Category: Featured Other Series

Starting near the back of the field, Dwayne Baker would make his way through the field and out-dueled Andrew Gresel in the closing laps to score the victory in the inaugural Bruce Gowland Memorial at Sunset Speedway.

 

Jesse Kennedy would win the first heat ahead of Jeff Hanley, Glenn Watson, Dave Doucette, Craig Stevenson, Ron Hollis and Rob Reimer. Dave Taylor was in this heat, but would pull off partway through with mechanical issues.

 

Baker would win the second heat ahead of Kelly Balson, Mike Beyore, Corey Jones, Rob Poole, Tyler Hawn and Charlie Gallant.

 

Points leader Gresel won heat there ahead of Todd Campbell, Kevin Cornelius, Kyle Passer, Chris Burrows and Shane Gowan.

 

Kennedy went for the daily double ahead of Hanley, Doucette, Watson, Taylor, Stevenson and Reimer.

 

Baker went for the daily double as well, scoring the win ahead of Poole, Gallant, Jones, Beyore, Balson and Hawn.

 

Cornelius would win the final heat ahead of Gresel, Passer, Gresel and Campbell.

 

Come feature time, Todd Campbell would start pole ahead of Dave Doucette, Glenn Watson, Kevin Cornelius, Jeff Hanley, Andrew Gresel, Jesse Kennedy, Kyle Passer, Rob Poole, Kelly Balson, Corey Jones, Mike Beyore, Chris Burrows, Charlie Gallant, Shane Gowan, Tyler Hawn, Dwayne Baker, Dave Taylor, Ron Hollis, Rob Reimer and Mike Westwood.

 

It wouldn’t take long for the action to start that would make up this feature as Watson would go around for the spin in turn two right off the drop of the green flag, virtue of contact from Hanley. Shane Gowan also got a piece somewhere, heavily damage the front of his car, ending his night prematurely. Both Watson and Hanley would be sent to the back for the complete restart.

 

The second restart would go off well with Dave Doucette grabbing the lead from Campbell. Doucette would lead till lap three, when Gresel would make his way by to take over the top spot through the shuffle. The caution would then fly a lap later for Burrows spinning in turn two. With 47 laps to go, Gresel led Doucette, Passer, Cornelius and Campbell.

 

Gresel would get a good restart, clearing Doucette as he was ready to set sail. Behind them, the battle was intense and the string would break on lap five with Passer going for the spin. With 45 laps to go, Gresel led Doucette, Cornelius, Campbell, Kennedy, Poole, Balson, Jones, Beyore, Hawn, Gallant, Hanley, Watson, Baker and Taylor.

 

Gresel got another good restart and pulled ahead of the field, while Doucette and Campbell would find themselves being passed with the stronger cars making their way through. Behind the front group, the battle was just as intense, and their string would break on lap nine for the fourth caution. Jones would get into Hawn on the frontstretch, with Hawn going for the spin in turn one. With 41 laps to go, Gresel led Cornelius, Poole, Kennedy, Doucette, Campbell, Jones, Hanley, Beyore, Baker, Watson, Gallant, Taylor, Burrows, Westwood, Tolton, Hawn, Hollis, Stevenson and Balson.

 

Gresel would get another good restart, but it wouldn’t be the same story mid-pack as Hanley and Jones would get together, both getting sideways, collecting Taylor, Watson and Burrows. Jones would be done for the night with heavy front end damage, while the rest of the drivers were able to continue. Watson’s crew should definitely get the ‘hard worker’ award of the night as they were pulling and banging all four corners of that car to get it back out for the restart. The top six remained the same post-incident, with Baker moving up to seventh, followed by Beyore, Gallant, Burrows, Hawn, Hollis, Hanley, Passer, Balson, Westwood, Stevenson and Watson.

 

The second attempt at a restart would go great for everybody with Gresel clearing Cornelius a couple laps after to maintain the lead. Gresel would get a small gap over Cornelius in the laps that followed, but Cornelius was able to maintain the gap to stay right there with him. By lap 19 when Hollis brought his car down pit road blowing up, Cornelius was back on Gresel’s bumper, looking for a way by. Cornelius would try to get underneath a couple of times, but was unsuccessful and then would lose chance to when they got into lap traffic.

