ST: Memorable Moments of the Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park Late Model Season at Sunset Speedway

It goes without saying that each season at any track is memorable for it’s own reasons as there’s things that will always stand out in the mind of each driver, crew member, official and fan. Sometimes people will share the same moments, and sometimes people won’t. Regardless, there are always reasons to remember a year of racing.

So without further-ado, here are some of the most memorable moments of the 2015 season for the Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park Late Models at Sunset Speedway.

Taylor Holdaway’s Domination

Last month, I did the by the numbers article for the Late Model division at Sunset Speedway. If you read that article, you may have realized something – Taylor Holdaway had some stunning numbers over the course of the season.

It goes without saying that Taylor Holdaway had a dominating season en route to his first track championship.

12 feature victories. 21 top-fives and top-10s. Despite missing the second feature of the season due to a mechanical issue in the first one, he still won the championship by 38 points over Jason Witty. He also became the highest finishing Canadian ever in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Standings, finishing third.He was so dominant that at one point, his motor was claimed by a fellow competitor, But yet even with that, he didn’t miss a beat and kept winning.

It was impressive to say the least as it shocked many fans at the track each week in watching Holdaway pilot his No. 41 Holdaway Automotive, Imagefactor.ca Motorsports Design and Photography, Wix Filters, Castrol Canada, Kart Start presented by Toyota, Sunshine Super Wash, and Stefko Racing Engines Late Model. However, it’s something that he had been building up to if you consider how he completed the 2014 campaign.

The most impressive thing for me in watching Holdaway? The way he handled traffic. If you won the first feature on the night, you had to start 14th for the second feature on the night. If you spent any night watching Holdaway in his climb through the field – in which he completed more times rather than not, he wouldn’t push the envelope and go for a hole that wasn’t there. He’d let things sort themselves out and make the moves as they came to him, whether high or low, with the field spreading out. It helped in keeping him out of trouble en route to a real solid season, and more times than not saw him and his team celebrate at the end of the night.

I could go on about Taylor, but I’ve already done that this year. If you missed it, be sure to check out the article that I released after he won the championship.

Jason Witty’s Last Season of Competition

With more than 10 years of competition under his belt, Jason Witty declared the 2015 race season his last year behind the wheel at Sunset Speedway. Shed your tears now, people. A well-respected competitor by many, Witty was someone that you could always count on for a smile as you walked through the pits.

Fittingly, he went on out on a high with a second place finish in points with three feature wins, 14 top-fives and 20 top-10s. One of the most memorable feature wins came late in the season, September 5, after a thrilling battle back and forth with Taylor Holdaway. The pair battled side-by-side through the event, and the art of getting through lap traffic would lead Witty to victory lane at the end of the night.

Nick Goetz’s Roof Dance

Nick Goetz has always been one of those drivers to keep an eye on, but for me, 2015 was the season that he broke out of his shell and showed that he’s someone that you definitely can’t count out when it comes to the late stages of a race. Scoring three feature victories on the season, Goetz was at the front of the field throughout the season, time trialing quickest on many different occasions. A couple tweaks here and there and he could easily be a championship contender in 2016.

Though beyond the improvement behind the wheel, Goetz makes it on this list for another reason. Victory lane celebrations can be fun, espically when you have an excited driver. For Goetz, when he scored his first career Sunset Speedway victory on May 9, the fans got a treat in the form of him dancing on the roof of his car. Needless to say, it’s one of those celebrations that still stick out, even six months later.

Gord Shepherd’s Strong Start, Big Finish

Making the move from Barrie Speedway to Sunset Speedway, there were a lot of people who wondered how Gord Shepherd would make out this season. Frankly, I wasn’t worried as anytime Shepherd came down to Sunset for an invitational in the past, he ran up front and had scored some podium finishes.

It goes without saying that he started off his season real strong, scoring two feature victories early in the season to set the precedent that he’d be an early favourite for the championship. However, some struggles through the summer months with the car not working to his liking totally would result in the advantage being lost to his competitors.

But let’s not forget – Shepherd is a past champion and you can’t count him out, ever. He proved at the end of the year that he is still someone to always keep an eye on as battling Holdaway on a couple late race restarts, he would take the lead with nine laps left at the Velocity 250 and lead the rest of the way en route to scoring the victory.

For the many fans that came out to the Velocity, it was one of the best side-by-side battles that they have witnessed all year with neither driver giving up and playing it fair – no contact, just hard battling side-by-side.

Certainly a great way to close out the 2015 campaign.

Beyond the moments here, there are certainly many more that I could talk about, ranging from some of the biggest wrecks of the season to a couple other thrilling winners. If warranted, a part two of memorable moments could be released following the other division articles.

However, beyond this, I want you to have a say as well. Comment with your favourite memorable moments from the season. What is something that perhaps has slipped my mind that you can’t seem to forget?