DELAWARE, ON – On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the FT Garage Late Models hit the track for the Keystone Light 200, with a cash prize of $10,000 at stake. “Downtown” Mark Watson (#3) of St. Thomas won the event and by doing so drove his way into Delaware Speedway history. The event had nine lead changes among three different drivers.
The first 100 laps, which counted for Delaware Championship Chase points, were led by Mark Watson (#3) of St. Thomas. Watson took the lead in lap eight from Brandon Watson (#9) of Stayner, but then lost it to Matt Pritiko (#21) of London in lap fourteen. Watson regained the lead in lap eighty-three from Pritiko, who fell into third place by the end of the first half. Jamie Cox (#22) of Dorchester held the second position. There were five cautions in the first half for minor incidents.
When the green flag dropped on the second half following the competition yellow Mark Watson was the driver to beat out front but had the lead snatched away by Matt Pritiko (#21). Pritiko set to work dominating the field leading lap 107-165. Watson briefly retook the lead on lap 166 on a restart but lost it again a lap later. Watson would retake the lead for the final time from Pritiko on lap 174 of 200. Jon Urlin (#44) of London finished second in the race, his teammate Matt Pritiko (#21) of London finished third. The second half of the event had five cautions.
“Matt [Pritiko] had a great race car, but I was waiting until about thirty to go,” explained Watson in victory lane. “At about lap 150 with the green flag run I started to get worried. We’ve had three big wins at specials in Ontario this year and it doesn’t get better than that!”
Overall the day was a total domination run for Watson who also won the group time trials earlier in the day clocking a 18.963 second lap time. The win solidifies Watson’s position as points leader of the FT Garage Late Models. Watson, who is sponsored by Ron O’Brien Remax, also won a feature race in June in regular competition. The driver made headlines earlier in the week participating in a Delaware Speedway event in downtown London which culminated in the St. Thomas driver performing a series of skillful donuts at the intersection of York and Wellington.
Racing resumes on Friday, September 14 with FT Garage Late Models, Coca-Cola Super Stocks, Demar Aggregates Trucks and the King of the Hill Spectator’s Race. This date has been added to the racing calendar as a rain out make up date.
Delaware Speedway would like to extend a special thank-you to fans and drivers for making the Great Canadian Race Weekend an amazing success.
Unofficial Finish Keystone Light 200
September 2, 2012 – Time Trial Winner Mark Watson (18.963 Seconds)
200 Laps (9 Lead among 4 drivers)
Pos # Name Hometown Margin (Seconds)
1 3 Mark Watson St. Thomas 0
2 21 Matt Pritiko London 1.659
3 44 Jon Urlin London 2.369
4 72 Shawn Thompson Parkhill 4.037
5 9 Brandon Watson Stayner 5.925
6 38H Kirk Hooker Chatham 6.741
7 27 Matt Box Mississauga 7.565
8 22 Jamie Cox Dorchester 7.769
9 37 David Elliot Waterdown 9.301
10 24 Stephen Richmond London 10.197
11 25 Cole Powell Mt. Brydges 11.432
12 81 Andrew Gresel Hepworth 13.329
13 8 Marc Jacobs London 13.782
14 96 Dan Prudhomme Ingersoll 19.968
15 77 Jeremy Reid Kerwood 1 Lap
16 69 Lloyd Rawlings Windsor 4 Laps
17 5 Jay Christie Beachville 5 Laps
18 99 Justin DeMelo London 7 Laps
19 100 Doug Stewart London 12 Laps
DNF 10 Jesse Kennedy Oneida 34 Laps
DNF 38 Tyler Hendricks Pain Court 35 Laps
DNF 33 Jeff Lancaster Hamilton 65 Laps
DNF 15 Steven Matthews New Liskeard 89 Laps
DNF 43 Jay Doerr London 95 Laps
DNF 11 Terry Jacques Mt. Brydges 199 Laps
From Delaware Speedway
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