Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
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.
Since becoming part of OSCAAR, the Midas of Orangeville OSCAAR Midgets have ran a pair of events – Sunset Speedway and Peterborough Speedway. Both events have seen high car counts, with new faces reaching the front of the field each week. With over 30 cars in attendance on any given night, there’s no shortage of drivers to keep an eye on.
The Woodland family seems to have it mastered so far this year as Richard and Brian Woodland are the only two drivers who have posted a top-10 finish in both Midget events. Richard is off to the stronger start of the pair, coming off of a victory last weekend at Peterborough Speedway. He started the season by finishing sixth at Sunset Speedway after posting a pair of top-fives in both of his heats. It’s no wonder why he’s the early points leader. Meanwhile, Brian finished fourth at Sunset, before heading to Peterborough and posting a fifth place finish. That goes along perfectly with his pair of heat top-fives at Sunset, as well.
The success marks no surprise as the pair raced under the Hurricane Midget banner for years, having success with wins during that time period. With that said, indications are high that the Woodland family will take home the crown at season’s end.
While they have started off strongly, James Stanley wasn’t dealt the same hand. He did well in one of his heats at Sunset Speedway, finishing in the top-five, but didn’t fare as well in the feature en route to a 13th place finish. He managed to bounce back, though, finishing third a couple weeks ago at Peterborough. Now returning to Sunset Speedway this weekend, he’ll look to keep the positive momentum rolling.
Paul Drananoc has shown speed so far thus season, as evident by winning each of the four heat races that he has competed in. Unfortunately, mechanical issues at Sunset Speedway prevented him from getting a finish that he rightfully deserved. He was able to bounce back at Peterborough, though, finishing second. Now returning to the 1/3 mile oval, he’ll look to keep the success rolling without running into issues this time around.
Jamie Bound won the championship last season in the Hurricane Midgets so it’s no surprise when he runs well. He completed the season by winning the Velocity 250, before finishing sixth at the Autumn Colors Classic to cap off the year. He then returned to score the victory in the season opener at Sunset Speedway this year. Though he more than likely won’t repeat as champion as he was not at Peterborough Speedway two weeks ago.
It’ll be interesting to see in the races he attends how many wins he racks up, and who will get the honor of being called champion this year.
