Shane Maginnis Wins OSCAAR Super Late Model Event At Flamboro Speedway

By Randy Spencer (Flamboro Speedway PR) – It was a rare night off for all the Bennett Chevrolet Flamboro Speedway weekly divisions as we welcomed the OSCAAR Series and the Lucas Oil Can Am Midgets to the track. Once again beautiful weather and a nice crowd were on hand to see these two Ontario touring classes. Super Late Models were joined by the Modifieds, Midgets and the first visit to Flamboro by the new OSCAAR Pro Midgets.
Racing got underway at 6pm. OSCAAR Midgets were up first for the first of their two qualifying heats. Wally Wilson and Wayne McKibbon were on the pole for this eight lapper. Wilson would lead lap one but the 24 of Ryan Brown was right on his bumper. Some exciting side by side action early as Wilson fought hard to hold off the charging Brown as the two combatants  battled throughout. Brown would make his move with two laps to go and passed Wilson as they made their way into turn one. Brown just about gave the lead back as he went high in 3-4 on the final lap but would come across the line first picking up the checkers.
The OSCAAR Pro Midgets were next. This new division had just three cars signed in on this night. It was my first time watching them and I was impressed. They will be fun to watch when the cars counts rise a little. Very fast and they look like a smaller version of the Can Am Midgets. The 1 of Ted Greenwood led lap one and would stay there for the entire fice laps to pick up the win.

The OSCAAR Modifieds had 16 cars signed in and they would be split into two, eight car heats. The Iron Man Gary Elliott was on the pole with points leader A.J. Emms on his outside. Elliott would lead early with the 8 of Gary McLean right there knocking on Elliott’s back door. On lap six, McLean moved to the inside of Elliott in an attempt to get by the veteran Elliott. But Elliott wouldn’t be denied and he held off McLean to pick up the victory. Nice to see Gary in victory lane. One of my all time favorites, Gary is racing in his sixth different decade here at Flamboro Speedway. Heat two had the Spider Man John Harper on the inside pole along side the 21 of Chris Milwain. Both are familiar with Flamboro as Harper raced for years in Thunder Cars while Milwain is a former Canadian Vintage Modified pilot. Harper would lead early with Milwain not far behind. The two battled for ten hard laps and Milwain made several attempts to get by Harper without success. Late Milwain got squirrely as he made a last ditch effort to get by the 79 but it would be Harper in the Sunoco Fuels Victory Lane.

OSCAAR Super Late Models hit the tack. Known to many as the ground pounders, these powerful machines had 11 cars signed in on this night. Earlier in the week, Flamboro co-owner announce a special race here on August 22nd. The Gold Rush, a 100 lap event that in the past was a race for Pro Late Models will this year be an Outlaw Super Late Model event. Should be very exciting to say the least with cars from all over the province as well as bordering U.S. states battling it out for the chance to win $10,000. Stay tuned to the Flamboro Speedway website for all the details!! Veteran Glenn Watson lined up beside Flamboro favorite J.R. Fitzpatrick for this one. Fitzpatrick led early and was fast getting around the three eights mile oval just over 14 seconds. He would lead flag to flag to pick up the heat win. Second heat had Tyler Hawn up front with Charlie Gallant to his right. Gallant would cross the line first but went high in turns 1-2 and that allowed Hawn to get by and assume the lead. Shane Maginnis, a past Pro Late Model driver here was making his first start of 2016. He took the lead a couple laps in and that lead grew quickly and he won this one going away.

The Lucas Oil Can Am Midgets celebrating their 50th year of racing were up next. Fourteen cars were ready for battle in the first of two, ten lap heats. Craig Pitchell started up front along side 2015 Rookie of the Year James Marche. Marche led early but the Adam Racine, who started fourth made his to the front quick and was the new leader a few laps in. Marche made a race out of it but Racine would hold off the sophomore to take the victory. Darren Dryden and Barry Dunn were up front for the second heat. Dryden would lead early and a caution on lap six for debris brought out a caution. Dryden wasn’t phased and would take the lead on the restart and pick up the heat win.

