CORNWALL, Ontario – Cornwall Motor Speedway continued its Fall Showdown Weekend Saturday with the DIRTcar 358-Modified and DIRTcar Sportsman classes both in action for the Fat Les Chip Stand Canadian Nationals and the TAS Racing Sportsman Series.
In the Fat Les Chip Stand Canadian Nationals feature, Steve Bernard took the early lead for a couple of laps, until Corey Wheeler used the middle lane to pass Bernard for the top spot, with JF Corriveau running in third.
Wheeler got in lap traffic by lap 10. Bernard found something on the outside and took the lead on lap 14. Gary Lindberg was able to pass Corriveau for third on lap 18.
Bernard pulled away from the field as the feature reached the halfway point, with Steve Bernier in the mix for a top-five run.
It was a great event at the end, as the leaders ran well in lap traffic and Wheeler tried everything to pass Bernard, but the driver of the No. 54 car made no errors and got the win over Wheeler and Gary Lindberg.
Alex Lajoie led the field of 30 drivers to green in the 50-lap TAS Racing Sportsman Series event, as Steve Morris brought a caution out on lap one.
Lajoie went to the lead on the restart, with Johnathon Ferguson moving to second and Robert Delormier in third. Cody McPherson took third on lap five. Lajoie got into heavy traffic with a dozen laps in as McPherson took second on Ferguson.
Caution came out on lap 16, and on the restart, McPherson took the lead as James Friesen was on the move before taking the lead using the outside lane on lap 20.
Friesen led the way as Ferguson was back in contention as he challenged McPherson for second at halfway point. A few cautions came around lap 30 as McPherson was back in the lead with Lajoie in third. Some issues followed for Lajoie as he let go of his third place run on lap 42.
On the final restart, Friesen won the battle and got his first ever win at Cornwall.
Xavier Lauzon wasted no time in the 23-lap Lightning Sprints feature with Tommy Moreau in second. Jean-Christophe Bolduc had a strong car and took the lead over Lauzon on lap nine.
The feature went by in under six minutes as Bolduc finished with a half track lead over Moreau and Jeffrey Weare in third.
Randy Gaudet led the way early and often in the 20-lap Vintage feature, as Jason Power was in second with Sheldon Hoogwerf in third.
The leaders got into traffic as Power got closer to Gaudet, with the leader sliding up in turn four on lap 13 and Power getting the lead as the caution came out.
On the restart, Gaudet had a strong start and took the lead back, but Power followed closely. A great finish ensued, as Gaudet resisted a last run from Power to get his third win of the season, with Kayla Charland getting the victory in the 50s and 60s sub-division.