With spins and wrecks happening at every turn around the 1/3 mile Sunset Speedway asphalt oval, Jade Franklin managed to keep all four corners on the car en route to posting his first career top-15 finish.
The rookie would start off his night with a seventh place finish in his heat after starting in the 11th spot. As a result, he would be forced to run the last chance qualifier. Starting on the front row, Franklin led the beginning three laps before being passed for the lead; he would finish the race in third, qualifying for the 30-lap feature later that night.
The redraw would set Franklin up to start from the fourth spot ahead of some of the quickest drivers in the province. He would hold his own, staying out of trouble as the more experienced drivers made their way by. By the first caution at lap 10, he had slipped back to the 12th spot.
From the first caution on, the race took an eventful turn, with cautions flying at each end of the speedway. Franklin continued to hold his own, getting solid restarts, though fell back to the 15th spot by lap 19. Though in the second half, Franklin worked his way back up a couple spots, running 12th as of the eighth caution with three laps to go.
He would get a good restart, but unfortunately was passed, resulting in a 13th place finish for the first year driver in his second career start.
Special thanks to Destination RV, Alco Tire and King’s Marine for their continued support.
Looking to continue the learning curve, Franklin will now look towards having a strong run at the Spring Velocity in the 50-lap Super Stock Invitational. Be sure to join the team at Sunset Speedway on May 17th for the event that will feature a pre-race autograph session on track. Front gates will open a noon, with the racing action kicking off at 2pm. Details about the event can be found on the speedway website at http://www.sunsetspeedway.ca.
