(September 24, 2021) Wight Motorsports Inc (WMI) had a last-minute driver change and other challenges to deal with during round eight of the 2021 NASCAR Pinty’s Series at Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario on Friday evening. Due to an injury Mark Dilley was unable to participate so JR Fitzpatrick took over the #64 car. Fitzpatrick joined Brandon Watson, Donald Theetge and TJ Rinomato for the 125-lap race.
Fitzpatrick and Watson were fifth and sixth quickest respectively during the afternoon practice session and after qualifying lined up fourth and seventh for the race. Theetge would start 13th and Rinomato 20th.
Some tough racing luck would hamper both Fitzpatrick and Watson during the race. A flat right rear tire took a sure top-ten finish away from Watson and JR battled handling issues late in the race that necessitated pit stops for adjustments.
In the early going Donald Theetge got turned around and lost positions but battled back as the race went on. TJ Rinomato continues to make progress and picked up two spots during the race.
Quotes from David Wight, WMI Principal
“We definitely showed that we’ve got some fast and competitive racecars”. Great showing by JR to jump in at the last minute for Mark. Brandon was having another very solid day until that tire issue set him back”.
“Tough luck for Donald too with that early incident, he did well to climb back as far as he did. Another steady run for TJ as well”
“We’ll be busy at the shop on Saturday, prepping the cars for the two races on Sunday. It’s been great working with Brandon and we’re also looking forward to seeing what Glenn Styres will be able to accomplish when he takes over the #19 on Sunday”.
WEEKEND PERFORMANCE
| DRIVER | STARTED | FINISHED |
| #19 Brandon Watson | 7 | 16 |
| #80 Donald Theetge | 13 | 13 |
| #64 JR Fitzpatrick | 4 | 9 |
| #2 TJ Rinomato | 20 | 18 |
Up next: The WMI team is back in action Sunday, September 26th at Delaware Speedway with two more races to close out the 2021 season with the Qwick Wick 125 and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl.
Live Stream
Watch the live stream on the TSN app, TSN.ca or through Trackpass on NBC Sports Gold in the US. The Qwick Wick 125 begins at 3:55PM and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl will go green at approximately 5:20PM
Television
You can watch the Canadian Tire 125 on TSN Saturday October 2nd, at 2:30PM, RDS2 TBD. The Qwick Wick 125 on TSN airs Sunday October 3rd at 12:30PM, RDS2 is TBD, and the Pinty’s Fall Brawl is on TSN Saturday October 9th at 1:30PM, RDS2 is TBD.
Race fans can get the latest information regarding WMI and the drivers on these social media channels:
Wight Motorsports Inc Twitter @Wightmotorsport Instagram @wightmotorsport
Donald Theetge: Twitter @DonaldTheetge
Brandon Watson: Instagram brandonwatson_9
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BrandonWatsonRacing/
Mark Dilley: Twitter @MarkDilley9 Instagram @markdilley
TJ Rinomato: Twitter TJ_Rinomato Instagram @tjrinomato
Glenn Styres: Twitter @GlennStyres Instagram @glennstyres
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/styres.racing/
