[b Alain Bergeron Conquers Cornwall for First Career Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot Win]
[i Rich Vleck, CORNWALL, Ont. (July 19, 2009)]
Rich Vleck, CORNWALL, Ont. (July 19, 2009) – Alain Bergeron has hopped around to an assortment of events in 2009, but it took a trip to the sight of his first career win to get back in to the winners circle this season.
Bergeron, from St. Pie, Qbc., picked up his first career Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot A-Main victory, dominating the Riverside Bar and Grill 25-Lap Feature in the first Patriot event ever to be held at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. At one of his closest tracks, at was a sweet place for Bergeron to get back to Victory Lane.
The wheelman of the Coffrage Daniel Lampron No. 8b drew the pole position for the feature and never looked back, keep a fierce Bryan Howland at bay on the opening two circuits and then keeping just enough distance between himself and Jared Zimbardi to become the eighth different winner on the 2009 Patriot Tour.
“Drawing first definitely helped,” noted Bergeron after the race in his broken English. “The car was good the whole night. I finish fourth in the heat because the track so even, and get a good break of the feature.”
Reminiscent of the night before, Howland tried everything he could to swing around Bergeron on the top of the speedway, but the track still had enough moisture on the inside and Bergeron was able to keep the lead.
The red flag was displayed on lap two when Bubba Broderick, who won National Parts Peddler Heat 1, caught the turn four wall and flipped his Ciao Water No. 5. With a single-file restart, Bergeron put distance over Howland, as the No. 51 had to deal with Jared Zimbardi to hang on to second.
As the top three worked lap traffic, Howland slid up coming off of turn two, allowing Zimbardi to scoot by for second. On lap 13, Howland again had an issue with a lapped car and went over the turn four banking, making contact with the turn four wall and breaking his Jacob’s Ladder in the process.
With the final 12 laps being run caution free, Zimbardi was at times quicker than Bergeron, but only marginally, as the No. 8b had no problems with lapped cars and would win by over a second.
“Lapped traffic was no problem for me tonight,” added Bergeron.
Zimbardi would have to settle for second place in an evening when he was the story early on. With upwards of a half-dozen light and intermittent showers hitting the Eastern Ontario Sunday Destination, the track had the perfect amount of moisture in it for the heats, when Zimbardi laid down a track record time of 10.969 seconds, when he was running in second.
Zimbardi would pass Don Adamczyk for the win in the final corner of that heat, and his runner-up finish in the feature would allow him to regain the point lead over Bryan Howland.
Michael Parent continued his solid string of success as he completed the podium. Parent started in fifth, significantly better than his prior two starts, but with Bergeron and Zimbardi solid on an even track, he would have to settle for third and wait another day for an imminent first win.
Hometown favorite Brian McDonald slipped back early on in the feature but would rally to pick up fourth. It was his best finish in his ASCS Patriot career, as well as his best sprint car finish at Cornwall in seven tries.
Gordy Button struggled with his setup all night but was still able to round out the top-five. It was the first start for the veteran driver at Cornwall since 1994.
Lee Ladouceur was determined not to miss the only race at his home speedway. In order to make his first ASCS Patriot A-Main, the Alexandria, Ontario driver had to repair his car from a crash on Friday, then repair his drive shaft after the dash. It would pay off though as he would run up to sixth.
Don Adamczyk fought a tight condition and picked up seventh in his first trip to Cornwall. Bryan Howland rebounded for eighth, to keep him within two points of the championship lead.
Paul Pekkonen kept himself in the mix the entire night to pick up ninth while Brandan Warner rounded out the top-10 after taking his first checkered flag in the Four Laps of Fame Dash. Warner was moving forward early on in the feature as well when a mechanical failure upset the car.
Justin Barger popped the motor in his potent No. 32 in hot laps and was scratched for the evening.
In the first trip ever to Cornwall Patriots, a mix of local regulars and first timers perfectly melded on the very tacky ¼-mile to thrill the fans with the fastest lap times ever seen. Even with a terrific weather forecast, Mother Nature tried to rain out the show but was unsuccessful this time around.
For more information, visit www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com or www.ASCSracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriots Results: 7/19/09, Cornwall Motor Speedway, Cornwall, Ont.
Riverside A-Main (25 Laps)- 1. Alain Bergeron (8B), 2. Jared Zimbardi (36), 3. Michael Parent (25), 4. Brian McDonald (151), 5. Gordy Button (714), 6. Lee Ladouceur (51L), 7. Don Adamczyk (21), 8. Bryan Howland (51), 9. Paul Pekkonen (98), 10. Brandan Warner (10B), 11. Devin Caron (24k), 12. Doug Bowman (57), 13. Bubba Broderick (5), DNS: Justin Barger (32).
Lap Leaders- Bergeron 1-25.
Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Brandan Warner (10b), 2. Paul Pekkonen (98), 3. Devin Caron (24k), 4. Doug Bowman (57), 5. Lee Ladouceur (51L).
National Parts Peddler Heats (8 Laps Each)-
Race 1: 1. Bubba Broderick (5), 2. Gordy Button (714), 3. Brian McDonald (151kb), 4. Michael Parent (25), 5. Paul Pekkonen (98), 6. Doug Bowman (57), DNS: Justin Barger (32).
Race 2: 1. Jared Zimbardi (35), 2. Don Adamczyk (21), 3. Bryan Howland (51), 4. Alain Bergeron (8B), 5. Brandan Warner (10b), 6. Lee Ladouceur (51L), 7. Devin Caron (24k).
Contingency Awards-
Ohsweken Speedway/Canadian Sprint Car Nationals Award- Bergeron.
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Passing Points Award- Zimbardi.
M&W Aluminum Products Top-5 Award- Button
Ultra-Shield Race Products Top-10 Award- Warner
Kinser Air Filters Hard Luck Award- Broderick
Rod End Supply 20th Anniversary Award- Broderick
Riverside Bar and Grill King of the St. Lawrence Series Standings (Top-Ten)- 1. Alain Bergeron 294, 2. Bryan Howland 284, Tie-3. Michael Parent and Jared Zimbardi 280, 5. Don Adamczyk 276, 6. Gordy Button 272, 7. Bubba Broderick 270, 8. Brian McDonald 258, 9. Brandan Warner 256, 10. Doug Bowman 254.
Gater Racing News Hard Charger of the Season Standings (Top-Ten)- 1. Trevor Lewis 33, 2. Bryan Howland 32, 3. Don Adamczyk 30, 4. Michael Parent 28, 5. Jared Zimbardi 25, 6. Tommy Wickham 22, 7. Gary Troutman 18, 8. Jason Barney 17, 9. Jared Fink 16, 10. Bubba Broderick 14.
Lucas Oil ASCS Patriot Points (Top Ten): 1. Jared Zimbardi 1,668, 2. Bryan Howland 1,666, 3. Don Adamczyk 1,586, 4. Bubba Broderick 1,517, 5. Bobby Breen 1,352, 6. Blake Breen 1,062, 7. Gordy Button 1,046, 8. Chris Muhleisen 974, 9. Derek Jonathan 867, 10. Trevor Lewis 856.
