Story By: ASHLEY MCCUBBIN / FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY – MILLGROVE, ONT. – After a successful event to open the season, the Canadian Vintage Modifieds will return to Flamboro Speedway on July 25 for their second race of 2020.
The 1/3-mile oval will be hosting their third event of the 2020 campaign, with four divisions in attendance – the Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks, Canadian Vintage Modifieds, and T.Q. Can-Am Midgets. With the current government restrictions, no spectators will be allowed in attendance for the event. However, fans will be able to live stream the action via the Canadian Vintage Modified YouTube channel.
The Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks will be running a 40-lap feature each, with the Canadian Vintage Modifieds running 30 laps and T.Q. Can-Am Midgets running 20 laps. Each division will be running heat races to set the field.
With the line-up of drivers announced for the event, here is a preview as to what to expect.
Bill Pearsall ran inside the top-10 throughout the event in June en route to placing sixth. He is no stranger to Flamboro Speedway, as many are used to seeing him in Late Model competition.
Chance Isherwood hopes to crack the top-10 after finishing 13th following a late-race incident. He isn’t new to racing by any means, even if he may carry a rookie stripe. He has proven himself in both Super Stocks and Mini Stocks, including being a previous Autumn Colours Classic winner and Kawartha.
Dale Lucas proved to be a solid rookie contender with a ninth-place finish in June. He has proven his ability at Flamboro Speedway, with success in the Pure Stock ranks.
Daryl Henwood ran up front all race long, though faded in the second half to finish 10th. He may not have gotten to victory lane last year, but proved to be a solid contender with five top-five’s and seven top-10’s.
Jake Gilbert missed the first event of the year, instead jumping behind the wheel of the team’s Pro Late Model in June. The youngster has been impressive, scoring the Rookie of the Year honors in his first year of PLM competition after scoring wins in the Mini Stock division.
Jason Bowden may have not been involved with the series the past couple years, but he’s no stranger to CVM competition as that’s where he cut his teeth. It showed back in June with a seventh-place finish.
Jeff Kells hopes to score a top-10 as he just missed the mark in June following a late-race incident off of turn two. He has gained experience at Flamboro Speedway the past couple seasons through Pure Stock competition.
Jerrid Morphy proved the rookie jitters weren’t going to throw him off his game, as he ran up front all day in June en route to a third-place finish. It’s not a surprise as he has his fair share of experience in motorsports through T.Q. Can-Am Midget competition.
John Karley hopes to keep the wheels on the ground this time around, after riding the wall en route to a DNF in June. He may be known as the visionary behind putting the series back together, but he’s also a fierce competitor. In competition last year at Flamboro, he scored three wins, nine top-five’s, and 16 top-10’s.
Joe Arsenault will be looking for a solid top-10 run after placing 18th in June.
Mike Klotz has plenty of laps around Flamboro Speedway, and utilized that experience en route to placing 12th in June. He was solid throughout the 2019 campaign, with four top-five’s and seven top-10’s.
Mike Podd has become someone to watch in CVM competition, as evident with four trips to victory lane last season. He also scored 16 top-five’s and 18 top-10’s, making the No. 5 someone to watch. He finished 15th after running up front early in the first show.
Ron Easton has long been involved in the series, spending a lot of time behind the scenes working with teams on building their cars. He made a pair of starts behind the wheel last year with two top-10’s. He finished 15th in the first event of 2020.
Ricky Willigar will be making his second start in Canadian Vintage Modified competition after finishing eighth in June.
Rodney Rutherford was solid back in June, running inside the top-10 throughout the event en route to placing fifth. Out of all the competitors, he may have the most laps of everybody – in the variety of cars, as he has taken part in the different divisions at Flamboro on more than one occasion. Last year, he scored a pair of top-five’s in his two CVM appearances.
Steve Murdoch hopes for a top-10 this time around, as he just missed it by one spot in June with an 11th-place finish. He proved he could get the job done in a T.Q. Can-Am Midget with a couple trips to victory lane over the years.
TJ Marshall could arguably be the favourite as he led the series in wins (five), top-five’s (19), and top-10’s (20) last season. Oh, and he was the fastest man en route to winning back in June, too.
Other drivers in the field include Amanda Stoner, Bill Stoner Sr., Heath Penny and Patrick Ruelens.
Be sure to keep up with the latest by checking out Flamboro Speedway’s website at http://www.flamborospeedway.ca. You can also keep up via your favorite social networking website by following the speedway on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FlamboroSpdwy and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/flamborospeedway. Fans are encouraged to like the speedway’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Flamboro-Speedway-Authorized-Page-102328664646735/.