Mark Berriau knew his car was quick, he just wasn't sure it would still be the fastest of the bunch after 100 laps.
After setting a new track record in qualifying for Saturday's ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Mr. Quick Lube and Oil 100, Berriau worked his way up from the middle of a 15-car pack and avoided a spectacular rollover accident just in front of him, 26 laps into the race, then settled into a groove that took him to first win in three races this season.
The 2009 ARCA Sportsman Series champion from Penticton held off a late charge from Prince George driver Logan Jewell and led a four-car pack that blasted across the finish line to provide a thrilling finish at PGARA Speedway.
"The car was good right out of the box," said Berriau, whose 16.644 qualifying lap broke Calvin Loudin's track record by more than half a second.
"I had a bit of push in the front end, and I was being conservative, staying low to guard the inside because I knew we had pressure from behind as well. Logan came out of nowhere and kind of surprised me and made a great run at the end there. He was reeling us in pretty good and I saw him on the outside and it didn't quite work out for him."
Berriau raced just one weekend in 2010. This year, he finished second in Vernon and after breaking the track record in Williams Lake, a loose wheel resulted in an 11th place finish. He was 30 points back of series leader Ian Graham going into Saturday's races. Graham ended up having a tough race and finished a lap down from the leaders.
Jewell was driving a new Chevy Impala on loan from longtime WESCAR/ARCA veteran driver Gary MacCarthy of Terrace and held the lead for the first 37 laps.
He managed to save his tires and in the late stages his car was faster in the corners than Berriau's. With four laps left, Jewell was in great position to try to go for the lead again when Matt Stephenson spun coming out of Turn 2, bringing out a caution flag.
When they finally got racing again, there was just one lap to go before the white flag came out. On the last lap heading for the final corner, Jewell made his move, trying to get past Berriau on the high side, but couldn't quite get his nose down far enough and his momentum shot him up too high, allowing Chris Babcock of Fort St. John and Bob Mear of Clearwater to slip past Jewell and lock up the final two podium positions.
"When the tires cooled down [late in the race] this car was on rails," said Jewell. "Those guys burned their tires up trying to get by me and I just cruised. With three laps, I just decided, go big or go home, and I went a little deep trying to clear him and just lost it.
"I'd rather get fourth going for the win than run second the entire race."
Dave Olson of Quesnel had a fast car as well, and won the A heat race. Olson was banging on the rear bumper of Art Rauschenberger gunning for the lead when he decided to go low to the inside to try to get around the lapped vehicle, with Jewell hugging the high side of the track.
Three-wide coming out of the corner, something had to give, and it was Olson who paid the price. He made contact with his nearest neighbour's left front fender and flipped over the No. 37 car, landing sideways on the pavement right in front of Rauschenberger and turned upside-down in a high-speed slide that went the length of the track.
Olson was unhurt in the wreck but his car was finished for the night, spoiling his chance to improve on his fifth-place points standing.
"I just tried to hold on and not take my hands off the steering wheel, but these cars are pretty safe," said Olson. "They've got HANS [head and neck safety] devices. We were flying, we had the car to beat tonight, but unfortunately ended up on the roof."
Mear, a former PGARA flagman, has lived in Clearwater for 10 years but spent 40 of his 53 years in P.G. and still considers the city his home. Coming off a fourth-place result in Williams Lake, he's driving a Ford Fusion he bought from Ron Larson of Quesnel.
"It's always nice to come home and pull off a third place, we're totally ecstatic about it, this is what we work hard for," said Mear. "The car was loose in the middle of the race but we just held on and let the race come to us, that's the only way you can win these things."
MacCarthy plans to put Jewell in the driver's seat for the rest of the ARCA season. He was impressed with how the 21-year-old driver handled himself with no lap time in the car prior to Saturday.
"We had a chance for the win and he went for it, he did the right thing when the caution came out," said MacCarthy. "This sport needs young people and it's an opportunity for me to put a driver like him in there. He has the talent and the patience and he's very professional. He's very smooth, and that's what you need in these 100-lap races. If today is any indication, we have a very good chance in this series."
