By: Clayton Johns/Go Nuclear Late Model Series
July 24 2016
Port Colborne, Ontario – Brandon Mowat was handed the pole position via the top qualifier redraw and never relinquished his prized possession. The Brighton, Ont. native dominated all 30 laps of the Humber Nurseries Humberstone Holdup for his first career Go Nuclear Late Model Series tour win on Sunday night. Mowat becomes the first Ontario-based driver to win with the Go Nuclear tour at Humberstone Speedway in four series events.
“It’s been two years since I won and it wasn’t a tour win last time. I just tried to keep it smooth, tight to the bottom and just roll,” said a very excited Mowat in Humber Nurseries victory lane. “It feels pretty special, especially at a track we haven’t really been to much.”
A caution-filled race got off to a slow start as Andy Mayhew (No.1 A&A Haulage), Travis Martineau (No.171 Schwartz Construction) and Norm Mayhew (No.60 Mayhew Graphics) spun together in turn one before the first lap could be completed.
The first lap was complete with Mowat (No.46 Target Fabrication) on the point, but slowed again for the second caution when Brian Down (No.8 Unique Landscaping) spun on the frontstretch.
On the ensuing restart, the field got up to speed with Mowat pacing Dennis Lunger Jr. (No.71L Schwartz Construction). AJ Kingsley (No.9k Pit Stop Convenience) drove to third past the third-starting Sam Pennachio (No.311 Duguay Haulage) on lap four.
The field was slowed again on lap five for a pair of cars spun at the exit of turn four. As the field came back to green, Rob Pietz (No.69 Mike Knapp Ford) spun off the track in turn one to bring out the yellow.
The constant restarts didn’t appear to bother Mowat as he pulled away to a half straightaway lead on the restart while Lunger fought off a challenge from Kingsley in the top groove. Lunger’s No.71L couldn’t keep pace with Mowat on any of the restarts, although he felt the single-file decision helped him protect the second spot.
“With all the cautions, it didn’t help us. We went with the (hard) right rear and I don’t think they ever took off. They were still cold when I touched them,” Lunger said following the race. “You couldn’t run the high side, so starting on the outside was a little bit of a disadvantage tonight.”
Kingsley’s pursuit was slowed when Charlie Sandercock (No.57 Bellevue Fabricating) spun alone in turn 1 to bring out another yellow. The ensuing restart didn’t go much better as Down and Pietz tangled this time in turn three.
Kyle Sopaz (No.12 Lots and Lines) was the big mover on the restart, jumping two spots to fifth. Pennachio also leap frogged Kingsley to retake the third spot. The point man remained Mowat for the moment, but Ken Winfield (No.82 Bill’s Toyota) and Tyler Rand (No.84 Main Stop Ultramar) came together in turn three for another yellow.
Another caution on lap 16 prompted single-file restarts for the remaining 14 laps. Just as Mowat caught the rear of the field with 20 laps complete, Down spun in front of the leaders after a nudge from Mowat.
Mowat admitted that the constant restarts prevented any chance to develop a rhythm, but he kept calm inside the cockpit on a warm night.
“I started to get a little flustered by the seventh restart, but I just kept hitting my marks. I had to keep telling myself that,” Mowat concluded.
Mowat did just that as he capitalized on the single-file restart and pulled away from Lunger again by a half-straightaway with five laps to go. Sandercock was on the move, jumping from 10th to fifth by the time of the final caution on lap 27.
Mowat was too strong on the final restart and had no difficulties with the clear track in front of him on the way to his first career Go Nuclear Late Model Series win. Lunger held off a surge from Sandercock on the final lap as the No.57 found some grip in the top lane to pass both Kingsley and Pennachio over the final three laps.
“We came in to the feature knowing everybody was going to be on the bottom and we had to do something different,” Sandercock said. “We threw a bunch of stuff at it and it seemed to work. I was happy with it. It was a good job by the team that was busting their butt in the pits.”
The series returns to action tomorrow night at Ohsweken Speedway for the Northern Crate Nationals presented by Humber Nurseries. Race time is 7:30pm. Additional event information is available at www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com and www.ohswekenspeedway.com.
