Two-for-Two for Thomson to Start 2010

Veteran driver and reigning Ontario Pro Challenge Series champion Dennis Thomson (above) is showing no signs of letting up in his title defense, winning his second consecutive feature race this past weekend at Sunset Speedway in Innisfil, Ontario.  After selling his title-winning Ford Taurus to rookie Owen Smith in the off-season, Thomson purchased a new Ford Mustang and has not missed a beat, backing up his win in the season opener by out-running Josh Nicholson to the checkered flag this past Saturday.  The series once again put 21 cars on Sunset’s third-mile banked track, and the quality of racing improved this time out as the large rookie contingent now had a night’s experience under their collective belts.  The size of the grid will only grow as the season progresses, as there are still a handful of cars that should be making their debut sometime in 2010.

In the opening heat race of the night, Ken Nicholson (above) led the way in his #99 International Track and Engine Chev Monte Carlo, coming from fourth on the grid to take the win. Markham’s Kyle Batty (#38 Compassion Canada Ford Taurus) found some speed after struggling at the season opener a week earlier and enjoyed a successful first heat with a runner-up finish to Nicholson, coming home just ahead of Bob Hopton (#10 Tradewind Heating and Air Conditioning Monte Carlo) in the short sprint race.  Malcolm McMaster (#85 MMG Trading / Bamboo Flooring Monte Carlo) and Matt Marshall (#85 Monte Carlo) rounded out the top-five.

In the OPC heat race line-up equation, the drivers with the highest average point totals are positioned in Heat #2, meaning it will likely be a barnburner all summer.  With just one race in the books thus far in 2010, this heat race pitted the top six drivers from last weekend’s feature race.  This time out, young gun Josh Nicholson (above - #66 Firkin Pubs Dodge Charger) started on pole and powered out to the win ahead of Tim Forbes (#04 Midhurst Roofing Ford Mustang) and Danielle Wilson (#21 Huber Window Cleaning Chev Monte Carlo).  Wilson is off to a great start this season, coming off a fine sixth at last weekend’s series opener at Sunset.  Contact early between frontrunners Tim Norris (#88 ApprencticeSearch.com / Lucas Oil Dodge Intrepid) and Scott Fletcher (Hype Energy Drink / Fine Details Chev Monte Carlo) put Fletcher on the sidelines with a damaged left-front, while Norris was able to continue on to fourth, ahead of Thomson in his #02 Thomson Signs Ford Mustang.  Fletcher’s team would go to work quickly in an attempt to repair his car in time for the night’s feature.

In the third heat, which featured all of the current series rookies, Owen Smith (above) showed the way in his #40 Ford Taurus to bag his first career OPC heat race.  Dale Wilson (#8 AW Millwrights Chev Monte Carlo) was second in run, looking much more comfortable in his car following the Sunset opener earlier in the month.  Rick Seeley finished third in the #16 Pontiac Grand Prix, ahead of Jason Podewis (#7 Chev Monte Carlo) and Ken Lillycrop (#00 Chev Monte Carlo).

Unlike the opening night feature, which was plagued by early race yellows, the OPC drivers raced clean for the first 17 laps, putting on a good show for the Sunset race fans as they were the first main event of the evening.  Ken Nicholson would lead the early going, but eventually, Thomson would find his way to the front and was able to take over the lead just two laps before the first caution period of the night bunched the field back together.  Thomson would not be challenged for the remainder of the race but he was not the only driver making a move to the front.

After starting 12^th and easing into the 30-lap event to test the repairs to his car, Fletcher (above) found himself with a quick ride, his team’s post-heat efforts having paid off.  Once things got underway, Fletcher used both the high-side and the low groove to pick off his competition, eventually finding his way into third before the final caution of the night.  When the race went back to green, the lead trio held their position as they pulled away with Thomson leading Nicholson and Fletcher to the flag.  Dario Valente took fourth in his #71 Apartments International Inc Chev Monte Carlo, while Matt Marshall (#97 Chev Monte Carlo) turned in a strong run to finish fifth in the final tally.  Forbes would finish sixth ahead of Ken Nicholson, while Podewis was the top rookie in eighth.  Seeley had his best run of the young season in ninth, besting Hopton to the line as the duo completed the top-10.

Thomson now leads the points with 12 markers over John Nicholson, while Forbes and Fletcher are right there in third and fourth.  The top rookie in the points after the first two races is Rick Seeley in ninth. The Ontario Pro Challenge drivers are back in action this coming Saturday to cap off this three-weekend run with a special 50-lap event at Varney Speedway.

