Done Deal: Matt Watson Seals ESMCS Championship With Chi City Showdown Win

No one expected the 2015 Eastern Super Mini Cup Series Champion to be crowned so early, but following a night filled with dramatic twists and turns, its official; Matt Watson is the 2015 Champion. Watson captured the 10 lap Heat & 20 lap feature after some hard fought battles to pick up his record-tying 6^th consecutive feature victory, and lock up the title 1 race early.

Watson was able to get out to the lead on a restart with 8 laps to go after battling all race with Mike Weagle and Kyle Maher. These 3 drivers put on an entertaining battle during the feature, as they traded paint and ran side by side, but once he was able to clear the other 2, Watson was unstoppable. Weagle took 2^nd place in the end, while Maher finished 3^rd to score his first career podium finish. It was the first time in ESMCS history that a local driver didn’t finish on the podium at Speedway Miramichi.

Jared Tozer and Steven Curtis battled throughout the race as well, but in the end Tozer got the upper hand to finish 4^th, while Curtis held on to finish 5^th. Dave Griffin ran well to finish 6^th and finish on the lead lap in just his 2^nd race. Kirk Sheasgreen and crew made repairs to the #43 car after a vicious heat wreck, and limped to a 7^th place a few laps down. Mark Ferguson had a fast car once again, but the bad luck continued as the 41 hit the wall early in the feature while running 4^th. He would finish 8^th.

The feature race was slowed by 3 cautions, the first of which was when Ferguson hit the wall on lap 1. The other 2 yellows were for spins by Dave Griffin & Steven Curtis. Maher led many laps early on, before Watson got to the lead. Official lap leader numbers are unofficial at this time, but should be confirmed during our Stats update which can be expected Tuesday.

Chris Wilson was the closest competitor that Watson had in points entering tonight, being just 36 points back. But everything changed when Wilson tried to pass Jared Tozer on the inside in the Heat race. The 2 drivers made contact, and the 2 car spun around, leaving the 43 of Sheasgreen nowhere to go. They collided head on hard, but thankfully everyone walked away ok. Wilson’s night was done however, and that allowed Watson to take advantage and clinch the title.

The heat race win went to Watson after all the dust settled. Mark Ferguson got a great restart after the wreck to pick up a career best 2^nd place finish. Kyle Maher was 3^rd, Steven Curtis was 4^th, & Mike Weagle rounded out the top 5.

The next race will be the season finale as the ESMCS heads to Shediac’s Centre for Speed on October 3^/4th weekend for the Atlantic Stock Car Championships. While the 2015 series champion has been crowned, an Atlantic Champion will be crowned for the Mini Cup division. And there is still some unfinished business, as 2^nd through 5^th in points are now separated by a mere 18 points, and a little farther back, 6^th through 8^th are separated by just 3 points! With more money on the line with every spot as a part of the 2015 points fund, it will make for some exciting action! Stay tuned for more info on this event in the coming weeks!

Feature Results

1- Matt Watson #88
2- Mike Weagle #16
3- Kyle Maher #78
4- Jared Tozer #55
5- Steven Curtis #12
6- Dave Griffin #3
7- Kirk Sheasgreen #43
8- Mark Ferguson #41 (DNF)
DNS- Chris Wilson #2