The OSCAAR Midgets second heat had Brian MacDonald and Russ Couture on the pole. The front runners ran into trouble right off the start as MacDonald went around in 1-2 doing a complete three sixty collecting the oncoming field behind him. Several cars took hard hits, one bounced around and a few went off on the flat bed. Several cars had some significant damage and would need to work hard to make it out for the feature. The carnage took out more than half the field and as the checkers flew on lap eight, three cars were left running as Alex Cuzzilla was first followed by Wayne McKibbon and Zack Millman.

The OSCAAR Pro Midget third heat saw Wally Northcott lead lap one and the 37 of Shawn Paul retired to leave Northcott and Ted Greenwood battle it out. Greenwood would come across first to pick up the heat win.

Round two qualifying for the OSCAAR Modifieds had Paul Smith and David Balych on the point. Balych and Allen Adams came together on the backstretch and it looked like Balych may have tagged the wall and he retired early. Smith led early but Adams would take over the lead by lap three. Adams went a little high in four and through one allowing the 21 of Chris Milwain to make his way to the side of the 99. Milwain made his move on lap seven as the cars charged out of four and he took the lead and would pick up the checkered flag. Heat #4 had former Vintage Modified driver Shane Stickel up front along side Corey Horner. Stickel and Horner started to break away from the pack and as the checkered flag was waved Stickel was in the Sunoco Fuels Victory Lane.

The final two races of qualifying were for the OSCAAR Super Late Models. Former Flamboro Pro Late Model driver Jim Bowman was up front with Roy Passer to his outside. Passer would lead early and a caution as Bowman and J.R. Fitzpatrick got involved sending Fitzpatrick around. Passer continued to lead with Fitzpatrick making his way to the back bumper of the 27. As checkers flew it was Passer picking up the win. The green flag dropped on heat #4 as Gary Passer and former Flamboro Pro Late model champion Todd Campbell out front. Campbell led lap one but a caution as Glenn Watson tried to get past Gary Passer  and the two made contact. Watson had to hit the pits with a flat left front. Another caution as fluid was on the tack and it caused a spin. This would allow the 03 of Shane Maginnis to take the lead and he made it two for two picking up another heat win. That brought us to intermission.

The twenty lap OSCAAR Midgets feature was first up with ten cars taking green. Alex Cuzzilla and Ryan Brown were out front. Brown was the early leader with the 42 of Brian MacDonald on the move early. He started sixth and moved to third in the first couple of laps. Brown and Cuzzilla would battle it out early as they tried to break away. By lap 11, the 69 of Wally Wilson was making life difficult for the 42 of Brian MacDonald. Wilson was trying every move in the book heading low and high but with no luck in his attempts to get past the 42. Up front Ryan Brown was building a commanding lead and wouldn’t be challenged on the night. As the white flag flew the 50 of Cuzzilla slowed a bit and this allowed Wilson and MacDonald to get by and as the checkers flew it was Brown coming across first followed by MacDonald and Wilson. Congratulations to Ryan Brown who after seven years picked up his first feature win with the Midget series. And he did so in commanding style. As I mentioned earlier in the heat races, some cars would have some work to do to make the feature. Brown was one of those cars as he had to replace the front axle but still won the race going away. Congratulations Ryan!!

The OSCAAR Pro Midgets hit the tack for their ten lap feature. This one was a strange one. On lap three 45 of Wally Northcott was battling the 1 of Ted Greenwood. Greenwood was leading and Northcott went in hard and deep in turn three. A bounce and swerve cause the two cars to come together and they hit hard sending the two cars into the turn four wall. This one could’ve been ugly but both cars were unable to continue and would see the checkered flag fly for the only remaining car as the 37 of Shawn Paul pick up the win.

