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Teamwork = 41 Point Advantage

Teamwork is defined as: work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole.

This past weekend at round #13 of the American Canadian Tours Labor Day Classic that whole was helping their driver to a 41-point advantage with one race remaining on what would make them back-to-back touring series champions.

The Pelham, NH based team who shares an average age of 48 between them are anything but a bunch of kids. In fact Helliwell points out that there have been more than a few jokes thrown around that they have one of the oldest crews in the pit area.

“We joke about it often,” Helliwell stated. They may not be the youngest guys, but I trade experience for youth any day…”

Helliwell would start from the 17th position in the 200-lap event; riding in the 11th for much of the first half of the race. When the second caution waved on lap-116 he along with the remainder of the lead lap cars ducked down pit road.

The Bruce Bernhardt lead 27NH Team made up of Kurt Night, Nate Brown, Al Heile, Bill Callen, Diana Welch and Wayne Helliwell Sr. proceeded to rip off one of the fasted stops of the day; as Helliwell would rejoin the field in the fourth position on the restart.

Putting the great pit stop use, Helliwell used the ultra-low unorthodox line around track to take home the third position at the finish. Happy with his crew and the overall outcome, he was left wishing the event was 210 laps long.

“We were coming there at the end… Lapped traffic really held me up after the restart,” Helliwell stated. “I don't know what it is about this place.... I just can't seem to run the top of the track. Once i changed my line to the bottom I could really roll the middle of the turn. I caught Brian [Hoar] and Travis [Stearns] from a straightaway back. I needed just a couple more laps and it would have been interesting for sure.”

Helliwell points out that the speedy work that has gained the attention of many in the ACT pit area is nothing new for the Bernhardt Team. “They have been great at live pit stops for the last few years,” he states. “Pressure situations they always come through. We even had a problem Sunday with the wheel spacer falling off the right-rear and they recovered great... You wouldn’t even have known there was a problem. We don’t do anything special or different on stops… We’ve never practiced or have any fancy pit equipment. In fact the Team doesn’t even see each other during the week. Everyone just shows up and gets the job done. I can’t thank them enough for their effort.”

Big picture racing, Helliwell’s loan goal heading into the Labor Day Classic was not to lose more points to fellow rivals Joey Polewarczyk and Jimmy Hebert. A task he has fallen short on during the last two events on the tour.

"The last few races we have just been getting by... Getting lucky so-to-speak with leading a lap or just salvaging a finish after an issue. So to even have had that 36 point cushion coming to Thunder Road was fortunate.”

Helliwell's third place finish in the Labor Day Classic coupled with a sixth place from Polewarczyk and a 10th from Hebert moved that total in a positive direction this week. Helliwell will bring a 41-point advantage to Airborne in two weeks, a far cry from the pressure of just an eight point margin one year ago.

“It’s a different mentality from last year for sure,” Helliwell stated. “We had to win last year… This year we need to just worry about finishing the race. We know those guys will be strong there. We just need to go and run our own race... No different than what we do every week."

Before the final point’s event can be decided the series heads to the big track in Loudon, NH for the Bond Auto Parts New Hampshire Invitational event. A race Helliwell has had decent success at before.

"We've gotten so much better than when we first started there," stated Helliwell. We might have run second but that was just luck really. Since then we've learned so much... Even since last year. We are looking forward to trying it out."

Helliwell will join a host of drivers from around New England and Canada on Wednesday as they test at the one-mile flat oval before heading back during NASCAR weekend on September 21st for the invitation only event.

Next Event
What: Bond Auto Parts New Hampshire Invitational
Where: New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, NH
When: Saturday September 21, 2013

Bernhardt Motorsport's thanks their proud partners: EKeys-4-Cars • Unique Ford • Bernhardt Automotive • Pro-Turf Landscaping • DTB Tax • C&M Distributing • Butler MacMaster Performance Racing • Carbonneau Insulation Co • IICCEEE • Ford Racing • Schoenfeld Headers • Sunoco Race Fuels • Bassett Wheels • Joes Racing Products • Quarter Master • ARP Bodies • Welded Media • Mangus Transmissions •Coastal Candle Company • Nate Brown Remodelling

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Eric LaFleche / Victory Lane Photos

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