DELAWARE - It was a disastrous night for the three St. Marys drivers who compete here weekly at Delaware Speedway Park.
Last Friday night, Scott Lindsay, Shawn Johns and Matt Humphrys were all involved in crashes in their respective feature races, and to make matters worse the 2010 season might be over for at least two of the Stonetown drivers.
"It was a terrible night for all of us," Lindsay told the Journal Argus.
Lindsay went into the night just 25 points behind points leader Ron Sheridan, of Mt. Brydges, in the NASCAR Late Model division.
"We started second and were running second or third in the feature, and (Steve) Robblee was running right behind us on the back straightaway," Lindsay reported.
"He stuck his nose down on the inside of us and clipped us on the left rear. It shot me into the turn three-four wall, head on. (The chassis) is bent pretty bad. Steve put an end to our championship run," he added.
Robblee, of Dorchester, was black-flagged by race officials, and then "parked" his car for the night.
The incident occurred with eight to 10 laps remaining in the 35-lapper.
Kerwood's Dion Verhoeven went on to take his first checkered flag of the summer, while Sheridan was fourth. With Lindsay unable to finish the race, he was given a 16th-place finish in a 20-car field.
Renting another car?
With their Monte Carlo at McColl's Racing Shop in London for major repairs this week, Lindsay says the '20' racing team will likely "rent" another car for this Friday's race.
"We have a big cushion in points for second place, and we'll probably just take the green (flag), and lock our points in and then park it," he said.
"There is not much sense risking somebody else's car. First place (and the track title) is definitely out of the question now."
Won't be running in '200' Sunday
Lindsay and the '20' team were also planning to run in the 'Great Canadian 200' for Late Models this Sunday at Delaware. It features a $10,000 cash prize for the race winner, but those plans have also been dashed.
"Our budget is pretty well empty right now," the driver said. "There's too much damage and too costly at this time of year."
Lindsay and company may also not run on Friday, Sept. 17 when championships in all weekly divisions at Delaware will be officially decided.
"Our season is pretty well over for this year, anyway," he said. "It's too bad. It was a great year; we were running well again and having another consistent year."
Vehicles towed off as well
Both Humphrys and Johns also didn't finish their 25-lap feature races last Friday. Both of their vehicles had to be towed off the half-mile track.
Humphrys races in the Delaware Super Stocks class, and Johns in the Demar Aggregates trucks division.
Humphrys and Johns were both given 15th-place finishes in their respective features.
Track side:
--Scott Lindsay was second in his 10-lap heat race last Friday, while Humphrys were fourth in his heat.
--Unofficially, Lindsay sits 40 points behind Sheridan, with two Late Model races (for points) remaining on the Delaware schedule.
--Shawn Johns is fourth in the Trucks division, 46 points behind leader and defending champ, Paul Fothergill of London.
--Matt Humphrys is eighth on the points ladder in the Super Stocks class.
--This weekend at Delaware, the Late Models and Super Stocks run on Friday, and the Trucks and Open-Wheel Modifieds on Saturday. The 'Great Canadian 200' for Late Models is Sunday afternoon.
--Delaware Speedway was planning to have the Lindsay team's No. 20 NASCAR Late Model car on display at the John Labatt Centre in London on Friday, Sept. 10. Those plans are now up in the air.
Race-track staff will be there to hand out 2-for-1 coupons, good for admission to one of the last two races of 2010 (Sept. 17 or 18).
FOR LAST WEEKS RACE CLICK HERE!!!
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