Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
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.
Earlier this month, four of those memorable moments were shared, which can be read by clicking here. Though with that in mind, here are some other moments that could be included.
Brandon McFerran’s First Career Victory
Cayden Lapcevich was set to chase his second straight championship, but ran into a problem – he’d miss a pair of events due to his NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule. Enter in Brandon McFerran, last year’s Mini Stock Champion, to fill-in for the pair of events.
McFerran would take full advantage of the opportunity, taking the lead in the early laps on June 13 to lead the rest of the way en route to scoring the victory. He would then back it up with a solid fourth place finish in his second start.
Looking to move up to the Super Stock division full-time in 2016, McFerran is certainly going to be one of the drivers to watch.
Mike Weeda’s First Career Victory
Throughout Mike Weeda’s racing career till this season, there has been one thing that has been missing – a feature victory. On August 8, he would finally complete that piece as he’d score the feature victory.
Notably, it wasn’t an easy victory for the driver of the No. 6 Humberview Farms, Kenspin Ltd., Cedar Lawn Farms and Ken Lawnmower Repair Mustang. He would grab the lead in the opening laps and looked to be headed down the easy road to victory lane, till a series of late race cautions. Facing three back-to-back restarts with top division drivers Lapcevich and Ryan Semple on his tail, Weeda was able to hold them all off en route to the checkered flag.
Brendan Adams Returns to Victory Lane
Going with the theme of special winners, many fans who have been attending Sunset Speedway through the years got to see a familiar face return to victory lane.
After having a successful career of his own, Brendan Adams stepped away from the sport till his daughter Kendra got involved. He then returned back behind the wheel this season, getting the team’s super stock set-up for her to run next season.
No doubt things started off rough, but as the season hit the middle, it seemed that Adams was finding his groove. The Garry Reynolds Memorial, Adams proved that he could possibly get the job done – leading the middle portion of the event before a late race spin after contact.
Things would come together for Adams, though, as he would score the victory on July 4 after holding off Lapcevich in the closing laps.
The B-Main at the Velocity 250
It goes without saying that the action was close throughout the entire division all year at Sunset Speedway. One of the moments that stood out among that – the b-main at the Velocity 250. Check out this stellar finish between Paul Geniole Jr. and Cayden Lapcevich.
Jade Franklin’s Thrilling Ride
While there were certainly many highs, this season also featured some thrilling wrecks. 12-year-old Jade Franklin took the cake, though, as he flipped over.
Recalling the incident, here is a recap of what happened and photos, as per Franklin’s race report.
Franklin started off the night solidly, finishing fourth in his heat to qualify for the feature and set him up to run the Fast Qualifer’s Dash. At the start of the fast qualifier’s dash, the driver starting in the second spot would not go due to a mechanical problem. Franklin would try to move down from behind him at the same time as Coe, resulting in the pair coming together with the right side of Franklin’s car up on top of the left side of Coe’s car. The pair would remain connected heading into turn one, with Franklin’s car rolling upside down off of Coe’s car.
“It was crazy,” Franklin commented of the incident. “I thought I was going to save it – I thought I was coming back down and I hit the banking and it just fell over.”
As far as what went through his mind as he sat upside down, he said, “Everybody is like, ‘Keep talking to me. Are you alright?’. I’m like, ‘I’m good’. Then I feel kind of bad because as they tried to pull me out, my HANS got stuck on the bars so I was like, ‘Oh man…’.”
Franklin would climb out of the car, unhurt in the incident.
Despite the incident, Franklin was able to make it out for the feature after repairs, finishing 14th.
Beyond the moments thus far, there are certainly many more that I could’ve talked about. So please do 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?
SEE ALSO:
- Memorable Moments – Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park Limited Late Models
- Memorable Moments – Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park Limited Late Models Part 2
- Memorable Moments – St. Onge Recreation Super Stocks
- Memorable Moments – Graham Landscape Mini Stocks
- Memorable Moments – Signs of Innovation Mighty Minis
