Shane Pecore Secures Series Championship
by Clayton Johns
BROCKVILLE, Ont. – Oct. 15, 2016 – Louis Jackson Jr. started on the pole and led all 50 laps to earn his first DIRTcar Sportsman Series win in the final tour race of the season at Brockville Ontario Speedway’s 1000 Islands RV Centre Northeast Fall Nationals on Saturday night.
“It feels pretty damn good,” Jackson said of his first career win in victory lane. “It was fun. I always enjoy coming to Brockville. It may only be once a year, but it’s always fun when I come here.”
Jackson set a fast pace early on as he quickly opened a lead at the drop of the green flag while Martin Pelletier and Ryan Scott battled for third. Pelletier won the battle and broke away from the field with Jackson to the tune of half a straightaway.
Just as Jackson and Pelletier made their way into lapped traffic on lap 10, the first caution of the race waved on lap 11 when Thomas Cook spun off the top of turn four.
On the ensuing restart, Felix Murray got the worst of a number of cars making contact near the rear of the field and spun to the infield for the second yellow of the race on lap 12.
The race got back up to speed for a single-lap before Jared Herbsion and Brad Rouse tangled while battling for position on the backstretch. Jackson, Pelletier and Brianna Ladouceur quickly led the top-six to single-file formation on the restart, but were reeled in on lap 15 when Murray spun off the track in turn one.
The next restart was significantly cleaner and allowed Jackson and Pelletier to reestablish their advantage briefly before Tristan Draper fell off the pace on lap 18 to bring out the yellow flag.
“It felt like the car was better on the long runs, but we kept getting those cautions. I could hear somebody humming right on my back door. I was just trying to hold my line and stay as calm as possible,” Jackson said of the restarts through the middle portion of the race.
The championship battle heated up as well during a seven-lap green flag run as point leader Shane Pecore raced to eighth ahead of Ron Davis III in 10th. Davis entered the race 18 points behind Pecore for the title. .
As the leaders crossed the line to record the halfway point at lap 25, Pelletier pressured Jackson for the lead with less than a car length separating the two drivers while Ladouceur joined the two-car breakaway.
The action wasn’t so smooth at the rear of the field as a half-dozen cars spun together in turn one to block the track and bring out the red flag before lap 26 was completed. No drivers were injured in the incident and the contact appeared relatively minor.
The top-three were able to separate from the field on the restart. They were separated by a half-second each before Ladouceur took second from Pelletier off turn two on lap 33.
“Each time I had the chance to pass him a yellow would come out so I’d have to start all over again. When I finally got him I said ‘this is my chance to keep my line and catch up to Louis’,” Ladouceur said of her pass for the runner-up spot.
Davis III continued to pressure Lajoie with hopes of getting past Pecore in a bid for the championship title. A very slick racetrack and single-file formation did not allow him to build enough momentum to challenge for the ninth position.
Back up front, Jackson worked his way into traffic on lap 37 and put a lapped car between himself and Ladouceur which amounted to a one-second advantage. Jacksn continued to adapt to the track surface which transitioned from slick to taking rubber.
“The track actually took rubber through the middle of three and four and on the bottom of one and two. My car was a little better in three and four than it was in one and two, but I managed,” Jackson said.
His advantage was erased on lap 41 by a caution for a slowed Tristan Draper. Jackson and Ladouceur pulled away on the single-file restart and began to settle in before a caution with four laps to go after Dan Ferguson hit the tires protecting the retaining wall at the bottom of turn one after contact with another car near the rear of the field.
Pelletier drew the short straw following the restart as he spun on lap 47 while running third with what appeared to be mechanical problems. He did not finish.
The final restart of the race pitted teammates Jackson and Ladouceur against one another for the last time. Jackson was dominant over the final three laps as he was all race long to score the victory. He looked smooth and calm, but suggested after the race there were some nerves along the way.
“It was fun. I wouldn’t have minded passing a few cars. It’s always worrisome starting on the front row because you don’t know whether to set the pace or if you’re doing something right or wrong,” Jackson said.
Pecore was credited with a fifth-place finish, two spots ahead of his championship foil Davis III. Earning the championship was a complete team effort, Pecore said.
“This team makes it easy on me because they put such a good hot rod under me week in and week out. All I have to do is drive, so I have more of the fun. Winning races is awesome, but a championship is about the team,” said Pecore, who also won the track championship at Brockville. .
“This means more than anything right now. It’s a heartfelt feeling because we worked so hard for this.”
Race Notes – Louis Jackson Jr. utilized the pole position to his advantage as he led all 50 laps of the DIRTcar Sportsman Series 50-lap season finale at Brockville Speedway during the 1000 Islands RV Centre Northeast Fall Nationals. Jackson held off teammate Brianna Ladouceur over the final 28 laps to secure his first win in series history.
Feature – (50 Laps) – 1. 18j-Louis Jackson Jr. [1], 2. 15b-Brianna Ladouceur [5], 3. 52-Jessica Power [4], 4. 33-Ryan Scott [3], 5. 0-Shane Pecore [10], 6. 83-Dylan Evoy [9], 7. 32r-Ron Davis III [11], 8. 33L-Alex Lajoie [7], 9. 20-Jason Shipclark [26], 10. 102-Derrick Cryderman [13], 11. 18r-Brad Rouse [22], 12. 180-Aaron Pugh [15], 13. 8-Zac McBride [12], 14. 3-Adam Rozon [19], 15. 38j-Jared Herbison [17], 16. 58-Steve Morris [24], 17. 88c-Conor Dawdy [16], 18. 53-Jean-Nicolas Gareau [14], 19. 60-Jackson Gill [27], 20. 92p-Martin Pelletier [2], 21. 11-Dan Ferguson [23], 22. 17-Tristan Draper [20], 23. 95-Felix Murray [25], 24. 44-Jonathan Ferguson [21], 25. 29k-Chris Cunningham [29], 26. 80-Steve Barber [8], 27. 35-Thomas Cook [28], 28. 04-Scott McGill [30], 29. 44r-Dave Rogers [18], DQ. 85-Tyler Givogue [6]. Lap Leaders: Louis Jackson Jr. 1-50
Qualifying Group 1 – 1. 52-Jessica Power, 16.151, 2. 80-Steve Barber, 16.289, 3. 32r-Ron Davis III, 16.428, 4. 58-Steve Morris, 16.563, 5. 88c-Connor Dawdy, 16.587, 6. 11f-Dan Ferguson, 16.742, 7. 36-Chantel Provencher, 16.832, 8. 72-Bruno Richard, 17.238, 9. 69-Josh Kirkland, NT.