 

As seen in previous races thus year, the lap traffic wasn’t as “abiding” in getting out of the way for the leaders, resulting in the leaders being stuck in some sticky situations. Gresel got himself clear relatively smoothly, while Cornelius would get stuck behind a battle for a spot in the teens amongst those a lap down. With Cornelius slowed up in traffic, it allowed Baker to close the gap. Baker had methodically worked his way up through to move into third, finding himself on Cornelius’ bumper for second. The pair would get side-by-side for second, and then made it three-wide down the frontstretch and into turn one with the lap car of Passer. Everybody was able to keep it straight without incident, with Baker grabbing second spot.

 

Baker would then begin working on tracking down Gresel, and would get some help with the sixth caution flying with 10 laps to for debris on the track surface. With 10 laps to go, Gresel led Baker, Cornelius, Kennedy, Hanley, Poole, Campbell, Beyore, Doucette, Gallant, Passer, Balson, Burrows and Watson.

 

The restart would bring the perfect opportunity for Baker as he would get by Gresel for the lead – only to have the seventh caution on lap 42 for Poole slowing down the frontstretch. Poole was going slow, as a result of contact with Hanley a lap before as Hanley slid up the track on the frontstretch, causing Poole to hit the wall. With eight laps to go, Baker led Gresel, Cornelius, Kennedy, Beyore and Campbell.

 

The next two restarts would not be a go as there were defiantly games being played amongst the top-two in trying to gain the advantage, resulting in some jumped starts. Baker and Gresel would be warned that if they did it again, they’d be shown the black flag. Needless to say, the third attempt went well as they both went off from the restart line, per the rules.

 

They’d run side-by-side till the caution flew once again for Poole slow on the frontstretch. Poole would have heavy right front damage and right front flat tire after contact with Passer; that would end Poole’s night as he’d take the car to the pits. Poole’s team was hoping for a good run, after having to change the clutch in practice. With six laps to go, Gresel led Baker, Cornelius, Kennedy, Hanley, Beyore, Campbell, Doucette, Balson and Taylor.

 

The final restart would go as Dwayne Baker hoped as he was able to clear Andrew Gresel and take the checkered flag. Gresel would hold on to second, holding off a late race challenge from Kevin Cornelius. Jeff Hanley and Jesse Kennedy rounded out the top five. Mike Beyore finished sixth, followed by Dave Doucette and Todd Campbell.

Gary McLean continued to cement his name in the OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modified history books in scoring the feature victory at Sunset Speedway on Saturday night.

 

McLean didn’t start off the night in victory lane, as he’d finish second to Max Beyore. Gary Elliott would finish third, followed by Brian McLean, Brent McLean, Davey Terry and Tommy Robb.

 

The second heat would feature some contact, as Shane Stickel went around virtue of Dustin Jackson. Tom Walters claimed his first career OSCAAR Modified heat win in his first modified career start, driving Branden Bullen’s modified. Lane Zardo finished second, followed by Ryan Dick, Jackson, Drew Stieler, Stickel, Bill Burrows and Bobby Tolton.

 

Birthday boy Davey Terry won heat three ahead of Elliott, Brent McLean, Gary McLean, Beyore, Robb and Brian McLean.

 

Dick won the final heat ahead of Stickel, Jackson, Walters, Zardo, Stieler, Burrows and Tolton.

 

Come feature time, Davey Terry would start pole ahead of Lane Zardo, Gary McLean, Gary Elliott, Max Beyore, Tom Walters, Tommy Robb, Dustin Jackson, Shane Stickel, Brent McLean, Brian McLean, Drew Stieler, Bill Burrows, Tommy Robb and Bobby Tolton.

 

Davey Terry would grab the early lead ahead of Zardo in his No. 14 Wasteco Modified, set to check out on everybody in search of his first career feature victory. Gary McLean would slip by Zardo to move into second on lap three, set to track down Terry for the top spot. His efforts would be made easy when the caution flew on lap four for Burrows spinning.

 

Terry would get a good restart, holding the two-time series champion behind him. terry would keep the lead steadily over McLean, while the action was set behind him. Over the course of the run, Zardo would continue to slip back, slipping outside of the top five as series regulars began to make their way up through the field.

 

Behind the top seven, though, things were intense for the rest of the field, with cars darting underneath each other, while others tried to slip past on the outside. The racing would come to abrupt stop when contact between Dick and Robb would result in a three-car pile-up in turn three involving Robb, Stickel and Harper. Each of the involved cars would be able to drive away, get repairs and restart at the rear of the field.