Special thanks to Chip Young for the amazing images - www.cyimages.biz

Race #3 – June 5, 2010

Sunset Speedway – Innisfil, Ontario

Heat #1:

1. Ken Nicholson  2. Kyle Batty  3. Bob Hopton  4. Malcolm McMaster  5. Matt Marshall  6. Robert Coverdale 

Heat #2:

1. Josh Nicholson  2. Tim Forbes  3. Danielle Wilson  4. Tim Norris  5. Dennis Thomson  6. Scott Fletcher 

Heat #3:

1. Owen Wilson  2. Dale Wilson  3. Rick Seeley  4. Jason Podewis  5. Ken Lillycrop 6. Jonathan Sloot  7. Jason Davidson  8. Patrick Freel 

Feature:

1. Dennis Thomson  2 Josh Nicholson  3. Scott Fletcher  4. Dario Valente  5. Matt Marshall  6. Tim Forbes  7. Ken Nicholson  8. Jason Podewis  9. Rick Seeley  10. Bob Hopton  11. Owen Smith  12. Dale Wilson  13. Jonathan Sloot  14. Jason Davidson  15. Ken Lillycrop  16. Danielle Wilson  17. Tim Norris  18. Robert Coverdale  19. Kyle Batty  20. Malcolm McMaster  21. Patrick Freel 

Thomson Begins Title Defense with Sunset Victory

The 2010 Ontario Pro Challenge (OPC) season got underway on Saturday evening at the spectacularly renovated Sunset Speedway in Innisfil, ON and the travelling series did not disappoint as a record 21 drivers hit the asphalt to kick off the new campaign.  The battles were impressive on the fast 1/3-mile high-banked track, as two-wide racing was a given throughout the night.  A highlight of the opener was the debut of the 2K10 rookie class, which put seven drivers in a freshman-only heat race that went green to checker without issue.  The new competitors had a little more trouble in the 30-lap main event, but the overall impression was solid.

When the OPC has more than 21 cars in the pits, they run a total of three heats, setting the grid for the first two heats using an average points per race equation. Rookie drivers – those running less than the minimum three races – are placed in third heat.  Using the average points from the 2009 season for the series opener, Dario Valente (#71 Apartments International Monte Carlo) was placed on the outside pole for the first heat and was able to hold off a hard-charging Danielle Wilson (#21 Huber Window Cleaning Monte Carlo) to score the first checkered flag of the year.  Scott Fletcher crossed the line in third in his #60 Hype Energy Drink Monte Carlo.

The second heat featured all of the big hitters, including reigning champion Dennis Thomson, Tim Norris, Tim Forbes, Josh Nicholson and Ken Nicholson.  After an exciting dice, Norris would score the win in his #88 ApprencticeSearch.com / Lucas Oil Dodge Intrepid, holding off both Thomson (#02 Thompson Signs Ford Mustang) and Forbes (#04 Midhurst Roofing Ford Mustang) to further set the grid for the 30-lap main. Josh Nicholson (#66 Firkin Pubs Dodge Charger) and Ken Nicholson (#99 International Truck and Engine Chev Monte Carlo) capped the top-five, while Bob Hopton was sixth in his #10 Tradewind Monte Carlo.

In the third heat, the rookies did extremely well, with Jonathan Sloot (#22 Monte Carlo) staying out in front of the pack to win in his series debut.  Jason Davidson powered his #48 entry to second ahead of Patrick Freel in the #77 Dodge Intrepid.  Rick Seeley (#19 Pontiac Grand Prix) and Jason Podewis (#7 Chev Monte Carlo) rounded out the top-five.

The main event was set as the feature race of the evening, and with 21 cars roaring off turn four to take the green, Valente held the point for the initial laps after starting on pole.  Fletcher had the rocket over the opening laps as he went to the front by controlling the low exit line out of the corners.  Fletcher would eventually take the lead and he was able to hold onto the point through multiple cautions, however, these frequent stoppages allowed Norris, Thomson and Forbes to close in.  Fletcher was able to hold off their advances for many laps, but Thomson would eventually slip through, pinning Fletcher to the high groove whereby the floodgates opened.  Fletcher would eventually finish a strong fifth, after losing three additional positions.

It would come down to a green-white-checker finish after a late-race yellow, but the veteran Thomson would not be fazed as he held off Norris to defend his ’09 championship in fine style.  Norris would finish second ahead of Forbes, while Josh Nicholson steered his ride to an impressive fourth after starting 10^th.   Danielle Wilson fought through a couple of incidents to take sixth behind Fletcher, while Malcolm McMaster turned in an impressive effort to take eighth.  The highest finishing rookie driver was Jason Davidson, who ran a great race after starting in 15th, advancing to eighth in the final tally. Robert Coverdale and Matt Marshall completed the top-10.

The next race is set for this coming weekend back on the high banks of Sunset, with the cars again part of their Saturday night program.

Round #1 – May 28, 2010

Sunset Speedway – Innisfil, Ontario

Heat #1:

1. Dario Valente  2. Danielle Wilson  3. Scott Fletcher  4. Robert Coverdale  5. Matt Marshall  6. Malcolm McMaster

Heat #2:

1. Tim Norris  2. Dennis Thomson  3. Tim Forbes  4. Josh Nicholson  5. Ken Nicholson  6. Bob Hopton

Heat #3:

1. Jonathan Sloot  2. Jason Davidson  3. Patrick Freel  4. Rick Seeley  5. Jason Podewis  6. Owen Smith  7. Dale Wilson  8. Ken Lillycrop

Feature:

1. Dennis Thomson  2. Tim Norris  3. Tim Forbes  4. Josh Nicholson  5. Scott Fletcher  6. Danielle Wilson  7. Malcolm McMaster  8. Jason Davidson  9. Robert Coverdale  10. Matt Marshall  11. Ken Nicholson  12. Ken Lillycrop  13. Rick Seeley  14. Jason Podewis 15. Bob Hopton  16. Jonathan Sloot  17. Patrick Freel  18. Dale Wilson 19. Kyle Batty  20. Dario Valente  21. Owen Smith