Last Saturday at the Emo Speedway made up for the freezing temperatures of the previous week. Beautiful skies, with a warm breeze, kept the fans sweet but probably had no effect on the disposition of the drivers.
Frustration is the only thing that Mini-Sprint Kyle Ridlon (#15) must have felt by the end of the night. In both the heat and feature, he was well into the lead when all at once he would lose power coming out of the fourth corner to limp to a stop in the infield.
Just a few laps too short. So much for what should have been a clean sweep.
The night wasn’t any better for Ken Perry (#2×4) as he was forced to retire early in the heat and was unable to make it out for the feature.
Jason Strom (#1) spent most of the heat and feature slowly working his way up to challenge Ridlon for the lead when Ridlon broke down. But with the way Strom’s car was moving, we wouldn’t be surprised if he would have taken the wins anyway.
It seems Strom definitely has been doing some fine-tuning on his machine, or was the track just to his liking?
Streets
In the first heat of the Street class, Anthony Visser (#11) could do no wrong, with a good jump off the start and a steady run straight to the checkered flag.
Dave Jennsen (#35) found the perfect line to run, low and on the inside, which eventually took him from sixth to a second-place finish ahead of Ron Westover (#15) and Hayes Huddleston (#8).
In the second heat, Denny Trimble (#66) followed Visser’s example, leaving all the excitement to the back. Rick Simpson (#70K) must have watched Jennsen earlier to be able to pull off the same manuevers which put him in the second-place spot.
Jake Hassbargen (#14) was not so lucky as he went from second to last with a dust-raising spin in the fourth corner. He had managed to pull himself back up to run with the best of them when tragedy struck on the last lap.
Not a spin, but he did lose a wheel in the third corner and had to limp to the finish line in fifth place.
But Jennsen was not so lucky in the feature. He was in the lead, having the time of his life, when all at once he lost control in the fourth corner, spun, and found himself way at the back.
Meanwhile, Kendal Gamsby (#29) had his nerves rattled a tad as first Huddleston left the track to go to the pits and didn’t notice that Gamsby was on his high side.
Then a slight coming together with Chris Shine (#18) in the first and second corners would spin Gamsby, making him wonder if it was all worthwhile.
The #47 machine was back at the Emo track for its first appearance of the season. Howard Teeple wasn’t driving but his buddy, Kevin Lowe, was. Probably wished he wasn’t when he got a little too high in the third corner, did a couple of barrel rolls, and then a pretty pirouette on his nose.
Kevin emerged perfectly fine but we can’t say the same for the car.
Westover’s luck seems to have taken a couple of weeks’ vacation as this ended up being the second week in a row that he had to retire early due to mechanical problems.
Maybe his new car will work better.
In the meantime, we had Simpson, Trimble, Wes Morriseau (#5), and Hassbargen towards the back staying out of trouble, more than happy to work their way to the front to finish first to fourth, respectively.
Modifieds
In the first heat of the modifieds, Len Allen (#4A) got off to a good start to hold the lead for a couple of laps until Steve Arpin (#00)took the inside line to blow past him.
Third-place finisher Wilf Denzler (#77) can consider himself lucky he had gentleman-driver Ken Anderson (#5A) on his tail for most of the race as Anderson very politely and patiently backed off each time Denzler would check up or get a little bit sideways in the corners.
In the second heat, Dwayne Pelepetz (#12), Victor Larson (#91), and Gavin Paull (#16) finished first to third, with the real battle behind them for fourth.
Travelling buddies Brian Nelson (#181) and Chad Jonson (#18) were back at the Emo Speedway for the first time this season with more on their minds than being nice to each other.
After a couple of love taps, the two would emerge at the line, Jonson just barely ahead of Nelson.
Arpin appeared to be in a class of his own in the feature for when he managed to squeeze by Anderson on the back stretch, there was no stopping him.
Mark Davis (#85) and Len Allen got together on the front stretch, which resulted in Allen going over the top of the first corner.
On the restart, the two seemed to think the other should be going to the back of the pack until the flagman settled the situation by sending both drivers to the rear.
Running the low side of the track and staying out of trouble worked wonders for Larson as he bided his time, waiting for everyone else to mess up.
The patience ended up giving him a great second-place finish ahead of Pelepetz and Paull.
The real entertainment in the feature came when Nelson–running in third–took a spin in the middle of the front stretch. Like a pro, he managed to wriggle his way out of the path of oncoming traffic.
On the restart, Nelson had to line up at the tail end. Running low, he weaved his way in and out of traffic to finally finish a very respectable sixth. Smooth run, Brian!
This Saturday, the Emo Speedway will be alive with excitement with its annual Pure Stock Invitational, where many outside drivers compete. Come on out, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
June 9 results
Mini-Sprints
Heat #1–1. Jason Strom (#1) 2. Kenny Perry (#77) 3. Kyle Ridlon (#15)
Feature–1. Jason Strom 2. Kenny Perry 3. Kyle Ridlon
Streets
Heat #1–1. Anthony Visser (#11) 2. Dave Jennsen (#35) 3. Ron Westover (#15)
Heat #2–1. Denny Trimble (#66) 2. Rick Simpson (#70) 3. Kendal Gamsby (#29)
Feature–1. Rick Simpson 2. Denny Trimble 3. Wes Morriseau (#5) 4. Jake Hassbargen (#14) 5. Kendal Gamsby
Modifieds
Heat #1–1. Steve Arpin (#00) 2. Len Allen (#4A) 3. Wilf Denzler (#77)
Heat #2–1. Dwayne Pelepetz (#12) 2. Victor Larson (#91) 3. Gavin Paull (#16)
Feature–1. Steve Arpin 2. Victor Larson 3. Dwayne Pelepetz 4. Gavin Paull 5. Chad Jonson (#18)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
