HAMILTON, ON, May 21 – A strong field of 18 Late Models showed up Saturday to entertain the Flamboro faithful.
Still in the set up stages Thatcher Krupp and Dave Watson got the car close for the first heat. Nine cars took the green in each of the 2 heats and Gary Elliott finished 7th in both. In the 2nd heat Elliott spun out running 3rd but kept the car off the wall and away from oncoming cars. Subsequently, some adjustments were made.
In the Vintage Modifieds, Elliott had little problem maneuvering his car around the track. That was mostly due to 3 decades of racing the Coupe in over 1800 races. The bigger and faster Late Model will take some seat time to get to the level of skill Gary enjoyed in the Vintage. There are advantages in getting up to speed quickly in the Late Model and they include a brand new 2005 Dodge plus a dedicated and knowledgeable crew led by Thatcher, who is an expert in Late Model chassis set up. The 350/400 hp GM crate engine is also very competitive.
The feature line up included 3 other former Vintage Modified drivers. Jim Sweers #75, Steve Laking #44 and Gary’s son David #37.
Starting 13th Gary was able to pass 5 cars on his way to an 8th place finish. The race had 2 distinct groups of cars. The lead pack ran bumper to bumper and the 2nd group about 10 car lengths behind ran tight. Elliott was on the tail of the first group and had a few chances to make a move for 7th. A few cautions took away the momentum but when it was over, the crew was very happy to be running with the top cars and come out of the race in good shape.
The 8th place finish moves Elliott to 11th in points, and he tops all Rookies. Elliott’s goals are to finish in the top 5 in points and win Rookie of the Year, something he has never won. This Saturday races start at 6:30 pm.
Flamboro Points Standings:
Position Car # Driver Points
1st #52 Scott Lyons 264
2nd #37 David Elliott 260
3rd #56 Jeff Stewart 257
4th #4 Terry King 246
5th #27 Mark Burbridge 245
6th #44 Steve Laking 240
7th #95 Kevin Benish 239
8th #75 Jim Sweers 235
9th #8 Paul House 229
10th #55 Greg Cox 225
11th #36 Gary Elliott 224
12th #23 Dave Baker 207
13th #99 Simon Wild 200
14th #14 Jim Bowman 192
15th #07 Todd Campbell 171
16th #10 Shane Gowan 157
17th #82 Jason Shaw 111
18th #45 Dave Bennett 96
19th #66 Scott Gibson 90
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