Jason Parker out duels Watson to win at Sunset Speedway

On his previous attempts at Sunset Speedway, Jason Parker hadn’t been able to find what his late model required to get to victory lane and beat the regulars. On Sunday, though, the Sauble Speedway Late Model driver found the right combination and was able to out duel Brandon Watson en route to victory lane.

The afternoon started off with time trials to set the field, with Taylor Holdaway posting the quickest time in his No. 41 Holdaway Automotive, Image Factor.ca, Sunshine Super Wash, BG Products, Ontario Oval.com, Wix Filters, Castrol Canada Late Model with a 14.914 second lap. Parker was second quickest (15.011) ahead of Watson (15.026), Rick Walt (15.061), Nick Goetz (15.099), Dwayne Baker (15.12), Tyler Liscum (15.141), Billy Zardo (15.164), Travis Hallyburton (15.221) and Tom Walters (15.225).

The top 14 for the feature would be set by time trials, with a dice roll invert. The rest of the field would be set courtesy of a b-main. Al Inglis would win the b-main ahead of Nick Ledson, Dan Wright, Paul Maltese, Dave Bartlett, Brittney Gresel and Kyle Passer.

With the invert, Dwayne Baker would start pole ahead of Nick Goetz, Rick Walt, Brandon Watson, Jason Parker, Taylor Holdaway, Tyler Liscum, Billy Zardo, Gord Shepherd, Travis Hallyburton, Tom Walters, Josh Stade, Al Inglis, Nick Ledson, Dan Wright, Paul Maltese, Brittney Gresel and Kyle Passer.

The action started right away as Goetz and Walt would get together in turn four on the first lap, collecting Parker and Liscum.

The second attempt at a start would see Brandon Watson put the No. 9 Sunrise Toyota and Royal Distributing Late Model out front ahead of Zardo, Baker and Holdaway as Shepherd and Travis Hallyburton battled for fifth. Holdaway would then get alongside Baker for third at lap two, completing the pass and bringing Shepherd through with him. As a result, Baker now ran fifth ahead of Walters, Stade, Hallyburton and Ledson as Inglis and Matlese battled side-by-side for 10^th. Inglis would get the spot, with Parker then getting alongside Maltese for 11^th. Further up the field, Walters would get alongside Baker for fifth at lap eight, completing the pass.

Holdaway would then get alongside Zardo for second at lap 13, though the caution would fly for Maltese and Walt getting together. Under caution, Baker gave up the sixth spot to come and get some adjustments as his team started the race too tight. With 61 laps to go, Watson led Zardo, Holdaway, Shepherd, Walters, Stade, Parker, Hallyburton, Inglis, Ledson, Goetz, Wright, Passer, Maltese, Gresel, Baker, Walt and Liscum.

Watson would get the advantage on the restart to maintain the lead ahead of Zardo, Holdaway, Shepherd and Walters as Parker battled with Stade for sixth. Parker would get the spot at lap 17, knocking Stade back to seventh ahead of Hallyburton, Inglis, Goetz, Ledson and Baker. Liscum would head down pit road at lap 20 as Baker got alongside Ledson for 11^th, completing the pass. Further up the field, Parker would get alongside Walters for fifth, completing the pass at lap 22 before the caution flew for debris. With 52 laps to go, Watson led Zardo, Holdaway, Shepherd, Parker, Walters, Stade, Hallyburton, Inglis and Goetz.

On the restart, the top four would get it sorted out single-file quickly while Parker and Walters battled for fifth. Parker would get the spot at lap 25, then passing Shepherd to move into fourth at lap 27. Meanwhile behind them, Walters ran sixth followed by Stade, Inglis, Hallyburton and Baker. Baker would get alongside Hallyburton at lap 29, completing the pass a lap later. Goetz looked to follow suit, though the caution would fly for debris once again.

The first attempt at a restart didn’t go smoothly as Maltese would make contact with the frontstretch wall after contact with Hallyburton and Goetz. With 55 laps to go, Watson led Zardo, Holdaway, Parker, Shepherd, Walters, Stade, Inglis, Baker, Goetz, Hallyburton, Walt, Passer, Gresel, Ledson, Wright, Maltese and Goetz.

The second attempt brought forth a side-by-side battle for the lead with Watson and Zardo. Watson would hold serve, while Holdaway got alongside for second at lap 32 while Parker, Shepherd and Walters rounded out the top-five. Holdaway would finally clear Zardo at lap 36 to move into second, allowing Parker to get alongside for third. Parker would grab the spot at lap 39, before passing Holdaway for second two laps later. Zardo solidly held down fourth while Shepherd and Walters battled for fifth. Shepherd would hold off Walters to keep the position, while Baker, Stade and Inglis rounded out the top 10. Just outside the top 10, Goetz would get alongside Walt for 11^th at lap 44, making the pass a lap later.

Baker would continue his climb back through the field, passing Walters for sixth at lap 47. He would then get alongside Shepherd at lap 54, completing the pass a lap later. Walters would then get alongside Shepherd and there’d be contact between the pair as they tried to both go under the lap car of Maltese, resulting in a flat tire for Walters. With 18 laps to go, Watson led Parker, Holdaway, Zardo, Baker, Shepherd, Stade, Inglis, Goetz, Walt, Hallyburton and Ledson.

Watson would grab the advantage on the restart ahead of Parker while Holdaway and Baker battled for third. They would continue to battle for third as Parker got alongside Watson for the lead with 15 to go. The pair raged war with contact between them around the whole speedway, with Parker giving Watson a shot and putting the No. 8 Prestige General Contractors, Saugeen Shores Transmission, MacDonnell Fuels, BAXI / Marathon Industries, Keeprite, Candue Homes, Ron Gibbons Construction and Crabby Joe’s of Port Elgin/Hanover Late Model in the lead.

Jason Parker then led the final four laps to score the victory ahead of Brandon Watson, Dwayne Baker, Taylor Holdaway, Gord Shepherd, Billy Zardo, Joshua Stade, Nick Goetz, Rick Walt, Tom Walters, Al Inglis, Travis Hallyburton, Nick Ledson, Paul Maltese, Dan Wright and Kyle Passer.

About the Author

Ashley McCubbin

Joining OnPitRoad.com mid-2013 season, Ashley McCubbin is now the Managing Editor and contributes to each racing division as needed. Since studying journalism at the University of Guelph-Humber, Ashley has published articles on a couple of different websites, while serving as a public relations representative for different short track teams. Born in North York, Ontario, Ashley currently lives in Bradford, Ontario and spends her weekend at the local short tracks in the area. She has spent her entire life at the short track level, falling in love with the sport at the age of five. Beyond her love of short track racing, she also has grown an interest for both NASCAR and the IndyCar Racing Series. She also enjoys taking photos and working on websites, while playing a couple rounds of Candy Crush afterwards.

View All Posts