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Re-energized Matt Pritiko ready to wrap up first APC crown

One day, Matt Pritiko is going to trade in his racing helmet for a sun visor and spend a lot of free time on a a deep lake.

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One day, Matt Pritiko is going to trade in his racing helmet for a sun visor and spend a lot of free time on a a deep lake.

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“Probably buy an offshore boat,” the 31-year-old Londoner said. “At least I get a little power out of that and it sounds cool.”

That dream, though, will be deferred after putting together the best summer of his on-track career. The driver of the No. 21 Global Warranty race car is poised to capture his first APC United Late Model series championship on his home track Saturday in the 100 Kellogg Championship Race presented by Maple Tire at Delaware Speedway.

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He leads 15-year-old Treyten Lapcevich by 28 points and essentially would have to finish no worse than 20th to seal the deal.

“I thought going in this would be my last year for a little while,” Pritiko said. “I was about ready to hang up the helmet for some time off. I’ve been doing this since I was six (in go-karts) so I haven’t had a free weekend in so long.”

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The Global Warranty team knew how close they were to putting it together. They finished fifth, third and, last year, second in the standings.

All of it took a back seat to family priorities. Matt celebrated his marriage in October, then said goodbye to his mom, Jan, who passed away in April.

“It’s been a difficult year, as it is, with my mom,” he said. “It’s been a hectic year and there hasn’t been any time to relax. We’ve worked very hard the past six years since the start of this series and this championship would mean a lot to me, the crew and my dad.

“It’s nice to finally have a better than average shot of winning it. It’s definitely energized me and we’re going to commit to another year of racing.”

Pritiko has recorded three wins, including the last outing Aug. 17 at Sunset, two poles and seven Top 10 finishes in nine starts. On the Labour Day weekend, he ran against a packed field in the Canadian short track nationals at Jukasa and came from behind to finish second, earning a $35,000 cheque.

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“You add that in, it’s been a pretty dominant year already,” he said. “We were faster than the fastest guys from the (United) States. We were catching them on the last 20 laps and if we had a caution, we could’ve come close to winning. Unfortunately, we got caught up in a wreck, ripped up the back end and needed a couple of pit stops.

“But the car was hooked up.”

It’s been that way all season. The biggest difference was the switch to a Ford motor, which served as the foundation for consistent success.

“You can feel the power difference,” Pritiko said. “We haven’t had one single engine issue all year. Last year, we had issues every other race. The car has been perfect. It’s brand new, and McColl (Racing Enterprises) has given us amazing setups and they’ve maintained it all year long.

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“I have complete confidence going into each and every race. I’ve had that before at times, but not as thorough as this year and it definitely shows in the results.”

There will be a large Global Warranty gathering in a tent at corner four to help kick-start the celebrations this weekend at Delaware. Last year’s champ, JR Fitzpatrick, already has tweeted out a congratulations to the No. 21 team on their stellar season.

But this is no time to hide in the pack.

“We’re going to try to get the pole position and win the race,” Pritiko said. “If you try to slouch and stick around 10th or whatever, that’s when you’re most vulnerable for wrecks. If you’re out front leading, it’s so much easier to maintain that position.

“That’s where we want to be. After years of chasing somebody else, it’s been quite the change to be leader. Generally, in second, there’s nothing to lose. Now, there’s more pressure, but with the gap we have (in points), it’s a little more relaxed.”

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Not a boat on the lake, but close enough.

ROOKIE CHASE: Delaware late model champ Jo Lawrence is in the driver’s seat for series rookie of the year honours. He is in fifth place and owns a four-point lead over Danny Benedict. Lawrence has earned three poles, a top five and four top 10 finishes in his first full season.

MORE ACTION: The 100-lap APC finale isn’t the only Great Canadian Race Weekend title-decider on tap. On Friday, there will be super stocks, trucks, V8 thunder cars and a 50-lap bone stock event. On Saturday, the super stocks, trucks and V8s will decide their season champions. The super stocks couldn’t be closer, with Trevor Collver holding a one-point lead over Andrew Ferreira through 11 races. Ferreira has won four times and Collver has three checkered flags. Both have 10 top-5 finishes so far.

rpyette@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/RyanatLFPress

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