By Paul Harkenrider (Brockville, ON) | Jared Zimbardi took advantage of starting on the pole and led all 25 laps but it was not easy as he had to hold off point leader, Dylan Westbrook who came home second. It was his first Patriot Sprint Tour Canadian series win of 2017, and his fifth overall on the season.
Zimbardi drew the pole and would start alongside Steve Poirier bringing the 15-car field to the green. Dylan Westbrook would start third as the three would begin to pull away from the rest of the field.
Westbrook was able to get by Poirier on lap four and begin to set his sights on the race leader of Zimbardi and would pull along side Zimbardi on several occasions but would not be able to clear him.
As Zimbardi and Westbrook would battle for the lead, Poirier ran comfortably for third while Cory and Ryan Turner would complete the top five at the time.
Lap traffic would not become a factor until lap 11 when Zimbardi met Paul Pekkonen and would use it to his advantage to pull away from Westbrook.
Westbrook would eventually get by Pekkonen and immediately after, Sammy Reakes would make contact with the front stretch wall to bring out the first yellow on lap 15.
On the restart, Westbrook would attempt to find something on the top but was not able to get by, allowing Zimbardi to build his lead with laps clicking away.
Westbrook was able to hold onto second and maintain the point lead, but it was Jared Zimbardi picking up his first Canadian Series win of 2017. Westbrook and Poirier would complete the podium followed by Cory Turner and Mitch Brown rounding out the top five.
In qualifying action, Rick Wilson and Jake Brown scored the heat wins while Sammy Reakes picked up the Evingham Site Excavation Dash for Cash.
With the win, Zimbardi pulls within two points of Westbrook heading into tonight’s race at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. Of the two, whoever has a higher finish tonight will in all likelihood be crowned the 2017 Canadian Champion. The only event remaining for the Canadian Series is the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals in September, which awards PST show up points.
Tonight’s event at Cornwall will be 30 laps in honor of it being the 300th race in PST History.
Fans as always are encouraged to visit www.patriotsprinttour.com and to like us on facebook, follow us on twitter and Instagram @PatriotSprints.
The Patriot Sprint Tour recognizes the following marketing partners for the 2017 season: A-Verdi Storage Containers, Hoosier Racing Tires, Prestige Pool & Spa, Einstein Construction Group, Bonnell’s Auto Group, Evingham Site Excavation, Fine Touch Collision, Mike Emhof Motorsports Inc., Super Gen Products with Champion Power Equipment, Patriot Tank Lines, Danny Willmes Enterprises, Casey’s Truck Salvage, Just Signs & Designs, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Sunoco Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, Shuttleworth Asphalt Sealing, ASI Racewear, Curtis Berleue Photography.
Patriot Sprint Tour Quick Results- Brockville Ontario Speedway
A Main: 1) 35- JARED ZIMBARDI (5) 2) 47x- Dylan Westbrook 3) 28fm-Steve Poirier 4) 97- Cory Turner 5) 10- Mitch Brown 6) 91- Ryan Turner 7) 51L- Lee Ladouceur 8) 2- Steven Hutchinson Jr 9) 11j- Chris Jones 10) 1-10- Jake Brown 11) 123- Yan Bilodeau 12) 15aw- April Wilson 13) 98- Paul Pekkonen 14) 42w- Rick Wilson 15) 17- Sammy Reakes
Heat 1: 1) 42w- Rick Wilson 2) 91- Ryan Turner 3) 97- Cory Turner 4) 35- Jared Zimbardi 5) 123- Yan Bilodeau 6) 11- Chris Jones 7) 2- Steven Hutchinson Jr 8) 98- Paul Pekkonen
Heat 2: 1) 1-10- Jake Brown 2) 10- Mitch Brown 3) 28fm- Steve Poirier 4) 17- Sammy Reakes IV 5) 47x- Dylan Westbrook 6) 51- Lee Ladouceur 7) 15aw- April Wilson
Evingham Site Excavation Dash: 1) 17- Sammy Reakes 2) 123- Yan Bilodeau 3) 51L- Lee Ladouceur 4) 2- Steven Hutchinson Jr 5) 15aw- April Wilson 6) 11j-Chris Jones