Qualifying Group 2 – 1. 92p-Martin Pelletier, 16.375, 2. 91-Matthieu Laramee, 16.558, 3. 38j-Jared Herbison, 16.672, 4. 21c-Jacob Clancy, 16.679, 5. 85-Tyler Givogue, 16.744, 6. 54-Brad Winters, 16.951, 7. 20-Jason Shipclark, 16.998, 8. 8-Zac McBride, 17.149, 9. 88-Dillon Sallows, 18.013.
Qualifying Group 3 – 1. 0-Shane Pecore, 16.509, 2. 18j-Louis Jackson Jr., 16.465, 3. 35-Thomas Cook, 16.616, 4. 44r-Dave Rogers, 16.761, 5. M70 Billy Cook, 16.750, 6. 102-Derrick Cryderman, 16.804, 7. 60-Jackson Gill, 16.826, 8. 080-Chris Ferguson, 17.118, 9. 102m-Steve Brady, 17.541.
Qualifying Group 4 – 1. 15b-Brianna Ladouceur, 16.462, 2. 33-Ryan Scott, 16.471, 3. 53-Jean-Nicolas Gareau, 4. 3-Adam Rozon, 16.693, 5. 95-Felix Murray, 16.779, 6. 174-Chris Storm, 16.812, 7. 18r-Brad Rouse, 16.942, 8. 99r-Anthony Rasmussen, 17.037, 9. 04-Scott McGill, 17.038, 10. 4u-Calvin Lalonde, NT.
Qualifying Group 5 – 1. 33L-Alex Lajoie, 16.510, 2. 83-Dylan Evoy, 16.573, 3. 44-Jonathan Ferguson, 16.800, 4. 180 Aaron Pugh, 16.810, 5. 17-Tristan Draper, 16.807, 6. 22c-Cedric Gauvreau, 17.312, 7. 98-David Andre, 17.118, 8. 94-Gabriel Cyr, 17.030, 9. 29k-Chris Cunningham, 17.088, 10. 75-Sean Dominey, 17.243.
Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 80-Steve Barber, 2. 52-Jessica Power, 3. 32r-Ron Davis III, 4. 88c-Conor Dawdy, 5. 11f-Dan Ferguson, 6. 58-Steve Morris, 7. 36-Chantel Provencher, 8. 72-Bruno Richard.
Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 92p-Martin Pelletier, 2. 85-Tyler Givogue, 3. 8-Zac McBride, 4. 38j-Jared Herbison, 5. 20-Jason Shipclark, 6. 91-Matthieu Laramee, 7. 88-Dillon Sallows, 8. 54-Brad Winters, 9. 21c-Jacob Clancy.
Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 18j-Louis Jackson Jr., 2. 0-Shane Pecore, 3. 102-Derek Cryderman, 4. 44r-Dave Rogers, 5. 60-Jackson Gill, 6. 35-Thomas Cook, 7. m70-Billy Cook, 8. 08-Chris Ferguson, 9. 102m-Steve Brady.
Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 15b-Brianna Ladouceur, 2. 33-Ryan Scott, 3. 53-Jean-Nicolas Gareau, 4. 3-Adam Rozon, 5. 18r-Brad Rouse, 6. 99r-Anthony Rasmussen, 7. 174-Chris Storm, 8. 95-Felix Murray, 9. 04-Scott McGill, 10. 4u Calvin Lalonde.
Heat 5 – (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature; Top 2 finishers qualify for redraw) – 1. 83-Dylan Evoy, 2. 33L-Alex Lajoire, 3. 180-Aaron Pugh, 4. 17-Tristan Draper, 5. 29k-Chris Cunningham, 6. 94-Gabriel Cyr, 7. 44-Jonathan Ferguson, 8. 22c- Cedric Gauvreau, 9. 75-Sean Dominey, 10. 98-David Andre.
Consi 1 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transferred to the A-Feature) – 1. 44-Jonathan Ferguson, 2. 11-Dan Ferguson, 3. 95-Felix Murray, 4. 60-Jackson Gill, 5. 29k-Chris Cunningham, 6. 91-Matthieu Laramee, 7. m70-Billy Cook, 8. 99r-Anthony Rasmussen, 9. 54-Brad Winters, 10. 36-Chantel Provencher, 11. 75-Sean Dominey, 12. 102m-Steve Brady, 13. 4u-Calvin Lalonde.
Consi 2 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transferred to the A-Feature) – 1. 18r-Brad Rouse, 2. 58-Steve Morris, 3. 20-Jason Chipclark, 4. 35-Thomas Cook, 5. 04-Scott McGill, 6. 94-Gabriel Cyr, 7. 88- Dillon Sallows, 8. 22c-Cedric Gauvreau, 9. 72-Bruno Richard, 10. 174-Chris Storm, 11. 21c-Jacob Clancy, 12. 08-Chris Ferguson.
