By Marty Czekala
CORNWALL, ONTARIO—In CRSA’s first race in Canada since 2008 and the first in Ontario, one of Canada’s finest won the battle.
Bruno Richard started on pole and held off Lee Ladouceur and Tomy Moreau in the final laps to score his first career CRSA win in the Canadian CRSA/Crate Challenge at Cornwall Motor Speedway.
“This was the hardest race I ever won,” said Richard in victory lane. “The car was perfect in the beginning, and then I needed to control my gas better. When I saw the No. 22, I knew he wanted the race.
With the win, Richard becomes the 83rd different winner and the sixth first-time winner of the year, the most in a season in a decade.
Richard started on the pole alongside Lee Ladouceur for the 25-lap season finale. Jordan Hutton began the race as the highest-running CRSA regular and was up to third on lap two before going off track in turn two. He would catch a break as the lap was not completed under green as Liam Ladouceur spun in turn two.
Richard held serve on the restart but, this time had Moreau underneath him for the lead. Richard would pull away and maintain a lead of about under a second until a pair of yellows on lap seven for a Jordan Hutton spin and lap 12 for Blake Warner spinning into the barrier.
With under 10 to go, it seemed like Richard had the win in the bag until, in lapped traffic with seven to go, Richard got too high off turn two, allowing Moreau to peak underneath for the lead.
“Lapped traffic closed the line and I had no room,” Richard said. “I said, ‘maybe Tomy would pass,’ but when coming out, I would pull good.”
Lee Ladouceur would join in on this battle for the win, but when Richard got clear from lapped traffic, the No. 72 opened up the gap to win by 1.4 seconds.
“I’m proud to close the season like that at Cornwall,” said Richard. “The car was perfect; when it’s perfect and a good driver, everyone can keep that.”
In a neck-and-tooth battle, Lee Ladouceur and Tomy Moreau traded the runner-up position numerous times in the final laps, but “General Lee” prevailed in his No. 51 ride. Ladouceur made moves off turn four on the high side that nearly led to contact but still provided exciting racing.
“It was lots of fun,” said Ladouceur. “We adjusted our car for the end of the race and wished it was five more laps. Happy with our second place finish, and it ended up being a good day.”
This was the race Tomy Moreau has been looking forward to for a while. With many of his family and friends in attendance, Moreau piloted his No. 22 to third, tying his best finish of the season with Land of Legends Raceway July 4.
“We were close to Bruno a few times but just couldn’t get the exit off turn four,” said Moreau. “I’ve worked with Mike [Emhof] for three years to have a race home and we finally got one. I hope we can come back next year.”
Mecanique plus Robertson stepped in to give $100 to each of the following: Longest tow, 11th place, 19th place and the halfway bonus, plus the last driver on the track. John Smith traveled the most miles to get to Cornwall, while Scott Landers finished 11th and Blake Warner finished 19th. Richard led at the halfway point, while Liam Ladouceur was the last car on the track.
Garage Mario Moreau paid an extra $100 to the 15th place finisher, awarded to Kirsten Dombrowski.
Carquest Auto Parts of Canada also awarded $100 to the eighth-place finisher, Dillon Paddock.
Marc Suprenant, Lee Ladouceur and Jordan Hutton’s heat wins earned them $100 each, thanks to Construction CPNA, Energie Line Batteries and SLME.
This concludes the 2024 CRSA season. The series’ awards ceremony and banquet is planned for Dec. 7 at Vernon Downs Casino Hotel. Details on tickets and hotel reservations will be released at a later date.
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 72-Bruno Richard[1]; 2. 51-Lee Ladouceur[3]; 3. 22-Tomy Moreau[5]; 4. 77H-Bob Hamm[8]; 5. 18-Timmy Lotz[12]; 6. 93-Guy Gosselin[2]; 7. 23-John Smith[15]; 8. 21D-Dillon Paddock[18]; 9. 66-Jordan Hutton[4]; 10. 29-Dalton Herrick[14]; 11. 33-Scott Landers[7]; 12. M52-Marc Surprenant[6]; 13. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[9]; 14. 17S-Dalton Martin[19]; 15. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[17]; 16. D9-Dustin Sehn[16]; 17. 77L-Liam Ladouceur[11]; 18. (DNF) 55-Jeremy Lafleur[10]; 19. (DNF) 21B-Blake Warner[13]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. M52-Marc Surprenant[1]; 2. 22-Tomy Moreau[4]; 3. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[3]; 4. 93-Guy Gosselin[6]; 5. 77L-Liam Ladouceur[7]; 6. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[2]; 7. 21D-Dillon Paddock[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 51-Lee Ladouceur[1]; 2. 33-Scott Landers[2]; 3. 72-Bruno Richard[6]; 4. 18-Timmy Lotz[4]; 5. 21B-Blake Warner[5]; 6. (DNF) D9-Dustin Sehn[3]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 66-Jordan Hutton[1]; 2. 77H-Bob Hamm[4]; 3. 55-Jeremy Lafleur[3]; 4. 17S-Dalton Martin[6]; 5. (DNF) 29-Dalton Herrick[2]; 6. (DNF) 23-John Smith[5]
The A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprints are powered by Super Gen Products. Associate sponsors for 2024 include Pit Stop Convenience Stores, DisBatch Brewing Company, Dandy, Joe’s Garage, Westward Painting Company, the Maguire Family of Dealerships, Powdertech Powdercoating, PJC Sprayfoam, Profab Enterprises, Magsarus Ignitions, Hoosier Racing Tire, Insinger Performance with their Stinger Race Fuel, My Race Pass and is owned and operated by Mike Emhof Motorsports.
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