Drummondville, PQ – Proving last years win during his rookie campaign was no fluke and shedding the sophomore jinx, Alexandria, Ont. Lee Ladouceur led wire to wire to claim career win #2 with the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints (ESS). The win came at Autodrome Drummond with the triumph for the Northwood 2 Construction/LaSalle Motorsports Canadian Sprint Car Series event worth $2,100.
The nightly invert pill for the Fondations 4 Saisons A-Main was key for Ladouceur’s quest, it put his WestFront Construction Maxim on the pole with teammate Brian McDonald right along side. “The invert worked great for me, I’m on the pole and someone you know and trust is next to you.” noted Ladouceur in his little bit of good fortune but with a little chuckle. “The only thing was, I had to make sure I beat him (McDonald) to turn one!”
Indeed he did what he set out to do with the #51 nosing ahead of the #151KB of McDonald. From there it was to be 25 tours with the right moves and no mistakes.
“After the heats I knew I had a good car. The track was rough for the dash and I didn’t feel comfortable but when I saw that they did work on the track after the dash I just decided to stay where we were and hoped it worked.” said the driver who builds his own motors.
While there was some of the best behind his mount which included McDonald, Michael Parent and Alain Bergeron, Ladouceur was going to make it easy for anyone to get into the winner’s circle.
Even though there were two early cautions, lapped traffic was part of the story but the leader was ready. “I tried to attack the lap cars this time. I have held back before and it bit me” Ladouceur on the strategy. “By running hard I really didn’t have a problem with any of them and when you know you’re getting through well the guy behind you has to do the same to keep up.”
The challengers never really had a run they needed but on lap 17, the whole outlook of the race changed. Parent made a move inside of McDonald and they came together which also collected Bergeron. The damage was enough to knock McDonald and Bergeron from the A-Main, Parent continued.
While it was a misfortune for some, it was a blessing for Jeff Cook who shot from fifth past Parent and into the runner-up slot which is where he stayed when the checkered flag waved. Parent held on for third, the winner the night before at Granby, Justin Barger claimed fourth to build in his point lead. Mike Stelter had a fine run to take fifth.
Rounding out the top ten were Steve Poirier, who took over second in points and also leads the Canadian Series points, Lance Yonge, Doug Emery, Jim Porter and Justin Harris
ESS/Drummond Notes: Just like the night before, 20 cars in the pits…Chuck Hebing and Daniel Lampron did not return…Donald Lemire and Dale Gosselin made their first ever ESS starts…Anthony Cain had problems under the hood and missed his heats but he came back to finish 12th in the feature and claim the hard charger bonus…Many of the Lucas Oil ESS stars will be back at Drummond for the first annual $30,000 Quebec Nationals on August 15th which pays $6,000 to win…Then, the final full point event at Drummond will be on Sept. 5th.
Fondations 4 Saisons A-Main – Lee Ladouceur ($2,100), Jeff Cook, Michael Parent, Justin Barger, Mike Stelter, Steve Poirier, Lance Yonge, Doug Emery, Jim Porter, Justin Harris, Anthony Cain, Donald Lemire, James Hanson, Tyler Rand, Sylvain Erickson, Brian McDonald, Alain Bergeron, Tommy Wickham, David Renaud, Dale Gosselin
Lap Leader – Ladouceur 1-25
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 1 – Alain Bergeron, Michael Parent, Jeff Cook, Doug Emery, Justin Harris, Tyler Rand
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 2 – Steve Poirier, Brian McDonald, Justin Barger, Jim. Porter, Lance Yonge, Donald Gosselin
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 3 – Tommy Wickham, Lee Ladouceur, Mike Stelter, James Hanson, Donald Lemire, Sylvain Erickson, David Renaud
Winner’s Contingencies:
Lucas Oil $115, Design 500 $100, Saldana Racing Products $50, GME Steering $50, Hank’s Performance Products $50, Kreitz Oval Track Products $50, Racing Optics $30, Rod End Supply $30, Area Auto Racing News $25, Brake Man $25, S&W Awards $20, Ultra Shield $10.
Other Contingencies:
ATL – Parent $100
Leaf Racewear – Barger $75
Design 500 – Stelter $50, Cain $50
Keizer Wheels – Yonge $50
KSE Racing Products – Erickson $50
Zemco Headers – Stelter $50
Joe Hunt Magnetos – Parent $50
Babe Design – Cook $50
M&W Aluminum Products – Wickham $40
Rod End Supply – Cook $30
Panchos – Stelter $25, Erickson $25
DMI – Gosselin $25
Red Bear Hand Cleaner – Harris $10
ISC Racers Tape – Hanson $10
Ultra Shield – Cook $10