AKWESASNE, NY – After some intense track preparation throughout the week the speedway was smooth and fast on Akwesasne Mohawk Casino night.

In the 358 modified event Shane Pecore and Tom Conklin led the field of 20 to the green flag with Pecore grabbing the top spot with Conklin, Gage Morin, Perry Francis and Brian McDonald making up the top five early on. Last Sunday night at Cornwall Gage Morin debuted a brand new racecar and put it into victory lane. Morin showed his muscle as he powered by Pecore on the top side to grab the lead on lap 5 with Pecore, McDonald, Matt Billings and Conklin completing the top five. The first yellow came out on lap 7 for Roy Tarbell who slowed to a stop on the back stretch. The race resumed on lap 8 but it didn’t take long for the yellow to come back out again as Chris Raabe made contact with another car causing him to go pit side and se his points lead slip away. Once the cautions were done with Billy Dunn Started to make his move to the front of the field as he took advantage of some other drivers mistakes in turn 3 Billy went from fourth to second getting by Carey Terrance and McDonald just past halfway as he tried to reel in Morin.

By lap 16 Morin had control of the race with Dunn, McDonald, Billings and Terrance giving chase. After a great side by side battle for four laps Dunn was able to use the top side to grab the lead on lap 19 and open up a commanding lead with Morin, Billings, McDonald and Terrance rounding out the top five. The rest of the top five ran their best race of the year but Billy Dunn proved to be too much again as he scored his fifth win of the season over Morin, Terrance, Billings, McDonald had fourth all to himself but broke in turn 3 allowing Danny O’Brien to get by for fifth at the finish.

In the Sportsman division it was an upset story at the finish but Mike Stacey and Jenna David started on the front row with David taking the lead away in turn 1. However she would not lead the opening lap as she slid too high in turn 4 allowing Stacey to lead his first ever lap with Dan Jalbert, Louie Jackson Jr., Dana Aikens and Jessica Power filling out the top 5. Jalbert was charging hard on this night as he battled with Stacey to take over the top spot on lap 4 as the yellow came out for Ricky Thompson. On the ensuing restart Dana Aikens was able to show his muscle as he powered to the top of the track to grab the lead on lap 5 with Jalbert, Rick Miller, Jackson and Power to round out the top five. On lap 6 a scary wreck on the front straight saw Jalbert and Miller tangle while battling for second. Miller made contact with an infield tire and was sent flipping down the front stretch. Miller was ok but his car was done for the night. On the restart Jalbert was able to get the top spot back on lap 8 bringing Arquiett with him to second with Aikens, Dylan Evoy and Wyatt Mullin rounding out the top five. On lap 10 another hard incident on the back stretch saw Jackson, Arquiett, and Akiens went three-wide into turn 3 with Jackson getting out of shape and making hard contact with the wall. Jackson was unhurt. This left Arquiett with a shot at the lead and he made it work as he motored away with the top spot over Dana Aikens. Mike Arquiett struggled for many years in Pro Stock but finally put it together for his first career Sportsman win and he cruised to a full straightaway win over Aikens, Evoy, Mullin and Nolan Swamp.

In the Pro Stock Division Allen Peters and Marc Lalonde led the field to the green with Peters getting the advantage in turn 1. Peters was on cruise control just before halfway as Dion Oakes was able to wrestle the top spot away with Peters, Stephane Lebrun, Owen White and Marc Lalonde rounding out the top five. The only caution flag flew on the night when PJ Peters spun by himself in turn 2. He was able to continue on. With Oakes basically checked out on the field the real battle was from second on back with White, Lebrun, Peters, Dan Desnoyers and Marc Lalonde. These five drivers put on a display of driving talent as the traded spots back and forth throughout the final 10 laps. Oakes would sail to his second win of the season but the story was behind him. Off turn 2 White made his move to second but made contact with Lebrun spinning him out on the backstretch forcing White to 6th at the finish. The rest of the top five were filled out by Marc Lalonde, Allen Peters, Dan Desnoyers, and PJ Peters.

In the Bandit division two drivers have been on quite a roll as of late Stuart Mossow and Mathieu Aubin had won the previous seven races. Matt Zira and Darryl Mitchell would look to end that dominance as Mitchell was able to grab the top spot early on. Stuart Mossow’s night was met with a little turmoil as he broke while running in the top three. He would return to the field later in the event. At the front Mathieu Aubin decided to pad his point led as he motored away from everyone to earn his fifth win and third in a row in the Bandit class. Bob Ray, Danny Lefebvre new comer Billy Laplant and Mossow rounded out the top five.

The Mod Lite division concluded the night and the story was Bryan Green he grabbed the lead early on in the 15 lap contest from early pace setter Scott Waldorff . Two yellow flags flew late in the event for Matt Chontosh who spun in turn 4 both times with handling problems. Despite the cautions nobody had anything for Bryan Green as he recorded his fourth win of the season with Waldorff, Eric Desilets, Sylvain Laframboise and Harley Brown

Action resumes at MIR in two weeks on Friday, August 17th. The Brass Horse will present the final round of the Bailey Motor Company Pro Stock Series along with a Topless Mod Lite event and a regular card for Modifieds Sportsman and Bandits. Please note our new 7:30 p.m. starting time.

For more information, visit the track website at www.MohawkInternationalRaceway.com.

CORNWALL RACES RAINED OUT

Everything was starting to shape up to be a great night of racing at Cornwall Motor Speedway as over 60 cars had already signed in for tonight’s program including several invaders to compete in the second race of the Canadian Nationals when the skies opened up at 6 p.m. with a thunderstorm hitting over the speedway forcing promoter Ron Morin to cancel the race program.

Discussions are underway to reschedule the second race of the Canadian Nationals sometime in August. A decision will be taken early this week and will be communicated to everyone as soon as possible.

For more information on the upcoming events at Cornwall Motor Speedway, consult the track website at www.cornwallspeedway.com.

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