From Rich Vleck, TULSA, Okla. (July 12, 2010) – After a weekend off following an event at the largest track on the tour, the ASCS Patriot Sprints head to a pair of tracks that combined do not equal the size of Little Valley.
This Saturday and Sunday, the ASCS Patriots run a pair of Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series events at a pair of ¼-mile Eastern Ontario Ovals. Saturday will be another stop at Brockville Ontario Speedway, the first track to host a second event this year. On Sunday, the wild winged things travel up the 401 for the only stop in 2010 at the Cornwall Motor Speedway.
Jared Zimbardi, of Little Valley, NY, enters the two-race weekend with a slim 28 point advantage in the pursuit of his first ever series championship. Zimbardi scored his only win of the year last month at Brockville, a speedway where he has finished inside the top-10 in every event since 2007. At the inaugural ASCS Patriot event at Cornwall last season, “The Juice” broke the track record with a 10.91 second lap and finished second in the feature.
Bryan Howland, of Auburn, NY, won at Brockville last season and also won the inaugural Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series race in 2009. Howland is a three-time Patriot Champion, as well as the most recent winner on tour after his impressive performance at Little Valley.
Bubba Broderick, from Brookfield, CT, is drooling at the thought of running a pair of high-banked bull-rings this weekend. Broderick has been strong on these types of ovals this season, with two wins on tracks 1/3-mile or shorter in distance. The 20-year-old has never finished out of the top-10 at Brockville in four starts, including placing third there earlier this season. Last season at Cornwall, Broderick was fast but crashed hard on the opening lap of the feature.
Tim Kelly, of Rock Stream, NY is the most experienced of the Patriot regulars at Brockville and Cornwall. Kelly did not attend the Cornwall event last season, but finished fourth in both of the sprint shows at the Sunday Night Staple in 2008. He is hoping to turn around his string of bad luck in June and early July.
A host of Canadian competitors expect to be in competition this weekend, including Alain Bergeron, of St. Pie, Quebec, who picked up a win at both tracks last season.
Steve Poirier and Michael Parent are among some of the other competitors from Quebec that will stop in at the ¼-mile speedways. Both have fared very well at both tracks, with Poirier scoring five wins between the two tracks.
Rick Wilson, along with his daughter April are sure to be fan favorites this weekend as they run in front of their long-time supporters. Both of the Wilsons finished in the top-10 at Brockville earlier this season and will contend for the win.
Brian McDonald is from Cornwall and lives within a stones throw of the speedway. McDonald was in control of the June Brockville event when he tangled with a lapped car.
Tyler Rand, Chris Jones, Brockville’s Paul Pekkonen, Kyle Fraser, Doug Banks, Lee Ladouceur and defending Patriot Rookie of the Year Devin Caron are amongst the many Eastern Ontario drivers that will be in contention this weekend.
Look for more invaders such as Shawn Donath, rookie Shayne Ely, Travis Cunningham, Kevin Job and Doug Bowman to make this weekend a thrilling one just north of the 1000 Islands Region.
Racing action at Brockville gets underway at 7:00 P.M., with Cornwall getting started at 6:00 P.M. For more information, visit www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com or www.ASCSracing.com.
ASCS Patriot History at Brockville:
Races: 8
8/20/2004- Rick Wilson
10/22/2005- Kyle Drum
7/15/2006- Rick Wilson
6/2/2007- Jessica Zemken
7/18/2009- Bryan Howland
8/22/2009- Alain Bergeron
10/17/2009- Glenn Styres (Non-Points)
6/12/2010- Jared Zimbardi
ASCS Patriot History at Cornwall:
Races: 1
7/19/2009- Alain Bergeron