Thrills and spills on opening night at Mosport

DURHAM -- If the opening night of the 2008 Mosport Speedway schedule is any indication, the faithful are in for a treat this year.

THORSONS EVT 6 Or Less

A strong field of 14 lightly modified racers lined up to take the green flag for the season opening feature race, but the grid was unfortunately shortened due to some early mechanical maladies. However, the remaining drivers perfectly defined the old saying of "quality over quantity".

In the 20-lap sprint, Jeff Scott took the long route around the third corner, swinging past Ryan Oosterholt as the pair headed down the long Mosport front straight. Kevin Hinds (#57) also managed to work his way through, as the three cars (Scott, Hinds and Oosterholt) stayed in that order through the finish, with Scott taking the victory by four car lengths.

"You always want to pick up where you left off," exclaimed Scott. "It's too bad that the #98 (Ross Galbraith) ran into problems, it would have been fun to run against him too."

Bob's Towing ThunderCars

There are probably a lot of drivers that are thankful that 'Big John' Baker Jr. is planning to run only a partial schedule this year. The two-time champion edged Willie Reyns for one heat win (Reyns returning the favour in Round Two), and then went on to dominate the field in the 20-lap feature.

Using his favoured line through the inside of Turns Three and Four, Baker swung his #63 Monte Carlo past Reyns on lap three to assume the race lead and then set the orange Chevy on cruise control to easily take the class victory.

"That was a lot of fun, I want to thank everyone I played with tonight," laughed Big John. "It sucked that Brian (Strawn) had problems, that could have been a good race. The crew did a great job, I asked them to make some changes and I just walked away. They made the car perfect."

R.P.Oil Ltd. Open-Wheeled Modifieds

Despite winning the division title last season, Jim Rossiter completely dismantled his #66 Modified over the winter, "looking to make her a little faster" in 2008. His efforts were rewarded on opening night as the Orono resident claimed a clean sweep, securing victories in both of his heat dashes plus the win in the 20-lap feature contest.

But for many of the fans, their focus was on the sleek, white #3 car of Adam Adams. Claiming a well-deserved runner-up result in heat #1, Adams repeated the process in the second ten lapper, coming from the back of the pack following a tangle with the #61 of Bill Pickford.

Limited Late Models

Dwight Brown lost out on the Limited Late Model title by a single point last year, and he intends to remedy that situation in 2008. Starting the new campaign with a victory and second place finish in the heat sprints, the Beeton resident continued his winning ways, with a win in the 25 lap evening finale.

"This field is as strong as it was last year," declared Brown. "If you can win here, you've done your work. The Kimmerlys were fast and that #73 (Ken Downer) really gets down the straight."

Coming up this weekend at Mosport

It's the first long weekend of the summer, and Mosport's Victoria Day SpeedFest (May 16-18) is the place to be in Durham for racing, camping and fireworks. Victoria Day SpeedFest tickets can be redeemed for free admission to the Saturday Night Stock Car Racing at Mosport Speedway. For tickets and info, call the Mosport office at 905-983-9141 or visit www.mosport.com

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