Last Saturday night’s season finale at Mosport Speedway capped an exciting season of nose-to-tail racing that saw a Speedway veteran return to the top, alongside three first-time division champions.
Heading into the final night of PartSource presents the Auto Workers Community Credit Union Saturday Night Racing, three out of four class championships remained open, and the closest title chase was in the CAW Local 222 Limited Late Models, where Todd Delisle held a narrow eight point lead over Dwight Brown. Delisle enjoyed a stellar season, finishing with a class-leading seven feature wins, but Brown with three feature wins of his own stayed right on Delisle’s tail throughout and after his notching back-to-back wins to close out the campaign, finished just a single point back of Delisle for the championship.
The chase for the title in the R. P. Oil Open-Wheel Modifieds was another close battle between two skilled drivers: a young up and comer and a former division champ. Jim Rossiter came into the final race of the season with a twelve point edge over Darren Kearnen. Rossiter, the veteran and former Modified champion from 1996 trailed the 24 year-old Kearnen for much of the first half of the season. Kearnen led the class with six feature wins, but Rossiter began to make his charge in the second half with two feature wins and three second place finishes, overtaking Kearnen and finishing ten points ahead in spite of Kearnen’s back-to-back wins in the final two weeks.
In the Bob’s Towing ThunderCar class, Brad Stevenson and John Baker, Jr. dominated the division, winning a combined 12 feature races and finishing second an additional 11 times. Baker, Jr. was the class champion in 2006, but it was Stevenson who led the points chase from the second week on and never surrendered it. In spite of leading the class in feature wins with eight, Baker Jr. couldn’t overtake Stevenson, who had four wins to go along with seven second place results.
The THORSONS EVT 6 or Less class featured a spirited battle for top spot, as four teams managed to win at least two feature races each. Jeff Scott and co-driver Tony Lepizzera emerged as first-time class champions, clinching the title with a week left in the season on the strength of four feature wins and four second place finishes. Finishing second and winning three feature races himself was Ross Galbraith. Trevor Coppins rounded out the top three, and tied for fourth three points back was Paul Ryder and seventeen year-old Shannon Kimmerly, who notched two feature wins in her sophomore season.
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