BLACK CREEK, B.C. — Brandon Carlson took advantage of Jeff Montgomery’s misfortune and held off Aaron Willison to win night one of the Neal Montgomery Memorial Friday night at Saratoga Speedway on Vancouver Island as part of the Lordco Parts Ltd. Sprint Car Spectacular.
It was Carlson’s first sprint car feature victory.
Willison was the night’s fast qualifier after he clocked in at 12.480 for the Northwest Sprint Tour sanctioned event.
Due to inclement weather in the area, the NST 40-lap feature event was moved to the start of the racing program in an attempt to beat the rain. The rains never came and all three heat races were run following the feature event. The Neal Montgomery Memorial champion is crowned based on a total point accumulation from both nights of racing action. Therefore it was important heat races were run.
Randy Price lead the opening lap of the feature event before surrendering the lead to Carlson on lap 2. Carlson would lead through lap 10, before Jeff Montgomery assumed the lead on a double-file restart.
Montgomery began to build a sizable lead over Carlson. But disaster would strike late in the race for Montgomery when his car wouldn’t take off on a restart. Montgomery would run out of fuel and limp his mount back to the pit area. Meanwhile Carlson would reassume the top point.
As the laps began to wind down heavy lapped traffic plagued the leader. It allowed Willison to close in, but to no avail. Carlson held Willison off at the checkered flag by only 0.318 seconds.
The win was emotional for Carlson as the team lost co owner Rod Rendle this past April.
“A lot of restarts tonight,” explained Carlson in victory lane. “Jeff Montgomery and Aaron Willison have proved themselves to be the very best in North America. To compete with them and squeak out a victory feels great.”
Carlson acknowledged his concern with heavy lapped traffic with Willison breathing down his neck late in the race.
“I’m a late model guy and normally I have a lot of patience. I told myself I gotta keep going, I gotta keep going. We were coming up on Aaron’s sponsor and I knew he wasn’t gonna crash his sponsor to win. I was gonna take the top, roll the outside, and force him to go to the bottom or force him to race me high. It couldn’t be any better winning in front of my hometown crowd. It’s such an honor to drive this iconic No. 14 car,” concluded Carlson.
The finish:
Feature (40 laps): 1. 14-Brandon Carlson; 2. 36-Aaron Willison; 3. 52-Stewart Lee; 4. 44b-Brad Aumen; 5. 1-Natalie Waters; 6. 19-Randy Price; 7. 41w-Ryan Willison; 8. 15-Eric Humphries; 9. 11-Troy Globe; 10. 9s-Sawyer Lind; 11. 51-Jarret Bonn; 12. 91-Darren Yates; 13. 36j-Jarett Burdett; 14. 88-Aiden Conn; 15. 66-Daryle Redlin; 16. 68-JJ Dutton; 17. 74-Brandon French; 18. 33j-Jeff Montgomery; 19. 36d-Devin Burdett; 20. 33z-Darian Zeinstra; 21. 32x-Tommy Weston; 22. 92-Jayme Wright
