The Canadian eMotorsports Series travelled to the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday night for the Sports Centre Physiotherapy 200; the fourth race of the 2020 regular season.

Darcy Ford, of Harrington, PEI, earned the victory from the pole position in the 134-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval.

Ford, driver of the number 64, Suck It Up Septic, Ford Mustang for Atlantic Motorsports, punches his ticket to the post-season with the victory; he is the first Ford Mustang to win a race this season.  He joins Chevrolet drivers, Jacob Nelson, Waylon Brown and Shane Cannon, who all earned wins already in 2020.

“Our car ran really good in the long run,” shared Ford.  “Having the pole position was a great help for us.  We got into the wall mid-race and had to make some repairs.  The number four car was all over us near the end of the race and I knew that once he got by me it would be difficult to get the lead back so that was an important moment in the race for us.  It feels really good to come out with the win and I’m proud to get a Ford Mustang into victory lane for the first time this season.” 

Completing the top five on Tuesday night was Scott Bailey in second (Allendale, Michigan, #4 Chevrolet for NBR Motorsports), Mike Marini in third (Thunder Bay, Ontario, #42 Toyota for True North Racin’), Shane Cannon in fourth (Cambridge, Ontario, #88 Chevrolet for NBR Motorsports) and Jason Maluchnik (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, #33 Rocky’s Hot Sauce Chevrolet for Three Rivers Racing).

The fifth stop in the 2020 regular season takes place on Tuesday, June 23 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, for the Fix Auto 300.    This will be the first race in the Fix Auto Cup, a competition where the winner is the driver that compiles the most points over the six Fix Auto sponsored races in 2020; it is also the longest race of the season at 300 miles in length.

Sports Centre Physiotherapy 200 race recap 

Darcy Ford led the field to the green flag on Tuesday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, quickly being challenged by the number 23 of Ryan Gibson (Morgantown, West Virginia, Chevrolet) in the early going.

The multi-groove race track provided some exciting side-by-side racing through the early portions of the race as the field spaced themselves out over the speedway.

With many different pit strategies in play, lapped cars quickly became involved in the race as the leaders attempted to navigate the traffic.

The number 41 Ford Mustang of Jose Mercado (Kissimmee, Florida) moved to the front of the pack after the first round of full-field pit stops before relinquishing the lead to the number 88 Chevrolet Camaro for NBR Motorsports, Shane Cannon (Cambridge, Ontario).

At the start of stage two, Ford, Gibson, Mercado and Mike Marini (42 True North Racin’ Toyota, Thunder Bay, Ontario) battled for the lead as they separated themselves from the rest of the field.

Mercado eventually opened up a large lead over the rest of the field after Gibson and Marini were caught up in a wreck when they contacted a spun lapped car at the exit of turn four on lap 59.

Scott Bailey (Allendale, Michigan, number 4 NBR Motorsports Chevrolet) moved into the lead near the end of the second stage where he would sit as the caution flag was displayed.

After a full round of pit stops, Bailey would hold the lead as we set up the final green flag run of 55 laps, with Mercado quickly taking over the lead on the restart.

A turning point in the race was when Mercado and Gibson made contact while running one-two late in the race, forcing them to make pit stops for repairs.  Bailey would take over the lead after the incident.

With 20 laps to go, Ford would make the pass on Bailey to take the lead for the final time in the race as they battled over the remaining laps, navigating heavy lap traffic.

There were two caution breaks during the 134-lap race.

Here are the official results from the Sports Centre Physiotherapy 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Watch the archived broadcast of the Sports Centre Physiotherapy 200 at www.hollandcollege.com/esports.

For more information on the Canadian eMotorsports Series, visit www.hollandcollege.com/esports, www.facebook.com/emotorsportsCAN, www.twitter.com/emotorsportsCAN and www.instagram.com/emotorsportsCAN.

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