For Immediate Release –
Saturday September 25, 2010
BRIGHTON, ON - Saturday, September 25th, 2010 - When 'Mr. Smallblock' Pete Bicknell travels to Brighton Speedway he means business. The driver of the #42 DIRTcar 358 Modified pulled into town on Saturday night and left with a $3,500 pay day in the 6th Annual Benson Auto Parts Applefest Shootout Weekend.
A total of 27 Modifieds were on hand for their only visit to the 1/3 mile clay oval in 2010. The evening started with three qualifying heats with Mike Bowman, Matt Billings and Bryan Rogers taking the wins. Up next for the 358's was the running of the 2009 Lucas Oil Clash for Cash. The 15 lap, $1,500 to win event was a makeup from the previous season when rain interfered with the all-star challenge. Two drivers - Shayne Pierce and Bryan Rogers - were drawn by a fan to fill the empty spots available from drivers who were already qualified, but not in attendance on this night. Chad Brachmann led the field to green and led the opening laps until outside pole sitter Danny O'Brien took over the top spot. It was only a matter of time though for Bicknell to close in on the 'Pocket Rocket'. At the midway point of the race Bicknell got by O'Brien on the low side and cruised to the victory.
In the 50 lap Benson Auto Parts Applefest Shootout Bicknell would again make short order of getting to the front. Tim O'Brien gave 'Mr. Smallblock' a number of challenges during restarts throughout the race, but could never mount a serious charge. Bicknell cruised to yet another win at Brighton Speedway and captured the $2,000 pay cheque for the feature event.
Also on the race card Saturday night were the Mod-Lites back for their second night in a row of action at Brighton. It was a thrilling three car battle for the win with Adam Murphy beating out Paul Klager and Josh Sliter to the line.
In the 50 Lap Duel in the Dirt Pro Stock / Hoosier Stock challenge race between Brighton and Merrittville cars it was young Larry Czinege Jr. grabbing the biggest win of his young stock car racing career. The overall Duel in the Dirt title went to Doug Anderson who became the first Brighton driver to capture the crown in series history.
The most memorable feature of the night was the DIRTcar Pro Late Model rescheduled Summer Scorcher 40 Lap race. Lee Gill led the field for the first 34 laps of caution free racing until a spin by Rob Perry brought out the only yellow of the feature. Gill had dominated the race and was almost a half of a track ahead of the rest of the field prior to the restart with 6 laps to go. Although the race looked to be over, Phil Potts ran the top groove and races wheel to wheel with the Lafargeville, NY driver. At the line Potts scored a popular win by the smallest of margins over Gill. Charlie Sandercock finished third and unofficially captured the DIRTcar Pro Late Model track championship at Brighton by less than 10 points over Potts.
The final race of the evening was the Canadian Modified / IMCA Modified Challenge also rescheduled from July. Dan Ferguson took the win in convincing fashion and also claimed the 2010 division championship. The win was Ferguson's 8th feature victory of the season.
Brighton Speedway ends its 2010 season with the Eve of Destruction on Saturday, October 2nd starting at 3pm. For more information visit http://www.brightonspeedway.com.
Benson Auto Parts 358 DIRTcar Modified Applefest Shootout Finish: 1. 42 Pete Bicknell, 2. 88T Tim O'Brien, 3. 7 Danny O'Brien, 4. 74 Matt Billings, 5. 3 Chad Brachmann, 6. 17c Mat Williamson, 7. 12c Chad Chevalier, 8. 25 Bobby Herrington, 9. 4 Jeff Sykes, 10. 96c Fred Carleton, 11. 96 Kyle Dingwall, 12. 72 Tommy Flannigan, 13. 35 Adam Moore, 14. 8s James Friesen, 15. 88 Shayne Pierce, 16. 20 Steve Bilow, 17. 108 Bill Bleich, 18. 71 Mike Bowman, 19. 71s Shawn Sliter, 20. 75J Pernie Banks, 21. 76 Travis Braun, 22. 9 Jason Riddell, 23. M96 Todd Stewart, 24. 15J Tim Jones, 25. 61 Bryan Rogers, 26. 90 Bruno Lepage
