HAMILTON, ON – James Gray became the 6th different winner in 8 races as the Lucas Oil Can-Am Midgets made their second stop of the season at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night. Taking the checkered flag, Gray said, “I want to dedicate this win to my Mom as she is recovering from some surgery she had recently. She, along with my wife and daughter are my biggest supporters.” He went on to thank series sponsor Lucas Oil, National Exhaust, and Thom Boys Powersport and Equipment from Owen Sound, the sponsor of the night’s feature race.
Gray, starting in 6th place, took the lead on lap 16 from Rob Neely and held the point to the win. Todd Cresswell led the first ten laps, Neely the next five and Gray took over for the remaining ten. Fans were on the edge of their seats as these fast-paced open wheelers raced side by side lap after lap throughout the field.
Tom Kyle had the pole position for the start of the race but two caution came out for spins by Rob DiVenanzo and by the time the first lap was complete Kyle was now third behind Cresswell and Neely. David Balych was fourth and Gray rounded out the top five. Gray passed Balych one lap later and brought along Jeff Blackburn for fifth. Cresswell began to stretch his lead but not out of the sites of Neely. Gray took over third from Kyle as Blackburn again tagged along. With nine laps in Neely caught Cresswell going into turn three and took the lead. Cresswell hung on as these two raced down the frontstraight. Fighting for the point Cresswell’s motor began to tighten up. Two laps later Cresswell pulled off with a seized motor. Neely now had command of the field.
Gray was in hot pursuit of Neely with Blackburn, Mack DeMan and 2011 Champion Darren McLennan in the top five. With one power move Gray took the lead with ten to go. Neely fought a hard battle with DeMan for another 4 laps, giving up second place with five laps to go. Blackburn hung on to the fourth spot as McLennan rounded the top five. Gray had command of the field for the remaining laps as DeMan, Neely and Blackburn all fought for position. As the checkered flag flew Gray got the win with DeMan in second, Neely third, followed by Blackburn and McLennan. Gray was joined in Victory Lane by his Dad and crew for the celebration.
Heat were won by Neely and McLennan. The ‘B’ feature was won by Greg Smulders. The Lucas Oil Can-Am Midgets have the weekend off before heading north to Barrie Speedway (Ont) for their 9th race of the season on July 28th.
Final finish for the Lucas Oil Can-Am Midgets at Flamboro Speedway on July 14, 2012 was….1. JAMES GRAY, 2. Mack DeMan, 3. Rob Neely, 4. Jeff Blackburn, 5. Darren McLennan, 6. Chris Holman, 7. Adrian Stahle, 8. Tom Kyle, 9. Greg Smulders, 10. Corey Moesker, 11. Dave McKnight Jr., 12. Chris Bauman, 13. Rob DiVenanzo, 14. Mike Westwood, 15. Todd Cresswell, 16. Carey Hickson, 17. David Balych, 18. Dave Hickson.
The ‘Unofficial’ top fifteen in points for the Lucas Oil Can-Am Midgets as of July 14, 2012 are…1. DARREN MCLENNAN…1295, 2. James Gray…1255, 3. Mack DeMan…1250, 4. Rob Neely…1230, 5. Corey Moesker…1179, 6. Jeff Blackburn…1098, 7. Adrian Stahle…1086, 8. Todd Cresswell…1074, 9. Chris Holman…1051, 10. Tom Kyle…1035, 11. David Balych…1031, 12. Chris Bauman…920, 13. Rob DiVenanzo…823, 14. Dave Hickson…528, 15. Greg Smulders…485.
From Cindy Lorenz
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