The OSCAAR Modified Feature was next with sixteen cars taking green. Allen Adams lined up beside Brian McLean for the start of this one. McLean led early but a caution would fly as Corey Horner got sideways and went high and that would collect some cars as the 14 of A.J. Emms had nowhere to go with Shane Stickel, Dan Price, Rick Schurr, Emms, and Paul Smith all ending up in the incident. Horner and Smith were unable to continue as they were removed by Ray’s Towing. Horner had some rear end damage and looked like a broken trailing arm and Smith, a back up driver on the might had his right front tire bent. On the restart, a tight pack of cars battled for the lead. McLean was out front with Adams, John Harper and Gary McLean close behind. Gary McLean and John Harper were waging a fierce battle. Both would go in the corner hard to try and get an advantage. Harper seemed to have the advantage but he gt out of the throttle out of two on lap 17 and slowed with an apparent steering issue bringing out the caution. Gary McLean would take the lead on the restart but another caution as Shane Stickel spun. McLean would continue to lead on the restarts and had a ten car advantage with five to go. A green white checkers was the way this one would finish as the 44 of Rick Schurr spun on the front stretch on lap 28. As the checkers flew it was Gary McLean picking up the win. Going into the night he was just six points back of the leader A.J. Emms in the point standings so this one sure helped him move on up. Congratulations to Gary on the in. As he said in the post race interview he either wins at Flamboro or goes home in a basket. It’s either checkers or wreckers here for Mclean over the past few seasons.

The Lucas Oil Can Am Midgets were up next and Darren Dryden was on the pole along side James Marche. The Midgets did their familiar four wide salute to the fans. As Josh Paxton used to say…Only the Best Go Four Abreast. Dryden led the field to green. Marche would make it interesting early as the two front row cars would race side by side in a virtual dead heat as they crossed the line in the early going. James Marche led early but Dryden would take the lead. Adam Racine was making a hard charge as he would head deep into three on lap four to take over second. Darren McLennan would move to third as the race wore on. Dryden was building a small lead but that quickly started to grow. A real battle was shaping up further back in the field as six cars were battling wheel to wheel. McLennan and Racine also were running each other hard but as the checkers flew it was Darren Dryden leading flag to flag to pick up his first of likely many feature wins in the Lucas Oil Can Am Midgets. Congratulations Darren, nice to see another former Flamboro regular making good!!

The final race of the evening was the 50 lap main event for the OSCAAR Super Late Models. Todd Campbell and J.R. Fitzpatrick were out front with Fitzpatrick leading early. Shane Maginnis started fourth but moved up the second early. Maginnis would make his move on J.R. as the two were heading into turn one on lap six. Maginnis’ car was a glow of flame and back fire every time he went through the corners. This write was sure that Maginnis was going to have some issues but that never happened. A few cautions as the race was half way for some cars spinning out. Maginnis was just too much for the rest of the field and he would hold the lead through the restarts and as the checkers flew to close out the racing action it was Shane Maginnis picking up the checkered flag.

That brought to  close another exciting nice of racing action at Bennett Chevrolet Flamboro Speedway. Make plans to join us for a double header weekend of racing next weekend. Saturday we will run the features for the Grisdale Late Models, Ray’s Auto Centre & Towing Thunder Cars, Klotz Auto Repair & Engine Machine Shop Mini Stocks and the Pro Four Modifieds that were postponed due to that power outage last weekend. Our regular scheduled feature for Late Models, Thunder Cars, Mini Stocks, and Pro Four Modifieds as well as heats and feature for the Lucas Oil Canadian Vintage Modifieds will follow that. Please note the special starting time Saturday, Pits open at 3pm, front gates at 4pm and racing starts at 5pm.

Then Sunday, it’s race 2 of 4 of the Flamboro Speedway Enduro series plus a figure 8 race. The race will be 200-250 laps depending on car counts. Please check the website, www.flamborospeedway.ca for details, rules and payout information. Sunday pits open at 11am, front gates at noon with racing  at 2pm.

Photos by Mike Kiers – cableguyphotos.com

Videos by Ingrid Hartman

OSCAAR Midgets Heat #1 : #24 Ryan Brown, #69 Wally Wilson, #42 Brian MacDonald, #50 Alex Cuzzilla, #88 Darryl Anthony, #72 Zack Millman, #94 Russ Couture, #66 Bill Hetherton, #71 Wayne McKibbon, #49 Monty Farrell

OSCAAR Midgets Heat #2 : #50 Alex Cuzzilla, #71 Wayne McKibbon, #72 Zack Millman,#88 Darryl Anthony, #42 Brian MacDonald, #94 Russ Couture, #66 Bill Hetherton, #24 Ryan Brown, #49 Monty Farrell, #69 Wally Wilson

