FRASERVILLE, ON- After a frustrating outing in Round 1 of the 2014 OSCAAR Super Late Model tour at Sunset Speedway, rookie Kelly Balson returned to the drawing board in preparation of his second outing at Kawartha Speedway. With an improved setup, Balson overcame a brake failure to muster an 8th place finish in his Super Late Model ‘big track’ debut.
“The ride home tonight will be a lot easier”, smiled Balson post-race. “After our performance at Sunset, the trip was a little tense”
‘The Crowd Pleaser’s displeasure after his OSCAAR debut was well documented, with Balson spending a great deal of time with noted Kawartha standout Dan McHattie to formulate a package for Kawartha.
“Dan was a huge help this week”, explained Balson. “We changed absolutely every inch of this car from Sunset to Kawartha, and that most certainly would not have been possible without him”
“We’ll take an 8th place finish. The car feels a lot closer to a top-5 today than it did when we last raced it. I’m inclined to believe that if we hadn’t lost our brakes at lap-15, we could have contended for a top-5 finish this afternoon”
As he worked alongside his team to load his London Recreational sponsored No. B10, Balson had nothing but praise for the OSCAAR regulars.
“You don’t really have a proper level of respect for this roster until you race alongside them”, opined the multi-time Peterborough Speedway champion. “These guys are the best of the best. They’re maddeningly talented, and putting together a program capable of beating them is certain to take time. But, not only are we up to the task, we’re looking forward to it”
Kelly Balson’s second straight ‘Rookie of the Race’ award was made possible thanks to London Recreational, Dan McHattie Racecars and Cochrane Automotive.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