Complete Results – July 24, 2016 – Go Nuclear! Late Model Series
Humber Nurseries Humberstone Holdup at Humberstone Speedway
Entry List
Car Number Name – Hometown - Sponsor
0 John Pinsonneault - Chatham, ON – Chatham Pro Shop
00 Jim Dale Jr. - Shrewsbury, ON) – Redneck Garage
04 Wyatt Van Wart - Cambridge, ON – Affordable Towing & Recovery
1 Andy Mayhew - Picton, ON – A&A Haulage
1x TJ Downs - Albion, NY – M&D Investments
8 Brian Down - Trenton, ON – Unique Landscaping
8x Mike Greene - Ridgeway, ON – G. Zavitz Ltd./S&W Service Centre
9k AJ Kingsley - Baldwinsville, NY – Pit Stop Convenience
10 Chris Fleming - Auburn, NY – Fleming Livestock Trucking
12 Kyle Sopaz - Trenton, ON – Lots and Lines
15 Tim Gillespie - Ridgeway, ON – Primal Custom Decals
24 Paul Grigsby - Springville, NY – Ed Carley Motorsports
25 Greg Belyea - Stirling, ON – Excel Tower Service
29 Phil Potts - Brighton, ON – Brighton Recycling
44 Jeff Dayman - Welland, ON – Ed Carley Motorsports
46 Brandon Mowat - Brighton, ON – Target Fabrication
57 Charlie Sandercock - Trenton, ON – Bellevue Fabrication
60 Norm Mayhew - Lakeport, ON – Mayhew Graphics
69 Rob Pietz - Port Colborne, ON – Mike Knapp Ford
71L Dennis Lunger Jr. - Albion, PA – Schwartz Construction
82 Ken Winfield - Ridgeway, ON – Bill's Toyota/Class A Roofing
84 Tyler Rand - Picton, ON – Main Stop Ultramar
89 Austin King - Port Hope, ON – Durmach Excellence In Tooling
92 Adam Turner - Picton, ON – Village Variety and Gas Bar
171 Travis Martineau - Conneault, OH – Schwartz Construction
311 Sam Pennachio - Niagara Falls, ON – Duguay Haulage
A-Main (30 Laps – Starting Position in Parentheses): 1. 46 Brandon Mowat (1), 2. 71L Dennis Lunger Jr. (2), 3. 57 Charlie Sandercock (13), 4. 311 Sam Pennachio (3), 5. 9k AJ Kingsley (6), 6. 12 Kyle Sopaz (8), 7. 29 Phil Potts (9), 8. 10 Chris Fleming (40, 9. 15 Tim Gillespie (11), 10. 25 Greg Belyea (17), 11. 1x TJ Downs (16), 12. 24 Paul Grigsby (5), 13. 92 Adam Turner (10), 14. 82 Ken Winfield (18), 15. 89 Austin King (20), 16. 00 Jim Dale Jr. (12), 17. 8x Mike Greene (15), 18. 44 Jeff Dayman (14), 19. 1 Andy Mayhew (25), 20. 0 John Pinnsonneault (26), 21. 171 Travis Martineau (23), 22. 69 Rob Pietz (7), 23. 8 Brian Down (22), 24. 84 Tyler Rand (19), 25. 04 Wyatt Van Wart (24), 26. 60 Norm Mayhew (21). No Time.
Scott Jeffrey’s Performance Hard Charger: Charlie Sandercock (13th to 3rd)
Dynamic Diversified Halfway Leader: Brandon Mowat
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 3 Redraw): 1. 29 Phil Potts, 2. 9k AJ Kingsley, 3. 24 Paul Grigsby, 4. 92 Adam Turner, 5. 57 Charlie Sandercock, 6. 1x TJ Downs, 7. 84 Tyler Rand, 8. 8 Brian Down, 9. 1 Andy Mayhew. No Time.
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 3 Redraw): 1. 12 Kyle Sopaz, 2. 311 Sam Pennachio, 3. 10 Chris Fleming, 4. 15 Tim Gillespie, 5. 44 Jeff Dayman, 6. 25 Greg Belyea, 7. 89 Austin King, 8. 171 Travis Martineau, 9. 0 Jon Pinsonneault. Time: 2:24.789
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top 3 Redraw): 1. 46 Brandon Mowat, 2. 71L Dennis Lunger Jr., 3. 69 Rob Pietz, 4. 00 Jim Dale Jr., 5. 8x Mike Greene, 6. 82 Ken Winfield, 7. 60 Norm Mayhew, 8. 04 Wyatt Van Wart. Time: No Time.
