Following a season with action from top to bottom, the OSCAAR Modified drivers are set to get at it for their fifth consecutive season. With a mix of young and old filling up the roster, it’ll be interesting to see who claims bragging rights in the first round.
Gary Elliott hopes this weekend is the magic ticket to his first OSCAAR career feature victory after posting six top-fives last season. He knows his way around Flamboro, having raced there on a weekly basis and posted a third place finish last year.
Thunder car veteran Luke Gignac joins the modified ranks after partnering up with ADAMS Motorsports to drive their No. 99 entry this season. Allen Adams and the team are entering their third year involved with the series after finishing sixth in points with A.J. Emms. Now they hope to build on that success, possibly scoring their first feature victory, with Gignac.
“I’m eager to get out there and try the new style of car out,” Gignac said. “Just really looking forward to going out and having fun.”
Speaking of Emms, he will still be a fixture on the tour this year as he purchased the car Davey Terry previously piloted to multiple podium finishes over the past couple of seasons. Emms is hoping for a competitive sophomore season after posting four top-fives and seven top-10s last year.
Dan Price hopes this year’s trip to Flamboro goes much smoother than last as he ran into problems during the event. Price is coming off of a solid rookie campaign that saw him post four top-10s, including a fourth-place finish midseason.
“I’m quite pleased with some of our on track performance last year and we need build on that,” Price said at the beginning of the year. “I hope to be able to come up with enough money to have the car at all the points races and if we can do that, an improvement on last year’s eighth in points is the goal.”
Brian McLean will be one of two past Flamboro Speedway winners in the field after winning the inaugural OSCAAR event in 2013 after taking the lead in the late stages. McLean had a decent performance at Flamboro last year, finishing eighth.
The other past winner? John Harper, who scored his first career OSCAAR victory last August at Flamboro. The veteran really showed a lot of speed during the second half of the year, contending for race wins as the season closed and scoring three straight top-fives. He’s not just a driver to watch this weekend – but rather all year long.
David Balych hopes to build on his rookie success of last season with a better finish this year at Flamboro after ending up 12th last August. Balych proved he can run with the front runners last year, posting four top-10s during the year.
“I enjoyed the change of scenery and had fun for the first time in a couple seasons,” Balych said. “It was time for a change and I was and still am impressed with the way OSCAAR operates. We started out pretty competitive last season but then lost our way throwing too many changes at the car. I decided not to mess with the ride heights and stayed at the previous settings to not affect the roll center.”
After running a partial schedule last year, Rob DiVenanzo hopes to run more events this season, while posting some strong results in the process. He could possibly lock up his first career top-10 finish this weekend.
Rick Schurr has joined the OSCAAR Modified division following success in the Canadian Vintage Modified ranks. Splitting the schedule with Roger Spies, he’s looking to have a fun year. The season opener has a special historical connection for Schurr, too, as it was the sight of his first career victory and his dad Glen Schurr built the track originally back in 1962.
Dean Scott hopes to build on last season with some more strong performances after posting a pair of top-10s during the season.
The driver to watch this year could be Cory Horner as he has continued to impress, clawing closer to his first career victory. He posted six top-fives and nine top-10s last season, including a sixth place finish at the Hamilton, Ontario based track.
Ryan Dick wants to have a smoother season after posting a top-five and three top-10s last year, while missing a couple races due to a mid-race season flip.
Along with the OSCAAR Modifieds at Flamboro Speedway this weekend will be the Outlaw Super Lates and OSCAAR Midgets, also opening their season. The Super Lates will run their feature on the Saturday with the Midgets and Modifieds just qualifying, with both the Midgets and Modifieds running their features on the Sunday.
The pits will open at 11am, with the front gates opening at 1pm and racing starting at 4pm. The full itinerary and prices can be found on the Flamboro Speedway website at http://flamborospeedway.ca/.
Stay tuned to OSCAAR website for more articles leading into the season.
By: Ashley McCubbin
