Flamboro Frostoberfest

Coveted London Recreational Racing Igloos go to the Winners

Story by Ashley McCubbin

Despite the cold temperatures, there was a lot of hot action around Flamboro Speedway on Saturday, October 1 for the first day of Frostoberfest.

Bryan Batty started pole for the OSCAAR Modifieds feature, but it was Jason Keen who broke out to the early lead, while Batty and Dale Reinhart battled for second. The lead changed hands on lap 11, when Andy Kamrath took over the spot, with Reinhart following him through. Keen ran third, in front of A.J. Emms and Batty, before Emms passed Keen on lap 23.

Kamrath led the rest of the way en route to the win, followed by Reinhart, Emms, TJ Edwards and Keen.

Dalen Martin started pole for the OSCAAR Hot Rods feature. The start saw a battle for the lead between Martin and Cole Weber, as Bill Zardo Sr. and Nick Clarke ran side-byside for third. Martin got the lead on Lap 2, as the battle continued for third.

Clarke lost positions before spinning on lap 22, collecting four others. Weber took the lead on the restart before the yellow flag came back out, courtesy of Martin Morin making contact with the backstretch wall. 20 Inside Track Motorsport News Weber led the rest of the way to the checkered flag, with Martin, Tom Walters, Zardo Sr. and Rob Bromley completing the top five.

In the Canadian Legend Car Series, the drop of the green saw a battle for the lead between Jaden Chapman and Kenny McNicol, with McNicol taking the spot on lap two. Cole McFadden got alongside McNicol for the lead on lap seven, but McNicol held off the challenge as they weaved through traffic. The drivers battled again before a caution on lap 17.

McNicol got a good restart, as Hudson Nagy dueled with McFadden for second. The battle for the lead did not end there, with McFadden challenging McNicol once again, only for contact to be made. This allowed Nagy to take over the top spot on lap 22. Nagy went on to win, followed by Josh Indig, McFadden, Chapman and Matt Boyes.

The Mini Stock main event started off with a bang, courtesy of a wreck on lap two, when Shawn Taylor went for a three-wide move, ultimately collecting six others. Samantha Shaw and Cory McAllister battled for the lead on the restart, with McAllister taking the spot on lap four.

Things later got interesting for the leaders, as they found themselves deep in traffic. Contact between Dave Dippel and McAllister resulted in McAllister going around, with the whole nose ripped off the car. Shaw and Bobby Mercer battled on the restart, where Mercer took the lead on lap 26. Twelve laps later, Taylor took the top spot and led the rest of the way to win, followed by Mercer, Karl Sault, Mike Thomson and Shaw.

The Ontario Pro Sprints ran a pair of features. Adrian Kemp climbed through the field, from an 11th-place starting spot, to take the lead on lap 13. He led the rest of the way for the victory in race one, ahead of Ryan Wardell and Tyler Cullen. Kemps grabbed the early advantage and paced the field to win race two, followed by Cullen and Ashley Bender. The Mini Trucks saw Austin Arnel sweep both feature races. Hayden Sim and Caleb Goertz followed him across the line in race one, while Kaisha Zimock and Sim completed the top-three in the second feature.

Jake Spencer-Walt and Laila Walser battled for the lead, down the stretch, in the first Junior Late Models feature, with Walser edging out Spencer-Walt at the line for the win. The positions reversed for the second feature, where Spencer-Walt grabbed the win, ahead of Walser.

(Opposite page) Andrew Gresel picked up the Pro Late Model / Grisdale Triple Crown win on the Sunday of Frostoberfest. (Above, left) Super Stock feature race winner Brandon McFerran. (Above, right) Mini Stock winner Shawn Taylor. (Above) Legends winner Hudson Nagy. (Left) Racer Shawn Chenoweth (l) with London Recreational Racing’s Mike Schmidt. For more Frostoberfest pics, see Kenny U-Pull Victory Lane, starting on Page 66.

Photos by Peter Anderson

FROSTOBERFEST DAY 2

Sunday’s headliner was round two of the Grisdale Triple Crown, featuring 100 laps for the Pro Late Models.

Treyten Lapcevich started pole, with the invert, and grabbed the initial advantage, as Andrew Gresel and Jordan Howse battled for second. Gresel got alongside Lapcevich for the lead on lap 15, but was unable to complete the pass. He did not give up though, challenging Lapcevich once again and taking the top spot on lap 19.

J.R. Fitzpatrick challenged Gresel for the lead on Lap 31, with the battle lasting all the way until lap 37, where Gresel held onto the position. Fitzpatrick continued to stalk Gresel, as he would peek underneath and try for the run off of turn two. His attempts paid off, with Fitzpatrick taking over the lead at the halfway mark.

Following cautions on lap 72 and 75, the restart produced a third yellow flag, with Blair Wickett climbing the backstretch wall and stopping off of turn four. Gresel got a good restart, with Fitzpatrick challenging him back to re-take the lead on Lap 80, before Gresel passed Fitzpatrick again on lap 89.

Gresel went on to take the victory, followed by Fitzpatrick, Ryan Kimball, Lapcevich and Erik Della Riva. With finishes of first and second in the pair of Grisdale Triple Crown events, Fitzpatrick took home the championship honours.

With the invert in play, Ethan Constable started pole for the Super Stocks. Rick Spencer-Walt ran into issues rolling to the green flag, with a suspension piece breaking; this brought out a caution as he was stopped in turn two. Constable and Brandon McFerran battled on the restart, with Constable holding down the advantage.

Lane Zardo got alongside Constable for the lead, just as Constable was behind a battle from outside of the top ten. Constable was able to hold off the challenge. A caution came on lap 38, setting up a restart between Constable and Zardo, with McFerran third. Zardo snagged the lead on lap 41, with McFerran following him through.

McFerran tracked down Zardo for the lead and made the pass underneath him on the last lap, in turns one and two, to take the victory. Gerrit Tiemersma, Chase Pinsonneault and Constable rounded out the top five.

In the Pure Stocks, Cameron Thomson grabbed the early advantage, in front of Rodney Rutherford, with the first caution on lap two for Tegan Ellis spinning. Thomson got a good restart, as positions shuffled further back. Spencer Riddell got alongside Rutherford for second on lap 10, completing the pass a lap later, before being passed by Wayde Thorne on Lap 14.

Thomson, Thorne and Jo Lawrence found themselves three-wide for the lead as they got caught in lap traffic. Thomson held off the challenge before another three-wide battle for the top spot on lap 25. Thomson got pinned in lap traffic, allowing Thorne to take over the lead on lap 27.

Lawrence challenged Thorne for the lead on lap 33, with contact happening in the process, resulting in a flat tire for Lawrence. Lawrence then slowed, drawing the second caution. Thorne got a good restart and led the rest of the way for the win, ahead of Thomson, Riddell, Craig Cole and Phil Givens.

And in the Outlaw Midgets, Dave Bradley grabbed the early lead, before being passed by Jessica James on lap two.

James led the rest of the way en route to the win; Dave Bradley, Cory Whittam, Mike Bradley and Jason Metcalfe rounded out the top five. IT