ORO STATION, Ont. – August 23, 2016 – Tyler Hawn earned an eighth-place finish in the inaugural Super Late Model Gold Rush 100 presented by London Recreational Racing at Flamboro Speedway on Monday night.
Hawn had a spectacular night that began with a third-place time trialing effort against 19 Super Late Models, including two from Michigan. What made it particularly impressive is that it was Hawn’s first time trial opportunity this year.
“I can’t believe it,” Hawn said of his qualifying results. “I was told to just drive it until it sticks and we came out near the top. It just shows how far we’ve come this year.”
The Gold Rush race offers each driver the opportunity to sacrifice their starting spot and go to the rear for a chance to double the winner’s prize if they can win from last. Hawn played rock-paper-scissors with his crew to help decide and led to a decision to keep their third-starting spot. When polesitter Brandon Watson took the challenge, Hawn moved up to start outside the front row.
He ran in the top-five for the majority of the race, keeping pace with the leaders. Hawn was comfortably in fourth-place following the competition caution for a fuel stop on lap 40. A lap 55 restart saw him in the outside lane where he got pushed back to eighth.
“We were a top-four car. We got hit in the door pretty hard in the left front wheel (on lap 10) and we might have bent a ball joint,” Hawn said. “On a restart we started on the outside and got shuffled back to eighth. It is what it is, but we’re happy to be running with these guys.”
The result is Hawn’s eighth-straight top-10 finish this season.
“It’s pretty big. I feel as a team that we won for sure. We’re on a super limited budget. For us being a top-10 car in this field and qualifying third against the likes of Jeff Hanley, Brandon Watson and all those guys is just surreal,” Hawn said proudly.
Plenty of credit is due to the support of Hawn’s regular sponsors and crew, but also a group of individuals who jumped on board to support Hawn’s effort.
“I have to thank all of my crew, Brian MacDonald, all my sponsors and all of the guys who came on board for this race,” Hawn said. “It’s overwhelming the amount of support I got for this race.”
Even more impressive is the result came in his first career 100-lap race. Previously, 75 laps was the longest distance for Hawn.
“Halfway came up and I thought I was going to be pretty tired, but I wasn’t. I liked the long runs because the car would be a lot better,” Hawn said.
Hawn now has a short week to prepare for the first round of the OSCAAR Super Late Model Race for the Cup at Sauble Speedway this Saturday. He’ll take a fatter notebook and a confidence boost towards the race.
“The car is in one piece. There’s a little bit of body work to fix up plus the normal maintenance before Sauble next week. Hopefully we can continue on with the speed we had for next week.”
SEASON STATS
Tyler Hawn 2016 Season: 8 Starts – 0 Wins, 3 Top-5, 8 Top-10s
UP NEXT
August 27 – OSCAAR Super Late Models at Sauble Speedway
MEDIA LINKS
Website: www.hawnmotorsports.com
Facebook at facebook.com/HawnMotorsports
Twitter: @Hawn42 and @HawnRacing
Tyler Hawn’s 2016 OSCAAR Super Late Model season is supported by several dedicated sponsors, including: Fox’s Bakery and Deli, Atlantis Bath Centre, TSS Top Shops, Auto Trim Barrie, Belt Conveyor Guarding, and Backwoods Maple Syrup.
Tyler Hawn would like to thank the individuals who also supported him in the Gold Rush 100: Rick Walt, Mike Schmidt, Dan Bartlett, Rick Rogers, Ken Semkin, Ken Denhollander, and Robert James.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media
claytonjohns@hotmail.com
Photo Attachment 1: Tyler Hawn plays rock-paper-scissors with a crew member to prior to the race to decide whether or not to take the Gold Rush challenge. (Eric Uprichard/Image Factor Media photo).
