Late-race pass takes Terrance to victory at Cornwall
CORNWALL, ONTARIO – Monday, September 1, 2014 – Martin Bélanger, DIRTcar Correspondent – A late-race charge took small block star Carey Terrance to Victory Lane Monday night at Cornwall Motor Speedway. The Hogansburg, N.Y., picked up the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series win by passing defending series champion Erick Rudolph with fewer than 25 laps to go.
In the Jiffy Auto Service 125, Rudolph took the early lead over Mario Clair. Marc Therrien stopped in lap 2 to bring the first caution of the race.
While Rudolph was in the lead, Chris Raabe and Carey Terrance were on the move as they were now behind the leader as the feature hit the 15-lap mark.
Rudolph got in to lapped traffic at lap 25 as he was building a good lead over Raabe and Stephane Lafrance who passed Terrance. A great battle for second spot between Raabe and Lafrance occurred as the #115 car was able to take second in heavy traffic on lap 32.
Caution was out on the speedway in lap 50 as Paul Hamel stopped in the backstretch. Rudolph had a strong start as Lafrance and Carey Terrance were still running well front and Ryan Arbuthnot was fourth.
A caution occurred on lap 72 for Dexter Stacey, bringing the field to a stop on this yellow flag for the 10-minute mandatory pit stop on lap 75. Pit crews were allowed on the track and make adjustments to their cars.
On the green, Rudolph kept the lead with Lafrance on his back bumper with Terrance, Arbuthnot and Mike Bowman rounding out the top 5.
While running in contention, Chris Raabe lost his chances in winning the Cornwall track title as runner-up in the in the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series, Mario Clair headed to the pits, Clair was also leading the Canadian Nationals Series before the start of this race.
Rudolph held the lead over Terrance on the lap 90 restart as Stephane Lafrance was in third.
With 25 laps to go, Rudolph was challenged by Terrance with Lafrance being a spectator in third. Terrance used the outside lane and passed Rudolph for the lead on lap 110.
Erick Rudolph got tangled in lap 118 and lost his strong position and yellow was out. A lap 121 caution occurred in turn 2 bringing the field together.
Terrance had a great start and led the final 3 laps to capture the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Race and the Cornwall Motor Speedway track title. Terrance finished in front of Lafrance and Arbuthnot completed the top 3.
“Winning 6 races here in Cornwall this year is great,” Terrance said in the winner’s circle Monday at Cornwall. “I can’t ask for any better and this event is one of my favorites, having won my first DIRTcar Series race here a few years ago.”
Lafrance, while hoping for the win, was pleased with a strong second.
“It has been a year of seconds for us everywhere, finishing second in the title race behind Terrance but I am happy about winning a second Canadian Nationals Series championship,” Lafrance said.
In third place, Arbuthnot collected his best finish on the tour
“Our car was great all day long,” Arbuthnot said. “We tried to pass Lafrance but I have too much respect for these guys to push them. I can’t wait for the next tour races coming up in September.”
The Cornwall Motor Speedway event kick starts a busy month of September for the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series with a visit at Autodrome Granby next Friday with a 150-lap event, then the following weekend on Friday, September 12 at Mohawk International Raceway and on the next weekend for two nights of racing in two Canadian provinces with a visit at Le RPM Speedway on Friday, September 19 and on Saturday at Brighton Speedway.
DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Race #5—Cornwall Motor Speedway, September 1, 2014 Event Summary
Jiffy Auto Service 125 Feature Results:
Carey Terrance, Stephane Lafrance, Ryan Arbuthnot, Yan Bussiere, Gage Morin, Mike Bowman, Kyle Dingwall, Bill Mullin, Dany Bilodeau, Lance Willix, Mario Clair, Erick Rudolph, Joel Doiron, Brian McDonald, Laurent Ladouceur, Gabriel Richer, Charlie Rice, Dexter Stacey, Roger Levesque, David Papineau, Paul Hamel, Chris Herbison, Chris Raabe, Kevin Hamel, Steve Bernier, Marc Therrien, David Hebert (DNS)
LAP LEADERS: Rudolph (1-117)
Terrance (118-125)
Heat Races (8 laps, top 3 went to redraw, 5 to feature)
#1: C.Terrance, C.Raabe, E.Rudolph, Y.Bussiere, D.Hebert, L.Willix, G.Richer C.Herbison, K.Hamel
#2: S.Lafrance, M.Bowman, K.Dingwall, M.Clair, J.Doiron, G.Morin, C.Rice, D.Stacey, D.Papineau
#3: R.Arbuthnot, M.Bowman, D.Bilodeau, L.Ladouceur, S.Bernier, B.Mullin, M.Therrien, R.Levesque, P.Hamel
Cornwall Motor Speedway DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Race #5 Roster (27)
01 Chris Raabe – Napanee, Ontario
3 Bill Mullin – Iroquois, Ontario
10R Gabriel Richer – Les Coteaux, Quebec
13 Kevin Hamel – Yamaska, Quebec
13P Paul Hamel – Yamaska, Quebec
16 Gage Morin – St-Andrews, Ontario
16W Lance Willix – Theresa, N.Y.
17 Marc Therrien – Williamstown, Ontario
21 Yan Bussiere – Drummondville, Quebec
22c Mario Clair – Drummondville, Quebec
23 Laurent Ladouceur – Alexandria, Ontario
23b Dany Bilodeau – Victoriaville, Quebec
24b Roger Levesque – Kingston, Ontario
25 Erick Rudolph – Ransomville, N. Y.
25* Steve Bernier – St-Hyacinthe, Quebec
37H David Hebert – St-Damase, Quebec
40 Joel Doiron – Alexandria, Ontario
66 Kyle Dingwall – South Dundas, Ontario
66x Carey Terrance – Hogansburg, N. Y.
66W Dexter Stacey – Kahnawake, Quebec
R70 Ryan Arbuthnot – Renfrew, Ontario
71 Mike Bowman – St. Catharines, Ontario
88 Chris Herbison – Brockville, Ontario
112 Charlie Rice – Hogansburg, N.Y.
115 Shephane LaFrance – St. Albert, Ontario
151 Brian McDonald – Cornwall, Ontario
188 David Papineau – Akwesasne, Ontario
2014 DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Schedule
Sun., May 18 Cornwall Speedway Cornwall, Ontario Mario Clair
Mon., May 19Merrittville Speedway Thorold, Ontario Danny Johnson
Tues., July 1 Humberstone Speedway Port Colborne, Ontario Erick Rudolph
Wed., July 2 Ransomville Speedway Ransomville, NY Danny Johnson
Sun., Aug. 31 Cornwall Speedway Cornwall, Ontario Carey Terrance
Fri., Sept. 5 Autodrome Granby Granby, Quebec
Fri., Sept. 12 Mohawk International Raceway Akwesasne, New York
Fri., Sept. 19 Le RPM Speedway St-Marcel De Richelieu, QC
Sat., Sept. 20 Brighton Speedway Brighton, Ontario
Wed., Oct. 8 Cayuga County Fairgrounds Speedway Weedsport, NY
Thurs., Oct. 9 Brewerton Speedway Brewerton, NY
Sat., Oct. 11 New York State Fairgrounds Syracuse, NY
Fri., Oct. 17 Brockville Speedway Brockville Speedway
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