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Modified stocks a new treat |
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Written by TED CLARKE, Citizen staff
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Sunday, 11 May 2008 |
Mike Clark of Grande Prairie leads the pack of IMCA modified stock cars Saturday at PGARA Speedway. Clark edged his uncle Jeff Clark for top spot in the main event. (David Mah)
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On a cool night made colder for the fans by the last icy remnants of a long winter piled up around the grandstand at PGARA Speedway, Grande Prairie racers Mike Clark and Jeff Clark of Grande Prairie melted a path to the podium.
Although their modest winnings were no doubt eaten up by the cost of fuel for haul back through the Pine Pass, the Clarks considered their trip west into unexplored territory for the International Motor Contest Associates (IMCA) modified series a worthwhile venture.
Mike Clark, 24, had no trouble holding off his 32-year-old uncle Jeff on the narrow track in the main event, winning by three car lengths.
"There aren't a lot of places to pass on this track and the outside is a lot longer ways around than the bottom line, so I just took it calm and made sure I didn't mess up," said Mike Clark. "Everybody kept their heads pretty good. On this track, three-quarters throttle is all you get and you've got to hold on. You have to be really calm on the throttle."
Although Jeff has more racing experience than his nephew, he's getting used to the idea he can't always hold off Mike's ambition to succeed. Although he was slightly quicker in time trials, Jeff couldn't quite catch up in the main event.
"Mike got a good run and he was gone," Jeff Clark said. "We were pretty evenly matched today and I think he made the right changes before he went for the main."
"Twitchy" was the word both Clarks used to describe the feeling of racing their elongated cars around the three-eighths-mile oval PGARA track. With a start-time temperature of only 11 C, none of the drivers in the six-car field had an overabundance of grip on the battle-scarred asphalt to help maintain their speed in the corners.
"It's a tight, hard track to pass on," said Jeff Clark.
"The (narrow) tires limit the horsepower you can get to the ground, but they are a lot of fun to drive. Tonight was a good night, it was caution-free and good clean racing. It would have been have good to have a few more cars around, but Prince George is nice track, I like it."
Johnny Beaumont of Fort St. John was third in the main.
The series began in 1979 and has been in Canada since 1989. Unified rules means racers can go to IMCA events all over Canada, the U.S., and Australia. IMCA drivers compete for points tabulated nationally and Jeff, who won the second heat, earned the trophy for totaling one point more than his nephew.
Just one incident marred an otherwise accident-free night at the races in the season-opener. Brent Falkowsky was leading the feature race of PGARA's MST Carriers thunder stock class when he got tapped from behind by Jim Chapman and spun coming out of Turn 2. Falkowsky ended up sideways on the track, where he got T-boned by Troy Wilson, who nailed Falkowsky's driver's side door. The race was red-flagged and Falkowsky was hauled away in ambulance, complaining of neck pain.
Tom Stander, the defending thunder points champion, took the checkered flag, with Chapman and Shane Murphy second and third respectively.
Just four mini stocks were in the hunt for main-event bragging rights and Chris Last was the fastest of the four, finishing ahead of Cole Jefferson and third-place Brad Wallin.
During the final race of the 2007 season, Last lost his chance to claim the mini points title when he was deducted points for making contact with his fellow drivers. He ended up two points out of first place. Ever since then, he's been counting the days for his chance at redemption.
"I've been waiting all summer and I just want to do as good as I did last year," said Last, now in his second season of racing.
"Last year I got black-flagged in the last race for being a little pushy and ended up being second in the championship because of it. I spent all summer thinking about being patient and it is showed out here. I didn't get pushy and I still came out in front."
The Prince George Auto Racing Association resumes its schedule May 24, when the WESCAR series returns for its second event of the season.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 May 2008 )
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