By Rich Vleck
TULSA, Okla. (October 13, 2010)- The 2010 ASCS Patriot season will draw to a close this Saturday and a host of drivers are hoping they can head in to the offseason on a winning streak.
The final race of the Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series will be contested at Brockville Ontario Speedway this Saturday as part of their Northeast Fall Nationals. It is a daytime race that often draws in variables far different from those seen at “The BOS” in sprint competition this summer.
While a host of drivers have a mathematical possibility of claiming the crown, there are four drivers with a realistic chance of capturing the series title.
Shawn Donath, of South Onondaga, NY, leads the series standings by just 10 points over Jared Zimbardi, of Little Valley, NY. Donath has a pair of top-five finishes at Brockville this season; along with a sixth place Cornwall in July to set him up for a chance at this crown in Doug Emery’s No. 33. Zimbardi won his only Patriot race of 2010 at Brockville in June.
Alain Bergeron, of St. Pie, Qbc., trails by just 24 points and hopes to make up for his poor run in this race last year when he lost the King of the St. Lawrence Point Lead. Bergeron recently announced that this will be his final race as a car owner which could make this the final race for the 11-year sprint veteran.
Shayne Ely, of Factoryville, PA, shocked the crowd at “The BOS” when he won at the ¼-mile in July for his first top-10 finish. Ely still has a chance to take the crown, but would need some help.
Bryan Howland, who took the crown last year and won every other championship this season, but he will not be able to go for the clean sweep as he will be home nursing his broken shoulder blade this weekend.
Local favorite (or favourite as is proper in Canada), Rick Wilson, will look to thrill his throngs of fans. His daughter, April, also has her own cheering section and could be primed for an impressive end to her finest season thus far.
The list of regional competitors is lengthy as Chris Jones, Tyler Rand, Devin Caron, Paul Pekkonen, Brian McDonald, Lee Ladouceur and Doug Banks will be on hand for this show, which will start at 12:00 P.M.
Canadians will be coming in from all parts of Ontario and Quebec, including Travis Cunningham, Keith Dempster, Steve Poirier and Michael Parent.
Travelling across the border to represented the U.S. are Tim Kelly, Dylan Swiernik, Jeff Cook, Bruce DeWick, Austin Ely and perhaps a few other top names.
For more information, visit www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com or www.ASCSracing.com.
ASCS Patriot History at Brockville:
Races: 9
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
7/17/2010- Shayne Ely
Riverside Bar and Grill King of St. Lawrence Standings
1. Shawn Donath
389
2. Jared Zimbardi
379
3. Alain Bergeron
365
4. Bubba Broderick
352
5. Shayne Ely
352
6. Rick Wilson
338
7. Bryan Howland
330
8. Chris Jones
327
9. Tim Kelly
318
10. Tyler Rand
317
11. Devin Caron
314
12. Vern Wasson
313
13. Paul Pekkonen
306
14. Brian McDonald
280
15. Steve Poirier
280
16. Doug Banks
280
17. Michael Parent
224
18. Jeff Cook
202
19. Normand Beaudreault
196
20. Bob Podolak
182
21. April Wilson
173
22. Don Adamczyk
142
23. Lee Ladouceur
130
24. Kyle Fraser
116
25. Dave Wickham
110
26. Brandan Warner
106
27. Travis Cunningham
100
28. Dale Gosselin
90