Anderson posts biggest stock car victory of his career

Veteran racer claims Pro Truck Tint Centre 75 and $1,000 prize

Aaron Anderson takes a victory lap at the Wyant Group Raceway.

    Aaron Anderson never had a better day at the Wyant Group Raceway.

    The veteran driver went into the opening day of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop in Saskatoon on Tuesday having won his last four pro truck feature races. With the local classes of the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association taking centre stage on the first day of the annual two-day event, Anderson was aiming to claim the Pro Truck Tint Centre 75 feature race and a $1,000 first place prize.

    The Martensville product jumped into second place during the early portion of the race. After a restart following a caution flag with 21 laps to go, Anderson bolted past leader Alex Leschenko for top spot and held on for victory. The two-day NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop is the local track’s premier show.

Aaron Anderson won a heat race and Tuesday’s pro truck feature run.

    “This is the Super Bowl for us,” said Anderson. “This is the biggest race of the year for us.

    “I’ve been racing 20 years, and this is the biggest win of my career. I’ve never won a race as big and important as this one. I’ve never won $1,000 in one shot.

    “This is my biggest win I have ever had, so I am over the moon.”

    Driving a Toyota Tundra, Anderson trailed Leschenko, who was driving a Ford F-150, by a half straightaway length in the early portion of the race but slowly gained ground on the Saskatoon product. When a caution came out with 21 laps remaining, Anderson was in striking distance of the lead.

    About a couple of laps after the restart, Anderson got ahead of Leschenko and never looked back to win a fifth straight pro truck feature race. Leschenko finished second and Shantel Kalika of Prince Albert came in third.

Aaron Anderson (#19) holds the edge on two pursuers.

    Anderson said his pit crew headed by crew chief Cory Ernst and head mechanic Kelly Voss played a key part setting up the truck for Tuesday’s feature run.

    “We had a big long discussion me and the guys, and it was decided that we were going to tighten it up a little bit more than we would normally have it tight,” said Anderson, who also won a heat race on Tuesday. “We gave it a little bit more wedge than we normally would.

    “As the fuel load burns off, it loosens it up a touch, and it makes it better for the long run. With 21 laps to go on that restart, I managed to have enough tire leftover.”

Aaron Anderson speeds to the checkered flag.

    Upon arriving back in the pits, Anderson was greeted by a huge contingent of family.

    “It makes me feel good I get all this support here,” said Anderson. “My dad, my mom, my uncle, my three daughters, my step son and my step daughter and everybody else, it is just phenomenal to have everybody out here supporting me.

    “I just want to give them a big shout out and a big thanks and tell them I love them all.”

    The Pro Truck Tint Centre 75 wasn’t the lone big local race on Tuesday. Neil Schneider took top spot in the 75-lap sportsman class feature in his 2016 Chevrolet Camero.

    Starting from the third position on the grid, he passed Nicole Sheetka for the lead about 15 laps into the race and remained in front the rest of the way. Matt Neufeld finished second, and Damen Meier came in third. Sheetka ended up finishing sixth.

Neil Schneider (#93) pulls away from the sportsman field.

    Schneider had a small moment of worry after a caution flag with four laps to go wiped out a comfortable lead he had on the field. After getting a quick jump on the restart, he held on for victory. Schneider was pleased a handful of cautions weren’t able to slow his momentum down in his feature race win.

    “We were able to get good restarts,” said Schneider. “The car was really good mid corner, so we were able to turn it.

    “We were able to get a good lead and then coast a bit and save the equipment.”

Schneider was pumped to get his feature victory.

    “Every chance you win you cherish every one, because you never know if it might be your last one,” said Schneider. “(To win) in front of the NASCAR crowd, it is a little extra more special.”

Neil Schneider does a victory lap after winning the sportsman class feature.

    The local super late model class also held a couple of heat races on Tuesday. Matthew Shirley won the first heat race, while Kevin Dyck took the second heat race.

