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.
So far, it has worked out to be the perfect package as both divisions have seen 20 or more cars each night on track, with top-notch racing to keep the fans entertained. The division split has welcome both a new face to victory lane, as well as the return of a track veteran to victory lane.
Nic Montanari currently leads all drivers with the most wins at two victories. He started off by picking up the win on opening night after taking the lead in the late going; for Montanari, it marked the first feature victory of his career. He then finished fourth on the second night, before returning to victory lane on the third night after taking the lead at the halfway mark. As a result, he has the best average finish at a 2.
He’s also one of three to have finished top-five in each of his three heats, including a victory. He’s also one of two to have finished in the top-five in each of his Dash for Cash appearances, including a victory.
The only other driver to have reached victory lane thus far this season is Bob Phinnemore. Phinnemore kicked off the season by finishing fourth on the first night. He then returned on the second week of competition, taking the lead with two laps to go to score the victory. He then returned on May 23 to post a third place finish. As a result, he has the third best average finish at 2.67.
The rest of the drivers in the division are looking to reach feature victory lane, and there’s a bunch that have shown promise in making that happen in the near future.
Fred Jordan currently has the third best average at 4.33 with finishes of ninth, second and second thus far this season. He is the only driver in the division with two heat wins, and has finished in the top-five in all three of his heats.
Cameron McGlashan is also having a solid rookie year, currently sitting with the fourth best average at 5.33 after a surprise runner-up on opening night, followed by a pair of sevenths. He has also been very consistent in qualifying, finishing all three heats in the top-five and both Dash for Cashs in the top-five. Currently, sophomore Stefan Woyslaw sits tied with McGlashan in the average finish category, also boosting a 5.33 after finishes of fifth, third and eighth.
Butler Racing teammates Randi Seguin and Richard Butler ran the first night of competition in the Mini Stock category, but then made the decision to drop down on the second night. Seguin’s finishes of eighth and fifth currently boost the sixth best average finish, while Butler’s sixth ad ninth give him the seventh best average finish at 7.5
In total, eight drivers have kept their averages underneath 10th thus far this season. 11-year-old Treyten Lapcevich is the last of the divers on the list, boosting a 9.33 with finishes of eighth, 10th and 10th in his rookie year of competition.
There are other drivers beyond this list that could be mentioned as contenders, despite not having the strongest averages, simply due to bad luck hurting their chances thus far.
Stefan Semeraro had a good strong season going, having posted a third and ninth in the first two events. However, the third night of competition brought forth heavy contact with the backstretch wall and a destroyed mustang. Hopefully the time between events will allow him to return to competition on the fourth night of competition.
Eric Rainey probably wanted to forget his opening night after finishing 19th, but he came out strong on the second night with a solid fifth place finish. The May 23 event didn’t work out for his favor with a 12th, but perhaps he could return to the top-five in June.
Mike Robinson Jr. started off the season struggling with his new car, posting a 20th place finish on opening night, followed by a 17th on the second night. He got the bugs worked out for the third night of competition, though, posting a fourth place finish after leading the beginning of the feature. He could be a driver to break through to victory lane near the early weeks of June.
