Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
After having his season end early, Craig Deacon will be making his return to OSCAAR Midget competition this season.
“Last season was short ended for me, as I unfortunately came into contact with the front straight away wall at Sauble Speedway, and ended the season with a lovely concussion,” he commented. “But before that, I was still trying to learn all about my car and snowmobile engines as I have had no experience with them. I do appreciate getting help from Robin McLean, the Woodland Team and Larry Wilson.”
While the year didn’t go as planned, Deacon did have a strong run, posting a strong seventh place finish at Peterborough Speedway in May. It’s why this year, he hopes to be in the top-10 on any given night while having a lot of fun.
“My thoughts on the upcoming seasons are there’s a lot of travelling as with the two series now,” he commented. “We will have to work doubly hard to compete. I know I will miss some races, but just want to be competitive and have fun.”
Deacon notes he enjoys the Midget competition as they’re faster than a Late Model, but you’re not spending as much money on them.
“I also like the fact that if you break something or destroy your car, other competitors are there to help you out and get you back on the track,” he added. “Case in point, last year after Sauble, Simon Elliot, offered me his car to finish off the season. But the doctor’s said no. That’s the type of people we have in this club.”
Notably, he actually is looking forward to getting back to Sauble Speedway this season as he says “that track owes him” after last year’s incident.
For Deacon, his interest in racing developed while camping at Pigeon Lake Camper’s Resort in Peterborough in the 80s.
“One of the campers named Wayne Bratton took a group of us kids to (at the time) Westgate Speedway, now Peterborough Speedway,” he said. “I was hooked from that night on. That same year, helped a young Bob Oppersma – helped him for a number of years, then was on the crew of Jerry Downey at Sauble Speedway. (I also) pitted for Mike Bricknell for a few years, helped Phil Bullen, and Wayne Issacs.
“In 2005, ran my own Thunder Car at Sunset Speedway, where I was Rookie of the Year and 10th in Points. Took a few years off and climbed into a Midget last year.”
