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Ladouceur Has a Little Luck in First Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint Win
By MIKE MALLETT
CANTLEY, QUE – Lee Ladouceur has had his fair share of tough luck in his first full season running with the 25th Anniversary Tour for the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints.
On Friday night at Autodrome Edelweiss, things finally went the 30-year-old’s way in the Northwood 2 Construction/Lasalle Motorsports 25-lap A-Main.
Ladouceur, of Alexandria, Ont., picked up his first career ESS win even with the right rear lug nut completely off the car and a bent bird cage.
“This is unbelievable,” stated Ladouceur. “Brian (McDonald) has given me the chance to run the Sprint Car this and I’ve got some good finishes but this is definitely my best one.
“I really have to thank my crew guys, those guys do an awesome job and I was able to get this win because of them.”
Besides the issues with his car at the end of the night, Ladouceur was in obvious pain due to a reoccurring back problem. By the end of the evening he needed the assistance of his right rear tire to help him remain standing.
“I hurt my back at the beginning of the week,” stated Ladouceur. “I had to work all week at my dad’s (Laurent) business and then rebuild the motor in my car. It was a long week.”
Ladouceur began the race on the front row. He took full advantage of that starting position as he jumped out to the early lead.
The race was slowed only once early in the event. Ladouceur remained the leader on the restart and then he fended off lapped traffic and the challenges of Tommy Wickham to score the win.
Wickham, of Constantia, N.Y., came home in second aboard his Jimmy D’s powered J&J. Justin Barger, of Montrose, N.Y., brought his Rider powered Maxim home in third.
Steve Poirier, the current Canadian Invasion and overall point leader, came home in the fourth position. Jessica Zemken, of Sprakers, N.Y., was able to move from the eighth starting spot to finish in fifth.
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AN EARLY LEAD: Ladouceur got out in front at the drop of the green flag. He passed the pole-sitter, Barger, as they exited the second turn to take the lead.
“The car was really fast at the beginning,” said Ladouceur of his Eagle chassis mount. “I’m not sure how fast it would have been in traffic right away. I’m definitely glad I started right up front.”
SOFT ROLL: The red flag was displayed on lap three when Jeff Cook lightly rolled his Maxim in turn two. Minimal damage was done to the wing. The car was rolled back onto its wheels and he was able to continue.
SLOWER TRAFFIC: By the eighth circuit, Ladouceur found himself in slower traffic at the tail of the field. He worked high and low to get through the slower cars with ease. At the midway point Wickham had closed in slightly, but Ladouceur was nearly flawless navigating through the cars at the tail of the field.
BAD VIBRATION: On lap 20, Ladouceur began feeling a vibration in the rear of the car. This may have been when the right rear lug nut had come off.
“The car started to really have a vibration and I thought I had a loose wheel,” commented Ladouceur. “Sometimes if you have a loose wheel you can break the center of it (wheel) and you’ll go right over. I decided it was worth the chance.”
The chance was worth it as Ladouceur held on for the win which earned him a solid $2,000 payday for his efforts.
BETTER THAN LAST TIME: Wickham was able to shake off the unlucky bug as well as he scored a runner-up finish after starting fourth. The last time Wickham competed at Edelweiss he led most of the event until his engine expired late in the race. The team used that setup to get him a runner-up finish.
“We really hit something the last time we were here,” commented Wickham. “We were leading and lost the motor that night. Tonight we put that same setup in the car. It was really good and I think we might have had something for Lee (Ladouceur) if we didn’t get caught behind some lapped cars.”
MISSED SETUP: Barger faded back and was forced to hold off the challenges of Poirier for the third position. Barger battled tight conditions in his No.32 for much of the race.
“I expected the car to be a little bit slicker than that,” said Barger. “I really needed more stagger on the car. With the track the way it was I tried to make the car as wide as I could. I just held on for third.”
PIT NOTES: Heat races were won by Alain Bergeron, Chris Jones and Lance Yonge. The dash was postponed due to curfew. The start of the show was delayed due to Mother Nature. David Renaud made his first career ESS start.
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Northwood 2 Construction/Lasalle Motorsports A-Main: Lee Ladouceur ($2,150), Tommy Wickham, Justin Barger, Steve Poirier, Jessica Zemken, Lance Yonge, Brian McDonald, Anthony Cain, Michael Parent, Normand Beaudreault, Jeff Cook, Chris Jones, Tim Kelly, Bubby Kerrick, Alain Bergeron, Justin Harris, Daniel Lampron, Chuck Hebing, Doug Emery, David Renaud.
Lap Leader - Ladouceur 1-25.
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