BROCKVILLE, Ont., (July 14, 2012)- Jamie Collard had a decision to make heading in to Saturday as to where to race the No. 7x, but once he committed to Brockville, he made sure not to regret the decision- and he wouldn’t.
Collard, of Burford, Ontario, collected his third career Patriot Sprint Tour feature win of his career in what was also his third career visit to Brockville Ontario Speedway by leading wire-to-wire in a race that went 25 straight laps to the finish.
“The car was really good but the track was kind of one groove so getting by lapped cars was a little tricky,” noted Collard in Victory Lane. “There was rubber starting to build up out there but once we got by the lapped cars we were gone!”
Collard just got in to the redraw after a third place showing in his heat race, but by drawing the pole, he knew he had a good opportunity for the win. The initial start of the feature saw outside polesitter Devin Caron get around Collard for the lead but that would be waved off due to Dylan Swiernik slapping the frontstretch wall. On the ensuing restart, Collard would put Miles Hill’s No. 7x in to the lead and never look back.
After pulling away in the opening laps, Collard would soon have Caron reeling him back in as the track went through a transition. The teenager would pull within three car lengths of the lead but just could not find a spot to make a bid for the top spot.
“About lap 10 you could really notice (the rubber),” noted Collard after the race. Lap 10 was also about the point at which the leader began to reestablish his advantage over Caron and a hard-charging Jared Zimbardi. As the laps were winding down, Caron’s focus turned to holding off Zimbardi. Their duel would allow Scott Kreutter to reel in the lead trio to make it a four-car scramble to the finish; in the end though nobody would have a solution to dethrone Collard.
With the win, Collard also plants himself squarely in the PST Canada Series Championship discussion, which was a major part for his attendance on a warm but perfect summer night in Brockville.
“I am so glad we came here tonight, we love running with the Patriots and hopefully we do something in this point fund,” declared Collard about the series which will return to Brockville on two more occasions this season, including for the season finale in October.
Collard was all smiles in Victory Lane; so too was Devin Caron, who easily notched his career-best finish with his runner-up showing just an hour from his Cornwall residence. The 2009 Patriot Rookie of the Year had a previous career-best of sixth place in the last PST race at Brockville last August.
Jared Zimbardi’s third place effort made it seven races in a row finishing in the top five at “The BOS” for the defending PST Champion. Zimbardi won his heat despite fighting overheating issues but was able to overcome that in the feature to move in to a tie for the PST Canada point lead.
Scott Kreutter drove up from seventh to fourth in his third appearance at Brockville. Kreutter felt strongly about his No. 52 after the race but recognized that passing was at a premium on the night.
On the final lap, Jeff Cook, who was running fifth, slipped over the turn two banking and slid back to seventh, allowing Justin Barger and Bryan Howland to scoot on by. By finishing fifth, Barger remains tied for the PST Canada point lead. Cook was able to finish just ahead of Michael Parent, who had to visit the pits before the feature but was able to drive up to eighth. Matt Tanner was ninth and Original Pizza Logs Four Laps of Fame Dash Winner Dain Naida rounded out the top 10 in their first appearances at the ¼-mile.
What started off as an oppressively hot afternoon turned in to a perfect night for racing which ran off in quick order, even with all the competitors moving their cars to the front stretch for a popular autograph session. A year after the PST feature took more than an hour to complete, this year’s edition took just under 10 minutes to complete.
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Patriot Sprint Tour Canada Series Results: 7/14/12, Brockville Ontario Speedway, Brockville, Ontario.
A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Jamie Collard (7x), 2. Devin Caron (24k), 3. Jared Zimbardi (35), 4. Scott Kreutter (52), 5. Justin Barger (5), 6. Bryan Howland (51), 7. Jeff Cook (10), 8. Michael Parent (25), 9. Matt Tanner (90), 10. Dain Naida (07x), 11. Steve Hutchinson Jr. (2), 12. Brandan Warner (10B), 13. Mitch Brown (10), 14. Tyler Rand (84), 15. Dave Wickham (80), 16. Jason Barney (87), 17. Dylan Swiernik (7c), DNS: Kyle Fraser (01).
Lap Leaders- Collard 1-25.
Original Pizza Logs Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Dain Naida (07x), 2. Bryan Howland (51), 3. Matt Tanner (90), 4. Dylan Swiernik (7c), 5. Jason Barney (87), 6. Dave Wickham (80).
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: 1. Jared Zimbardi (35), 2. Steve Hutchinson Jr. (2), 3. Dave Wickham (80), 4. Brandan Warner (10B), 5. Jason Barney (87), 6. Tyler Rand (84).
Race 2: 1. Jeff Cook (10c), 2. Scott Kreutter (52), 3. Jamie Collard (7x), 4. Matt Tanner (90), 5. Michael Parent (25), 6. Kyle Fraser (01).
Race 3: 1. Justin Barger (5), 2. Devin Caron (24k), 3. Dain Naida (07x), 4. Bryan Howland (51), 5. Dylan Swiernik (7c), 6. Mitch Brown (10).