SHAW MOTORSPORTS: July 26 2008 update from Flamboro

Severe thunder storms with heavy rains gave way to sunny skies as the Shaw Crew arrived at Flamboro Speedway for the 40 lap Gary Elliott Anniversary Special. Gary and Nonie Elliott started racing in May of 1969 and over the next four decades would accumulate three seasons in the Mini Stocks and thirty-three in the Vintage Modifieds before joining the Late Models in 2005.

The Elliotts wanted a night set aside where they could say thanks to every segment of the racing community - the fans, children, racers, sponsors and the race track owners. Six bicycles were given away as part of the evening’s festivities – two of which were supplied by Shaw Motorsports on behalf of Roof Trusses and Components and the young winners were very happy due to the generosity of these sponsors. The Late Model drivers democratically decided that the extra purse monies for the night be donated to the charity of Gary’s choice which happened to have representatives in attendance. Dale Losch, from Cross World was presented with $760 during the intermission

The crew decided to try a little of the Delaware setup in the car for the first practice, however it was not as comfortable as they thought it would be. A chassis adjustment was made and the car was much better for the second practice.

The #82 Roof Trusses and Components Fusion started 3rd in the heat race and when the #10 who was ahead of him got a little loose, Jason was quick to make the move inside and take the position. The #48 and #42 got together at the back of the field to bring out the caution and that put Jason on the outside of the #36 for the restart.

After one lap of side by side racing, Jason got past the #36 and then started to pull away. With 3 laps to go, Jason managed to pull away from the #36 and took the checkered flag for the heat win. Jason was lined up 12th for the 40 lap feature and as the cars entered the track, they were stopped on the front stretch to allow Gary Elliott time to get out of his car and present track owners John and Frank Casale with a special plaque. After running 3 laps on the outside of the #8, Jason fell in behind him as the cars in front of him were loose and not moving as well as the lower lane.

Once down on the bottom, Jason quickly moved forward into 10th just prior to the #27,#3 and #42 getting together coming out of turn 4. Unfortunately, Jason was not able to get stopped in time as a little help from behind by the #52, pushed the #82 into the stopped cars causing minor damage to the right rear. The Nation Fire Equipment Ford restarted 13th behind the #3 and when the next caution came out for the #10 who had spun on lap 9, was up to 12th. On the restart, Jason was able to get past the #3, #27 and #88 into 9th. The #56 pulled off the track with an overheating problem moving the #82 into 8th on lap 15.

On the restart Jason followed the #48 past the #27 into 7th. Just before the half way mark, the #36 got a good run on the #37 and Gary Elliott was now leading the race. The #52 hit the wall on lap 22 and this pushed the rear end out of alignment causing him to spin out in the next corner bringing out the caution and putting the #82 into 6th. Jason got past the #48 on lap 26 into 5th and was now behind the #86. With 10 laps to go, the #36 had a 5 car length lead over his son David in the #37 car who had his hands full defending his position from the #8. With 5 laps to go, the top 5 pulled away from the rest of the field and remained in that order to finish with the #36 taking the victory followed by the #37, #8, #86 and then the #82 in 5th.

In other racing news, Billy Schwartzenburg in his #82 Mini-Sock went for a wild ride in his heat race. Billy was the victim of a chain reaction accident that saw him get turned into the wall at the exit of turn four and the front end climbed the wall, flipping the car on to it’s roof. Billy was fine, however his mother was an emotional wreck and the car received extensive  damage beyond repair. Ken Spira, Dave Hagedorn and the Schwartzenburg family went to work putting Billy’s motor, seat and set up into his brother Rick’s #72 car so he could continue to hold or improve on his 4th place position in the Flamboro points race. Billy is a 15 year old from Guelph and is the primary mini-stock sponsored by Spira Fire Protection.

Next up for the Shaw Team, is the Kid’s Ride night at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday August 2nd. The pits are scheduled to open at 4:00 pm, main gates at 5 and racing is to get underway at 6:30. Kid’s rides are from 5 - 6.

From Ken Spira / Shaw Motorsports