MMRA's first trip to Canada
proved to be a great success. There were 21 cars on hand from Alberta,
British Columbia, Colorado, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Saskatchewan but
in the end, everyone came together as a group and put on the best shows at
the track all weekend. The eastern US drivers had something to prove after
local racer Michael Kipp came south and took home the guitar from Music City
Motorplex. Ronnie Binkley earned the first point of the weekend by
setting the pole position at a time of 18.48 seconds on the fast but bumpy
half mile. At the checkered flag, the #22 crossed the line first,
but was later DQ'ed for low ride height in post race tech inspections.
That handed the win to Kentucky driver Eldon Isenberg - who only a few weeks
earlier had lost a win for low ride height. His car had plenty of
clearance Saturday night. Troy Maschke overcame all the gremlins which
had plagued his ride all year for a strong second place, and Todd Taverner
came out of retirement and placed a strong third - all the more impressive
because he still had the old body style on his car. On Sunday, Troy
Maschke won the pole position as 20 cars prepared to battle it out for top
honors at the last Touring Series event of 2007. Michael Kipp proved
that his car handles great regardless of ride height as he not only
dominated the race, but also escaped disaster in the last lap as he had to
take to the infield to avoid a lapped car. That moment added lots of
drama as former champion Troy Vandenbliche was hot on his heels. At
the stripe, Canadians took the top 5 positions as the gremlins felled many
of the US based teams. The #55 was DQ'ed in post race tech for running
race fuel, leaving the top 5 of Michael Kipp, Troy Vandenbilche, Todd
Taverner, Rick Johnston, and Mike Wright. The fans definitely got their
money's worth as the PRO Division put on great shows - and the drivers
enjoyed the highest payout in MMRA history - almost $8,000 cash not counting
the $500 per car tow money the US based teams received from the Canadians
hosting the event. With the official hotel also being a casino, it is
doubtful that any of that money made it out of Canada! Now all that is
left is to decide the championships at the East and West Grand National
events. We hope to see you there!
Click here for
the race results and payout for both days.
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