@Dale_Wilson3 • @FlamSpeedway • WATERLOO (May 24, 2015) – Waterloo, Ont. native Dale Wilson drove his No.3 Mustang to a second-place finish with the Ontario Pro Challenge Series at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night.
The result comes just two weeks after Wilson won the series-opening race at the same track two weeks earlier.
“It was another situation where everything fell in to place. It felt like the car was handling on a rail. When that happens, it just makes my job a whole lot easier.”
Wilson finished fourth in his first qualifying heat of the night after the tires failed to gain grip in the opening laps and he fell back after starting on the pole.
“For the first three laps, it just felt like I was driving on ice,” Wilson said. “Once my tires came in, it felt like the car was working again and I could put the car anywhere I needed to.”
The second heat was a better story for the 21-year-old, winning his heat from the third starting spot. That set up a sixth-place spot on the grid for the 25-lap main event.
Wilson had to go backwards before he could go forward in the main event. After the outside lane was slow to move on the initial start, the No.3 fell to 10th before beginning a surge through the field.
“I had to wait a little bit for the right move. I just had to start chipping away and making the right moves,” Wilson explained. “It just took a little bit of patience and a little bit of luck too.”
Three laps prior to the halfway mark, Wilson set himself up for a chance at the runner-up spot. By lap 11, the veteran driver moved passed both Owen Smith and Peter Hattin to take second.
Free and clear of the rest of the field, Wilson set his sights on race leader Dennis Thompson, who had opened a considerable lead while the rest of the field battled amongst itself.
“He had a nice size lead. Towards the end, maybe the last five laps, it felt like we were chipping away. Maybe a caution would have helped, but it was another straight green flag run,” Wilson said.
A pair of top-two finishes is an impressive start for Wilson, who is bouncing back from a blown engine to end his 2014 season. He will look to carry the momentum from the first two nights at Flamboro to the tour’s next stop at Full Throttle Motor Speedway (formerly Varney) on June 13. That race kicks off a stretch of three races in as many weeks.
“I really like that track. It’s fun to drive. It’s like driving in a giant soup bowl. Since they reshaped the track, it’s a lot of fun to drive,” Wilson said, looking forward to the Full Throttle date. He won at the track in 2012.
The series will then travel to Sunset Speedway (Innisfil, Ont.) and Delaware Speedway (London, Ont.) on June 20 and 26, respectively. Wilson has struggled at Sunset in the past, but believes the team has found the speed to change their fortunes. As for Delaware, June 26 will mark Wilson’s first race at the historic half-mile.
“It will be my first time on a half-mile track since Mosport closed. At Mosport, it was all about keeping your RPMs high so you could get a good run down the long straightaway,” Wilson said. “We’ll see if it’s kind of the same mindset at Delaware.”Dale Wilson’s 2015 racing season is supported by Warren Leis of AW Millwrights, Greg Toneguzzo of Rite Way Mechanical and Willie Da Rosa of Portugal Auto Body & Restoration Ltd. The entire Wilson Motorsports team would like to thank all sponsors for their continued support.
Follow Dale Wilson’s 2015 season with the Ontario Pro Challenge tour on Twitter, @dale_wilson3.
Media Contact: Image Factor Motorsport Design
Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia) claytonjohns@hotmail.com
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