After last weeks race in Vernon, in which only 5 cars finished the main event, 8 cars made the haul up to the Bull Ring of Saratoga Speedway. They would be running for the Saratoga Championship, Ross Surgenor Trophy. Darren Yates, leading the track championship points heading up to this event, was running a borrowed motor from fellow competitor Scott Aumen. Yates destroyed his motor the previous weekend in Vernon. The hard charging Randy Price was absent with his car still being repaired from a hard crash suffered at the same event. Guy Barrett was only 16 points back of Yates heading into the evening.

Aumen, leading the Wilroc points but sitting 3rd at Saratoga, qualified fastest as he has done many times before. Barrett, in his Evil Iron ride, qualified 2nd, picking up a valuable point on Yates who qualified 3rd. Trophy Dash action saw Rob Scott pick up a trophy in the B Dash, with Aumen leading the pack in the A Dash.

All 8 drivers started the Heat Race, with Scott sharing the front row with last weekend’s Main Event winner Matt Mansell. Mansell would jump out to a quick lead, with the rookie Ryan Floer in hot pursuit. After a quick 12 laps of green flag racing Mansell held off for the win, followed by Floer and Yates. Barrett struggled in this race, dropping to 20 points back of Yates.

Tonight’s main event would have the same full invert as the Heat race. Unfortunately, for 3 drivers, it would not start out the way they would have liked. Scott, Mansell and Duane Zeinstra, who was this years first Saratoga Feature Winner, got together on the front stretch. Scott hit head on into the front wall, while the 2 cars of Mansell and Zeinstra came to a halt on the front stretch. Their cars were stuck together and required partial dismantling to free them. Meanwhile, Scott emerged from his shortened ride unhurt, claiming the mandatory Head and Neck restraining device did its job.

All 3 cars were done for the night and the race required a full restart. Mark Fisher was now sharing the front row with Floer. Fisher got the jump on the re-start and was off like a scared rabbit. Floer, who had been struggling with mechanical woes all evening, was clearly not up to speed which allowed Barrett to jump quickly into 2nd place. Floer would eventually pull into the pits leaving two, 2 car battles on the track. Barrett was all over Fisher fighting for the win while Yates and Aumen were fighting it out for 3rd. As the 35 lap’s main was coming to a close, the cars of Yates and Aumen were closing on the lead cars. Barrett tried to get Fisher on the outside with 2 laps to go, but was unable to get the job done. Yates managed to hold off Aumen to secure a 3rd place finish and a 9 points lead over Barrett for the Championship.

With 1 race left to go, Aumen has a 33 points lead over Yates and 94 points on Barrett for the overall Wilroc Championship. Both Aumen and Yates are previous champions in this series, with Barrett looking to have his best season yet. Let’s hope for some great weather for the next race at Western Speedway, as the racing is always great in this highly competitive Wilroc Series.

PHOTOS BY DON LAIDLAW WILDLIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY