Final Race of the 2007 Season Londonderry Raceway October 28, 2007
The Halloween Howler at Londonderry Raceway was the final racing event for the Austin Brehio race team this year. It began early Sunday morning with Austin signed up to race in three events: Tiger Sprint and the Junior Sportsman Champ Heavy and Light. After one full round of practice in each division and then a lightening round of 4 laps in each division – came the time trials. First up was the Junior Sportsman Champ Light division, where Austin qualified 5th out of 12 karts. In the Tiger Sprint division, Austin qualified on the pole by 1/10th of a second out of 12 karts. Finally, came the Junior Sportsman Champ Heavy division, where Austin didn’t fare as well, qualifying 7th out of 13 karts. The main events came next: In the Junior Sportsman Champ Light division, Austin was able to get into third position and take off with the #88 of Andrew Savage and the #17 of Dylan Duhaime. Things were going very well with Austin biding his time in the third spot, waiting to make a move. Then with about 8 laps to go, a lapped car slowed the lead pack by staying in the middle of the track. This allowed the #76 and the #8 of Kyle Poodiack to catch up to the leaders. The #8 passed Austin with about 6 laps to go followed quickly by a caution, as the #9 got into the side of Duhaime, sending him into the turn 2 wall on his side. With only 6 laps to go on the double file restart, Austin had to start on the outside of row 2. The outside proved to be a tough row to start in and Austin was not able to get back into that lead pack in time and ended up finishing in 6th, which was disappointing after such a strong run for three-quarters of the race. Next, came the Tiger Sprint feature. Austin started on the pole and led all 20 laps. With the #08 of Josh Ball right on his bumper, the two karts drafted away from the rest of the field and lapped all but the third and fourth place karts. Austin was able to take home this win – his 17th Tiger Sprint win of the season and his 49th career win! Finally, the Junior Sportsman Champ Heavy division was up for competition. Austin was suppose to start in the 7th position, but due to the crash in the 1st Champ feature, the #9 could not start this race, moving Austin up to a 6th place start. Again, starting on the outside hurt Austin’s chances at this drafting track. The three lead karts took off, leaving Austin in the second pack of karts for the entire feature – racing between fourth and sixth position. He ended up coming across the line in the fifth position, but was given a fourth place finish – since the #12 of Ellie Burbank was penalized for passing after the commitment line numerous times during this feature event. We will give you a final update for this season after the Sugarhill Speedway Banquet on November 17th!