Mark Burbridge, the 2005 & 2007 Oktoberfest Late Model champion, picked up the season-opening Thunder Car victory at Flamboro Speedway this past Saturday, holding off a last lap charge from Nick Troback. The win marked the first for Burbridge since the veteran moved back to the Thunder Car division in 2011.
The Brantford, ON driver intends to run the full Flamboro Thunder Car season, updates can be found on the team’s website. In Mini Stock action, perennial favourite Rob Hoskins (below) won in dominating fashion, leading multi-time champion Dave Bailey and Mini Stock mainstay Billy Schwartzenburg across the stripe.
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KIRK HOOKER: Former ALSTAR Super Series champion Kirk Hooker (above) has returned his Late Model to race-ready shape, after an uncharacteristically rough trip to New Smyrna’s World Series of Asphalt in February. A violent impact on the 9th and final night of racing left Hooker’s McColl Racing Enterprises chassis with a front clip bent beyond repair, a damaged frame rail and a rear-end in 2 pieces.
After extensive time spent repairing the piece, complete with a brand new front clip courtesy of MRE, Hooker’s car is ready for the 2012 season. The patented ‘Dirty 38’ will debut at Delaware’s season opener on May 25th, with sponsorship from Spira Fire Protection, Ron O’Brien RE/MAX, JBM Auto Leasing, Vertec Contractors, Jim Molenhuis of Advance Landscaping, Ultimate Sandblasting & Coating, Westside Performance, Country View Golf Course and BNS Plumbing along with product support from Streamline Fabrication and McColl Racing Enterprises.
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MARTIN LATULIPPE & RICK BROWN: Sunday’s running of the CRA Super Series ‘7 Up 100’ at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway will see Canadian representation from a 2 different provinces. Quebec’s Martin Latulippe (above) and Ontario’s Rick Brown have both confirmed their plans to make their 2012 CRA Super Series debuts. Latulippe, the 2011 New Smyrna Speedweeks Crate Late Model champion, will make the 1130km trek from Vallee-Jonction, QC with hopes of starting his first career CRA Super Series feature.
Brown (above), an on-again-off-again veteran of the lauded Super Late Model tour, will make the no less impressive 509km journey from his headquarters in Bradford, ON. Latulippe will look to become the first Quebec native to find victory lane in a CRA sanctioned Super Late Model event, while Brown will look to become the first Ontario native since Junior Hanley to hoist CRA Super Series hardware.
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TIM BURKE: Here’s our sneak peek at OSCAAR Modified Rookie of the Year contender Tim Burke’s entry for the upstart tour’s inaugural season. Burke spent the entirety of the 2011 campaign with the Lucas Oil Sportsman Cup, managing a 9th place finish in the point standings as a first year competitor on the tour. For 2012, Burke has converted his OSS chassis into that of an OSCAAR-legal Modified, with plans on competing in all 12 OSCAAR Mod events. With primary support from long-time sponsor Lynval Contracting, Burke will compete alongside fellow Modified rookies Brandon Crumbie, Josh Gruntz, Matt Barton and Don Douglas.
By Spencer Lewis
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