by Rich Vleck  - Rick Wilson has had a month he wants to forget, but for all those low points the past two weeks have brought, the Joyceville, Ontario driver made up for it at the Ohsweken Speedway.

The final race of the Patriot Sprint Group season was a blessing in disguise for some of the drivers that had been through the long, arduous season. Only a dozen PSG regulars made their way to the new Glenn Styres facility for the finale to 2004, but plenty of positions in the points were up for grabs. The most notable battle was between Rick Wilson and Rich Swarthout for second in the standings. The Joyceville Jet entered the night 14 points ahead of 'Phatman' Swarthout, but that number would quickly disengage to 6 points after the heat races. Swarthout was quick in heat #1, finishing second to Blake Breen, who picked up his fifth heat win of the season, his first since July 2nd. Kyle Patrick won heat #2 in the #33k, with Jack Pilon second. Heat #3 had two quick cautions, both caused by Rick Wilson. Wilson had a problem with the bungee cord on his brake system, causing the FX Caprara #42w to spin twice. Because of the 'Two-spin rule' in PSG competition, Rick was forced to take his car to the pits early with a sixth-place finish in his heat. Ray Preston would hold off Bryan Howland and Glenn Styres to win his first and only heat race of the season.

In the pit area, Wilson was frustrated with himself, his car, and his month in general. "I should be in that Dash. I should be in the redraw. Now I got to start last," said the Joyceville driver. "I'll tell you this though, I'm not going to stay there."

The Dash that Rick spoke of was developed at the racetrack for the top 2 from each heat. Ken Hill from Sit-N-Bull Construction and Village Pizza put up $1000 for the six drivers to each take a slice of. Rich Swarthout jumped out to the early lead and held off Kyle Patrick, who worked the bottom to pick up the win. It was the second dash win of the season for Swarthout, who had also won the 4-lap event at Black Rock on July 2 for the PSG/URC challenge.

With only 20 cars on hand, there was no need for a B-Main, so it was time to go straight to the feature. Only seven of the drivers to finish in the top 4 of their respective heats were inversion eligible. Tim Zimbardi grabbed the pole position, with Bobby Breen to his outside.Breen would grab the top spot off the initial start, but it would be called back when a spin in turn two called back the start. The race would take two tries to get the initial start under way, and a half dozen attempts to get past lap 5. Among the drivers to spinout early included Rich Swarthout, Justin Harris, Don Adamczyk, Jack Pilon, Billy Krull, Stephanie Christiano, Gary Evans, Bryan Howland, Gary Troutman, and Craig Downing. Adamczyk was the only one that would not be able to return to race action; Troutman returned two laps down in his #44.

Bobby and Blake Breen held down the top spots through each restart, but a slew of others were showing signs of brilliance. Ray Preston, Kyle Wilson, and Jared Zimbardi each took their turns going after the top 3 spots. While those drivers diced it up, Rick Wilson, Rich Swarthout, and Bryan Howland, those 2nd through 4th in the points, made their way through the pack. Swarthout spun during the ten-lap green flag condition, but continued on. If he would have stalled the car he would have been sent to the pits for the remainder of the race. Rick Wilson was able to get into second on lap 12 and began to set his sights on Bobby Breen, who was well out in front of the field. Breen knew that he had to stay on it or else he might get reeled in. On lap 15, trying to work around two lapped cars, Dobbers came into contact with the Paul Ballentyne #27, breaking the #9's front axle and eliminating his chance at his second career win. The caution brought the field back together, but for Rick Wilson it was clear sailing from there on in. Jared Zimbardi spun on the lap 16 restart, ending his chance at a solid top-5 run.

Rick Wilson would dominate the final four laps, but the battle was on for second. Blake Breen restarted in that position, but would get caught behind a lapped car, allowing Ray Preston to slide up into second. Two laps later, the final caution would wave. Under that yellow period, Blake ran out of fuel for the third time in 2004, ending a top-5 run. The final restart saw Ray Preston, Kyle Wilson, Bryan Howland, and Rich Swarthout dice it up for position number two. Words cannot describe how close the battle was, but in the end it was Ray Preston holding off Swarthout, Howland, and Wilson for 2nd. Rich Swarthout would later be sent back two spots for jumping a restart.

Wilson was clearly enthused to win the race, as he came off of turn four and did some donuts on the front stretch, and then climbing on the top of his car to do the wing dance.

"We've had such a tough time these past two weeks, but this feels so good," said the seven-time winner. "Those cautions helped me get to the front, and this just feels so good."

Wilson was able to use the extreme bottom of turns 1 and 2, and the cushion on the second set of corners to pick up his 11th career PSG A-Main victory. With the win, the Joyceville Jet was able to hang on to finish second in the Patriot standings, despite missing three races. Rich Swarthout, Bryan Howland, and Tim Zimbardi unofficially rounded out the top-5 of the standings for 2004. Chuck Hebing, George Ely, Gary Troutman, Don Adamczyk, and Blake Breen will be sixth through tenth. Even though many Patriot Sprint Group drivers will be running at Rolling Wheels Raceway on October 9th, it will not be a points show. For more information about Patriots, log onto www.patriotsprintgroup.com

Heat 1: Blake Breen, Swarthout, T. Zimbardi, Troutman.
Heat 2: Patrick, Pilon, K. Wilson, Krull.
Heat 3: Preston, Styres, Howland, Bobby Breen

Sit N Bull Construction Dash (4 laps) RICH SWARTHOUT, Kyle Patrick, Blake Breen, Ray Preston, Glenn Styres, Jack Pilon.

A-main (20 laps) 1 RICK WILSON, 2 Ray Preston, 3 Bryan Howland, 4 Kyle Wilson, 5 Rich Swarthout, 6 Glenn Styres, 7 Kyle Patrick, 8 Billy Krull, 9 Tim Zimbardi, 10 Jared Zimbardi, 11 Justin Harris, 12 Gary Troutman, 13 Jack Pillon, 14 Craig Downing, 15 Gary Evans, 16 Blake Breen, 17 Paul Ballentyne, 18 Bobby Breen, 19 Don Adamczyk, 20 Stephanie Christiano.

Castner's ½ way leader: Breen
Lauterborn Electric Hard Charger: Wilson (+19)
Lap Leaders: Bobby Breen 1-15, Rick Wilson 16-20