After traveling across the province to eight different tracks across the three divisions, OSCAAR is set to crown their three champions this weekend at Peterborough Speedway at the Autumn Colors Classic.
Dickies OSCAAR Outlaws Presented by London Recreational Racing
Virtue of winning the Chase for the Colors event in August, Kevin Cornelius will start the Autumn Colors Classic 50-lap feature from the pole position. Also, by entering the season finale with a 60-point lead over J.R. Fitzpatrick, he will clinch the 2015 division championship by starting the event. Cornelius has had a remarkable season, scoring the victory in seven of the eight races this season. The race that he did not win was at Peterborough at the beginning of September, where he finished second.
Who picked up the win at Peterborough last month? J.R. Fitzpatrick. The Cambridge, Ontario has had a stellar season despite some early season mechanical issues, rebounding to post a top-two finish in his last five series starts. He proved in September that he knows his way around Peterborough as the Cambridge, Ontario lapped the whole field except second-place.
While the top-two look to be solidified in points, it will certainly be a battle for third through fifth. Rookie Sean Grosman enters this weekend sitting third in points, nine point ahead of Glenn Watson and 21 points ahead of Corey Jones.
Grosman has been solid throughout the season, posting six top-10 finishes, highlighted by a fourth at Peterborough Speedway in September. With Ryan Kimball calling the shots and being a past track champion, the SMG Motorsports team has the ability to end off the year with a podium finish.
Since blowing his motor in the season opener, Glenn Watson has been on a roll since with no finishes outside of the top-seven. Considering it’s almost been two full seasons that the four-time series champion has visited victory lane, everybody knows that he’s hungry for a win. He is a previous Peterborough Speedway race-winner, winning ACC in 2011 and finishing in the top-five in 12 of his 18 starts.
Corey Jones is one of the drivers that can’t wait to get back to Peterborough Speedway as he finished on the podium with a third last month. He also enters the weekend with some momentum after finishing sixth at Sunset Speedway.
Though beyond the top-five contenders in points, there are plenty of drivers that will be in the thick of the battle this weekend.
Despite missing a pair of races this season due to a blown motor in practice at Flamboro Speeedway, Kelly Balson has had a solid season with five top-five finishes. He’ll be looking to end it on a high at his home track, where he finished third in August and ninth in last year’s Autumn Colors Classic. Notably, in each of his four super late starts at Peterborough, he has finished in the top-nine.
Roy Passer hopes to keep the momentum going after posting his first top-five finish of the season at Peterborough last month with a fourth. Passer has been solid, posting four straight top-10 finishes on the tour. Gary Passer also enters this event with momentum after finishing sixth at Peterborough last month.
Shawn Chenoweth hasn’t had the season that he would’ve hoped, battling mechanical gremlins and suffering a heavy crash at Sauble Speedway. However, when he is able to escape trouble, he can run at the front as he finished third at Flamboro and sixth at Susnet Speedway. Oh, and he finished second in last year’s Autumn Colors Classic at Peterborough.
Tyler Hawn will be looking for a strong run this weekend after battling mechanical issues at Sunset Speedway in his comeback to the tour. Hawn missed a chunk of races through the middle portion of the season, but ran in the top-10 earlier this year at Sunset Speedway and has finished in the top-10 in the past at Peterborough.
Shane Gowan had a stellar weekend in last year’s Autumn Colors Classic, finishing fifth. While this year hasn’t gone as well as he would’ve hoped, he has been able to run each of the eight races this season with only one finish outside of the top-10. notably, his best finish of the season came earlier this year at Peterborough in August with a sixth place finish.
A veteran on the tour, Todd Campbell has finished each of the races that he has ran this year in the top-10. If he is in attendance, look for him to post another solid finish as he posted a pair of sixths last season at Peterborough.
Hoosier OSCAAR Modifieds
Leading by 92 points in the standings, Gary McLean has locked up his fourth straight series championship. Now it’s just about topping off the season on a high note. He has been really strong throughout the season, entering this weekend off of three straight wins and five wins in the last six events. The two-time victor of the event will also start this year’s Autumn Colors Classic from the pole after winning the Chase for the Colors in August.
Joining him on the front row will be John Baker Jr., who finished second in the Chase for the Colors event in August for his best career OSCAAR finish. He’ll be looking for his ninth top-10 of his rookie season on at his home track this weekend.
Brian Mclean enters this weekend with some momentum on his side following a sixth place finish at Sunset Speedway. He was solid at Peterborough earlier this year with a fourth place finish.
Gary Elliott is hoping to get back to the front after posting a finish just outside of the top-10 last month at Sunset. Prior to the 13th, though, he had posted three straight top-five finishes. In his three previous races at Peterborough, he has posted finishes of fourth, fifth and eighth.
Sault St. Marie native Mike Hearty has been solid this year, and enters this weekend with a lot of momentum after posting his best career OSCAAR finish with a fourth at Sunset Speedway. He was solid at Peterborough earlier this year with a seventh place finish.
Cory Horner is in the midst of his first full season on the tour after running the final two events last year, and has been turning a lot of heads as he currently sits second in the points standings with 10 top-seven in 13 career modified starts, highlighted by three podiums at Sunset Speedway. He has done well at Peterborough, too, with a fifth in August to go with a seventh last season.
David Balych is looking to bounce back after struggling in his last two OSCAAR starts. While his appearance at Peterborough earlier this year didn’t go as planned, he has posted three top-10s thus far in his rookie season. Dan Price is also hoping to bounce back this weekend at his home track after posting a DNF at Sunset Speedway. He has been solid this season as well, finishing ninth at Peterborough in August.
