Peterborough, ON – Brandon Watson (#9 Shear Metal Products/Royal Distributing/Barrie Frame and Alignment/Knightworks Design Chevrolet) came from the back after suffering a flat tire to win the Autumn Colours Classic at Peterborough Speedway. Watson capped off a dream season with his fourth win and 11th consecutive top-ten finish at the same event where he earned his first OSCAAR win in 2010 to win earn the title of 2012 OSCAAR Grand Champion.
George Wilson (#77 Port City Racecars/Morollo Racing Engines/Let the Fur Fly Pet Salon/Union Cab Ford) was second while Derrick Tiemersma (#7 Wayfreight/Spira Fire Protection Chevrolet) finished third.
Jeff Dunford (#7T Northland Automotive/Castrol Canada Chevrolet) returned to the field after a three month absence to finish fourth and Gary Passer (#13 Jenco Equipment Chevrolet) rounded out the top-five.
The first caution of the afternoon came on lap 18 as Keith King (#91 Factory Auto Collision/Rob Vanscoy Over Head Doors/Superior Maple Chevrolet) lost power and fell off the pace.
On the ensuing restart, Dave Taylor (#51 NAPA Auto Parts/Grosnor Distribution/Ron Lee Sceptic) went spinning to the front stretch infield grass when the inside line failed to get up to speed. The slow start was the result of a flat right-front tire on the leader Watson’s #9.
With Watson restarting at the tail of the field, the lead was handed over to Wilson. However, the cautions continued as Glenn Watson (#22 Rival Office Solutions/Race2way.ca/Shane Michaels RV Centre/Williamson Uxbridge Chevrolet) got in to the back of the #77. The result was both drivers restarting at the tail of the longest line and the lead handed over to Charlie Gallant (#40P South Shore Services/East Point Marina Chevrolet). With the spin, Wilson felt that he had flat spotted his tires which hurt his chances coming back through the field.
“The car was real good at the start and we were pacing ourselves with Brandon having the lead he had,” said Wilson. “After I got the lead, I got dumped there and spun around on the frontstretch. I felt like I spotted the tires when I spun them around when I got looped. It seemed like it lost all forward bite.”
On lap 22, Gallant saw a tire go down on his #40P as he entered turn three. As Gallant got loose through the corner, second and third place runners Rob Clarke (#49 Cars by Clarke/HRP/Melchers Contruction/JBM Chevrolet) and John Owen (#2 Owen Performance Engines/DRV Masonry Chevrolet) collided, ending the day for Clarke.
Brandon Watson was back up to third at the ensuing restart with Tiemersma and Dunford the top-two.
Caution was out again on lap 31 when Gary Passer (#13 Jenco Equipment Chevrolet) spun in turn four. Rudy Oppersma (#04 Ajax Muffler and Rad Chevrolet) ended his day on the same caution period with an overheating motor.
On lap 34, J.R. Fitzpatrick (#27x APX Racewear/Jenco Equipment Chevrolet) fell off the pace with a broken rear-end.
A pair of late race cautions on lap 40 and 46 kept the field tight for a one lap dash at the end. Watson, who regained the lead just two laps prior to the final caution. Wilson and Tiemersma kept close to Watson, but ran out of laps to catch the 2012 champion. Finishing third, Tiemersma felt it was where his car belonged.
“We definitely didn’t have a car to win. It was just attrition as to why we were up there to begin with,” explained Tiemersma. “I was waiting for those guys to come up through the field. It was going to take sheer luck for me to win that race, but we have a straight race car. You can’t say that for a lot of guys out there.”
The race winner Watson was excited that he was able to make his car come from the back to the front to get the win.
“It was definitely hard to get back up through the field. We had a good car to start. We had lots of grip and were able to pull away a bit,” said Watson of the early race lead.
Following the flat tire, Watson said he held true to a strategy he knew would work in the closing laps.
Said Watson, “We tried to pass cars inside, just tried to keep it down low to get underneath them. We definitely didn’t have a lot of grip. We were sideways off half the corners, but we made it work and got to victory lane.”
Four-time defending champion Glenn Watson finished 12th. Glenn ends the season fourth in the championship standings, outside the top-two for the first time in five seasons.
Jesse Kennedy (#10 Cameron Crane/Bev’s Auto Body and Smoke Shop Chevrolet) was officially named the 2012 Inside Track Rookie-of-the-Year, as he was the highest finishing rookie on the day with a seventh place result.
The 11-race 2012 season for the OSCAAR Super Late Models was closed out on the track at Peterborough and will come to a complete close on Saturday, November 24 with the annual OSCAAR banquet. This year’s banquet will be held at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Markham, ON. For tickets, please contact OSCAAR Treasurer Edna White.
Stay tuned to oscaar.ca in the coming weeks for a year in review.
By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia)
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Results: Autumn Colours Classic 50 (Peterborough Speedway)
1. #9 Brandon Watson; 2. #77 George Wilson; 3. #7 Derrick Tiemersma; 4. #7T Jeff Dunford; 5. #13 Gary Passer; 6. #07 Todd Campbell; 7. #10 Jesse Kennedy; 8. #2 John Owen; 9. #45F Corey Furkey; 10. #91 Keith King; 11. #69 Mike Bricknell; 12. #22 Glenn Watson; 13. #42 Tyler Hawn; 14. #5 Quinn Misener; 15. #49 Rob Clarke (DNF –accident); 16. #51 Dave Taylor (DNF –accident); 17. #81 Shawn McGlynn (DNF-accident); 18. #27x J.R. Fitzpatrick (DNF – rear-end); 19. #04 Rudy Oppersma (DNF – overheated); 20. #40P Charlie Gallant (DNF – accident); 21. #64b Chris Burrows (DNF – mechanical+); 22. #45 Rob Poole (DNF – mechanical).
Click HERE for OFFICIAL Championship Standings
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