By Mike Bennett – South Buxton Raceway – Three drivers who combined for 21 feature wins in 2011 returned to the Winner’s Circle on Saturday in South Buxton Raceway’s season opening night.

But their victories took a back seat to a first-time winner.

Steve Clements celebrated his return to racing by leading all 20 laps to win the Windride Transportation Sport Stocks feature.

Clements, who raced on a part-time basis in the late 1990s and hadn’t been behind the wheel of a race car since 2001, took the lead at the drop of the green from his inside pole starting position and never trailed.

“I’m still waiting for someone to pinch me,” the Chatham driver said after not only his first feature win but his first career checkered flag of any race.

Defending series points champion Eren Vanderiviere moved into second with five laps to go but could not mount a serious challenge to Clements.

“I knew he was coming,” Clements said of Vanderiviere. “I could tell he was gaining on me and it may have even got in my head a little bit because I almost slowed down. Hopefully next time I won’t make that mistake.”

While the Winner’s Circle was a new experience for the driver, the car has a winning pedigree as Clements’ older brother Louis Clements drove the same car to the 2008 and 2009 season points and championship race victories.

“Louis told me this was a good car. I made some mistakes in the heat races, he gave me some pointers and I tried to correct them when I went out in the feature,” he said of his brother’s help.

Chatham’s Jason Fox finished third withKingsville’s Rob Young fourth and Toronto’s Brian Simard fifth.

Chatham’s Tyler Lozon and Young won the heats while Vanderiviere took the crack-the-whip race.

The other three feature races were all resumptions of rivalries from the 2011 season.

Shrewsbury’s Jim Dale Jr. took the lead fromLeamington’s Joel Dick with six laps to go to win the Schinkel’s Gourmet Meats UMP Modified feature.

Dale Jr. won the season points title and six feature races but finished second to Dick in the season championship race. Dick, who finished second in points, won five features.

Merlin’s Joe Brosseau was third, followed byChatham’s Jeff Daniels and Thamesville’s Jim Fletcher.

Dick and Bourassa won the heats and Fletcher the dash.

Ridgetown’s Dale Glassford won the Glencoe Auto Wreckers UMP Late Model feature withChatham’s Brad Authier finishing second – a reversal of last year’s season championship race finish.

Glassford won five features in 2011 en route to a second-place finish in the points standings.

Goderich’s Mark Glassford – the winner’s brother – finished third whileChathamdrivers Gregg Haskell and Jim Jones rounded out the top five.

Mark Glassford won the heat and Jones the dash.

And the dominant drivers in the Tirecraft Comp 4 class picked up where they left off at the end of 2011 by finishing one-two in Saturday’s feature.

Blenheim’s Shawn Jones, the two-time defending points champion, took the lead from Cottam’s Denis DeSerrano with four laps to go and went on to win the opening-night feature.

The two drivers combined to win all 15 features in 2011 – Jones winning 10 and DeSerrano five including the season championship race.

They also won their heat races on Saturday.

Tilbury’s James Beaulieu finished third followed by Blenheim’s Brett Hope andChatham’sJamie St.Pierre.

Hope won the crack-the-whip.

Racing continues this coming Saturday, May 12 with the winners of the fan-voted Best Appearing Cars awards to be announced prior to the program. The grandstand opens at 5:30 p.m. and racing starts at 7 p.m.

Following are Opening Night results from Saturday, May 5 at South Buxton Raceway

Includes car number in brackets and driver’s hometown.

 

Schinkels Gourmet Meats UMP Modifieds

Carrier Centres Feature (20 laps)

1. Jim Dale Jr. (00)Shrewsbury

2. Joel Dick (09)Leamington

3. Joe Brosseau (47B) Merlin

4. Jeff Daniels (20D) Chatham

5. Jim Fletcher (36F) Thamesville

6. Dan McIntyre (77)Windsor

7. Brad McLeod (43) Merlin

8. Drew Smith (86)Chatham

9. Gerald Martin (5)Essex

10. Emerson McIntyre (71)Windsor

11. Don Raes (21R)Chatham

12. Jody Mason (4) Merlin

13. Brad Simpson (53)Mt.Elgin

14. Mark Goggin (66) Amherstburg

15. Darryl Hoekstra (36)Chatham

DNS – Eric Vanderiviere (1A) Chatham

DNS – Mario Toniolo (14)BelleRiver

First Heat

1. Dick

2. Fletcher

3. McLeod

4. Goggin

5. Martin

6. Dale Jr.

7. Vanderiviere

8. D. McIntyre

9. Smith

Second Heat

1. Brosseau

2. Simpson

3. Daniels

4. Hoekstra

5. Raes

6. Toniolo

7. Mason

8. E. McIntyre

Dash

1. Fletcher

2. Dick

3. Daniels

4. McLeod

5. Brosseau

6. Simpson

 

Glencoe Auto Recyclers UMP Late Models

Carrier Centres Feature (20 laps)

1. Dale Glassford (60) Ridgetown

2. Brad Authier (1A)Chatham

3. Mark Glassford (90) Goderich

4. Gregg Haskell (RH21)Chatham

5. Jim Jones (34)Chatham

6. Norm Bechard (18B)Chatham

7. Mike Dale (00)Chatham

Heat

1. M. Glassford

2. D. Glassford

3. Jones

4. Haskell

5. Bechard

6. Dale

7. Authier

Dash

1. Jones

2. Haskell

3. D. Glassford

4. M. Glassford

5. Bechard

 

Windride Transportation Sport Stocks

Carrier Centres Feature (20 laps)

1. Steve Clements (3C)Chatham

2. Eren Vanderiviere (29) Merlin

3. James Fox (93F)Chatham

4. Rob Young (23)Kingsville

5. Brian Simard (50)Toronto

6. Tyler Lozon (66)Chatham

7. West Bertozzi (46)Windsor

8. Willy Vyse (2) Wallaceburg

DNS – Ron Atkinson (10) Merlin

DNS – Tiffany Ellis (88)Kingsville

First Heat

1. Lozon

2. Simard

3. Ellis

4. Atkinson

5. Bertozzi

Second Heat

1. Young

2. Clements

3. Vanderiviere

4. Fox

5. Vyse

Crack-The-Whip

1. Vanderiviere

2. Young

 

Tirecraft Comp 4s

Carrier Centres Feature (15 laps)

1. Shawn Jones (27) Blenheim

2. Denis DeSerrano (69) Cottam

3. James Beaulieu (09) Tilbury

4. Brett Hope (49) Blenheim

5. Brian St.Pierre (22S)Chatham

6. Norm DeSerrano (96)Kingsville

7. David Bacon (29)BelleRiver

8. Joel Desjardins (23D)Chatham

9. Trevor Jones (27T) Blenheim

10. Ryan Beaulieu (747) Tilbury

11. Gerry Ramault (91)Chatham

12. Rob Quick (18) Cottam

13. Jerry Rivait (17) Tilbury

14. Randy McKinlay (26)Chatham

15. Todd Shaw (34)Chatham

DNS – Rick Balasin (21) Chatham

First Heat

1. D. DeSerrano

2. J. Beaulieu

3. Hope

4. R. Beaulieu

5. Balasin

6. T. Jones

7. Rivait

8. McKinlay

Second Heat

1. S. Jones

2. Quick

3. Desjardins

4. Ramault

5.St. Pierre

6. Bacon

7. N. DeSerrano

Crack-The-Whip

1. Hope

2.St. Pierre

3. T. Jones

4. Desjardins

5. R. Beaulieu

6. Rivait

7. N. DeSerrano

8. Bacon

9. Ramault

Next Race Date: Saturday, May 12, 7 p.m.