Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
This week marks the debut of the “Five Things You Need To Know” column. Each day of the week, the column will highlight a division from Sunset Speedway, highlighting five drivers and mentioning things that you should know going into the next week of racing.
Gord Shepherd
Following the closure of Barrie Speedway, Gord Shepherd made the move to Sunset Speedway for 2015. That brought debate among fans as to how well the Multi-time Barrie Speedway Champion would do in transitioning from one track to the other. Those critics were silenced on night one.
Shepherd qualified second, before winning the first feature and finishing second in the second feature after starting 14th. Needless to say, he proved right off the bat that he will be one of the drivers to beat this year in the weeks moving forward.
It shouldn’t mark as a surprise, though, as Shepherd was quick last year in the invitational events. He finished on the podium in a mid-summer invitational, and closed out the year with a strong run in the Velocity 250. He has also proven to be good at adapting to tracks around the province, having won the Autumn Colors Classic at Peterborough Speedway in October last year. Truthfully, there should never been any doubts had by anybody.
With the competition close – mere tenths apart through the field, Shepherd will have to work at keeping his advantage in the weeks moving forward. Though certainly getting off on a strong note will give the Ridge Road Racing team confidence moving forward. Expect Shepherd to run up front all year long.
Josh Stade
While Shepherd won the first feature, it was Stade winning the second feature after starting third. Stade used the approach of keeping his nose clean in the first feature after qualifying 12th, before showing a lot of speed in the second feature. The second feature was thrilling to the fans and early favourite for feature of the year as Stade spent many laps side-by-side with Larry Jackson for the lead.
The victory marked his first feature victory outside of his hometrack of Sauble Speedway. Stade has made trips to Sunset Speedway in the past, posting top-10 finishes. However, it has always seemed that he had the a little nitch missing to crack the top-five. The Stade Motorsports team has been hard at work over the off-season, and that proved out to be successful.
While Stade has been known for running Sauble Speedway over the years, the speedway doesn’t open till the third week of May, giving Stade an opportunity to run Sunset Speedway. Stade has stated that there’s a possibility that depending on the points situation, he could stay at Sunset Speedway all year. Given how night one went, that could be a strong possibility moving forward. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares on the second night.
Brittney Gresel
Gresel entered the year full of confidence as she was set to debut a brand new McColl Racing Enterprises chassis. However, the first night didn’t go anything like she would’ve hoped with severe mechanical breakage ending her first feature early, and causing her to miss the second feature.
It certainly marks a big hit in her chances in the points. However, the good news is the NASCAR system takes your best 18 nights. With a possibility of getting in a total of 22 features this year – given no rain, she could easily drop the first week by the end of the year if she can be consistent from here on out.
Last year marked her first year at Sunset Speedway after running Sauble Speedway over the years, and she got stronger as the year went on. She was able to post a couple top-10 finishes in the second half of the year. Now with a stronger car under her belt and more familiarity, the possibility for top-10 finishes is even higher.
Allan Inglis
While Shepherd dominated the discussion of drivers making the swap from Barrie to Sunset, Allan Inglis was another driver stuck in the same situation. The first feature went solidly, finishing 10th after qualifying 18th. The second feature, though, he made a statement that he can find his way around Sunset Speedway as he finished third.
Unlike Shepherd, Inglis hasn’t had that much success outside of Barrie Speedway the past couple of seasons. Truthfully, last year didn’t go as he would’ve hoped at Barrie as he wasn’t in the championship picture as he would’ve hoped. Certainly he is hoping to turn things around this year, but faces the battle of unfamiliarity. Though if Saturday was any indication, perhaps Inglis will overcome that hurdle sooner than later.
Travis Hallyburton
Debuting a brand new look on the No. 39 Late Model, sophomore driver Travis Hallyburton impressed many fans right off the bat, qualifying sixth before finishing third in the first feature. The second feature didn’t go as well, though, as he finished 11th.
Hallyburton started off last year on a sour note, but got stronger as the year went on. By the end of the season, he was posting top-10 finishes – which was impressive given it was his first year in a late model. Hallyburton made the move from Super Stock to Late Model last year.
Hallyburton has proven that he can be quick, and he can drive with the best of the best. As he gets more experience under his belt, it wouldn’t be surprise if he scored his first career feature victory this year.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park Late Models will be back on track this weekend at Sunset Speedway for a pair of 35-lap features. They kick off their night at 3:30 p.m. EST with time trials.
