Delaware, Ont. — It’s been three years since Dave McKnight has won an ISMA-Wirtgen feature. It may have seemed even longer to the veteran driver. To say that he’s has been having his ups and downs would be an understatement. The 2001 ISMA champion, who had six feature wins that season, has struggled to get back on a consistent track. It was definitely a morale-booster for the Brampton, Ontario resident as he stood in victory lane hearing the applause from the large Canadian crowd on hand Friday night at Delaware Speedway. Still sore from a bone-jarring crash at Oxford Plains over a month ago McKnight relished the moment nonetheless. He took the lead from fellow Canadian Ryan Litt on lap 32, and was challenged by archrival Chris Perley for a couple laps before Litt came back to challenge again. But it was McKnight’s night as he pulled away from the Litt-Perley duo to cross under the checker with a comfortable margin of victory.
Said a sore and tired McKnight in victory lane, “What can I say? After the crash at Oxford, and at the beginning of the year tangle with Chris and then getting three seconds, it’s been quite a season. I’m still hurting from Oxford. I’ve got a cracked sternum. It hurts like hell. The guys on the team did a great job putting the car back together after last month. It’s just awesome to get back to victory lane. I know that everybody has been working at it and we needed this win big time. It’s late in the season but a W is a W. The battle with Ryan was great. He’s an up and comer. I know the Litt family from way back and I’m happy for them. Ryan did a great job tonight. He kept it tight. He made me work the outside. He didn’t give me an inch. That team definitely had a shot at the win.
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