Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
After a pair of great, thrilling debut races under the OSCAAR banner, the Midas of Orangeville OSCAAR Midgets will make their second trip of the season to Sunset Speedway on Saturday night.
The first trip to Sunset came in May for the season opener, which saw Jamie Bound (#83) quickly grab the lead in the opening laps and not look back as he led the rest of the way en route to victory. The performance doesn’t mark a surprise, though, as Bound has won at Sunset Speedway previously under the Hurricane Midget banner, before scoring the series championship last year. He may have missed Peterborough taking himself out of the championship contention, now down to the 19th spot in points. However, that probably won’t slow him down on Saturday night when he goes after his third straight Sunset Speedway victory.
When it comes to the championship, though, it’s all about the Woodland family at the top of the charts. Coming off of a sixth and first to start the year in the firs two events, Richard Woodland (#84) leads the points by six points over Brian Woodland (#48); Brian has started off the year with a fourth and a fifth. The pair will both look to carry the momentum through Sunset Speedway and continue to lead the pack, and they should be able to. In their past four Midget starts, dating back to last year, the pair have finished in the top-five in each of those events, including a podium for each in last year’s September Velocity 250.
Though the one to possibly keep an eye on will be Jody Bound (#5). The rookie has already impressed in just his first two starts, especially with his performance at Sunset Speedway. After having to go to the back of the field due to jumping the start twice, he would carve his way through the pack, finishing second to Jamie last month. If he can come back with the same speed and keep outta trouble throughout the night, his first feature victory could be right over the horizon.
Rob McCall (#62) has been catching everyone’s attention so far this year with his bright pink design, but hasn’t had the results thus far that he possibly would’ve hoped for. He finished 11th in the season opener at Sunset Speedway, before finishing 19th two weeks ago at Peterborough Speedway. Returning to Sunset this weekend, he hopes to crack the top-10 for the first time in 2015.
While McCall looks for the top-10 crack, Steve Lassman (#37) knows what finishing in the top-10 feels like as he finished ninth in the season opener at Sunset Speedway last month. He looks to return to the top-10 after posting a 12th place finish at Peterborough.
Paul Draganoc (#18) enters this weekend sitting third in points, six points behind Richard Woodland. Draganoc had one of the quickest cars at Sunset Speedway back in May, winning both of his heats. However, he came up short in the feature, finishing in the back half of the field due to mechanical issues. He got his season back on track at Peterborough, finishing second. With a sixth and a second to close out last season, Draganoc will look to keep the success rolling this weekend.
Brian MacDonald (#42) also didn’t have the best of luck at Sunset, either, finishing in the back half of the field. Like Draganoc, he bounced back at Peterborough, posting a fourth place finish. Hopefully he can keep the positive momentum going.
James Stanley (#57) has shown speed this year as evident by a heat win, but hasn’t seen the performance that he would’ve hoped for in the feature, failing to post a top-15 finish in the first two events of the season. He will look to come out solid this weekend and perhaps top the 14th place finish from last year’s Velocity 250 at Sunset Speedway.
Katherine Summers (#26) is looking to keep the positive momentum going this weekend after posting a ninth place finish two weeks ago at Peterborough Speedway. Her last trip to Sunset Speedway didn’t go well, though, as a mid-race accident took her out of the running.
James Rodgers (#77) hasn’t had the success that he would’ve hoped for so far this year, failing to post a top-15 finish in either of the first two events of the season. If he can get his ducks in a row, though, Rodgers has proven that he can get the job done as evident by finishing 5th at the Velocity 250 last fall at Sunset Speedway and his victory in the season-ending Autumn Colors Classic at Peterborough Speedway.
Wally Wison (#69) made his debut at Peterborough Speedway, posting a 17th place finish. If he is in attendance this weekend at Sunset Speedway, look for the rookie to continue learning and possibly crack the top-15.
Mike McLaughlin (#17) is coming off of a strong run at Peterborough after posting a sixth place finish. The season opener at Sunset Speedway was solid for McLaughlin, as he finished 12th overall. Look for him to try and carry the Peterborough momentum into a top-10 this weekend.
Raynor Vickers (#86) is another rookie to watch after he posted a solid 15th place finish at Peterborough. His last trip to Sunset didn’t pan out that well, though, with mechanical issues taking him out of contention. Ryan Brown (#24) is also looking to turn his season around this weekend after not having the best season opener at Sunset with mechanical issues also taking him out of contention. He finished 18th at Peterborough two weeks ago.
Larry Lawson (#8) bounced back after having mechanical issues in the season opener at Sunset to post a solid top-10 finish at Peterborough. Sunset hasn’t treated Lawson well in the past, as many will remember his flip that happened at last year’s Velocity. Hopefully he can keep all the tires on the ground this weekend.
Lorne Van Dusen (#3) is hoping to bounce back this weekend with a strong run after finishing 22nd two weeks ago at Peterborough Speedway. He was also among the drivers that ran into mechanical issues in the season opener at Sunset. He has done decent at Sunset in the past, though, finishing 11th in the Velocity 250.
Wayne McKibbon (#71) and Craig Deacon (#13) made their Midget debuts at Peterborough, finishing 13th and seventh respectively. They’ll both hope to crack the top-10 this weekend at Sunset Speedway.
Adam Carrothers (#68) started off the season strong with a fifth place finish at Sunset, but was not in attendance at Peterborough, therefore taking him out of the championship picture. If he is in attendance this weekend, he’ll hope to score his third straight top-five finish after finishing fourth at the Autumn Colors Classic. Shawn Stones (#51) was also missing at Peterborough after posting a 10th place finish in the season opener at Sunset. He’ll be looking for his third straight top-10 finish at Sunset after finishing 10th in the Velocity 250 last September.
One of the other surprises missing at Peterborough was Robin McLean (#97) as many people were looking for him to contend after a third place finish in the season opener at Sunset Speedway. If he’s in attendance this weekend, he could contend for the victory.
Rob Summers (#85) is hoping to have a good run this weekend at Sunset Speedway after posting a solid eighth place finish two weeks ago at Peterborough Speedway.
Shawn Stanley (#75) and Shawn Gardner (#9) missed the first trip of the year to Sunset, but started off their seasons with a finishes of 11th and 14th at Peterborough. They’ll both look to crack the top-10 this weekend.
Rookie Bob Ross (#28) had a memorable trip to Sunset Speedway in May, scoring his first career victory by winning the B-Main. After a 23rd place finish at Peterborough, he’ll look to qualify his way into the big show this weekend.
Dave Bradley (#53) started off the season for Bradley Brothers Racing, having a solid run with an eighth place finish. The team wasn’t super satisfied with the rum, though, commenting that they needed to work on the handling of the car for future events. He will be behind the wheel of the ride this weekend, hoping for a good run after finishing eighth in the Velocity 250 last fall at Sunset.
The show at Sunset Speedway kicks off on Saturday, June 6 at 5 p.m. EST with an on-track autograph session. Details can be found via http://www.oscaar.ca. and http://www.sunsetspeedway.ca.
