@DelawareSpdway • Delaware, ON (July 31, 2015)- Delaware Speedway's local divisions treated the fans to great racing and hard battles on Emergency Services Appreciation night Friday evening.
Branden Verhoeven (#7) of Kerwood won the 35-lap feature race in the Ground Masters Super Stock Series, Tom Zagorodny (#77) of London won the 35-lap Demar Aggregates Truck Series race, and Steve Arrand (#37) of Ailsa Craig captured the checkered flag in the V8 Muscle Cars.
The Ground Masters Super Stocks started their evening of racing off a little wild with drivers racing very hard and patience running on an all time low in heat race competition. In the second of two heat races an accident on the back straightaway saw David McCullough (#39) of Glencoe connect with Calvin Verhayen's #8 as a few other drivers piled in including Andrew Ferreira (#9) and Brittany Beatty (#14) of Woodstock. Ultimately all drivers were able to continue on in the evening and all were able to start the feature race.
Rookie Super Stock driver Calvin Verhayen (#8) led the field to the green flag and led the opening six laps before falling to points leader Darrell Lake (#77) of London, who completed the pass after several laps of side by side battling. The two swapped the lead numerous times until Gary Adriaensen took over the top spot on lap 10. Eventual winner Branden Verhoeven worked his way methodically through traffic and was alongside Gary Adriaensen by lap 20 battling for the lead. Adriaensen put up a strong fight as he is still searching for his first career victory in the series but by lap twenty-four Verhoeven had proved to be the better car and had his sights set on his second win in the last three events. A spin on the front straightaway by Devin Jarvis (#88) set up a green-white-checkered finish that saw Lake able to move up to finish second with Gary Adriaensen finishing third, Verhayen fourth, and Kenny McNicol Jr. (#77) of Exeter rounding out the top five. The championship battle took yet another turn as Adriaensen regains the top position after getting the best of Lake during heat race competition.
The Demar Aggregates Truck Series put on one of its best shows in recent memory, making a statement that the drivers continue to put on high quality racing that had fans buzzing. The feature race proved to be exciting with three wide battles and of course some of that beating and banging truck magic that the division is known for. In heat race competition, Lucas Manning (#66) took his first career win in a full sized race vehicle as well as David Bacon (#43).
Mickey Brydges (#55) of Guelph had one of his best career runs after leading the field to the green and leading the first seven laps. Defending champion Tom Zagorodny (#77) challenged for the lead and was able to take it away from Brydges on lap eight. Zagorodny went on to lead the remainder of the event but it was not without action as he had to face multiple restarts and work his way through lapped traffic that went 3-wide at times. A late race caution set up a dash to the finish and allowed Brydges one last opportunity to challenge for his first career win, but he would fall just short and settle for a career best finish of second place. Last week's winner Rick Verberne (#88) of Otterville would finish the event in the third position. The win for Zagorodny is key as it puts him right in the thick of the championship battle as he looks to defend his title.
The V8 Muscle Cars had what might be called the finish of the night between Steve Arrand (#37) and Paul Fothergill (#33) of London who battled hard the last half of the 35-lap feature race. After trying the outside for a number of laps, a daring last lap move to the inside of Fothergill in turn one allowed Arrand to visit victory lane. The opening lap saw the only caution of the race for Darren Thirkettle (#56) of Strathroy breaking an axle and losing his tire in the apex of turn 3 and 4. Early on in the race Gary Zwygers (#93) of Cambridge led and looked strong but ultimately settled for third position when the checkered flag flew.
The next event at Delaware Speedway is this coming Wednesday August 5th with the Open Ontario Four-Cylinders featuring a $1000 to win Australian Pursuit. The event gets underway at 7:30pm.
Next Friday, August 7th is fan appreciation night with $10 admission. Residents of Komoka, Mt. Brydges, and Delaware can enter the event for free as part of a community appreciation program.
======RACE RESULTS======
Groundmasters Super Stocks
Feature Race
1. 7 Branden Verhoeven Kerwood
2. 77 Darrell Lake London
3. 55 Gary Adriaensen Belmont
4. 8 Calvin Verheyen (R) Strathroy
5. 17 Kenny McNicol Jr. Exeter
6. 3 Shae Gemmell Dorchester
7. 1 Trevor Collver Lucan
8. 39 David McCullough Glencoe
9. 88 Devin Jarvis London
10. 38 Derek McCullough (R) Glencoe
11. 14 Brittany Beatty Woodstock
12. 5 D.J. Christie (R) Beachville
13. 62 Darren Wright Watford
14. 16 Kathleen Hosang London
15. 93 Jerry Broom Dashwood
16. 51 Matt Robblee Woodstock
17. 9 Andrew Ferriah London
Demar Aggregates Trucks
Feature Race
1. 77 Tom Zagorodny London
2. 55 Mickey Brydges Guelph
3. 88 Rick Verberne Otterville
4. 66 Lucas Manning Komoka
5. 29 Bill Sherwood London
6. 22 Jeff Denboer London
7. 43 David Bacon Woodslee
8. 52 Dave Webster Appin
9. 92 Kyle Neumeister (R) Stratford
10. 5 Kevin Lay (R) Windsor
11. 78 Cameron McQueen London
12. 26 Randy McKinlay (R) Chatham
13. 23 Ryan Agar (R) Iona Station
14. 27 Chris Payne London
V8 Stock Muscle Cars
Feature Race
1. 37 Steve Arrand Ailsa Craig
2. 33 Paul Fothergill London
3. 93 Gary Zwygers Cambridge
4. 45 Barry Watson West Lorne
5. 01 Jaden Chapman Sarnia
6. 07 Jamie Klumper Mitchell
7. 25 Ron Pearce Ilderton
8. 11 Jeremy Taggert Belmont
9. 8 Andrew Ferreira (R) Strathroy
10. 44 Todd Walton Shedden
11. 82 Mannie Demelo London
12. 23 Jeff Ferguson (R) Ayr
13. 56 Darren Thirkettle Strathroy
From: Delaware Speedway PR// Ryan Dyson & John Houghton
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