Aumen wins Daffodil Cup again  

Scott Aumen moved his driving skills up another notch last Saturday night at the biggest race of the WILROC Series, the Daffodil Cup.  Twenty four high powered sprint cars arrived to do battle at Western Speedway on a very hot afternoon.  All the WILROC regulars were there, plus cars from Washington State and Alberta.  The stands were packed for the big shootout. 

Aumen was fast in  qualifying, grabbing quick time with  a 13.788 second time.  This put him in the shootout with fellow WILROC driver, Matt Mansell.  This crowd pleasing event pitted the 2 fastest cars against each other in a 3 lap shootout.  Aumen got the first lap, Mansell the second, then Aumen took the final lap, leaving the 14 car spinning 2 donuts in the final turn.  A great show, with lots of smoke and  noise. 

The track was very slick due to the 32C heat, so the crew chief Dale Taylor and driver Aumen had long conversations about how to set the car up for the big feature.  A lot of changes were made to loosen the car up so it would turn better.  Aumen was to start in 16th position, a LONG way back. Two cars had to start at the back so the Ketza Pacific Contracting sponsored 44s started outside on row 7.  It was evident early that the car was way too loose, but Aumen got up to 10th place by lap 12 when the yellow flag came out for a spin.  To the great surprise of the crew, Aumen pulled into the pits and demanded an adjustement to the right rear shock.  After the crew figured out what he wanted , it was done and he went back out for the restart, but he had to go to near the very back of the field- in 18th position.  We thought our night was over. We had never seen any sprint car driver come from that far back in 32 laps to win the race.

Aumen proved us wrong.  He was off like a shot at the green flag, passing cars on the outside.  Sometimes he went 3 wide on the turns to gain position.  It was a breathtaking display of driving skill that had the huge crowd roaring in appreciation.  Several caution flags flew, which gave Aumen the advantage as the field of cars bunched up.  Aumen is a master at gaining position on restarts, getting right up behind the sprinter ahead and timing his move perfectly so that he is not black flagged for passing before he is allowed.

By lap 32 he was in the lead. The Gary Smith driven 92 car mounted a charge in the last few laps to get close, but Aumen knew he was there and stepped up the pace to take the chequered for the 2nd year in a row.  It was an amazing display of sprint car driving.  The fans were buzzing about it when they came into the pits to congratulate him after the race. 

Several sponsors were in attendace and were  thrilled with the event and the recognition given to the island Racemasters 44s car during the event and prior to it in the Victoria Time Colonist.  A full page col;orad with a picture of the car was published in the Wednesday paper, then a smaller ad was published on Friday. The driver and crew thank the sponsors for their support and urge their fans to support your business at every opportunity.  THANK YOU!

Remember that the WILROC Series returns to Saratoga Speedway this Saturday evening.  Please come out and cheer us on if you can.  It may be our only apperance here this year, given the bad weather earlier in the season.  We hope to see you there!

 

Dan Wickham