Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
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.
While the Late Model feature had thrills with a new winner in victory lane, the Super Stock feature had some thrills of its own. The feature perhaps went on a little longer than fans would’ve wanted as it seemed drama at each turn resulted in a total of 10 cautions throughout the 30 lap affair. Though while that was going on, the leaders had a battle of their own.
Starting from the 16th starting spot, Lane Zardo carved his way through the field, taking the lead in the finals laps from Mike Weeda, before holding off a late charge from Matt Bentley to score the feature victory. This was something that the past series champion did with no brakes as all brakes were lost on the No. 46 Monte Carlo at about lap 10. The charge through the field – work of art. Three-wide, diving for holes that some may call impossible and slipping sideways at times was the name of the game for ‘The Thrillbilly’. Though the most memorable moment came well leading.
A late race restart would bring forth a side-by-side battle between Zardo and Bentley for the lead with two to go. As the pair headed into turn one, Cayden Lapcevich would made slight contact with Zardo’s back bumper, causing him to make contact with Bentley. The result would be both Zardo and Bentley going up the track sliding, with both drivers managing to keep their cars off of the wall and going straight. If the fans needed a reminder of why short track racing can be exciting, that was the reminder. This was something that was beautifully captured by Thompson Photography.
The victory for Zardo just added the icing to the cake to start of his season. On the first night of the year, he won his heat and the fast qualifier’s Dash before finishing second in the feature. Last weekend, he won his heat, second in the fast qualifier’s Dash and then the feature victory. He knows what it takes to win a championship – he has done it before. If he can keep this momentum rolling throughout the year, he’s going to tough to beat for the championship.
With two races in the books, Sunset Speedway has had two different winners – Lapcevich and Zardo. The question remains whether they will be able to make it three for three when the Super Stocks resume points competition next weekend. It is a huge possibility if you look back on Saturday night based on how a pair of drivers ran.
Matt Bentley challenged Zardo hard for the victory, coming up just a tick short in the end. The second place finish on Saturday also just added to his start of the season as he finished seventh on opening night, has a heat win and has a fast qualifer’s dash victory. If he can get a good draw, or just make sure to keep that same speed in the No. 21, he could return to victory lane at the 1/3 mile oval in Innisfil, Ontario. Frankly, it wouldn’t be a surprise either as he reached victory lane mid-season last year.
Mike Weeda looked to have this race all locked up. He led the first 20 laps and at one point, he had stretched his lead out to a considerable distance over the field. If not for the caution, he could’ve escaped everyone and snatched his first career victory. Though, while it may be surprising for some to see Weeda running well, this is something that has been in the making dating back to last year. As addressed last week, he continued to get stronger over the course of last season, ending the year on a good note. He posted the quickest time in time trials for the final feature of last year before a top-five finish in the feature. Could his first career victory be just around the corner?
While these three drivers have everything going their way right now, there are others who are wishing they were dealt a better hand.
Nick Tooley kicked off his season on a solid note, placing 11th in the feature on opening night after a sixth place finish in his heat. The sophomore driver was hoping to keep that positive momentum moving forward into the second night, and started off on a good note. He would score a fifth place in his heat, automatically qualifying him for the feature and the fast qualifier’s dash. Unfortunately, come feature time, he was unable to run as a result of engine problems.
Over the course of last season, Tooley continued to improve each week and become a top-10 contender. Once the team gets the mechanical issues set aside, keep your eyes on the No. 82 as he may surprise you.
I featured Johnny Morrison last week, but after the night that he had on night two, he is worth featuring once again. He opened up the season on opening night with a 16th place finish in the feature. This past weekend, he stated off the feature much better, working his way up through the field to just outside the top five. However, the steering box would let go, resulting in a wrecked car and his night being over before he warranted. That just added to the night’s frustration as his heat ended early due to a cut tire.
I said it last week, but I think this holds even more merit this week. He will definitely be trying to turn things around to a positive note and get his season on-track. If he can find the magic pieces to the puzzle that he found late last year, that could come sooner than later based on how he ended last year.
