Raabe notches second Modified victory at MIR

By TIM BALTZ
TRACK CORRESPONDENT

TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2012

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AKWESASNE - The racing at Mohawk International Raceway in 2012 has been nothing short of exciting and with Brass Horse on hand as the title sponsor of the evening.

They and the rest of the fans were treated to some exciting racing action.

The 358 Modifieds saw two rookies lead the field to the green with Shane Pecore and David Papineau making up the front row. Pecore was able to grab the top spot away as Brian McDonald, Roy Tarbell, Papineau and Danny O’Brien filled out the top five early on. Brian McDonald hasn’t won at MIR since 2009 and was on a mission to change that as he jumped into the top spot on lap 3 and opened up a commanding lead. As McDonald extended his lead the battle amongst the top five was quite a sight as defending track champion Chris Raabe muscled by Pecore for second spot leaving O’Brien and Tarbell to battle it out for fourth and fifth. The first yellow came out for Lance Willix who slowed on the front stretch. On the restart McDonald continued his torrid pace leaving Raabe, O’Brien, Laurent Ladouceur and Tarbell to round out the top five. At lap 15 McDonald continued to lead but Raabe was slowly gaining momentum and on lap 21 in traffic, Raabe used the bottom to take the lead away. A late yellow flew for Casey Swamp who crashed on the front stretch slowed the field for a one-lap shootout. On the final restart Raabe pulled out a two-car length advantage to score his second win of the season over McDonald, points leader Billy Dunn, O’Brien and Laurent Ladouceur.

The Sportsman race kicked off their excitement right off the bat as the front runners came together in turn 2 on the opening lap sending Brent Kelsey and Dan Jalbert off turn 2. Kelsey was able to continue on but Jalbert was done for the evening. When the racing action resumed Louie Jackson Jr., held the top spot with Adam Rozon, Dana Aikens, Thunder Anderson Jr., and Jessica Power completing the top five. Adam Rozon has had a great rookie season and continued it on this night. He grabbed the lead at lap 6 from Jackson and brought Aikens with him to second. Aikens hounded the rookie for the next four laps before he powered by on lap 10 to take the lead away. Just behind him Jessica Power was charging forward. After starting seventh she made her way to second getting by Adam Rozon and in the process brought Dylan Evoy up into third. Despite lapped traffic and a fast closing Jessica Power, Dana Aikens was on a mission, having not won since Brockville in 2010 Dana charged home to his first win of the season and third of his Sportsman career with Power, Evoy, Jackson Jr., and Wyatt Mullin rounding out the top five.

The final round of the Bailey Motor Company Pro Stock Series was set to go and series points leader Joey Ladouceur had many things going on during the evening. He had to start last after problems in the heat. Then he had a series title to worry about. To top it off he was trying for his 100 career DIRTCar Pro Stock win as well. With Ladouceur in the back George Renaud used the pole to his advantage as he jumped out into the lead with Stephane Lebrun, Marc Lalonde, Dion Oakes and Ryan Stabler rounding out the top five early on. Renaud and Lebrun put on a fantastic show racing wheel to wheel until the yellow flew on lap 8 for Stabler who spun in turn 2. On the restart Lebrun was able to wrestle the top spot away from Renaud with Dion Oakes, Louie Jackson and Ladouceur completing the top five. Just three laps later Renaud powered back by the Lebrun machine for the lead and would pull out to a half straightaway advantage. By the halfway point Joey Ladouceur was making a serious bid for this big win as he got by Dion Oakes for third with PJ Peters in fifth. On lap 26 the yellow would wave as Oakes spun in turn 2. On the restart Renaud was looking to hold on for the win but Ladouceur jumped to the top side of the race track. After sliding by Lebrun for second he charged by Renaud for the lead with four to go and would hold on for his fourth win of the season, second of the three-race series, and his 100th career DIRTCar Pro Stock victory. Peters, Renaud, Lebrun, and Ryan Stabler completed the top five. Ladouceur would also secure his 2ond straight series crown.

The Mod Lites went topless on this night and they put on a fantastic show. Bryan Green was on a mission as he grabbed the lead on lap 3 and started to run away with Sylvain Laframboise, Mathieu Robinson, Harley Brown and Brad Reif making up the top five. Green took over the points lead two weeks ago and was looking to run away with yet another win until the caution flew on lap 14. On the final restart Robinson jumped to the top side in a bid for the lead but it didn’t work as Green grabbed his fifth win of the season and second in a row over Robinson, Sylvain Laframboise, Brad Reif and Scott Waldorff.

In the Bandit division Jean Marc Larose and three-time winner Stuart Mossow led the field to the green flag with Larose jumping out to the early lead. Larose joined the season late in 2012 and had some great runs and was determined to get his first ever MIR feature win. But Mathieu Aubin had other ideas, after starting sixth he made his way to second. With four laps to go Aubin made his move off turn 4 taking the lead away and running on to his fourth win in a row and sixth of the season over Larose, Stuart Mossow, Corey Castell and Darryl Mitchell.

This Friday night, Crown Appeal will be on hand for round three of the 97.3 CKON FM TUSA Mod Lite Series along with a full show for Modified, Sportsman, Pro Stock and Bandit. The green flag drops at our brand new starting time at 7:30 p.m.

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