@dale_wilson3 • @FlamboroSpdwy • WATERLOO, ON (July 26, 2015) – Dale Wilson continued his consistent season with a top-five finish on Saturday at Flamboro Speedway with the Ontario Pro Challenge Series.
The 21 year-old pilot fought a loose racecar in his pair of heat races, but still earned third- and fifth-place finishes. Follow qualifying, Wilson’s crew chief and father, Stephen Wilson, received some assistance from series point leader Dennis Thomson to help solve the handling issues on the AW Millwrights/Rite Way Mechanical No. 3.
“I owe most of my chassis and setup knowledge to Dennis,” said Stephen Wilson. “With all that he has taught me, I feel a bit like his apprentice.”
“He dropped the tire pressures on the left side. It worked because the setup was perfect from then on and I had a great car in the feature,” said Dale Wilson.
Continued Wilson, “That’s our series in a nutshell. There are always guys willing to help other drivers. The point leader doesn’t have to give someone advice, but he does. It’s good, because its obvious that he wants to see other guys challenge him.”
Come feature time, Wilson started ninth on the 16-car grid. The Waterloo, Ont. driver quickly learned he would have to go backward in order to get to the front.
“It started off a little crazy. It didn’t seem like I was in the right place anywhere I went. I ended up getting shuffled back to about 14th by lap six,” said Wilson. “As things started settling down, I started picking off a few spots here and there.”
A trio of yellow flags slowed the race which bunched the field back together and Wilson took advantage of the final restart to march forward.
“After the last one I was in eighth spot. I was in the outside line and it kind of got jammed up a bit, so I moved down the track and managed to pick up two spots,” Wilson explained.
With 10 to go, Wilson had charged to third, but the eventual race winner Tim Norris and second-place runner Dennis Thomson already held a 10-car length advantage. Wilson held off Mike Westwood for the third spot.
The podium finish was a much-needed dose of medicine for the Wilson Motorsports team after a flat tire while battling for the lead ended the team’s night at Sunset Speedway two weeks ago, resulting in an 11th-place tally.
The team now turns its attention to Full Throttle Motor Speedway (formerly Varney) in two weeks time for round eight of the 2015 Ontario Pro Challenge Series season on August 8.
“I like that track. I want to build on the fourth-place finish I had last time at Varney. I think I made a few mistakes here and there that can be corrected and hopefully I’ll get a better finish in a couple of weeks,” said an optimistic Wilson.
Racing is scheduled for 5:00pm on August 8 at Full Throttle Motor Speedway. Complete event details can be found at www.fullthrottlemotorspeedway.com.
Dale Wilson’s 2015 racing season is supported by Warren Leis of AW Millwrights, Greg Toneguzzo of Rite Way Mechanical and Willie Da Rosa of Portugal Auto Body & Restoration Ltd. The entire Wilson Motorsports team would like to thank all sponsors for their continued support.
Follow Dale Wilson’s 2015 season with the Ontario Pro Challenge tour on Twitter, @dale_wilson3.
Media Contact: Clayton Johns Media (@cjohnsmedia)
claytonjohns@hotmail.com
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