Despite the drizzle, dark skies and a brief downpour, the track prep crew – led by Sandy Taggart – was able to work the clay and make an amazing race surface. With a heavy race track, there was lots of grip, which meant the cars were sure to be fast. As early as hot laps, it was evident that the track was going to be putting on as much of a show as the drivers were.
In the first race of the night, the Emo Street Stocks got the first caution out of the way early. In the first corner, while trying to avoid two cars in front of him, #80 Darren Derendorf dropped a tire over the bank and was pulled over, with wet grass and mud. It took a moment to regain control, but was forced to return to the pits. As the racing action resumed, Doug Derendorf in the #28 launched his car off one of the infield tires, but the car landed back on all four tires and he was able to finish the race. While Doug collected frequent flier miles, the #15R of Raice Westover was able to sneak past and lead the field to the checkered flag. In the feature race, the action started right from the green flag as there was a four way battle for 3rd place. The fight cleared itself up as the #33 of Garett Gamsby and the #57 of Darrin Rae made contact on the exit of turn two, which put Gamsby into a tank slapper all the way down the straightaway. After a small bump from the #80, Gamsby was pointed in the right direction and was able to chase down the leaders for a 2nd place finish. Towards the front of the field, Westover was able to get a great start and make an early jump to the lead and with a heated battle behind him was able to run away for his 3rd feature win of the season.
Top 3 1.#15R Raice Westover 2.#33 Garett Gamsby 3.#45 Sierra Happy
In the first heat of the Wissota Midwest Modifieds the #4B of Brandon Rehill showed the field he was going to be a contender all night long by racing from last place to first for the heat race win. There was one brief caution early on as the #25 of Jaxon Strachan found his way over the berm in turn three. In the second heat race the #16 of Garrett Paull and the #3H of Keelan Hall were able to put their front row starting spots to use and hold the field off to finish 1st and 2nd respectively. Farther back in the pack the #59X of James Lambert showed he had some muscle as well racing his way through the field for a 3rd place finish. In the feature race, Paull was able to get a big launch off the line and jump from his 5th place start to the 1st position where he was able to hold off all challengers all race long, while farther back, the drivers got antsy, causing the first caution, as the #21 of Wyatt Boyum and the #14 of Edward Bell got hooked together on the exit of turn two. With both cars pointed the right way on the next restart, the #85 of Jamie Davis was able to get the car to hook up and speed past 4 cars to challenge for lead, but as he was making his move the #23 of Carter Kinnear spun at the front of the field which left Lambert and Bell with no where to go, eventually sliding into Kinnear. The final and lengthiest caution of the night came when Davis spun in turn 4 near the front of the field and with nowhere to go the #3X of Jesse Thompson side swiped the nose of Davis’ car. Although Davis drove away with minimal body damage Thompson had to be towed back into the pits where the extensive damage was visible, including the entire rear differential housing half hanging off of the car. On the final restart Boyum and Lambert, with cars looking a little worse for wear, battled hard for 4th place where Boyum managed to start to pull away, with so many cautions the rest of the driver’s worked hard to keep their noses clean and bring the cars home in one piece.
Top 3 1.#16 Garrett Paull 2.#4B Brandon Rehill 3.#21 Wyatt Boyum
As the Wissota Modifieds took to the track in their first heat race the #50 of Brady Caul was able to jump out to a quick lead, however the #99 of Brody Strachan had something to say about it as he was able to chase down the #50 and sneak his way past in turn 3. In the second heat race the Modifieds repeated what the Street Stocks did early in the night with a caution in the first turn, this time it was the #85 of Jeff Davis and the #66X of Denny Trimble came together, After this contact the #66 proceded to drop back through the field, however by midrace the #88 of Tanner Williamson and the #21 of Matt DePiero built a small lead over the 3rd place car of Davis with the 3 drivers finishing 1-2-3 respectively. In the feature race there was only a couple of cautions but the restarts got more and more intense as the race progressed. Early in the race Caul and DePiero proved they were the class of the field battling for first throughout each restart; however by midrace both drivers had their hands full with the #99 inserting himself in to the picture. As the laps wound down Caul’s high line started to give up which led the #99 to make a final charge for the victory which he fell a matter of a couple feet short, however on the final restart according to multiple sources DePiero jumped the final restart which, as all drivers were informed at the Driver’s Meeting, resulted in a 2 position penalty at either the next caution of the pay window at the end of the night.
Top 3 1.#99 Brody Strachan 2.#85 Jeff Davis 3.#21 Matt DePiero
The Borderland Racing Association would like to thank this week’s sponsors North Country Cycle and Track and Holmlund Financial – Optimize Wealth Management for supporting the track and helping to keep the facilities open. Also a big thank you to the race fans for cheering the weekend warriors on, and to all the volunteers who work had to make sure that everything is ready for the drivers and race fans to enjoy and evening of entertainment.
On top of the Race for the Fallen Memorial 2 Day race show, the Township of Emo and the Borderland Racing Association will be holding Canada Day Festivities on Friday starting at 2pm on the Fairgrounds. There will be Bouncy Castles, games and activities, and face painting available during the afternoon for the kids young and old to come and play, as well as a free BBQ and Meet and Greet with the drivers. Throughout the afternoon and evening there will be prizes to be won including multiple bike giveaways during the races. During intermission there will be a kid’s bike parade, so pull out your best ribbons and decorate your bike to join in on the fun, please contact the Emo Speedway Facebook page to register. To cap off the first evening of racing action there will be a fireworks display after the races. Finally as a thank you to all of the First Responders, the Emo Speedway is offering free admission on July 1st, with a valid ID badge.
