PHOTO BY: James MacDonald Apex One Photo
CAPTION: Brett Reaume holds the checkered flag, presented by Michelle McEllistrum, after winning the Castrol UMP Late Model feature race Saturday at South Buxton Raceway.
SOUTH BUXTON – Like son, like father. While son Andrew was racing in Ohio, father Brett continued the family tradition – driving a Reaume car into Victory Lane.
Brett Reaume led all 25 laps to win the Castrol UMP Late Model feature on Saturday, the first of two non-points nights at South Buxton Raceway. His win was the sixth in a row for the Reaume family, as Andrew won the previous five features including last week’s season championship race. The last Late Model driver to win a feature prior to the Reaumes’ streak was Jim Dale Jr. on mid-season championship night July 5.
While Andrew Reaume was racing in the World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Ohio on Saturday, father Brett won his first feature of the season. “This (win) cost me a lot of money,” Brett laughed, when a bystander said he had to pay for his son’s trip to Ohio so he could win a feature. “I was getting worried, I usually win at least one feature a year and we were running out of time,” Brett said. “Some of the hot dogs weren’t here,” he noted, jokingly referring to several of the top runners who took the night off. “But the way the track was, I don’t know if anyone was going to pass whoever was up front.”
Reaume started on the pole, thanks to his bad luck in the heat race when he broke the rear axle and finished last. he feature, which was lined up in inverted order from the heat race, was a battle of attrition with just three of the 10 starters on the track when the checkered flag fell.
Reaume, who started racing in 1978, held off a pair of Chatham veterans for the win. Jim Jones, whose career began in 1975, was second, while Brad Authier, who got his start 10 years later, was third.
The 49-year-old Reaume, who was named the most sportsmanlike driver in the class, finished fifth in points and had six top-five finishes in features. His win was also his first checkered flag of the year. Andrew won the points and championship race for a second straight year.
Chatham’s Louis Clements, Shrewsbury’s Jim Dale Jr. and Leamington’s Joel Dick were Saturday’s other feature winners.
For Clements, his fifth feature win in the Lube Tech Sport Stocks was the final chapter of his first championship season.
“We haven’t touched the car since mid-season,” Clements said. “I have to give credit to the guys on the crew, they really thrashed and turned things around.”
Clements, who won the championship race last week and clinched the points title, is taking next Saturday off. He finishes the year with 12 checkered flags and four feature wins over the last six race nights.
Luck was on Clements’ side on Saturday as he rebounded from a mid-race spinout to get back to third in the waning laps. But with three laps left, the leader Eren Vanderiviere and second-place Gary Vyse both suffered flat tires, allowing Clements to take the lead.
Gerald Martin of Essex was third, followed by Vyse and the father-daughter duo of Jim and Tiffany Ellis of Kingsville to round out the top five.
Dale Jr. of Shrewsbury started in the second row and never looked back after taking the lead from Mario Toniolo two laps later. Clayton Smith of Woodslee was second, followed by Wyoming’s Brian Speelman, Windsor’s Dan McIntyre and Leamington’s Abe Unger.
In his first race ever in a four-cylinder car, Dick started on the pole and led all 15 laps to win the Garage Restaurant Comp 4 feature.
Matt Shanks drove Brandon Windsor’s car in the heat and pursuit races before Dick drove the feature.
Comp 4 points champion Nate McNally rebounded from a mid-race penalty to finish second, followed by Chatham’s Jerry Ramault, Blenheim’s Shawn Jones and championship race winner Rob Quick of Cottam.
This coming Saturday will be the second non-points race night and will include Mechanics and Powder Puff races. The track will sit idle the following week in preparation for the Castrol UMP Late Model Shootout/Modified Fall Blowout on Sept. 27.
By Mike Bennett / South Buxton Raceway
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