On Sunday we had our series opener for the OSCAAR Modified’s at Sunset Speedway. There were 16 cars to start the 2014 season and though not what we wanted, we had a great night.
Before the race I had the opportunity to talk to Dustin Jackson, the youngest driver in this very fast series. Dustin is 14 years old and we are planning on doing a charity race at Sauble Speedway later in the summer. Though I am a “rookie” in this class, Dustin considers me a mentor and I like that and will help him where I can, although he is a good little racer.
We had some brake issues in our first heat race forcing us to pit on lap one. The brakes were locking up. We worked hard to find the problem and got back out just in time for the next qualifying race where we finished 2nd to the joy of our crew and fans.
After our runner up position we qualified 10th on the starting grid. This was my first night driving this machine and barely had much time to get to know it, but from a few laps of practice and a good run in our second qualifier, plus getting the brakes fixed, we were ready to charge in the 30 lap feature race. I got use to it very quickly and it ran like a rocket.
The feature race saw a few cautions. We were hit twice and spun out, forcing us to go to the back both times. However with no damage and an excellent handling car, we charged forward again.
On lap 25 of 30, we moved into 4th place and the 2nd and 3rd place cars tangled. Unfortunately we hit a car that is sideways and cut our right front tire, as well as breaking small suspension parts.
The wreck was discouraging for our team, but we relished knowing that we have a great car in our Lincoln Welders Quaker State GM Cavalier.
The fans were awesome waving to me and cheering as the car was towed back to our pits. The announcer, Spencer Lewis, was giving our team a lot of press leading up to the final few laps before we were involved in the wreck. It was a good night and we look forward to our next race on Friday May 23rd at Full Throttle Speedway.
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