Chad Strawn has shown tons of speed this year, but hasn’t had the luck go with it. If he can stay out of trouble this weekend, he should post a good finish as he finished third in August at Peterborough and third in the 2014 Chase for the Colors event.
A.J. Emms is just hoping for a smooth weekend after running into mechanical issues in his last trip to Peterborough Speedway. Emms has proven that he can adapt to the modifieds, posting three top-fives and six top-10s thus far this season.
Chris Milwain has shown a ton of speed, as evident by five top-10 finishes. He will be looking to return to the top-10 this weekend after finishing 13th at Sunset Speedway.
Brent McLean has ran a limited schedule thus far this season, only making two starts that have yet to see much success behind them. He will enter this event looking to turn everything around. He had a spectacular weekend last year, winning the event, while finishing second in 2013.
Matt Barton has been solid in his last three Modified starts, with finishes in the top-nine. He also knows his way around Peterborough, evident by finishing fourth last year and third in 2013.
Ryan Dick has struggled since a heavy wreck at the mid-point of the season. He will look to turn it around this weekend after posting an ninth and eighth in his previous two starts at Peterborough.
Dustin Jackson has only made two starts this season, but been strong in both of them with a sixth and third place finish. He could quite possibly break through for his first career feature victory this weekend.
Shane Stickel had a break-out moment this year, scoring his first career victory at Full Throttle Motor Speedway. Running a partial schedule this year, it has yet to be determined whether he will be in attendance this weekend. If he is, he should do strong as his previous two starts have seen him finish fourth and sixth.
Midas of Orangeville OSCAAR Midgets
With two straight wins and eight top-10s in the bank, rookie Jody Bound enters this weekend with a 40-point lead over second place. As a result, Bound will clinch by simply starting the feature as the maximum points that can be gained in a night of racing is 34. Bound will certainly be looking to go out on top, meanwhile, and has the ability to do as he finished fourth at Peterborough in July.
Meanwhile, last year’s Hurricane Midget Champion Jamie Bound will start the Autumn Colors Classic from the pole after winning the Chase for the Colors event in August. Bound has been win or bust this year. In eight starts this season, Bound has six wins to go with two DNFs due to mechanical issues. Notably, Bound won both of his Peterborough starts this season.
Brian Woodland will look to start alongside Bound on the front row as he finished the Chase for the Colors in second. Woodland has had an incredible season with 11 top-10 finishes, highlighted by a win at Grand Bend Speedway. Notably, he has finished in the top-five in each of his Peterborough starts this season.
James Stanley will be looking for his third straight top-six finish after finishing fourth and sixth in the last two events. He has been strong at Peterborough this year, posting a podium finish in July to go with a ninth in August.
Another driver that has been on a string of success lately is Rob McCall, finishing third and fifth in the last two events. There’s a high percentage that the streak will continue this weekend as he finished third and fifth in the past two Peterborough events.
Brian McDonald will look for his third straight top-10 after finishing eighth and ninth in the last two events. Like the others, he has been strong at Peterborough with finishes of fourth and sixth earlier this year.
Richard Woodland will hope to get back on track after suffering a DNF at Sunset Speedway due to a mechanical issue. Prior to the mechanical issue, he had posted four straight top-six finishes. He also knows his way around Peterborough after scoring the victory in May and finishing third in August.
After struggling early this year, the Bradley Brothers have been able to bounce back. Dave Bradley posted a fourth in August, while Mike Bradley finished second at Sunset Speedway last month. Whether it’s Dave or Mike behind the wheel, you know that they’ll be quick.
Paul Draganoc has shown speed, but has had mechanical issues take him out of contention. That was the case last month at Sunset, and back at Peterborough in August. Notably, though, he has posted a pair of runner-ups at Peterborough this year.
After missing five races, Adam Carrothers returned to the tour at Sunset Speedway. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned as he fell out with a mechanical issue that happened while he was running in the top-five. Prior to the mechanical issue, Carrothers had posted four straight top-six finishes.
Rob Summer will be looking for his second straight top-10 after finishing eighth at Sunset Speedway. Notably, he has finished eighth in both of his Peterborough starts thus far this season.
Last year, James Rodgers ended the season on a high, winning the Autumn Colors Classic. It’d be huge if he pull off the same feat once again as he has yet to finish in the top-10 this season.
Raynor Vickers is hoping to return to the top-10 this weekend as he has failed to post a top-10 in the last three races. Notably, though, he finished 10th at Peterborough in August.
After struggling through the first half of the season, Wayne McKibbon has started to find his groove the second half or the year. He cracked the top-10 for the first time at Grand Bend Speedway with an eighth, and finished 10th at Sunset Speedway.
Lorne Van Dusen will be looking for his third straight top-10 at Peterborough after finishes of eighth and seventh. The question will be whether he is in attendance as he has missed the past two races.
With full car counts expected for all three divisions, it’s going to be an action-packed weekend all the way through.
The action will kick off with the Modifieds running their first round of heats on Friday October 9.
Then on Saturday October 10, the Modifieds will run their second set of heats while the Super Late Models will run both sets of heats. In addition, the Midget will run not only both sets of their heats, but also their feature.
The weekend will then culminate with the features for both the Modifieds and Super Late Models on Saturday October 11.
Full details about the event can be found via the Peterborough Speedway website at http://www.peterboroughspeedway.com.
