Cornwall, Ontario – By Craig
Revelle – November 6, 2012 – With racing in our area now over for another
season, Cornwall Motor Speedway would like to reflect on our season, and give
recognition to all of our great champions.
We also want to thank all our fans, sponsors, employees, volunteers,
teams and drivers for supporting Cornwall Motor Speedway and we look forward to
returning for another season in May of 2013.
A lot of early season hype
surrounded the off-season announcement that the World of Outlaw Late Models and
World of Outlaw Sprint Cars would both be on the 2012 schedule. There was plenty of disappointment when the
Late Model race was cancelled due to rain, but the World of Outlaw Sprint cars
came into Cornwall for the first time and put on a spectacular event in late
July that awed the capacity crowd. The
2012 schedule was packed with other special events, including the three race
Canadian Nationals Series for the 358 Modifieds, in which two of those races
also doubled as Mr. DIRTcar Series events.
The Pro Stocks and Sportsman also had Mr. DIRTcar events, as well as the
Big Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series.
Dale Planck, from Homer, New
York took the overall track championship in the 358 Modified Division and also
claimed the Canadian Nationals Series title for the first time in his
career. Not to be outdone, Chris
Herbison also claimed multiple titles, winning the Sportsman track championship
for the second year in a row, and also winning the inaugural St. Lawrence
Seaway Sportsman championship. Joey
Ladouceur has been dominant in the Pro Stock division for a long time, and recently
announced his move to the Sportsman division for 2013, but not before winning
yet another Cornwall Speedway Pro Stock championship, the Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock
Championship and the Mohawk Racing Parts Pro Stock Series title. Benoit Dubois was this year’s Semi Pro
Champion while Martin Bernard captured the Mini Stock crown.
Although Dale Planck won two
championships this season, he certainly had to fight for it over the final few
weeks, as five drivers entered the final two weeks of the season with a shot at
the overall track championship. His
win, under immense pressure on the final night of the season proved to be the
difference in the overall championship battle and the Canadian Nationals
Series. Laurent Ladouceur, Chris Raabe,
Joel Doiron and Planck’s teammate/car owner Carey Terrance all finished in the
top five in track points while Danny O’Brien and Terrance again chased Planck
in the Canadian Nationals.
Chris Herbison had a
tremendous season in 2011 and came back even stronger in 2012. His success didn’t come easy though, as he
battled Sportsman rookie Corey Wheeler over the final few weeks of the
year. Wheeler, who had graduated from
the Pro Stock division had a very impressive rookie season with a pair of
feature wins. Ryan Arbuthnot, Dan
Jalbert and Louis Jackson Jr. finished amongst the top five in Sportsman
points.
There hasn’t been a more
dominant driver in any division over the past decade then Joey Ladouceur in the
Pro Stock division. He had three
feature wins in 2012 and his consistency was unprecedented, with a season low
finish of eighth. Ladouceur won his
sixth Cornwall Speedway Pro Stock Championship over Ryan Stabler, Ghislain
Valade, George Renaud and Dion Oakes.
Ladouceur also claimed his ninth career Mohawk Racing Parts Pro Stock
Series. He leaves the Pro Stock
division as the winningest driver in all of DIRTcar Pro Stock competition.
Benoit Dubois had a strong
season in the Semi Pro division earning the top honors over Joey Woods, Junior
Delormier, Michael McCargar and Derek Cryderman.
Martin Bernard’s first season
at Cornwall Speedway in the Mini Stock division proved successful, claiming the
track championship by just four points over Mathieu Aubin. Justin Derosiers, Jamie McKee and Joel Pilon
also had fantastic season’s, finishing the year among the top five in points.
2013 will surely be an
exciting year as well. Stay tuned for
off-season news and announcements. The
banquet for the 2012 season will he held in the Spring, with date and location
to be announced after the new year.
For more information about
Cornwall Motor Speedway, please visit our website, www.cornwallspeedway.com. You can
also visit us on Facebook for more useful information and fun contests at www.facebook.com/cornwallmotorspeedway.
