KATANA POWERBOATS SPONSORED LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN STOCKCARS

Source: Douglas Waller
Date: 09/22/2006

Sun Valley Speedway, Vernon , B.C. -- Cool weather and cooler heads would prevail on Saturday night at Vernon’s SunValley speedway 1/2 mile tri-oval in the Katana Powerboats Late model Sportsman Series. Arriving at the track earlier in the day under much warmer temperatures, 32 teams came to meet the challenge of winning the race but one driver came to meet the challenge of winning or losing the Katana Powerboats 2006 stockcar series.

Some of the cars were plain fast off the trailers, others had teams that worked hard to get them fast. With temperatures of 5 degrees later in the evening horsepower would be plentiful to possibly set a new track record. However, with a 70% inversion in the Katana series rules, being fast was not necessary to capture the front row position. Bart “Bullet” Smith of Victoria in the #1 Smith and Gordon Drywall Pontiac captured the fast time honors with a 18.875, second was Penticton’s #27 Mark Berriau in his Katana Grand Prix. Third in qualifying was Williams Lake’s #18 Korbin Thomas in his 2006 Port city chassis CP Electronics Monte Carlo with a 18.912. Thomas was the point leader in the series and it was his to lose but qualifying showed that the boys from the North country had come to race and prove that champions do come from other than the southwest part of BC. The #5 Turtlewax MonteCarlo of Bob Williams from Prince George qualified 18th and that put him on the outside front row .

As the green flag dropped 32 cars roared to life with the sound of 12000 hp raising over 2000 fans to their feet. A handful of laps in the #5 Williams Turtlewax Monte Carlo moved from outside of the second row into the lead. Quesnel’s Ron Larson #2 Regency Chrysler Dodge was able to work as far forward as 9th after starting 32nd and held the spot until around lap 50 when a caution flag flew when close to 8 cars including the #2 Larson and the #6 Sheldon Mayert of Prince George tangled together down the backstraight and came to rest high and low in turn 3. As Earl Thomas of Finishline racing said,” I have never seen such a mess of cars and so many trying to avoid them!”

When the race resumed with the #5 Williams leading the #1 Smith Grand Prix along with Victoria’s #06 Tim Christy Natural Pack Monte Carlo moved through the field of cars toward the front. A few laps later in the race the #18 Thomas car had moved into the lead and swapped leads with the #06 Christy car about three times. As the #18 has shown through the season the #18 Thomas was a master of restarts. With a caution flag then a green flag around lap 90 the #18 stretched out a lead over the #06 Christy, ten laps later the #18 Thomas passed under the checkered flag first winning the Katana 100 race and the Katana Powerboats Sportsman 2006 Championship. The #06 Christy passed under the checkers in second almost 2 seconds or a front straight length back from the winner with the #1 Smith in third right behind.

Korbin Thomas earlier in the year had earned the unofficial honor of B.C.’s first latemodel sportsman Champion and now the three time WESCAR Champion has officially earned the Katana Powerboats sponsored Late Model Sportsman Stockcars Championship.

The Katana series banquet will be held November 4th and the awards will be handed out officially at that time. Watch for more exciting late-model sportsman race action in 2007 as the cars return to the B.C. tracks in May.

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