Story By: ASHLEY MCCUBBIN / FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY – MILLGROVE, ONT – Battling up front in all three features, Kyle Steckly came out with the best average finish at the end of the night to score the Grisdale Triple Crown victory on Sunday night at Flamboro Speedway’s Frostoberfest.
Laying down the second quickest lap in time trials, the second generation racer was able to parlay it into finishing second. He then made his way through the traffic in the second 50-lap feature to take the lead just past the halfway mark, fending off a late-charge by Lane Zardo for the victory. Another inverted start for the third feature did not faze Steckly, as he once again made his way forward up to second quickly. He would put his No. 22 Late Model on the bumper of Fitzpatrick and offered a couple bumps, but was unable to find his way by en route to the runner-up.
Rookie Chase Pinsonneault was equally impressive, finding himself second in the overall standings. The driver of the No. 22P parlayed a seventh-place qualifying effort into a runner-up in the first feature. He showed his ability to get through traffic, placing third in the pair of features that followed.
Past track champion J.R. Fitzpatrick wound up third in the overall standings, but you would not have guessed that based on how his day started. Behind the wheel of the No. 55 Howse Racing entry he drove to this year’s track championship, he had the throttle hang going into turn three, resulting in significant contact with the outside wall.
He made the trip home and got the No. 84 Late Model to which he drove to the NTN Triple Crown Award in the APC Auto Parts Series, making a couple quick adjustments before laying down the quickest lap in time trials at 15.065 seconds. Unfortunately, the handling being slightly off saw Fitzpatrick fade back in the early stages of the first 50 lap feature en route to placing fourth. He had hoped for a better performance in the second feature, but a spin after getting loose off of turn four relegated him to seventh in the finishing order. The invert allowed him to start on the front row for the third feature, with Fitzpatrick pacing all 50 laps en route to winning the feature.
Lane Zardo drove his brother Billy Zardo’s late model to a pair of top-five’s for fourth overall ahead of Rick Burbridge. Jake Gilbert was sixth overall in front of Tom Gibbons, Cory Luciano, Blair Wickett, and David Gallinger. Unfortunately, both Luciano and Wickett had wrecked racecars at the end of the event due to contact on-track.
Cole Quinton was 11th overall, followed by Paul Maltese, Billy Schwartzenburg, Jonah Bell, Steve Laking, Gary Elliott, and Kevin Albers. Shawn Chenoweth was disqualified for an altercation in the pits.
Mini Stocks
The driver of the No. 76 Mini Stock parlayed his fifth-place starting spot into making his way up to second with just 14 laps on the board. He then reeled in Doug Butler, passing him five laps later for the top spot. Shawn Taylor then paced the final 31 laps en route to picking up the checkered flag.
Flamboro Speedway Champion Mike Thomson finished second after getting by Butler on Lap 20, with Doug Butler completing the podium. Nolan Gould set the fast time, battling his way to fourth ahead of Blaise Shaw.
Karl Sault was sixth in front of Dale Millard, Jacob Sutcliffe, Brian Wilson Sr., and Ryan Edwards-Kiss. Pure Stock Co-Champion Wayde Thorne battled just outside the top-10 to place 11th, followed by Kaitlyn Wallace, Brian Wilson Jr., Mike Gilmour, Doug Butler, Chris Tubman, Wyatt Sutcliffe, Rory Markle, and Ryder White.
RJ Croteau was 11th, with Mike Robinson III failed to finish after experiencing issues on Lap 20. Terry Woodley pulled off on Lap 10 en route to 23rd ahead of Kent Missions, Dave Goodacre, and Tyler Lewis.
Pure Stocks
Laying down a top-10 time in qualifying, Jo Lawrence was able to take the green in the top-five, and found himself in the mix for the win. The fast cars all made their way to the front with Cam Thomson leading as he had James Houghton, Lawrence and Wayde Thorne all on his bumper.
Jo Lawrence made his charge following the big wreck with 11 laps to go, passing Thomson to score the feature victory. Wayde Thorne followed suit a couple laps later and tried to pass his BT Racing teammate, but came up short en route to second. James Houghton battled inside the top-five throughout for third with Jordan Willms and Gillian Hils completing the top-five.
Craig Cole spent the second half of the feature battling his way forward to finish sixth, in front of Spencer Riddell, Tyler Weale, Cam Thomson, and Leo Labarbera. Reece Bourgeois overcame mechanical issues in practice for 11th, ahead of Alex Stewart, Carson Nagy, Dan Storey, Chance Rogers, Rick Mitchell, Mike Etsell, Chase Mitchell, Jordan Morris, and Randy Martin.
Glenn Schmidt was 11th, followed by Chris Allard, Gary Slama, and Courtney Scott.
Several drivers saw their feature end on Lap 38 after a chain reaction incident resulted in damage for Brady Cox, Coltin Everingham, and Keith Parsons, with Nathan Dettwiler upside down on the backstretch. All drivers were okay after the incident.
Phil Givens pulled off on Lap 27, with Mark Allan heading pit side with just 13 laps on the board.
There were 50 cars on the property that attempted to make the show, with a pair of b-mains ultimately setting the back end of the starting grid.
Outlaw Midgets
When it came time for the main event, the eyes focused to the front of the field in the battle for the lead between the Bradley Brothers, as has been the case for several events in 2023. Mike Bradley seemingly grabbed the advantage as the laps became to tick by, with Larry Lawson moving into second on Lap 8. Lawson stayed in Bradley’s tire tracks as the laps ticked by, looking for a way by.
Larry Lawson was able to make his move with two laps remaining, making the pass for the lead to pace the final laps en route to the victory. Mike Bradley held on for second, while Dave Bradley edged out Nick Spiez for third. Rob Harrison completed the top-five ahead of Mikey Homewood, Richard Woodland, Fred Homewood, Kevin Spiez, and Kayla Semple.
Jeremy Girard scored an 11th-place finish, followed by Zach Millman, Jason Semple, Jason Metcalfe, Derek Millman, and Glenn Raymond.
Four heats were ran to set the field, with those victories going to Dave Bradley, Nick Spiez, Dave Bradley, and Larry Lawson.