 

With 20 laps to go, Terry led Gary McLean, Elliott, Beyore, Brent McLean and Tom Walters. McLean would get a good restart, claiming the advantage ahead of Terry, beginning to check out on everybody. The gap stayed steadily somewhat close – till it looked as though something broke on Terry’s car, resulting in him dropping back quickly, falling through the field in the final eight laps. Terry’s problems didn’t help Elliott’s cause, as Elliott got caught up behind Terry, allowing Beyore and Brent McLean to slip past for position.

 

Gary McLean would be able to cruise home to victory and claim the victory while Max Beyore, Brent McLean and Gary Elliott rounded out the top-four. Dustin Jackson would hold off a strong late charge from Tom Walters to take fifth, while Lane Zardo, Ryan Dick, Tommy Robb and Davey Terry rounded out the top 10.

Justin Billington would hold off a strong late race charge from Josh Nicholson to score the Ontario Pro Challenge feature victory at Sunset Speedway.

 

Tim Shanahan would win the first heat ahead of Billington, Owen Smith, Ken Lillycrop, Peter Hattin, Bud Racing and Dan Alder.

 

Tim Norris won the second heat ahead of Nicholson, Dennis Thomson, Mike Westwood, Kyle Batty and Matt Marshall.

 

Billington would get the advantage of picking up a front starting spot, taking the lead early. Nicholson wouldn’t be far behind, working his way through to move up to the second spot. It was from that point that he began stalking Billington for the lead.

 

The pair wouldn’t be alone either in the closing laps, with Batty, Thomson and Westwood joining the fight. Slipping high and low around each other, the five made for a very entertaining feature in trading spots. The battle wouldn’t stay clean, though, as contact would send Westwood for the spin in turn two on the white flag lap. Both Westwood and Thomson would be sent to the rear for the green-white-checkered.

 

On the restart, Justin Billington was able to hold serve, fending off every attempt by Josh Nicholson to claim the victory. Kyle Batty finished third, followed by Owen Smith and Mike Westwood.

 

After hitting up Delaware Speedway for a show with the ISMA Super Modifieds, the OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modifieds are set to make their fourth trip of the 2014 season to Sunset Speedway. The 1/3 mile oval always produces a good solid show with excitement from top to bottom.

Two-time Champion Gary McLean leads the crop into the weekend with the points lead. McLean didn’t start off the year as he hoped in the season opener as a result of being a victim to bad luck, but has been on a roll since with four wins and a series of solid finishes. McLean leads the modified drivers in victories at Sunset with six victories in 11 races. Expect McLean to be fast both nights as he looks to pad his points lead.

Coming off  a second place finish at Delaware, Max Beyore is hoping to pick up his third career victory this weekend. Beyore has been strong at Sunset in the past, scoring a pair of runner-up finishes.

When Davey Terry is at Sunset, he either finishes in the top five – or he has a DNF as a result of bad luck. Terry is hoping for a good run following a third and second on the 1/3 mile at the end of June. He also has momentum on his side, following a podium finish at Delaware.

In his last five starts at Sunset Speedway, Brent McLean has failed to finish in the top-five and honestly, that’s surprising. The Conn native is a previous winner at Sunset and has finished in the runner-up spot on four different occasions.

In each appearance at Sunset, Ryan Dick continues to improve as a driver behind the wheel. He’ll be looking for a solid run after finishing sixth at Delaware.

Following an eighth place finish at Delaware Speedway, Matt Barton is hoping for a top-five finish this weekend and it’s very well possible as he has done it before, posting three top-six finishes in the races at Sunset so far this year. Shane Stickel is hoping for a good run also, after finishing right in front of Barton at Delaware. He should be one to watch as he finished second in the season opener at Sunset Speedway.

Bobby Tolton has been struggling to find the right handle on his ride and it has shown in previous Sunset Speedway events. With a couple weeks to look for the right set-up, Tolton will be hoping that the work leads to a solid finish this weekend.

A modified veteran, Brian McLean wasn’t one of the drivers to watch at the beginning. However, McLean continues improving and will be looking for a top-five this weekend after posting a fourth and a third at Sunset at the end of June.

Rookie Tommy Robb hasn’t had the luck that he would’ve hoped for this year with incidents taking him out of contention. Robb will hope to score his third straight Sunset Speedway top-10 on Saturday night.

The No. 26  Terry Baker/Kevin Jobs’ owned modified has been quick in the times that it has been on track. Baker posted a third at Kawartha and fourth at Barrie, before winning at Sunset Speedway at the end of June. Cayden Lapcevich then jumped behind the wheel the next night, posting a victory. Baker would cross the line first at Kawartha, though saw the win be lost in post-technical inspection. It’ll be interesting to see what hapepns this weekend.

