HEPWORTH, ON- Following a workmanlike top-15 finish in the APC United Late Model Series season opener at Sunset Speedway on May 23rd, Pro Late Model standout Andrew Gresel is ready for a bounce back performance in Round 2 at Flamboro this Saturday.
At Sunset, Gresel fought his way back from an early-race altercation that heavily damaged his Port City Racing chassis. After returning to the track 5-laps down, the former Super Late Model champion utilized the ‘Lucky Dog’ award to carve his way back to the lead lap and salvage a respectable finish against long odds.
“That was as hard as we’ve had to work at the track in a long time,” says Gresel with a laugh. “I’m proud of my guys for getting us through that. A lot of teams would have thrown in the towel after taking that much damage – but as soon as I rolled onto pit road it was all hands on deck”
“This team doesn’t know what it means to quit,” adds the veteran with pride. “As long as this car can roll – my guys are going to be doing all that they can to make it faster. That’s why we’ve had the success that we have”
When asked of his top-15 finish, Gresel shrugged it off as little more than persevering through adversity.
“I would call that making the best of a bad situation,” offers the second-generation star. “Sunset isn’t our best track by a long shot, so to bounce back from that bad of a wreck with a top-15 finish is a huge positive. Now, we’re concentrating on moving forward”
June 6th’s ‘Meineke 100’ will mark Gresel’s first time back at Flamboro since winning an OSCAAR Super Late Model Tour event at the facility in September 2013.
“It’s been a little while since we’ve raced at Flamboro, so we might be giving up some experience to guys like Chenoweth and Shaw, but I’m not too worried about it,” admits Gresel.
“Flamboro drives really similar to Sauble – and I’m confident that we have a setup that’ll bring this new car to life”
With 7-races remaining before the tour crowns its inaugural champion, Gresel shakes off any notion that the points standings are playing into his strategy in any way.
“We’re not worried about the points and where we are in the standings,” states the former Delaware Speedway titlist pointedly. “I’ve said that for as long as I’ve been racing. Right now, my focus is on winning on Saturday at Flamboro – not because I want to get back into the points but more so because my guys deserve something to be proud of after all the work they’ve done in the last three weeks”
“We unloaded at Sunset with a car that we had no laps on. The team finished prepping for Sunset at 3:00am the night before. We definitely didn’t have the results we were hoping for – but we learned a lot about this new piece”
“Since then, we’ve been practically living in the shop. We’ve found out a lot about this car, and we’re headed to Flamboro with a lot more in our back pocket than we had at the season opener”
“If we can rip off a good lap in time trials and get ourselves into the re-draw, I think we can be a handful for anyone of these guys to try and stop.”
Gate times and ticket prices for the inaugural ‘Meineke 100’ can be found at www.FlamboroSpeedway.ca.
Andrew Gresel’s 2015 APC United Late Model Series season would not be possible without Sauble Falls Tent & Trailer Park, London Recreational, Canadian Union of Skilled Workers, HY-Grade Roofing, Have1.com and Raden Givari of eHomes.
Follow the team on Twitter @SaubleFalls81 and be sure to visit the Andrew Gresel Sauble Falls Facebook page.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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