GRANBY, QUE. � Sometimes a bad finish in a heat race can change the whole night. Usually it leads to long night, but that wasn�t the case Friday Night at Autodrome Granby for Steve Poirier.
Steve Poirier finished fourth in his heat race event and because the inversion drawn was ten it earned him a pole stating position in the Fondations 4 Saisons 25-lap A-Main event.
Poirier went on to lead the entire 25th Anniversary Tour Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint feature event to secure his seventh tour victory of the 2008 racing season while pocketing the $2,000 winner�s share.
�I was surprised tonight how tacky the track was,� said Poirier. �We unload the car with the feature setup in it and adjust it from there. Tonight the car was way off in the heat race. We made several small changes to the car after the heat and it was very good in the feature.�
The win nearly locks up the SMAC Magazine Canadian Invasion Series and edges the St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Que. native closer to his second consecutive overall tour championship.
Poirier started on the pole with Mike Stelter alongside in his bright orange No.36. At the green flag, Poirier jumped out to the lead with his AMB Moteurs powered Eagle with Stelter falling inline behind him.
Poirier opened a sizeable advantage over Stelter by the midway point of the event. He was able to amass a full straightaway advantage over his nearest competition.
Poirier was able to put numerous cars a lap down and by the time the first caution came out on lap 22, he had lapped all the way up to the seventh position.
The caution, for a slowing Normand Beaudreault, cleared the track in front of Poirier and placed the lapped cars of Tim Kelly and Jeff Cook between himself and Stelter.
Unfortunately for Stelter, before the green came back out he stopped on the speedway with rear-end problems. This handed the runner-up spot to Alain Bergeron with Stelter being forced to the pits.
Two more laps transpired before the caution came out for the final time on lap 24. Tommy Wickham and Bubby Kerrick came together in turn four sending both drivers hard into the outside retaining wall. Both drivers were uninjured in the event but their cars were unable to continue.
�I was happy to see the first caution because I was in slower traffic and it opened up the track,� commented Poirier. �I did not want to see that last caution because I saw that (Alain) Bergeron was behind me. I wasn�t sure if there was a lapped car between me and him so I knew I had to be good on the restart.�
On the restart Poirier again out paced the field to win the event for his third consecutive tour win and his second victory of the year at Granby.
Bergeron, of St. Pie, Que., finished in second after starting the event from the outside of the second row. He was forced to hold the numerous attempts by Lance Yonge to pass him on the inside of the speedway.
�He (Poirier) was real fast tonight,� commented Bergeron. �The track was real tacky and it was tough to pass. I saw Lance (Yonge) a few times on the bottom. I stayed to the high-side because I knew it was going to be hard for him to pass me on the inside.�
Yonge, a two-time series champion from Penn Yan, N.Y., was happy to finish in the very spot that he started, although he would have loved to earn a second place finish. The solid showing allowed him to remain second in overall tour standings behind Poirier.
�My motor was skipping a little bit,� stated Yonge. �We changed the magneto before the feature because we thought that was the problem but it wasn�t. I didn�t have the burst of power I needed in order to drive under him (Bergeron).�
Hometown favorite, Michael Parent, brought his Eagle No. 25 to the checkered in the fourth position while Brian McDonald of Cornwall, Ont., came from the 10th starting position to complete the top five.
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints/Fondations 4 Saisons A-Main – Steve Poirier ($2,200), Alain Bergeron, Lance Yonge, Michael Parent, Brian McDonald, Jessica Zemken, Anthony Cain, Tim Kelly, Jeff Cook, Normand Beaudreault, Daniel Lampron, Tommy Wickham, Bubby Kerrick, Mike Stelter, James Hanson, Lee Ladouceur, David Renaud, Justin Barger.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 1 – Brian McDonald, Jessica Zemken, Alain Bergeron, Steve Poirier, Daniel Lampron, James Hanson.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 2 – Tim Kelly, Michael Parent, Lance Yonge, Anthony Cain, Lee Ladouceur, Justin Barger.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 3 – Tommy Wickham, Normand Beaudreault, Mike Stelter, Bubby Kerrick, Jeff Cook, David Renaud.
Lap Leader – Poirier 1-25.
Fondations 4 Saisons A-Main – Poirier $200
Ohsweken Speedway Winners Bonus – Poirier $100
National Parts Peddler Halfway Bonus – Poirier $100
Les Constructions Blue Collar Award – McDonald 100
Lane’s Yamaha Hard Charger – Cook (6 pos.) $50
Cook’s Contracting Bridesmaid Bonus – Bergeron $50
AMB Moteurs Fast Time – Poirier (16.378) $50
HG Associates Pole Award – Poirier $50
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heats – McDonald, Kelly, Wickham $25.