9/4/2012
Wayne Helliwell Jr
Lots of 2's
Friday night heading into Lee USA Speedway’s double feature night Wayne Helliwell Jr. and the Scherbon Consolidated Inc. Ed and Bobby Witkum owned 350 supermodified were looking to gain ground in the overall championship chase. Misfortune with back to back 15th place finishes in the middle of the season has but the 21 car behind in Helliwell’s bid for his 10th Lee Speedway track title and second championship for the Witkum brothers.
An increase in competition combined with an inconsistent car have made the overall battle just that, a battle as four drivers are within striking distance of the championship. Bad luck during double feature nights have made it interesting as both front running Helliwell and current points lead Tommy Tombarello have had their troubles when multiple features were on the racing card at the 3/8's mile oval.
Helliwell would start 5th in the first feature and appeared to be on his way to a possible victory as he restart alongside Mike Ordway Jr. However on the restart as he rolled to the outside of Ordway, the brake petal would go to the floor. With no brakes Helliwell would salvage a 2nd place finish. “ The car was good, said Helliwell. “We just had no brakes, I couldn’t set the car like I wanted to on the outside lane. I think we had something for Mike [Ordway Jr.] otherwise…”
The second 25 lap feature event would have the 21 machine start from the 7th position. A great start would see Helliwell move right into the 3rd spot on lap 3.Taking the second position from Ryan Gath on lap 10. As the field got strung out Helliwell's bid of his 3rd win on the year would fall short as the laps ran out. Back to back 2nd place finishes would add some breathing room as he would take over the second position in points.
With one scheduled race remaining at the New Hampshire center of speed Helliwell remains 32 markers behind Tommy Tombarello for the tracks championship. Helliwell will look to add to his win total to close out the year in the top 10 of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Championship standings. Helliwell’s combined effort with the Bruce Bernhardt owned late model program at Canaan Fair Speedway on Saturday nights has propelled him to his 3rd NASCAR New Hampshire State title in 4 years.
Helliwell sums up his current supermodified season as genuinely confused. “We’ve had an up and down year, we really didn’t get rolling till the Money Bags race… It’s been trying for sure. The track politics and missed opportunities reflect the overall results. We have greatly improved the balance in the car from where we started this season… We'll battle till it's over."
Our 2012 Proud SBS Partners ~ Scherbon Consolidated Inc / Locke Crane Service / Westford Glass / Witkum Flooring / Harrington Brothers Paving
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Dave Greenwood Photo
Article Credit: Jason Lubin
Submitted By: Jason Lubin
