Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
With over 60 drivers registering for the Mini Stock division at Sunset Speedway, track staff made the decision to split the division into two groups. The Graham Landscape Mini Stocks would contain your top drivers as usual, while the Signs of Innovation Mighty Mini class was born. The Mighty Minis will allow drivers that are trying to keep a cheap budget and can’t quite the match the speed of the other Mini Stock front runners, or are just getting their feet wet and want to gain some experience. The reception of the class has been great so far with just over 20 drivers making the choice to run Mighty Mini.
So as we complete the final preview piece of the week for Sunset Speedway, here are some drivers to watch…..
Peter Wakeling has ran at Barrie Speedway the past couple of years as one of the back half of the pack drivers, but will make the switch to Sunset Speedway with Barrie’s unfortunate closure. Wakeling will look to continue growing as a driver, and perhaps pick up a couple of checkered flags along the way.
Joe Dunlop has ran some races in the past at Barrie Speedway and Sunset Speedway, though hasn’t experienced a ton of success yet in his career. He will be looking to also grow as a driver this year.
Eric Rainey has been racing at Sunset Speedway for a couple of years, though has fallen out of the front runners in the Mini Stock division over the past five years with the expansion of the division. Rainey will hope to return to front running competition in this avenue that allows him to compete in a division fit for his small team budget.
Doug Wilman has been competing for awhile at Sunset Speedway, and has grown each season as a driver. Original plans were to start in the Mini Stock division, but the decision was made to step down a notch and work at getting stronger before moving up. The SKLD team will debut a brand new car this weekend at Sunset Speedway, and could be a driver to keep an eye on for an early season victory.
Nick St. Onge (pictured left) will make his debut this weekend at Sunset Speedway following in the steps of his father Darryl St. Onge. Darryl ran both Barrie Speedway’s Late Models and Thunder Cars with success, and could help in developing Nick’s skills early in the year.
Dave Middel made his maiden voyage last year, and didn’t have as much success as he would’ve hoped for as he’d experience a steep learning curve that would include some mechanical issues, crashes and failing to qualify some nights. He will hope to turn things around this weekend at Sunset Speedway.
Billy McLeod has been racing for awhile, but has yet to make the trip to Sunset Speedway. He opened up his 2015 season on Friday night at Full Throttle Motor Speedway, finishing second.
Josh Inglis ran the past couple of seasons at Barrie Speedway, having some success along the way. Depending how he adjusts to Sunset Speedway, he could be one to watch early in the year simply based on experience.
Jerry Noble and Steve Love enter their sophomore season of competition at Sunset Speedway after up and down rookie seasons last year. They both had some highs with some positive finishes, but also found themselves battling issues throughout the year. If they can shake the bugs out, they could contend early this year.
Fourth generation driver Melissa Bullen will make her debut on Saturday night at Sunset Speedway. She will have experience all around her, including her brother Branden who has experienced success in the Mini Stock ranks in the past.
James Campbell makes the transition from Barrie to Sunset Speedway after a limited schedule at Barrie that saw a couple of strong runs over the course of the past couple of years.
Chandler Bos (pictured right) enters his sophomore season of competition after a solid rookie season that saw him get stronger with each week. With a new car underneath him for the season, he will hope to find success early in the year.
Griffin Murray will follow in the footsteps of his father Shawn Murray as he makes his racing debut. Shawn showed strength during his days of competition, scoring a late model feature victory at Barrie and becoming the lone Canadian to date to win the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division III Championship.
Trevor Hemingway has been racing at Sunset Speedway for a couple of years now, and shown some promise with a couple of strong runs. He will hope to find consistency this upcoming season and run upfront each week.
Stefan Woyslaw and Nic Montanari enter their sophomore seasons after struggling throughout last year. They both saw a couple of strong nights, though, with a couple strong finishes. Continuing to learn the 1/3 mile, both will hope to get stronger behind the wheel this year.
Lisa DeLeeuw enters her third season at Sunset Speedway and is looking to bounce back after battling mechanical problems last year. She has shown some promise through the years with a couple top-15 runs, so she could easily be the breakout star of the division.
Mike Robinson Jr. is a long-time competitor at Sunset Speedway, but has fallen off of his game a little bit in the recent seasons. He’ll look to return back to victory lane this year with a new plan of attack.
Wendy Adams has continued to get stronger with each season that she’s at Sunset Speedway, showing more speed each year as she continues to improve her mustang ‘Stella’ and grow as a driver. With a new car in the works to debut sometime this year, she could grab her first career win.
Third generation driver Treyten Lapcevich made his debut last season at the Frequent Flyer 50 presented by SL Promotions and ran strong, looking to possibly qualify for the event, before a wreck took him out of contention. If he can start off this year on a fast note, he could be visiting victory lane in the early part of the season.
