Hoekstra Turns Back Time
Eugene Hoekstra and his wife Cathy in Victory Lane – Photo by James McDonald/ ApexOne
Chatham’s Eugene Hoekstra – who celebrated his 59th birthday a month ago – turned back the clock with his first feature win since coming out of retirement three years ago.
“I was pretty confident I was going to get one .. I’m sort of upset I didn’t get one sooner,” Hoekstra said after winning the Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modifieds feature, a popular win for Saturday’s large crowd.
Hoekstra, who won his first of eight track championships at the age of 23 in 1979, retired from the local dirt track circuit in the late 1990s.
He built a single-car race team in 2011, with his son Darryl and Louisville’s Jim Fletcher sharing the ride.
The team expanded to two cars the next year with Eugene returning to full-time racing in 2013, the year Darryl won the points championship.
“Last year, I had a couple (features) I should have won but lost near the end … it was just because I’m old,” Hoekstra admitted.
“I got tired, my arms rubbered up, I just couldn’t finish. This year I have the car handling better, I’m more comfortable,” he said.
Hoekstra was rejuvenated by a strong second-place finish to Chatham’s Louis Clements the previous week and he carried that momentum into Saturday.
The same two cars battled for the lead as Hoekstra moved into second behind Clements on lap six.
Hoekstra took the lead on a restart on lap nine, only to have his pass negated when the caution waved, ironically an accident involving his son.
Hoekstra was happy when Clements chose the top side for the restart.
“I like the bottom of the track, I don’t like running up top in that rough stuff,” he said.
“Last week the track was dry, I stayed on the bottom but couldn’t get enough forward bite.
“This week, there was some water on the bottom and that was sort of nice, it worked to my advantage.”
Hoekstra admitted he used some of his ‘old school racing knowledge’ to get a little competitive edge.
“There was still some water on the bottom, so under caution I kept working through it to get a little more moisture on the track,” he said.
“It gave me some traction … that’s all it took,” he said.
The Hoekstras run a limited schedule as he enjoys traveling to other race tracks and spending time with his grandchildren more than spending time at the track.
“They always feel good when you win, but I do this for fun,” he said.
“I don’t get upset when I finish second … back in the day I used to get upset, but I don’t anymore.
“This is a hobby, this is totally fun for me, it’s my stress reliever,” he said.
Port Lambton’s Drew Smith overtook Clements for second with six laps to go while Blenheim’s Brian Speelman and Merlin’s Joe Brosseau rounded out the top five.
Darryl Hoekstra, who was involved in four cautions, recovered to finish ninth.
Chatham’s Jake Hooker won his sixth feature of the season and took over the points lead in the Tirecraft Sport Stocks standings.
The 15-year-old Hooker overtook Kingsville’s Rob Young for the division lead by 11 points.
Cottam’s Rob Quick won his third Tirecraft Mini-Mods feature of the season, ending a three-race win streak by Blenheim’s Kyle Hope, who finished second.
Ridgetown’s Dale Glassford won his third straight and 10th in 11 features on the season in the Westside Performance Plus UMP Late Models.
Chatham’s Gregg Haskell, who led the first eight laps, finished second for the fourth time.
The Late Models will run the annual Rick Haskell memorial feature this Saturday. Haskell is the defending champion of his father’s memorial race.
Windsor’s Jamie Beaulieu won his third Autotech Bombers feature of the year.