FLAMBORO, ON- Just one week removed from his NASCAR Canadian Tire Series debut, Pro Late Model ace Matt Pritiko opened up his weekly season with a podium finish at Flamboro Speedway in the first round of the Flamboro-Delaware ‘APC Six Pack Series’.
“Hard to be upset with a night like this”, said Pritiko as he flashed a smile post-race. “The only other time we’ve raced here was the Gold Rush 100 last season, and we wrecked before halfway. So, we came into tonight not really knowing what to expect. We’re definitely pleased with the outcome”
The May 24th event marked the first round of the much talked about ‘APC Six Pack Series’, pitting Delaware’s stars – including Pritiko – against the top competitors from Flamboro. Pritiko’s 3rd place finish gave him the distinction of the top finishing Delaware regular.
“It’s always an honour any time you get the opportunity to represent your home track”, explained Pritiko. “We wanted to come down here and turn in a good performance, not only to start our year off on a positive note, but also to do well for our fans back at Delaware”
Pritiko time-trialed 3rd quickest and started the event 8th on the grid after the pre-race invert.
“When we signed in at the back-gate this afternoon, we had planned to race a little conservatively through the first 50 laps or so”, said the London, ON driver. “But after such a deep invert, we re-thought that strategy”
“It got a little wild right from the start”, continued Pritiko. “So, we did our best to race hard and get to the front early to stay out of trouble”
The former road course regular remained a picture of composure, picking his way through the stout field en route to a spot in the top-3. Despite dodging a number of early-race tussles, Pritiko’s No. 21 did not escape without damage.
“This place makes you earn every position. That’s for sure”, opined Pritiko. “We got tapped by someone on our way through, and it bent something in the right front. It wasn’t enough to take us out, but I’m sure we might have been a little stronger at the end had that not happened”
With a top-3 finish to his credit, Pritiko is looking forward to getting back into the weekly grind of Pro Late Model competition.
“This was a great way to start our season. This car came straight from McColl Racing Enterprises to the speedway, and was an absolute rocket. Without question, that tells us we’re moving in the right direction”
“We have a couple small things that need to be tweaked for the next time out, but other than that I think we’ve certainly hit on something with this car”
Matt Pritiko will strap back into his Pro Late Model on Friday, June 6th, when Delaware Speedway opens up their 2014 regular season.
Pritiko’s 2014 campaign is made possible thanks to Global Warranty, Toyota Town, Palasad: London’s Best Entertainment & Eatery, Serengeti Sunglasses, AQUAhydrate, NAPA Certified Body Shop, Cadillac Industrial Cleaning, Driven Steering Wheels, Burwell Auto Body, SellToWin.com, Snap’d London and In2Communications.
Fans can follow Matt on Twitter @MattPritiko, keep up with him via his Matt Pritiko Motorsports page on Facebook and check out all that’s happening in 2014 at the brand new www.MattPritiko.com
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
Discussion about this post