From Rich Vleck, image courtesy of Rick Rarer
BROCKVILLE, Ont., (July 16, 2011)- Jared Zimbardi admitted after the event that the race at Brockville Ontario Speedway was boring to him at times; that was probably because all of the action was going on behind him.
Zimbardi, of Little Valley, NY, scored his second Patriot Sprint Tour win of the season, the seventh of his career, as he dominated the final 24 circuits to build on his impressive point lead.
“The Juice” started third but quickly launched into second on the second original start and had taken the lead from Tim Kelly on the second lap, but a caution before the completion of that circuit for a second Brian McDonald spin would prevent him from taking the lead. On the ensuing restart, Zimbardi would quickly reassume the lead and never look back.
“We’ve just been working (on the car) and working on it, and fine tuning on our setups. But tonight it was slow but it was fast,” said Zimbardi in Victory Lane.
In an event mired by a multitude of caution flags, Zimbardi held steady on each restart on the bottom of the track and dared all challengers to go around him on the outside of turns one and two; a number of them would try.
Alain Bergeron, who had ran up from the fifth starting spot, was hanging with Zimbardi on the bottom until on a lap 13 restart his right front torsion arm broke, forcing the 2009 winner pitside.
The next challenger was Dylan Swiernik, who had blasted the cushion all race but with the No. 35 now in his sites, was content to follow Zimbardi around the bottom of turns one and two. As the reigning PST Rookie of the Year went into turn three on lap 15 though, he sneezed at the wrong point on the track and lost control of his No. 7c, spinning over the berm.
Scott Kreutter would inherit second and was also staying with Zimbardi, but on a lap 16 restart, his reoccurring issue of fuel burning off quicker than others reappeared and his No. 52 sputtered coming to the line. The accordion effect that ensued collected third place Chris Jones, fourth place Michael Parent, and seventh place Dale Gosselin, who tipped over.
A lap later, another caution would fly, putting the field over the time limit and forcing a fuel stop. The red flag also allowed the teams a chance to survey their cars. This would provide great insight for Zimbardi.
“(The crew) saw that we had worn our tires pretty good and they told me to take it easy the rest of the way,” Zimbardi noted after the event. Despite the warning, the 24-year-old was prolific after the restart and would drive away without issue for his third win at “The BOS” in the last 13 months.
As Zimbardi drove to the win, a great battle was on between Dave Dykstra and Chris Durand, two Southern Ontario shoes that had started mid-pack. Despite having significant damage to the nose wing, Dykstra would find a way to be fast on the bottom and hang on for second. Durand had a look at the runner-up spot on the final lap but would settle for third, still his career-best in a sprint car.
Closing fast on second and third place at the finish was Dylan Swiernik, who was on a mission in the final seven laps to salvage a fourth. Jamie Collard, who won the B-main, was easily the hard-charger, as he drove from 21st to finish in fifth.
Glenn Styres had a quiet sixth place effort, while Scott Kreutter would get back up to seventh after having to visit the work area before the red flag for refueling. Brad Knab was eighth in his first start at Brockville, while locals Devin Caron and Paul Pekkonen rounded out the top-10 finishers.
An impressive 27 sprints helped to fill the pits on a hot night along the St. Lawrence. A number of drivers made their first PST start of the year, including Justin Harris who made his first sprint start since 2009 and Patrick Vigneault who made his PST debut.
Some of the local fan favorites on the night struggled, including Brian McDonald who broke a rear end while leading his heat and was forced to use a promoter’s buy-in provisional to get in the A-Main. Rick Wilson won the Original Pizza Logs Four Laps of Fame but after a tangle with Tim Kelly on lap 7 while in seventh, “The Joyceville Jet” would have to compete with a flat left front, a broken nose wing and a detached right front shock. It was not until the No. 42w made contact with a Euclid tire in turn two on lap 15 did he fall out.
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Patriot Sprint Tour Results: 7/16/11, Brockville Ontario Speedway, Brockville, ONTARIO.
Riverside A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Jared Zimbardi (35), 2. Dave Dykstra (5D), 3. Chris Durand (67D), 4. Dylan Swiernik (7c), 5. Jamie Collard (7x), 6. Glenn Styres (0), 7. Scott Kreutter (52), 8. Brad Knab (38), 9. Devin Caron (24k), 10. Paul Pekkonen (98), 11. Doug Banks (45x), 12. Patrick Vigneault (55), 13. Chris Jones (11), 14. Michael Parent (25), 15. Dale Gosselin (3), 16. Tim Kelly (12), 17. Rick Wilson (42w), 18. April Wilson (15aw), 19. Alain Bergeron (8B), 20. Justin Harris (2J), 21. Mitch Brown (10), 22. Keith Dempster (5), 23. Brian McDonald (151kb).
Lap Leaders- Kelly 1, Zimbardi 2-25.
Provisional Starter: McDonald
Did Not Qualify: Wickham, Ely, Collins, Fraser.
B-Main (Top 4 Transfer to A-Main)- 1. Jamie Collard (7x), 2. Paul Pekkonen (98), 3. April Wilson (15aw), 4. Doug Banks (45x), 5. Dave Wickham (80), 6. Shayne Ely (V8), 7. Steve Collins (67), 8. Kyle Fraser (01), 9. Brian McDonald (151kb).
Original Pizza Logs Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. R. Wilson, 2. Dempster, 3. Gosselin, 4. Dykstra, 5. Brown, 6. Durand.
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each, Top 6 Transfer to A-Main)-
Race 1: 1. Kreutter, 2. Parent, 3. Styres, 4. Kelly, 5. Brown, 6. Vigneault, 7. Ely, 8. Fraser, 9. McDonald.
Race 2: 1. Zimbardi, 2. Swiernik, 3. Dempster, 4. Dykstra, 5. Knab, 6. Caron, 7. Pekkonen, 8. Collard, 9. Collins.
Race 3: 1. Bergeron, 2. Gosselin, 3. Jones, 4. R. Wilson, 5. Durand, 6. Harris, 7. A. Wilson, 8. Banks, 9. Wickham.
Patriot Sprint Tour Championship Points (Top 10)- Zimbardi 1244, Kelly 1119, Adamczyk and Kreutter 1028, Knab 935, Brown 931, Howland 870, Collins 844, Naida 826.