Terry Guest
Special to the Record
What do you get when you mix veteran loggers and junky old cars? A car tossing competition– and Saratoga Speedway hosted its annual one on Saturday. Four loggers from Fearless Logging competed to see who could throw a car the farthest.
Last year's winner, Geoff from Courtenay, held the lead going into the last throw, but Art from Campbell River made a toss of 65, feet 6 inches, beating out Geoff by a slim 1 foot, 3 inches to win his first-ever car tossing competition.
A total of 55 cars took to the track over the weekend.
A season-high 11 Modifieds hit the track Saturday. #90 Jason Beaulieu came out strong, winning the B heat with the A heat going to his son #91 Chris Beaulieu.
Reverse heats were awarded to the Modifieds with Jason once again showing off his amazing driving skills, taking the lead on the last lap and winning the B reverse, with the A reverse going to #49 Aaron Wilkie who was racing a Modified for the first time.
Some of the cleanest racing this year took place in the 35-lap main event. #49 Aaron Wilkie started on the pole and led for the first 19 laps before the father-son team of Jason and Chris Beaulieu passed him.
Chris and Jason battled bumper to bumper and Chris once again held off his Dad to take home his second straight I.M.C.A Modified main event win. Wilkie held off #92 Dano Bryant to take home third.
Nineteen Hornet cars qualified on Saturday. #00 Karl Kurpiela won his first race of the year, taking the C heat with the B going to #43 TJ Lippy and the A to #66 TJ Halliday.
All 19 cars went into a 25-lap main event which saw #01 Kevin Lawrenuk hop into the lead on lap seven and never look back, lapping all but three cars to win the feature race. #66 TJ Halliday captured the B main win.
All eight Roadrunners arrived at Saratoga on Saturday. #99 Dennis Leavitt took the win in the 10-lap heat with the 15-lap main going to #77 Trace Stevenson who held off #8 Ryan Guest to win his first-ever main.
#33 Brian Baltis had a great night in the Bomber class, winning the heat and leading all but two laps in the feature race to take a clean sweep.
The year's first roll over took place in the Crash to Pass as #66 Billy Brimacombe Jr. decided to go for a roll in the heat, landing on his side in turn two. #02 Matt May took the 10-lap heat after Billy rolled back over, with the 20-lap main going to #73 Sheldon Hopp, who took out May on lap 14.
EXTRA LAPS This weekend marks round four of drifting … #26 Alex Davidson has dominated the field, winning the first three rounds … heads-up drag racing will accompany the drifters … if you're a young teenager and want to get on the track, the Saratoga Speedway driving school is open all summer to kids 11 and up, meaning you could get behind the wheel of a Hornet car at just 12 years old .. contact Paul or Dave at Saratoga Speedway if you are interested …
– Saratoga Speedway