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Don Spatorico holds off hard charging Jim Johnstone for 2nd Lucas Oil Shoot-Out win of the season.
By Dave Sully
( Thorold , Ontario ) Don Spatorico, from Ransomville , NY , held off Jim Johnstone, who had to qualify through the consi, and then made a dramatic march through the field from twenty-second to mount his late assault.
The Lucas Oil Shootout drew thirty-seven cars, which took four heats and two consis to set the starting grid. Brad Rouse led early, courtesy of the re-draw and was cruising as the rest of the field battled for position. It became apparent that Spatorico, who won the sportsman feature the previous night at Ransomville, was hooked, as he picked his way to third on lap eleven after starting seventh. He got past Brandon Easey for second one lap later and then caught a break when cautions on laps fourteen and fifteen erased Rouse’s lead and put him right behind him on the restarts.
He hounded Rouse when the race resumed, taking the lead at the line. Following a lap twenty caution when Travis Braun went hard into the turn one wall, Spatorico was able to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field. A lap twenty-three caution erased that lead, but when the race restarted another car appeared on the radar screen, that of Johnstone, who had doggedly moved from twenty-second to lie fourth by lap twenty-six.
As Spatorico moved out to a comfortable advantage, Johnstone kept working, taking over third on lap twenty-nine. He then engaged Chad Chevalier, who had moved up from eleventh, in a spirited fight for second, finally claiming the spot on lap thirty-nine. A caution on the same lap put him on Spatorico’s bumper for the final laps and the two
put on a high low dual, with Spatorico running outside, while Johnstone hugged the bottom.
With Johnstone applying serious pressure in turns one and two, Spatorico moved low to thwart him, while staying high in turns three and four. The strategy worked, with Spatorico weathering a final caution two laps from the end to take the win. Johnstone was followed to the line by Chevalier, Mike Bowman, and Wayne Conn to round out the top five.
Spatorico commented, “As well as I was running on the top, I didn’t think anybody could catch me on the bottom, but when the No. 21 (Johnstone) started showing his nose, I kind of went to the bottom to hold him off as much as I could.”
On his effort coming from twenty-second, Johnstone noted, “The car was good in the heat. It was just bad luck that took us out, so I was just patient. I just kept picking a car off at a time. Everybody was running the top, so I went to the bottom, and that’s how I got up to second.” As for the final laps, he added, “If he (Spatorico) had stayed on the top and that caution hadn’t come out, it might have been different.”
There was some heavy bumping going on during the evening, both on the track and off. Travis Braun and Darren Zumpe were sent off for some on-track extra curricular activity, and Zack Zumpe faces heavy sanctions for a bumping another car on pit road, a particularly serious offense in the eyes of the officials and everyone else.
Results:
Lucas Oil Sportsman Shootout: (56 laps) Don Spatorico, Jim Johnstone, Chad Chevlaier, Mike Bowman, Wayne Conn, Luke Carleton, Greg Panunte, Alan Sleight, Mark Dixon, Nick Cupolo, Dave Dykstra, Mat Williamson, Steve Schumacher, Brandon Easey, Steve Miller, Dennis Giancola, Robbie Rounce, Rick Bellante, Brad Rouse, Tyler McPherson, Don Spiece, Bill Bleich, Travis Braun, and Darren Zumpe. Heat winners were Braun, Spiece, and Spatorico. Consi winners were Williamson and Rounce. DNQ: Tom Flannigan, John Baker, Justin Sharp, Mark Potter, Mark D’Ilario, Rob Knapp, Zack Zumpe, Tony Cowell, Tim Lipsitt, Rob Pratt, and BJ Willard.
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