Summer Showdown Recap
| SUMMER SHOWDOWN THRILLS THOUSANDS AT DELAWARE!
NASCAR Star Kyle Busch Wins! You never would have known Kyle Busch had a full weekend of racing ahead of him in Chicago, or that in his personal life he’s newly engaged with a fiancée in the throes of planning their wedding. At 25 years of age, the Las Vegas native has perfected the art of grace under pressure. And here at Delaware Speedway, with fellow NASCAR stars David Reutimann and Jason Leffler, Kyle remained focused on the one thing he always focuses on when the smells of fuel and asphalt are in the air: winning.The Summer Showdown presented by APC was a day-long affair including autograph sessions and practices for the drivers familiar and unfamiliar with the Delaware track. Each of the three guest drivers had a slew of fans but it was clear by the number of M and M themed caps, coats and shirts to be signed that Busch was the man whom most came to see. When the trackside interviews were due to start, there was brief a delay while Kyle slid under his #51 from Steve Robblee to make a couple of tweaks. (Robblee’s #28 was re-decaled to become 51 – Matt Robblee’s 51 became 51x. A back injury kept Steve off the track.) Busch had been the fastest in practice and set a new track record when he did his time trials: 18.634. But the “Ooooh” had barely faded among the crowd when Busch’s occasional competitor in NASCAR Nationwide and Truck Series races, DJ Kennington, shattered the fresh record with a new fastest lap of 18.509. The format had the top 3 in each heat guaranteed a berth in the main 50-lap race. The rest duked it out in a last chance qualifying 25-lapper. Scott Lindsay (20) who placed fourth in time trials was kept out of all of the fun over car trouble. Kennington and Busch each easily took their heats. Mark Watson won the third and Reutimann, in the 00 Canusa Car owned by Jamie Ramsay, owned the fourth with NASCAR Nationwide racer Leffler on his bumper the whole time. Leffler was piloting Matt Pritiko’s #21 for the night. The “B Main” race was a 25 lapper whose top 10 finishers would be allowed to run in the main race and no one wanted to be left out. Pete Vanderwyst, whose track record was beaten twice earlier in the night, had the pole. Just two laps away from the checkered flag with Vanderwyst still in the lead, John Urlin spun on turns 1 and 2 and narrowly missed meeting some metal. The race ended the night for several drivers while Vanderwyst took the win. The 50 lap feature race got underway with a wave from five thousand fans packing the stands and the lawn, Kennington at the pole and Busch at his side. At lap 12 Kris Martin spun in turn 3 and a bunch of cars that followed were caught up. Shawn McWhirter (31) was towed off. McWhirter had caused an earlier caution with a spin on turn one. At lap 18 Busch was just about to claim the lead when a caution was called over a connection on turn four, somehow involving Reutimann but all eyes were on the fight for the lead. Busch hadn’t been in front long enough to claim a full lap when the caution was called. The yellow flag flew at the restart of 18 caused by heavy smoke from the 81 of Andrew Gresel after some involvement with the 7 of Pete Vanderwyst. Then a couple of tangles involving Ron Sheridan and Jason Leffler, and David Reutimann with Pete Vanderwyst ended Vanderwyst’s night, and sent Reutimann to pit road. Sheridan, who had started 7th, and Leffler provided some heavy talent at the back of the pack. At lap 28, Stephen Richmond took the #11 to pit road. Meantime, Ron Sheridan was systematically working his way up through the pack. At lap 32, just as Kyle Busch was about to have to deal with negotiating around lap traffic on a track he’s not used to, Kris Martin took a twirl at turn one and Sharpie put up the yellow flag again. With 11 laps to go Andy Kamarath (83) and Mike Bentley (29) caused another caution. Simultaneously, Mark Watson (78) pulled over on turns 1 and 2 and told our announcers he heard a clunk. Whitworth Towing took him off the track. Busch at times commanded the track and at others looked potentially vulnerable to Kennington who has already won a feature here this season and two NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races in ’10, including the opener at Delaware. As the laps dwindled away, Kennington continued to close in on Busch, looking for an opportunity to reclaim the lead. But it wasn’t meant to be! Busch told us on the radio that it was his race and he proved it with a win in the Summer Showdown. DJ Kennington landed second. It was a great showing for two-time Great Canadian Race winner Jesse Kennedy who came third. Dion Verhoeven was fourth and Ron Sheridan fifth. On the podium Busch said he took advantage when Kennington got a little loose. He praised Delaware Speedway and especially the fans. Earlier he thanked Steve Robblee for giving him tips on how to run on Delaware’s “finicky” track. DJ Kennington said Kyle deserved the race because “he kicked my butt” but getting the track speed record was something great to come away with. Friday July 9th is News-Talk 1290 CJBK night at Delaware Speedway. If you joined us for the Summer Showdown, bring you ticket stub on Friday July 9th and get 50% off admission. And we’ve got a special purse for our King of the Hill spectator race – total prize winnings of $1000 cash! Lisa Brandt, Publicity, 226.448.7227 |
