INVERARY, Ont. – September 6, 2016 – Danny O’Brien officially won his 13th career 358 Modified championship at Brockville Ontario Speedway on Saturday night. The Inverary, Ont. native finished off a dream season with a 10th-place finish.
O’Brien was racing in the third position Saturday and chasing his third win of the season with five laps to go when he went off the end of the track in turns one and two. It sent him back to 14th and he raced back to a top-10 finish.
“I just got off the end of the racetrack. I went in to turn one too hard and I jumped the cushion. It was just one little mistake,” O’Brien said. “I was trying too hard. We were trying to win the last night, but we didn’t end up doing that.”
Nonetheless, O’Brien took away a top-10 finish, his 22nd of the season in the 1000 Islands RV Centre/Bob FM/Pat’s Auto Centre No.17d.
“We’ve been in the top-10 the last 10 weeks everywhere we’ve gone. That’s what keeps everyone going,” O’Brien said.
The championship for O’Brien included two wins at Brockville, and 13 top-5s in 14 starts.
“It all comes back to preparation in the shop. I’ve always said championship are won in the garage, races are won at the racetrack. That was the case again. We had no DNFs and ultimately ended up with a championship,” O’Brien said happily.
After 13 championships, it might be easy for them to blend together or lose their appeal, but O’Brien considers each one an impressive accomplishment.
“The competition’s really stout down here. I think not having a DNF and being in the top-five all year is probably the biggest part of the accomplishment,” said O’Brien. “That was pretty cool to have all those top-5 finishes. It all comes back to the products and engine program we’re using. With Bicknell Racing Products and my motor program, there were no DNFs.”
O’Brien was also in action on Sunday at Cornwall Motor Speedway for the final round of the Bandit Motorsports Canadian Nationals. The night didn’t go as planned and O’Brien retired early.
“We missed the setup totally. We pitted and tried to change it,” O’Brien said. “I don’t know if a torsion bar went bad. I got in to the infield in time trials and the car bounced up high. I don’t know if I took the torsion bar out of it. I could never get a handle on it the rest of the night. At lap 75 we parked it.”
O’Brien will take a weekend off from active competition and return to action at Mohawk International Raceway on Friday, September 16 for the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series race. He’ll then head to Brighton Speedway on September 24 for the Applefest Shootout weekend.
“We’re going to take it one race at a time and see how it goes,” O’Brien said of his post-season plans.
SEASON STATS
Danny O’Brien 2016 Season: 23 Starts – 4 Wins, 19 Top-5s, 22 Top-10s
UP NEXT
September 16 – Mohawk International Raceway (Hogansburg, NY) – DIRTcar 358 Modified Series 75 Laps
FOLLOW DANNY
Website: www.dannyobrien.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/DannyOBrienRacing (@DannyOBrienRacing)
Danny O’Brien’s 2016 DIRTcar 358 Modified season is supported by several dedicated corporate sponsors, including: 1000 Islands RV Centre, ATC World Class Trailers, Bob FM, Ambush, Pat’s Auto Centre, Bicknell Racing Products, Heather-Lynn Topping, Integra Shocks, Northwood 2 Construction, and Snap-On Adam Way.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media
Photo Attachment 1: Danny O’Brien poses for a championship photo following the final night of action at Brockville Ontario Speedway. (Don Simpson/Don’s Imaging photo).