Speaking of young guns, 13-year-old Dustin Jackson returns to the sight of his first career heat win this weekend and will be looking for more success after a pair of top-fives in the three features at Sunset so far thus year.

Drew Stieler’s season did not start at all as he hoped, though he has been slowly turning it around with stronger runs with each passing weekend. Stieler will be looking for a top-10 finish after finishing 10th at Kawartha Speedway earlier this month.

Going into the weekend, Gary Elliott is one of the drivers to watch as he has been posting solid finishes with each passing week, getting closer to his first Modified victory. Sunset Speedway marks a good spot for it to happen as he has tons of laps around Sunset in the Late Model division, and has ran upfront at Sunset Speedway.

Beyond those mentioned here, there are other drivers that may show their face on Saturday night so be sure to be in attendance to see these cars in action.

On Sunday afternoon, Will Power would lead 229 of 250 laps en route to winning the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at the Milwaukee Mile as he continues his quest towards his first Verizon IndyCar Series Championship. It marks the 22nd victory of Power’s IndyCar career and his third victory of the season, but most notably his first short oval IndyCar victory. For Power, the accomplish means a lot considering he struggled on ovals at the beginning of his career.

“Its something that I’ve worked on over the last few years,” he commented. “I really enjoy racing on ovals now – I really do – and I’ve wanted to win on a short oval. It was a great day. The whole day we were able to run really good. Just really happy to be part of this team.”

The victory allows Power to stretch his points lead to 39 points ahead of Helio Castroneves.

“It’s perfect to start this three-race chase and we’ve got two other tracks that I’m strong on and enjoy so its about keeping my head down,” Power said. “I just kept my head down today and worked at getting the car right.”

Juan Pablo Montoya tried to mount a challenge against his teammate in the closing laps, however fell short in being able to close the gap as the pair weaved their way through lap traffic.

“It’s just hard. These cars are so aero-sensitive so you’re kind of stuck with it,” Montoya commented. “We struggled with the stability early in the race, but we worked on it and it turned out well. I’m slightly disappointed, but it’s good for the team in finishing 1-2.”

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon would finish third and fourth.

“I was able to keep up, but thee towards the end, he was really strong,” Kanaan. “So on that restart that I got by Andretti and Newgarden and got behind him with newer tires, I knew if something didn’t go wrong that he would’ve won.”

“The middle part we split up one of the splints and I think that’s where we made up five or six spots,” Dixon commented. “It was just a track position race and it was my fault and team’s fault in having too much understeer in qualifying in finishing 11^th as we had a good car.”

Josef Newgarden would round out the top five after running inside the top three till he had to pit for fuel and tires with 13 laps to go.

“I think I’ll take away that the top five is not too shabby,” Newgarden said. “I’m still happy that we were able to salvage a fifth place. We worked hard for this result and just looking forward to having good results as the year ends. It was a tough day. It was hard and so difficult to follow close especially once the tires went off. It was tough to get by people. We tried a strategy to get up there and unfortunately, it didn’t work out as planned – but we got a good solid top-five finish.”

Ryan Briscoe finished sixth, followed by Simon Pagenaud, Mikhail Aleshin, Ed Carpenter and Jack Hawksworth. Helio Castroneves would finish 11th after struggling with the handling of his car throughout the day.

“The car was consistent, but unfortunately in three and four I had a lot of problems,” Castroneves commented. “If I finished without a crash, I was having a good day. Every time I went into the corner, it started sliding and I started saying ‘Woah’ but was able to keep it going. Still a lot of racing to go, 100 points out there so we’ll buckle down and keep working hard.”

Fellow Championship contender Ryan Hunter-Reay had a worst day, finishing 21st after the left rear suspension broke at lap 169.

“I could feel it running rough a couple laps before then,” Hunter-Reay said. “It wasn’t a clean berak. It was something with the left rear as it would splot. Its unfortunate, but what are you going to do? It wasn’t what I wanted, but that’s probably our championship hopes going up in smoke right now.”

Fellow Andretti Autosport driver Carlos Munoz finished 22nd after getting into the wall at lap 131.

“Having tough laps there, holding on there,” Munoz commented. “I just lost the entry and went into the marbles and as soon as you get in the marbles, you’re in trouble as I get into the weekend. Just a rough day as we weren’t fast all weekend. Just move on to Sonoma next weekend and take what we learned.”

The Verizon IndyCar Series is back in action next weekend on Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway for the second last race of the season.