5/1/2013
Wayne Helliwell Jr
Back On Track
Dover New Hampshire native Wayne Helliwell Jr. didn’t start his title defense as planned during the opening round of the American Canadian Tour; when the series hit his home track of Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH Helliwell came away with an uncharacteristic 14th place finish. The series headed into famed high banks of Thunder Road Speedbowl for the 15th running of Merchant’s Bank 150 were Helliwell clawed his way to a top 5 finish.
The bright orange Bruce Bernhardt owned Ekeys-4-Cars, Unique Ford Fusion Team picked up a heat win to start the 150 lap A-main event in the 9th position. Helliwell would spent almost 135 laps running between 7th to 12th place. Allowing the race to unfold and come to him, Helliwell showed patience’s as the race came to the closing stages.
A final caution waved with 19 laps to go; Helliwell sat 7th overall and was finally able to break free of the traffic to make a charge to the front. Running around the speed bumps on the bottom of the track the 27NH pick off multiple positions. “We were very good on the bottom, Helliwell stated. You have to go where no one else is. There was no grip on the top of the track. People just stalled out up there. We could roll the center really well."
Helliwell would use the bottom of the track to get three positions in the finishing order over the last seven laps of the event. As he rallied to a 4th place finish with his late race charge some wondered if Helliwell waited too long to run to the front? “I don’t think we waited too long… I just couldn't catch a break with the right lane choice and traffic. When guys are 2-3 laps down and racing like it’s for the lead on lap 100 there is nowhere to go. Lap traffic was terrible today. We just couldn't catch a break with the right lane and take advantage of restarts.”
The 4th place finish also vaulted the Pelham, NH Team to 4th in overall series standings. A huge jump from 13th after round #1. “That was a good run for us. I’ll take that… The guys did a good job, the car was really good at the end. I wish it had been 200 laps we had something for them.”
The Team does a quick turnaround this week as they head to round #3 of the series. A track in which Helliwell scored his first tour victory in 2012; Devils Bowl Speedway. Sunday marks the annual Spring Green 113 at the Mike Bruno owned half-mile speedway, which hosts the first of two trips for the series at the West Haven, VT track in 2013. “Devils Bowl is quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks… Which is funny because it’s so flat. But we have a great program for there. We are really looking forward to getting back there and trying to continue the strong finishes, said Helliwell.”
More information about the Spring Green 113 can be found at http://www.acttour.com/ or http://www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com/.
What: The Spring Green 113
Where: Devils Bowl Speedway
When: Sunday May, 5th
Post Time: 1:30PM
Special thanks to our proud partners.: EKeys-4-Cars / Unique Ford / Bernhardt Automotive / Pro-Turf Landscaping / DTB Tax / C&M Distributing / Carbonneau Insulation Co / IICCEEE / Ford Racing / Schoenfeld Headers / Sunoco Race Fuels / Bassett Wheels / Joes Racing Products / Quarter Master / ARP Bodies
Follow Wayne:
https://www.waynehelliwelljr.com
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https://twitter.com/#!/WayneHelliwell
Leif Tillotson Photo
Article Credit: Jason Lubin / Welded Media
Submitted By: Jason Lubin