Time Trial Group 1 (Invert 4): 1. 24 Paul Grigsby 15.909 seconds, 2. 29 Phil Potts 15.971, 3. Charlie Sandercock 16.134, 4. 92 Adam Turner 16.194, 5. 9k AJ Kingsley 16.208, 6. 1 Andy Mayhew 16.509, 7. 1x TJ Downs 16.509, 8. 84 Tyler Rand 16.778, 9. 8 Brian Down 16.876.
Time Trial Group 2 (Invert 4): 1. 15 Tim Gillespie 15.924 seconds, 2. 311 Sam Pennachio 15.980, 3. 10 Chris Fleming 16.121, 4. 12 Kyle Sopaz 16.294, 5. 44 Jeff Dayman 16.317, 6. 171 Travis Martineau 16.432, 7. 89 Austin King 16.513, 8. 0 Jon Pinsonneault 16.542, 9. 25 Greg Belyea 16.543.
Time Trial Group 3 (Invert 4): 1. 71L Dennis Lunger Jr. 15.966 seconds, 2. 46 Brandon Mowat 16.212, 3. 00 Jim Dale Jr. 16.561, 4. 82 Ken Winfield 16.649, 5. 04 Wyatt Van Wart 16.807, 6. 8x Mike Greene 17.054, 7. 60 Norm Mayhew 18.405, 8. 69 Rob Pietz No Time.
Lap Sponsors (Both Events)
Lap 1 - Surefoot Inc. (6th)
Lap 2 - Techniseal (18th)
Lap 3 - Unilock (17th)
Lap 4 - Ganesh Mohan (19th)
Lap 5 - Hi Line Gifts (10th)
Lap 6 - C Smith Machine Shop (15th)
Lap 7 – Winfield Racing (3rd)
Lap 8 - Unilock (1st)
Lap 10 - Guillevin International (7th)
Lap 11 - Tson Dang (10th)
Lap 13 - King Landscaping (6th)
Lap 14 – Mayhew Graphics (11th)
Lap 15 - Techniseal (15th)
Lap 16 - Bellevue Fabricating (2nd)
Lap 18 - Mix-Can Inc. (13th)
Lap 19 - CT Canada (12th)
Lap 21 - Dynamic Diverse (14th)
Lap 22 - Surefoot Inc. (19th)
Lap 24 - Aqua Scape Inc. (2nd)
Lap 25 - C Smith Machine Shop (4th)
Lap 26 - Performance Auto (9th)
Lap 27 - King Landscaping (6th)
Lap 28 - Hi Line Gifts (14th)
Lap 29 - TriStar Pottery
Lap 30 - Action Imports (1st)
Hard Charger Award: Scott Jefferies Performance $50 Gift Card
Halfway Leader: Armour-All Products Tool Box courtesy of Dynamic Diversified
SEASON WINNERS: Charlie Sandercock – 2 (Brighton Speedway on June 25, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 3); John Waters – 1 (Utica-Rome Speedway on April 24); Brandon Mowat – 1 (Humberstone Speedway on July 24)
MEDIA LINKS
Website: www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com
Facebook: facebook.com/gonuclearlatemodelseries
Twitter: @GoNuclearSeries
About Humber Nurseries: Humber Nurseries is Ontario’s largest all season garden centre. Humber Nurseries is located on 24 acres in the southeast corner of Brampton, Ont. with a 100-acre growing farm in Caledon East to support the demand for quality landscape plants that are locally grown and available at competitive prices. Humber Nurseries is an industry leader in the production and supply of annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, herbs, and aquatic plants that are not commonly available elsewhere. Visit www.gardencentre.com for more information.
The Go Nuclear! Late Model Series is supported by several dedicated corporate sponsors including Excel Tower Service, Humber Nurseries, Gillee’s Heavy Truck Parts, Adam Nayler Plumbing, Dibbits Excavating, B Tech Concrete & Construction, Tenace Diversifeid, Tenacious Sound, C. Smith Machine Shop, Deerhaven Farm and Garden, Victory Motorcycles, Valley Automation and Control, Laguna Ponds, Guillevin International, Superior Crane, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants Canada, Beyea Headers, and Scott Jeffrey’s Performance.
About the Go Nuclear! Late Model Series: The Go Nuclear! Late Model Series is touring Crate Late Model series based in the state of New York. The tour typically runs 12-15 races each season from April to October to allow drivers the opportunity to travel with a competitive group of racers while maintaining their home track loyalty. For more information about the Go Nuclear! Late Model Series, visit www.gonuclearlatemodelseries.com.