Helping Hand Keeps Glassford Perfect

If he could, Dale Glassford would put Gregg Haskell’s name next to his on the Don Hendricks memorial trophy.

Glassford extended his season-long feature win streak in the Westside Performance Plus UMP Late Models to five with his green-to-checkered run in Saturday’s marquee race at South Buxton Raceway.

“I really have to thank Gregg, if it wasn’t for his help, we wouldn’t have won tonight,” Glassford said in Victory Lane after accepting the memorial trophy and plaque from members of the Hendricks family.

The Ridgetown driver led all 20 laps of the caution-free race, with Haskell running second the entire way.

“I’m glad we get along so well together,” Glassford said of Haskell.

“He had engine trouble the last week and we helped him a little. Tonight, we had an oil line break after the heat race, Gregg heard about it and he fixed it for us and gave us some oil. And he pulled a ‘three’ on the invert to put us on the pole,” Glassford said, with a smile.

After winning his heat race, Haskell pulled the number ‘three’ in the pill draw, which inverted the top three finishers for the feature starting grid, dropping the Chatham driver to the second row.
Glassford took off at the drop of the green and never looked back.

Haskell gained ground in the late laps as Glassford worked through lapped traffic but could never get close enough to make a serious run.

“I know Gregg is fast, a lot of people told me if there had been a caution, it would have been interesting,” Glassford said.

“When you get out front, you really don’t know what’s going on behind you. You don’t know if you got half-a-track lead or if you’ve got two guys breathing right down on you unless they get beside you.

“But the track was fast and the race went by so fast, there wasn’t time to think,” he said.
Chatham’s Brad Authier and Jim Jones were the only other cars that finished on the lead lap.
It was the third time Glassford has won the Hendricks memorial, honouring the three-time track champion and South Buxton hall of fame driver who died 20 years ago at age 48.

This coming Saturday, Glassford will defend his Gord Gotelaer memorial trophy in the second annual race for the former Ridgetown driver.

“These memorial nights, you feel like you’re racing at a level they competed, you want to prove yourself,” Glassford said.

“I know all of us pick up our games on these nights because we appreciate these racing families.”
Saturday’s fifth straight victory matches a streak he put together in 2013 when he went on to win seven of eight features.

“Things are rolling my way right now, the is car is running good and there’s a little bit of luck,” he said.

“But these other guys have fast cars, they’re matching me and one of these times, I’m going to be chasing them … especially that 21 (Haskell),” said Glassford, the reigning series champion.

Another series champion visited Victory Lane for the first time as Chatham’s Eren Vanderiviere took the lead at the midway point of the Tirecraft Sport Stocks feature. He celebrated with a victory lap to salute his step-father Harlow Haskell, a long-time fixture at South Buxton who died in May.

“He built motors for me and my brother (Eric) when we were getting into racing … this one is for him up there,” Vanderiviere said, pointing to the sky.

Vanderiviere’s win came one week after blowing his first engine in five years.

“I can’t thank Mike Legue enough, he stayed up for 48 hours it seemed Thursday and Friday building this thing.

Kingsville’s Rob Young finished second, followed by Chatham’s Jake Hooker, Ruthven’s Brad Bloomfield and Chatham’s Eric Vanderiviere.

Leamington’s Joel Dick also extended his hot streak with his fourth straight feature win in the Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modifieds.

Belle River’s Mario Toniolo was the runner-up for the second week in a row.

The Chatham father-son duo of Eugene and Darryl Hoekstra finished third and fourth with Shrewsbury’s Jim Dale Jr. fifth.

Cottam’s Rob Quick won his second Tirecraft Mini-Mod feature in the last three weeks.

Blenheim drivers Trevor Jones, Kyle Hope and Elliott Wilton followed the leader with Kingsville’s Dylan Wolters fifth.

Merlin’s Cale Johns won his second straight Autotech Bomber feature, with Chatham’s Chris Ellerbeck, Ridgetown’s Nick Glassford, Chatham’s George Rock and Blenheim’s Austin Pickering rounding out the top five.