(Dorchester, ON) – Jamie Cox and his RCR Racing Team opened the season at Delaware Speedway on Friday May 17th, as they plan to chase the trace FT Garage Late Model championship with their Total Lubricants / London City Chrysler / Stubbs Communications / APC Dodge Charger.
The night started with practice, and Cox was quick right out of the box, turning a fast lap of 19.193 seconds, with the second fastest driver being over 19.3 seconds. “Our car was really good from the time we unloaded it. We made a few adjustments through the first half of the night, but it was all minor items like the track bar, and some tire pressures. Our setup was very good, and the car was comfortable to drive.”
Cox started last in his 10-lap qualifying event, and passed Cole Powell for position on lap three. He continued to pedal forward, climbing to fifth on lap four, before picking up one more position a lap later to claim a fourth-place showing. Cox was reeling in Tyler Hendricks as the race closed out but ran out of time. Jamie did turn the fastest lap of the heat by over a tenth of a second.
The while #22 car rolled from third on the initial green, trailing only the front row of Powell and Mat Box and after settling into line in third started to work on Box. By lap five he was able to find a way past and took off in search of the leader. He pulled to Powell’s bumper and went to work, pressuring the leader. “I was faster than Cole in the heat race and knew that I would be able to get him, but I wanted to wait until he made a mistake, because there was lots of time left in the race.”
For the next six laps, Cox shadowed Powell before striking on lap 12 while heading into turn three. “He left the door open and I was ready to get by him when I got the opportunity.”
After gaining the top position, Cox proceeded to distance himself from Powell. On lap 22 a new challenger appeared, as Matt Pritiko had found his way to the runner-up position. Pritiko made an attempt at the lead on lap 33, but spun to the inside of the track, putting Powell back into second. “Matt got below me, and I was trying to keep him down there, and I think he just spun it trying to stay on the bottom.”
Cox held off the field on the last restart, and cruised to his first career Late Model feature win, and for the nine-time Delaware Open Wheel Modified champion it didn’t come a moment too soon. He explained, “This has been a long time coming. We’ve been in positions to win before, but haven’t been able to close the deal. Our car was great tonight and we were quick all evening. My biggest obstacles were the yellow flags, because it took me a couple of laps to get going after a restart. After a couple of laps I was able to open up a few car lengths, but almost every time a yellow came out.”
In victory lane, Jamie dedicated the race win to a couple people close to him that had passed away over the offseason, including fellow Delaware competitor Jamie Ramsay and his step-father Al Patterson.
FEATURE: 1.Jamie Cox, 2. Jay Doerr, 3. Shawn Thompson, 4. Box, 5. Powell
The next event for the RCR Team will be this Friday night at Delaware Speedway for event number two of the championship season. In addition to a return to full-season competition, Cox and the team will also be competing in the Beat The Heat 150 at Sauble Speedway, the Gold Rush at Flamborough Speedway, and possibly Autumn Colours at Peterborough Speedway.
For more information on Total Lubricants, London City Chrysler, Stubbs Communications, CANUSA, APC, or Delaware Speedway, please visit www.total-us.com, www.stubbsco.com, www.londoncitychrysler.com, www.canusa.on.ca, or www.delwarespeedway.com, or contact Luke Ramsay at (519) 268-7070.
By: Jamie Maudsley/ www.maudsleymotorsports.com
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