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By MIKE MALLETT
DRUMMMONDVILLE, QUE. – As lightening lit up the sky in the distance, Alain Bergeron lit up the competition on Saturday night at Autodrome Drummond to score his first 25th Anniversary Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint tour win in nearly three years.
The win came as part of the SMAC Magazine Canandian Invasion series and it was the ninth of his career. Bergeron was rewarded with a hefty $2,200 for the victory.
“It’s been a long, long time,” stated Bergeron after the victory in the caution free Fondation 4 Saison sponsored 25-lap A-Main. “This feels so much better than last night (3rd place finish at Granby).”
Bergeron’s previous win with the series prior to Saturday night also came at Drummond back in July of 2005. Drummond is a place he’s very comfortable competing due to his extensive history at the speedway in the Mini-Sprints and the fact that it is relatively close to home.
“I’ve got 12 to 15 wins here in my career with the Mini-Sprints,” commented the St. Pie, Que. driver. “I really like this track. It’s better for me because it is very fast and tacky.”
Bergeron started the event from the third position and he quickly started working his way forward. Just before the halfway point Bergeron moved into second and just one lap later he moved by Tommy Wickham in heavy traffic to nab the victory.
Jeff Cook mounted a late race charge to catch Bergeron but in the end he came up shy by one position to finish in second. Michael Parent had his best run ESS run of the season as he moved from the sixth starting position to finish in third.
Wickham ended up fading back to fourth while Steve Poirier moved up from the eighth starting position to complete the top five which gave him the current ESS point lead.
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TIME TO GO RACING: Racing action got underway with Brandon Warner and Wickham bringing the field down to the green flag with Wickham winning race into turn one for the lead.
Wickham, of Constantia, N.Y., led while Bergeron moved from the inside of the second row around Jeff Cook on lap eight to take the runner-up position away.
UTILIZING TRAFFIC: Bergeron began to close in on Wickham by lap 10 as he was attempting to maneuver his way through slower traffic at the tail of the field.
On lap 12, Bergeron got a run to the outside of turns three and four and he drove by Wickham to take the race lead away.
“The door was open on the top,” said Bergeron. “I kept my foot to the floor and drove by him (Wickham) to get the lead.”
DRIVE IT HARDER: Now that he had the lead, Bergeron was not going to be denied as he worked through traffic in an attempt to pull away from Cook who had taken the runner-up position from Wickham one lap after he surrendered the lead. He took several risks but he was doing whatever was necessary to get the win.
“It was like a horse,” laughed Bergeron. “I whipped it to get as much out of it as possible. I drove as hard as I could; I really wanted this win tonight.”
A BETTER NIGHT: Cook, of Antwerp, N.Y., was unable to catch Bergeron for the victory. Even though he came up short it was an improvement for Cook after the previous night when he ended up on his roof. On Saturday night he ran the very same Maxim chassis that he rolled and it earned him a second place finish worth $1,250.
“This is a lot better than last night,” joked Cook. “I had to put this car back together anyways so we got it done this weekend. I’m happy we ran as well as we did.”
NO WHERE TO GO: At one point Cook had closed to within striking distance of Bergeron but he got caught up behind a pair of slower cars that were racing for position.
“I really thought I had something for him (Bergeron),” stated Cook. “I got slowed up in traffic and he got away from me. I needed a couple more laps.”
A CHAMPIONS HELP: Michael Parent had his best run of the season as he placed third in his Fisher powered Schnee. It came with a little help from last year’s series champion.
“Steve (Poirier) helped me out a little tonight,” commented Parent. “The car was a lot better than it has been. It was nice to finally go out and run well.”
ESS/DRUMMOND NOTES: Just as the previous night at Granby, 21 sprints in the pits…A tacky and smooth track made for a caution free evening…Top modified star David Hebert was in the Poirier back-up for the second time in his career and again posted a stout top ten finish, sportsman star Eric Lefebvre was in the Bergeron back-up and like Beaucage the night before he showed top speed…The heavy track produced speeds of over 100 m.p.h. on the radar gun…Point leader going into the event, Lance Yonge, dropped a push rod in his engine and took one lap in the A-Main…Brian McDonald continues to be snake bit as a drive line was ripped out during his heat, he just missed the A-Main green by a matter of seconds…A little trivia: The six car dash draw was a complete match of the first six starters of the A-Main which is also done by a draw…Drummond will also host two more visits on August 2 and 30…Next weekend it’s a visit to the Ohsweken Speedway on Friday night for a $2,000 to win, $300 to take the green event and then on Sunday it’s off to the Cornwall Motor Speedway for the long awaited visit in conjunction with the World of Outlaw Late Models. The WestFront Construction A-Main will pay $2,500 to win and $1,500 for second with $300 to take the green.
RACE RESULTS (6/14/08 )
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Fondations 4 Saisons A-Main (25 laps): Alain Bergeron, Jeff Cook, Michael Parent, Tommy Wickham, Steve Poirier, Tim Kelly, Brandon Warner, Lee Ladouceur, David Hebert, Doug Norrie, Justin Barger, Russ Bennett, Anthony Cain, Eric Lefebvre, Daniel Lampron, Normand Beaudreault, James Hanson, Gordy Button, Kayle Robidoux, Lance Yonge, DNS - Brian McDonald.
Lap Leaders – Wickham 1-11, Bergeron 12-25
Walt’s Hobby/Beaudreault Construction Dash (4 laps): Wickham
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 1 (10 laps): Jeff Cook, Brandon Warner, Tim Kelly, Russ Bennett, Daniel Lampron, Eric Levebvre, Kayle Robidoux
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 2 (10 laps): Alain Bergeron, Lee Ladouceur, Steve Poirier, Justin Barger, James Hanson, Brian McDonald, Normand Beaudreault
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 3 (10 laps): Tommy Wickham, Michael Parent, David Herbert, Gordy Button, Doug Norrie, Anthony Cain, Lance Yonge
Bonuses:
Fondations 4 Saisons – Bergeron $400
Ohsweken Speedway A-Main Winner’s Bonus – Bergeron $100
National Parts Peddler Halfway Bonus – Bergeron $100
Les Constructions Ultra Blue Collar Award – Cook $100
Lane’s Yamaha Hard Charger – Norie (5) $50
HG Associates Pole Award – Warner $50
AMB Moteurs Fast Time Award – Wickham $50
Cook’s Contracting Bridesmaid Bonus – Cook $50
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heats – Cook, Bergeron, Wickham $25.
Winner’s Contingencies:
Lucas Oil $115, Griffin Thermal Products $100, Design 500 $100, Mangus Pumps $100, GME Steering $50, Saldana Racing Products $50, Hank’s Performance Products $50, Kreitz Oval Track Products $50, Racing Optics $30, Rod End Supply $30, Area Auto Racing News $25, Brake Man $25, Ultra Shield $10, Pepsi Cola $5
Other Contingencies:
Weld Racing Hard Luck – McDonald $100
ATL – Parent $100
Penske Shocks – Poirier $100
M&W Aluminum Products – Hanson $75
Leaf Racewear – Wickham $75
Design 500 – Poirier $50, Barger $50
Keizer Wheels – Poirier $50
KSE Racing Products – Cain $50
Zemco Headers – Poirier $50
Joe Hunt Magnetos – Robidoux $50
Rod End Supply – Cook $30
VMAC Racing – Warner $25
DMI – Yonge $25
Luther’s Way Out Grafix – Parent $25
ISC Racers Tape – Norrie $10
Ultra Shield – Cook $10
Pepsi Cola – Cook, Bergeron, Wickham $5.
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