ST: Five Things You Need To Know – St. Onge Recreation Super Stocks

Each day of the week, the column will highlight a division, highlighting five drivers and mentioning things that you should know going into the next week of racing.

Saturday night’s action at Sunset Speedway marked the third night of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series St. Onge Recreation Super Stock competition. In short, those at the front were some of drivers that we have come to expect to see over the years, but there were also a couple new faces virtue of the drama that took out the top-notch contenders. With only three weeks on the card, the Super Stocks are proving that they’ll be a division to watch for drama all season long.

On topic of familiar faces at the front of the field, Cayden Lapcevich was the eventual race winner, but the 15-year-old didn’t have it easy. Starting in the back half of the field, he had to make his way through the traffic, before out-dueling Randy Rusnell for the victory. For Lapcevich, it marks his second victory of the season.

Is it a surprise? Well, the kid is last year’s division champion. He made his NASCAR Canadian Tire Series debut earlier this year at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, finishing 17th on the lead lap. He was running up front in the APC United Late Models of Ontario Tour presented by Grisdales Racing Products Canusa 100 till contact put him in the back, with further contact ending his race early.

Needless to say, Lapcevich has continued to impress in his short career to date already and the stars are only the limit for the teenager.

After being passed by Lapcevich, Randy Rusnell finished the feature in the second spot. For the 2012/2013 division champion, it marks his third straight top-nine finish as he has started the season with a third, ninth and a second.

Rusnell has been known for pure speed since making the move to Sunset Speedway, having dominated a couple features over the years. Though it seemed at the beginning of the year, he was tick off the speed shown by Lapcevich, Matt Bentley and Lane Zardo. Like a true champion, though, Rusnell and team have continued to work hard, showing a ton of speed on Saturday night. If he can keep that going, it won’t be long till ‘The Rocket’ returns to victory lane.

A surprise at the front of the field was Adam Martin. Martin ran his first full season of competition at Sunset Speedway last year, posting a couple of top-10s – but couldn’t find the extra edge needed for the top-five. However, over the off-season, the No. 97 machine was gone over closely by Martin, his dad, and the Micks Motorsports team. He told OnPitRoad.com in March that he should be stronger this season, and he’s so far proving that. The fourth place finish on Saturday night goes along well with an eighth and a sixth to start the season.

Another driver that is starting to find his groove at Sunset Speedway is Luke Gignac. Gignac spent the entire season at Barrie Speedway last year, scoring the track’s final Thunder Car Championship. He made the transition to Sunset Speedway for 2015, and it hasn’t started off smoothly. He finished 10th on opening night, before running into mechanical issues two weeks ago. On Saturday night, though, he avoided trouble that took out his competitors and put himself at the front of the field in the closing laps en route to finishing fifth.

Gignac has a ton of experience in Super Stocks, but now it’s all about getting adjusted to Sunset Speedway. If he keeps going along this path of adjustment, though, he could make it to victory lane by season’s end.

Last week, OnPitRoad.com featured Jade Franklin as one of the drivers to watch over the course of the season in his rookie campaign. The teenager had a good run going on Saturday night, running inside the top-10. However, he would get caught up in a late race wreck not of his making, resulting in a DNF. Franklin will be looking to get the repairs made and back on track to top his 13th place finish from a couple weeks ago.