By Ken Keating
Contrary to past events, only twelve drivers took the track for the finale in the Steve Copp Construction sponsored Enduro race held this afternoon at Western Speedway. On a cool but sunny afternoon some stellar drivers put on quite a show as Rory Smith, Late Model Champion, came out as did four time winner Cody Aumen, Darren Yates, a WilRoc Sprint Car Champion at Saratoga, Howie Mace, a consistent front runner and also a winner in this Series, plus an eight year old Taylor Orr driving the #09 car.
Glen Rand held the pole and got off first and led for the first four laps until Smith went by for the lead on lap five and quickly followed by Brandon Carlson who raced into second spot two laps later. On lap nine Alex Atkinson moved into third and Rand going backwards with Mace running fourth on lap ten while Aumen moved up to fifth on lap twelve. On lap nineteen, Aumen moved up to run fourth and Yates moved up to the fifth position one lap later. Up front, Smith held a rather large lead running around almost unchallenged as behind him, Carlson, Atkinson, Yates, and Aumen ran bumper to bumper lap after lap. On lap thirty-one, Aumen regained the fourth spot and Mace also got by Yates to reclaim the fifth spot dropping Yates back to sixth by lap thirty-four. On lap forty-two, Atkinson, who had a great run in third, entered the pits, his day ended. For the next seventeen laps, the battle for second, third, fourth, and fifth was as hot as ever and on lap sixty, disaster struck for Rory Smith as his car entered the pits on the hook with his good run at an end. Carlson assumed the lead with Aumen hot on his bumper, Yates all over him running third, Mace in the thick of things running fourth and Brenda Lesley now running fifth. On lap eighty-one, Aumen entered the pits surrendering second spot to Yates but he was able to return to action only losing one position. On lap ninety there was some contact between Yates and Aumen forcing Yates to enter the pits for some repairs. He managed to return to the track one lap later and running in fifth. On lap one hundred and two Mace passed Aumen and took over the second spot dropping Aumen back to third. On lap one hundred nine, Yates passed Lesley ro regain the fourth spot and into the mix with Carlson, Mace, and Aumen. On lap one hundred twenty-five, luck also ran out on Aumen as his car quit and his day was done.
Brandon Carlson ran seventy-three laps out front and not one lap was easy as he was challenged by several different drivers and there was some contact on a couple of occasions but not enough to knock him off the point. Only one other driver remained on the same lap, that being Howie Mace who has made a practice of top finishes in the winter series. This marked the end of the 2010 / 2011 Enduro season with Carlson winning this event followed by Mace, Yates, Lesley, and Kevin Knight rounding out the top five positions.
Mark your calendars as April 2nd, regular Saturday night racing returns to Western Speedway with the Demo Cars, Demo Trucks, Figure 8s, and the Bombers all begin the action for the 2011 season. On this night last season's Champions will receive their Championship trophies for these classes for 2010. Come out and congratulate each and every one of them. Heath Cooper - Demo Trucks, Marc Parkinson - Demo Cars, Brandon Young - Figure 8s, Brandon Steen - Bombers, and Larry Manson - Mini Vans. See you there.
Contrary to past events, only twelve drivers took the track for the finale in the Steve Copp Construction sponsored Enduro race held this afternoon at Western Speedway. On a cool but sunny afternoon some stellar drivers put on quite a show as Rory Smith, Late Model Champion, came out as did four time winner Cody Aumen, Darren Yates, a WilRoc Sprint Car Champion at Saratoga, Howie Mace, a consistent front runner and also a winner in this Series, plus an eight year old Taylor Orr driving the #09 car.
Glen Rand held the pole and got off first and led for the first four laps until Smith went by for the lead on lap five and quickly followed by Brandon Carlson who raced into second spot two laps later. On lap nine Alex Atkinson moved into third and Rand going backwards with Mace running fourth on lap ten while Aumen moved up to fifth on lap twelve. On lap nineteen, Aumen moved up to run fourth and Yates moved up to the fifth position one lap later. Up front, Smith held a rather large lead running around almost unchallenged as behind him, Carlson, Atkinson, Yates, and Aumen ran bumper to bumper lap after lap. On lap thirty-one, Aumen regained the fourth spot and Mace also got by Yates to reclaim the fifth spot dropping Yates back to sixth by lap thirty-four. On lap forty-two, Atkinson, who had a great run in third, entered the pits, his day ended. For the next seventeen laps, the battle for second, third, fourth, and fifth was as hot as ever and on lap sixty, disaster struck for Rory Smith as his car entered the pits on the hook with his good run at an end. Carlson assumed the lead with Aumen hot on his bumper, Yates all over him running third, Mace in the thick of things running fourth and Brenda Lesley now running fifth. On lap eighty-one, Aumen entered the pits surrendering second spot to Yates but he was able to return to action only losing one position. On lap ninety there was some contact between Yates and Aumen forcing Yates to enter the pits for some repairs. He managed to return to the track one lap later and running in fifth. On lap one hundred and two Mace passed Aumen and took over the second spot dropping Aumen back to third. On lap one hundred nine, Yates passed Lesley ro regain the fourth spot and into the mix with Carlson, Mace, and Aumen. On lap one hundred twenty-five, luck also ran out on Aumen as his car quit and his day was done.
Brandon Carlson ran seventy-three laps out front and not one lap was easy as he was challenged by several different drivers and there was some contact on a couple of occasions but not enough to knock him off the point. Only one other driver remained on the same lap, that being Howie Mace who has made a practice of top finishes in the winter series. This marked the end of the 2010 / 2011 Enduro season with Carlson winning this event followed by Mace, Yates, Lesley, and Kevin Knight rounding out the top five positions.
Mark your calendars as April 2nd, regular Saturday night racing returns to Western Speedway with the Demo Cars, Demo Trucks, Figure 8s, and the Bombers all begin the action for the 2011 season. On this night last season's Champions will receive their Championship trophies for these classes for 2010. Come out and congratulate each and every one of them. Heath Cooper - Demo Trucks, Marc Parkinson - Demo Cars, Brandon Young - Figure 8s, Brandon Steen - Bombers, and Larry Manson - Mini Vans. See you there.