OSCAAR Midgets Feature : #24 Ryan Brown, #42 Brian MacDonald, #69 Wally Wilson, #50 Alex Cuzzilla, #71 Wayne McKibbon, #88 Darryl Anthony, #72 Zack Millman, #66 Bill Hetherton, #49 Monty Farrell, #94 Russ Couture (NS)

OSCAAR Pro Midgets Heat #1 : #1 Ted Greenwood, #37 Shawn Paul, #45 Wally Northcott

OSCAAR Pro Midgets Heat #2 : #1 Ted Greenwood, #45 Wally Northcott, #37 Shawn Paul

OSCAAR Pro Midgets Feature : #37 Shawn Paul, #1 Ted Greenwood, #45 Wally Northcott

OSCAAR Modifieds Heat #1 : #36 Gary Elliott, #8 Gary McLean, #47 Brian McLean, #99 Allen Adams, #14 A.J. Emms, #39 Shane Stickel, #09 Dan Price, #97 Paul Smith

OSCAAR Modifieds Heat #2 : #79 John Harper, #21 Chris Milwain, #12 David Balych, #79h Corey Horner, #88 Ryan Dick, #96k Monty Kelly, #44 Rick Schurr, #51 Dale Reinhart

OSCAAR Modifieds Heat #3 : #21 Chris Milwain, #99 Allen Adams, #47 Brian McLean, #36 Gary Elliott, #97 Paul Smith, #44 Rick Schurr, #51 Dale Reinhart, #12 David Balych

OSCAAR Modifieds Heat #4 : #39 Shane Stickel, #79h Corey Horner, #8 Gary McLean, #09 Dan Price, #88 Ryan Dick, #79 John Harper, #14 A.J. Emms, #96k Monty Kelly

OSCAAR Modifieds Feature : #8 Gary McLean, #47 Brian McLean, #21 Chris Milwain, #14 A.J. Emms, #99 Allen Adams, #88 Ryan Dick, #36 Gary Elliott, #0 Dan Price, #39 Shane Stickel, #51 Dale Reinhart, #96k Monty Kelly, #44 Rick Schurr, #79 John Harper, #79h Corey Horner, #97 Paul Smith, #12 David Balych (NS)

OSCAAR Super Late Model Heat #1 : #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick, #22 Glenn Watson, #07 Todd Campbell, #27 Roy Passer, #52 Gary Passer

OSCAAR Super Late Model Heat #2 : #03 Shane Maginnis, #2 Tyler Hawn, #40p Charlie Gallant, #63 Jim Bowman, #67 Rob Reimer

OSCAAR Super Late Model Heat #3 : #27 Roy Passer, #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick, #40p Charlie Gallant, #63 Jim Bowman

OSCAAR Super Late Model Heat #4 : #03 Shane Maginnis, #07 Todd Campbell, #52 Gary Passer, #2 Tyler Hawn, #67 Rob Reimer, #22 Glenn Watson

OSCAAR Super Late Model Feature : #03 Shane Maginnis, #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick, #27 Roy Passer, #22 Glenn Watson, #52 Gary Passer, #07 Tod Campbell, #63 Jim Bowman, #67 Rob Reimer, #2 Tyler Hawn, #40p Charlie Gallant, #7 Derrick Tiemersma (NS)

Can Am Midget Heat #1 : #20 Adam Racine, #66 James Marche, #91 Brandon Zavarella, #2 Steve Murdock, #74 Rob Neely, #6 Craig Pitchell, #55 Cody Whittam (NS)

Can Am Midget Heat #2 : #12 Darren Dryden, #48 Darren McLennan, #44 Barry Dunn, #50 Adrain Stahle, #94 Ryan Fraser, #40 Mack Deman, #62 Joe Arsenault

Can Am Midget Feature : #12 Darren Dryden, #48 Darren McLennan, #20 Adam Racine, #44 Barry Dunn, #94 Ryan Fraser, #91 Brandon Zavarella, #40 Mack Deman, #74 Rob Neely, #66 James Marche, #2 Steve Murdock, #6 Craig Pitchell, #62 Joe Arsenault, #50 Adrian Stahle (NF), #55 Cody Whittam (NS)