was able to duplicate the #54X’s success and breakaway from the field early. With an early near spin in turn 4 by the #57 of Darrin Rea, the #33 of Garett Gamsby was able to secure a solid finish in the heat, but farther back the #3X of Jesse Thompson was dealing with a loose race car coming out of the turns which opened the door for Steve Bruyere in the #38 who took third place at the line. With the pay window open in the feature race, patience was found to be in short supply within the first few laps as there was a mess of cars half spun out down the backstretch with the #28 of Doug Derendorf being forced to come to a stop and having to take the blame for the accident and being sent to the back of the pack. On the restart, Germain was able to see an small opening to try and pass Bruyere, and with the assist of Germain’s bumper the opening closed as Bruyere spun in front of the field causing the second caution of the race. Through the restarts both the #54X and #55 were able to turn their seventh and eighth-place starts into fourth and fifth positions with plenty of racing to go. As the green flag flew A.J. Kellar dove into turn three, which put him into the first position past both Gamsby and Thompson. As the laps wore on, Wilson was able to work his way into the third position earning a solid points night cushioning his championship lead. Farther back in the field Derendorf was able to slice his way through the field working his way from tenth on the first restart to a seventh place finish.
Top 3
1.#54X A.J. Kellar
2.#33 Garett Gamsby
3.#55 Tylar Wilson
In the Wissota Mid-west Modified’s first heat the first turn was crowded as Jamie Davis in the #85 was able to dive in and jump up three spots to contend with the #99 of Glen Strachan for first. Meanwhile the #59X of James Lambert, who started last, was making up every inch he could, even if it meant pushing the #24 of Cory Randle through the entire turn. Despite the door-to-door battle for first, the caution flew for a spin, which gave the drivers a chance to regroup and on the restart Davis was able to get a great drive off of turn two, passing Strachan and taking the heat win. In the second heat race an ever-changing track kept all of the drivers on their toes. The #14C of Cody Ossachuk was able to lead the way for the first half of the race, despite a hard charging #16 of Garrett Paull who had figured out how to make the low line work to his favour. By the midway point a caution had come out for a spin in turn two, and on the restart it was a very close battle and with only a couple laps left going into turn 1 Ossachuk jumped the cushion and was relegated to 5th position which left the door wide open for Paull to score the heat race win. The feature race started off similar to the Street Stocks with a caution coming out in the first few laps for multiple cars making contact causing Randle to make an evasive manuver and spinning out as a result. On the restart Davis ran his car high, wide, and handsome passing 3 cars to claim 1st, meanwhile farther back the #4B of Brandon Rehill was able to work his way to the 4th position as the #10D of Patrick Davis began to fade from his 1st place restart. With only a handful of laps left, the caution flew again for a single car spin in turns three and four, with the field scrunched back together it was the last chance to make a big move. As the field took the green flag Davis got a clean start and left Paull and Rehill to battle for second until the end of the race.
Top 3
1.#85 Jamie Davis
2.#16 Garrett Paull
3.#4B Brandon Rehill
As the Wissota Modified drivers took to the track in the first heat race, the #85 of Jeff Davis was able to use his front row start to get a big lead on the field and claim the heat race victory. However as Davis ran away the #50 of Brady Caul spent the race searching for traction high and low which eventually led to the visiting racer from Superior,WI the #19J of Jack Rivord finding his way past to second place. Things remained a little quieter in the back of the field, but the #88 of Tanner Williamson worked hard to race his way from an eigth start to fifth place finish. In the second heat race the #21 of Matt DePiero and the #06 of Mike Wilson were able to build a strong lead early and with DePiero able to hold on for the heat race victory. Farther back in the field Emo Street Stock hot shoe Raice Westover in the #15R was able to work the low line and methodically work his way up to the 3rd position. Meanwhile trying to chase everyone down was the #99 of Brody Strachan who had to start in the 7th position, but quickly worked his way to 5th but struggled to find a way past veteran racer Gary Wilson in the #6 but managed to sneak by in the final laps. The feature race started with a caution on the first lap as the #8 of Aaron Nelson, in his first visit to the speedway in 4 years, spun in the second turn. With the field quickly reset the action was underway with the front row of Westover and Strachan racing door to door down the backstretch, with Strachan eventually taking the lead. But as soon as they began to sort themselves out, Davis was there to quickly pick them off and take the lead for the remainder of the race. Farther back in the back the 9th place starter Williamson was able to claw his way up to 4th by the 2nd caution for a single car spin in turn 3. On the final restart of the race Strachan’s car began to fade which opened the door for Rivord to make his move, Westover did his best to hold off Rivord for multiple laps but Rivord was able to overtake and claim 2nd place. In what was shaping up to be a great battle Williamson made a move on Westover and was able to pull a nose ahead as Caul began to spin on the last lap in turns 1 and 2 bringing out the caution and checkered flags together giving the second Davis of the night a feature win.
Top 3
1.#85 Jeff Davis
2.#19J Jack Rivord
3.#88 Tanner Williamson
With rain-outs and the unforeseen spring up over the last few weeks, the Emo Speedway has an entertaining intermission in store for this week with a visit from this week’s Emo Fair Queen contestants as well as a visit from the candyman courtesy of Lou’s Sweet Treats. Also there will be a special Dash for Cash this week, instead of the weekly racers competing on the big track, we will have some of our young race fans aged 4-12 competing in front of the grandstand! There is still time to register so please message the Emo Speedway Facebook page and help fill out the field! Finally for the remainder of the season any race fan 10 and under who wants to celebrate their birthday at the race track is welcome to contact the track through the Emo Speedway Facebook page to receive a tour of the pits during intermission, the busiest time of the night for racers, as well as getting to meet their favourite driver!
The Borderland Racing Association would like to say thank you to this week’s sponsors Shane McQuaker Trucking & West End Motors (Fort Frances) Inc. and all of the other sponsors who help keep all of the facilities around the track open. The Borderland Racing Association would like to also say thank you to all of the fans who were able to join in on the action Saturday night and to any other fans out there, if it wasn’t for you, there would be no show for the drivers to put on! Finally thank you to all the volunteers for their hard work all week long to make sure the track is ready for the fans and drivers. The action continues this Saturday night July 13th with hot laps at 7pm and racing at 7:30pm.
