LONDON, ON- Reigning Great Canadian 200 champion Matt Pritiko utilized a late-race restart to take control of July 11th’s Pro Late Model feature and held off early leader Barry Newman for his first Delaware win of the 2014 season.
The London, ON driver has earned a pair of victories away from Delaware, but his Burwell Auto Body Night triumph marked his first on home soil this year.
“It’s nice to win anywhere, but when you can do so in front of your friends and family it makes it special”, beamed a visibly ecstatic Pritiko in victory lane.
“Barry’s a great racer. That was a tonne of fun battling with him. We came by this one honestly, because there wasn’t a single driver looking to give an inch tonight. This was a blast”
Pritiko charged from 8th on the grid, and weathered a number of early-race battles, including a side-by-side tussle with Pro Late Model veteran Jesse Kennedy.
“Jesse and I just seem to bring out the best in one another”, smiled Pritiko. “It doesn’t matter if we’re battling for 1st or 5th, we go at it tooth and nail. He’s a competitor, that’s for sure”
The victory vaulted Pritiko to the lead in Delaware’s Pro Late Model point standings, though Pritiko was quick to note it’s far too early to start counting points.
“We came back to Delaware this season with full intentions of winning our first Late Model championship. That’s the goal. But, there’s still a lot of racing to go. We’re not going to worry about where we are in the standings”
“I’m focused on coming to the speedway and knocking down strong finishes every Friday. If we can do that, the championship will take care of itself”, closed Pritiko.
Fresh off his feature win, Matt will return to competition this Friday, July 19th in Round 3 of the APC Six Pack Series, pitting Delaware regulars against their Flamboro Speedway counterparts in a 100-lap feature event.
For details, visit www.DelawareSpeedway.com, and be sure to follow Matt on Twitter @MattPritiko and at the brand new www.MattPritiko.com.
Matt Pritiko’s 2014 season is powered by Global Warranty, Toyota Town, Palasad: London’s Best Entertainment & Eatery, Serengeti Sunglasses, AQUAhydrate, NAPA Certified Body Shop, Cadillac Industrial Cleaning, Driven Steering Wheels, Burwell Auto Body, SellToWin.com, Snap’d London and In2Communications.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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