Bibson gets another solid 5th place finish, after both Jefferson and Richson find trouble in the form of Cilantro/DiCario and Legge/Scransen
Jack Jefferson, unhappy with the past series champion and current points contender.
"You know, I haven't made that many races and being injured earlier in the season really hurt my chances of having a good season, so having what was going to be a good run is something I needed and to get taken out by a main contender and past champion like that is just dumb. I get it, we were fighting hard for position me and Herb, but it's like common, we both needed a good run and not to kill each other's days and then with DiCario, you see a slowed car on track, you should slow down too, don't ram into the back of me and get me into the wall. Just really wish I knew what those two were thinking."
Jerry Richson, pretty mild after his accident.
"We were battling hard and just got into each other. Ruined Will's day more then it ruined mine, so feel sorry for him cause we were both going to have decent showing and that ended early on. Jalen also, had a rough day and was the last car to finish on the lead lap I believe, but I don't feel anything was done wrong or anyone here was trying to screw each other up. It's racing."
David Lee Bibson, 2 top 5s in a row, very happy!
"Another top 5! Can't believe how could it feels to be competitive again. It's been years since we been even remotely close to the front. I hope for one last win before I leave, but even if we just have great finishes like the ones we had today and last week, that's just as good!"
Lester: "Track is a death trap... Anderson is dead"
A few of the most bizarre accidents in AARO AMP Energy Racing Series history at Winnipeg Motor Speedway saw Kody Lachner impact the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2 at 192 MPH, Casey Anderson and Mikael Carter both smash into the end of the pit wall and Tyler Deefer spin on his roof after cutting back up in front of Keith Davis and Greg Sauer. Many fans, drivers and staff were likely unnerved by the "brutality in terms of wrecks" as Jeff Klinger put it in the race recap and one of those was the driver involved in the first accident of the afternoon.
STV News wrote:
Interviewer: Casey, you had a rough time out there. How are you feeling after this race?
Lester: Disgusted, honestly. That race was probably the second or third-scariest thing I've ever done in my life. We're going way, WAY too fast around this track. People were bound to get hurt this week with our speeds. I'm just hoping that Kody's okay. That was horrible to watch from the back. And also, I think Anderson's f**king dead... That was an unbelievable hit and I was freaking out when I saw it; nearly piled into the wreck ahead of me I was so shocked... Dunno what happened to him, but I'm really hoping everybody's okay.
I: Are there any drastic changes needed to the track to improve safety or is it the cars that are the issue, do you think?
C: Uh, I'd say... well, maybe a bit of both. The cars don't have any drag, so we're flying out there and the banking kept the pace up all the way around with the exception of that inside line. But I'm just really worried about everyone out there right now... On a sidenote, thanks to whoever hooked the 84 out... Kash, I think it was? You're my new hero. *laughs*
I: Do you feel this way about any other tracks on the circuit?
C: Uh... Trying to think of the tracks right now. Maybe that one track I almost died at, Seattle and Saskatchewan. That's about it, really. Not to say they're deathtraps as well, but this one for sure needs changes by next year if it's coming back. I don't wanna go through something like that again.
I: Thanks for the time.
Lester didn't have as bad of a race as the last few weeks, coming home in 21st place due to the high attrition in the Boston Pizza 200 and holding 22nd in the standings.
NathanSmith83 Racing Legend
Posts : 242 Join date : 2014-12-31 Location : The 5th Dimension
Perhaps the worst wreck of the Boston Pizza 200 was one that was almost entirely missed by the camera crews. At the top of the picture of the lap 28 wreck you see the orange number 92 absolutely obliterate into the pit wall at at least 180 miles an hour. Without a clear view it's hard to tell how it happened. Several possibilities have been tossed around; You can see the 92 and 24 of Greg Sauer both on or way too close to the apron on turn 4 exit. Although it's likely the 92 either made a rash move to avoid the wreck, pit, or simply lost traction on the turn 4 exit as the championship leader Mikael Carter did later in the event.
Aaron Anderson had ran in the AAPT event the day before and remained at the track to watch his older brother race. He gave the update from the hospital to the press:
"He's... not in very good shape... [holding back tears]. Doctors either won't tell us or or don't know the extent of his injuries...
...Look I don't want to get into a discussion of the safety of the track or the cars or racing or anything. Something like this... It just happens. You can't avoid it by driving slower. Like somebody getting paralyzed in football it's a freak accident when you have 2 objects collide with such force... it just happens. We decided to race. I did to be like my older brothers and they raced because our dad did. It's what we signed up for. This is what separated us from everyone else as kids. We were always the daredevils. Risktakers. This is what we knew could happen... But we weren't, nobody could ever be, prepared for something like this. Please just keep him in your thoughts, prayers, whatever you think will help... I know that I can help by staying here until the next AAPT race. Because I know that's what he'd want me to do. He'd race for me if I was unconscious in a hospital bed... No further questions."
The C-S Motorsports team celebrated a bittersweet victory as Nick Black pulls out their 2nd consecutive victory and series leading 4th of the season. Josh Mertz also ran well but the 83 and 84 ran very mediocre races.
Nathan Smith was nearly inconsolable during and after the race...
"He may have signed with another team but he will always be a teammate to me. More than that he, his family, have done so much for my career. They took me in as almost a 4th son. And I was directly behind him when it happened. One moment there's a 2-ton machine a few feet away from me travelling at 200 miles an hour and then suddenly... there isn't. That kind of impact... I cant even fathom. That is something that bored sadistic kids do on a video game. And it just happened in real life... Look sorry for the bad analogy but my head obviously isn't here right now. I', lucky to be forming sentences right now. Hell I'm lucky that I'm breathing. I gotta get to that hospital. I don't care whether my last name is Anderson or not they're letting me in that damned room."
Casey Anderson remains unresponsive in the hospital in Winnipeg. Needless to say he will not be returning in his Little Caeser's Chevrolet for Alberta.