    The NASCAR Pinty’s Series stop concludes with a race program set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Wyant Group Raceway. Wednesday’s races include a 100-lap feature for the local super late model class and two NASCAR Pinty’s Series feature races each lasting 100-laps in duration.

    The Pinty’s Series is a minor-league circuit that prepares drivers to compete one day on NASCAR’s top level – the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Patient repeat sweet for Dyck

Kevin Dyck repeated as Family Pizza 100 pro truck race champion.

    Kevin Dyck loves long races, because he constantly seem to find victory in them.

    The 21-year-old pro truck class driver has learned that patience is a virtue when you running in a 100-lap race. On Tuesday at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway, Dyck calmly worked his way to the front of the field to take the lead in the Family Pizza 100 pro truck feature race shortly after the race’s halfway point. He proceeded to put the pedal to the medal to claim the class’s annual marathon race for a second straight year.

    “It feels pretty great,” said Dyck. “It is a long race. It hits you physically.

    “Mentally, you are ready for it, but it sort of hits you hard. I was ready for it. I like these longer races, because that is easily what I do good at.”

    Dyck’s race win was part of two-day program at the Saskatoon based oval track that is part of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series’s Bayer CropScience Velocity Prairie Thunder 250. Tuesday’s action contained three big feature races for some of the track’s local classes including the Family Pizza 100, the Bryce Mann Memorial 75 super late model race and the Wes Skakun Memorial 50 street stock race. The Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 is slated for Wednesday at 6 p.m.

    In the Family Pizza 100, Prince Albert product Shantel Firth held the lead for much of the early going in her 2013 Dodge Ram. On the race’s 38 lap, Andrew Hardy snuck underneath Firth to assume top spot in his 2015 Dodge Ram.

    Hardy’s time in front lasted for about 15 laps before Dyck assumed control of the race in his Chevy. At the finish, Dyck held a comfortable lead over second place finisher Ben Pogoda, while Hardy came in third.

Brennen Forseille holds off the street stock field.

    Dyck said the fact his tires stayed good throughout the race was a big key in his win, and he focused on saving his big charge for the later stages.

    “I was going pretty easy,” said Dyck. “I wasn’t really pushing the truck real hard. I was just rolling it in.

    “I could tell when the other guys were getting on the gas and getting sideways. I was hesitating to get on the gas, and I was coming off the corner straighter than everyone else. That gave me the advantage.”

    Brennen Forseille took the Wes Skakun Memorial 50 in his 1979 Chevrolet Camaro thanks to his ability to stay clear of trouble. Thanks to some mishaps on the track, only four of the eight cars in the field crossed the finish line.

    Scott Barrand, who was taking part in his first race of the season, took second place, while Curtis Houben placed third.

    “It is always nice to get a trophy and win memorial races,” said Forseille. “It was a tough race for sure.”

    The 25-year-old admitted the win was bittersweet due to the accidents that took place.

    “It is just always bad to see other cars going down and wreaking,” said Forseille. “We all work hard on our cars, and it is just too bad to see torn up race cars.”

    In the Bryce Mann Memorial 75, veteran Jim Gaunt showed why he is one of the all-time greats to race in the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association. The 60-year-old smoothly worked his way to the front of the 11-car field by the race’s 23^rd lap.

Jim Gaunt makes another victory lap at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.

    Gaunt, who has won 13 class championships, zipped around the track in his 2015 Impala SS with textbook efficiency, which included make a pass around a group of three lapped cars look easy. Howie Crossman finished second, while Dave Bone came in third.

    Wednesday’s NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Bayer CropScience Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 contains a field of about 34 cars including standout drivers Jason Hathaway, Scott Steckly and Alex Tagliani. Edmonton product Erica Thiering is also trying to turn heads during her first full season the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series circuit. Louis-Philippe Dumoulin claimed last year’s series NASCAR Canadian Tire Series title and won the stop in Saskatoon.

    The Bayer CropScience Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 closes a stretch where the Canadian Tire Series hosts three races in 11 days.

    If you have any comments about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.