PETERBOROUGH, ON – On Saturday night at Peterborough Speedway, the Shouldice Stone ALSTAR Late Model Series produced its fifth different feature winner in as many races in ’05 when Derrick Tiemersma won the 75-lap main event.
The Newmarket, ON racer started 13th in the 21-car field and patiently worked his way forward. Tiemersma’s Wayfreight Chevy cracked the top five for the first time on lap 40. Once within striking distance, Tiemersma quickly picked his way to the front.
Polesitter Richard Holmes led the first 46 laps around the high-banked, one-third-mile Peterborough oval in his Gormac Roofing Ford, but eventually lost the top spot to Brett Murray (Videoflicks Ford) after getting loose and falling several positions.
Murray, who hails from Minesing, ON, held the lead for four laps but he was no match for Tiemersma, who powered his way to the front of the field at the start of the final third of the race. From there, only defending ALSTAR Series champ Robbie Thompson (SMP / Logel’s Dodge) could hang with Tiemersma as the lead duo carved through lapped traffic in the caution-free run to the finish.
Tiemersma took the white flag to start the final lap with Thompson glued to his rear bumper. Coming out of turn 4 on the way to the checkered flag, Thompson managed to squeeze underneath the race leader and pulled to the inside, but came up just a bumper short of earning his second checkered flag of the season.
Tiemersma’s win was the second of his ALSTAR career. In victory lane, the veteran racer compared his win at Peterborough to his Barrie Speedway victory, last season, when the top two racers took each other out in the final laps. “The last win was given to me,” said Tiemersma. “This one, I earned.” He also recognized the efforts of his crew to get the #7 Wayfreight Chevy back into racing form after taking a heavy hit last week at Barrie Speedway. “The car felt great. It was not that good at the beginning, but it came around at the end. The guys had to fix just about everything on the right side of the car after Barrie.”
Runner-up finisher Robbie Thompson entered the race tied atop the points chase with Kirk Hooker, who came home seventh at Peterborough. Thompson will head to the next race with sole possession of the Shouldice ALSTAR points lead. “It was just tough,” said Thompson of the result. “I came up one spot short. I overcame a lot, but just finished half-a-fender short.”
Bryan Mercer of Mt. Hope, ON took the final podium position. The Sine’s Flooring Chevy driver has had several strong ALSTAR outings in the past, but managed to run into problems before the end of the race. Mercer ended his string of ALSTAR bad luck at Peterborough with a run from 19th to third. In earlier heat race action, checkered flags went to Alan Inglis, Kirk Hooker, Brett Murray and Kyle Donaldson.
The next Shouldice ALSTAR Late Model Series race takes place on Friday, July 8 at Kawartha Speedway, near Peterborough, Ontario.
Shouldice ALSTAR Late Model Series
RESULTS: Race #5 of 12 // Peterborough Speedway // Peterborough, ON // June 25, ‘05 // 75 Laps
FIN. ST. # DRIVER (HOMETOWN) SPONSOR / MAKE LAPS
1 13 7 Derrick Tiemersma (Newmarket, ON) Wayfreight / Gates / Wix Chevrolet 75
2 18 9 Robbie Thompson (Southampton, ON) Shear Metal Products / Logel’s Dodge 75
3 19 81 Bryan Mercer (Mt. Hope, ON) Sine’s Flooring Chevrolet 75
4 7 57 Brett Murray (Minesing, ON) Videoflicks / Cardwell Signs Ford 75
5 6 11 Chris Morrow (Minesing, ON) Morrow Electric / Edenvale Flying Club Chevrolet 75
6 8 4 Craig Zurbrigg (Listowel, ON) Benshaw Motor Controls / Trinity Village Health Care Ford 75
7 17 38 Kirk Hooker (Chatham, ON) Country View Golf Course / McColl’s / Golf Trends Chevrolet 75
8 16 53 Kyle Donaldson (Queensville, ON) R Custom Engines / Downtown Rug & Flooring Ford 75
9 14 72 Rob MacDonnell (Allenford, ON) MacDonnell Fuels / Siegrist Trucking Chevrolet 75
10 12 98 Michael Almand (Alton, ON) Alliston Transmission / Finish Line Graphics Chevrolet 75
11 15 76 Tyler Williams (Chesley, ON) B&L Farm Services / Hank’s Auto Wreckers Ford 74
12 20 82 Jason Shaw (Guelph, ON) Spira Fire Protection / Del Metals Ford 74
13 1 42 Richard Holmes (Hillsburgh, ON) Gormac Roofing / Astro Automotive Ford 74
14 10 22 Glenn Watson (Barrie, ON) Racing Radios / Rival Office Solutions Chevrolet 72
15 21 23 Steve Thompson (Drayton, ON) Conway Furniture / Priebe Engineering Chevrolet 72
16 4 30 Jim Molenhuis (Churchill, ON) R.E.V. Mobile Audio / Performance Chevrolet 71
17 9 69 Alan Inglis (Mississauga, ON) National Moving & Storage Dodge 68
18 11 67 Steve Tiemersma (Newmarket, ON) Aurora Automotive / Pennzoil 10 Min. Oil Change Pontiac 54
19 3 3 Ken Naves (Sauble Beach, ON) TIM-BR Mart / Golden Eagle Cottages Chevrolet 24
20 5 75 Jeff Cassidy (Cambridge, ON) Highway Sterling – Western Star Ford 20
21 2 8 Paul Gresel (Sauble, ON) R Sauble Fall’s Tent & Trailer Park / H&H Patio Encl. Chevrolet 3
R after the hometown denotes Rookie contender.
TIME OF RACE: 1 Hour // CAUTIONS: 5 // LAP LEADERS: #42 Richard Holmes (1-46), #57 Brett Murray (47-50) and #7 Derrick Tiemersma (51-75) // HEAT WINS: #69 Alan Inglis, #38 Kirk Hooker, #57 Brett Murray & #53 Kyle Donaldson // BROWN’S TOWING MOST LAPS LED AWARD: #42 Richard Holmes // SPIRA HARD CHARGER AWARD: #9 Robbie Thompson & #81 Bryan Mercer (Both will receive $150 bonus from Spira) // INSIDE TRACK MYSTERY POSITION AWARD: #8 Paul Gresel // CRC TOP 5: Derrick Tiemersma, Robbie Thompson, Bryan Mercer, Brett Murray, Chris Morrow // 69 AUTO WHEEL AWARD: #4 Craig Zurbrigg
Contact ALSTAR at (519) 371-7588 or visit www.alstarseries.com
Prepared by Inside Track Communications.
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