Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
After a top-notch feature to start off the season in May with battling for the lead throughout the night between a range of three to four drivers, the Hoosier OSCAAR Modifeds will return to Sunset Speedway for their second event of the season.
Three-time Champion Gary McLean leads the crop into the weekend after winning the last two events at Sunset Speedway. McLean leads the modified drivers in victories at Sunset with nine victories in 14 races. Expect McLean to be fast as he begins the quest for his fourth championship.
Another McLean to keep an eye on will be Brian McLean as he showed speed during the season opener, finishing sixth.
In each appearance at Sunset, Ryan Dick continues to improve as a driver behind the wheel. He’ll be looking for a solid run after posting a top-10 finish in the last three Sunset races.
A lot of fans are hoping that Matt Barton makes his 2015 debut this weekend. He has done well at Sunset before, posting four top-six finishes in the races at Sunset last year. He also ended the year on a high, finishing fourth at Autumn Colors.
Sophomore Tommy Robb ran into a couple hiccups in the spring event, but managed to bring home a 11th place finish. Robb will hope to score his fourth Sunset Speedway top-10 on Saturday night.
Going into the weekend, Gary Elliott is one of the drivers to watch as he has been posting solid finishes with each passing week, getting closer to his first Modified victory. Sunset Speedway marks a good spot for it to happen as he has tons of laps around Sunset in the Late Model division, and has ran upfront at Sunset Speedway. In his last two Sunset appearances, he has finished fifth and second.
Chad Strawn also knows his way around Sunset, virtue of a victory in last year’s season opener. He also posted a fourth place finish in the spring despite a spark plug wire falling off.
Shane Stickel is hoping to finish one spot better this time around after posting a second place finish in the first event of the season.
Though well all these drivers have a bulk of modified experience, there is going to be a slew of rookies in the field, as well.
Rob Divenanzo leads the list of rookie drivers as he makes the jump up to the Modified division following success in the TQ Midget ranks. He will be driving a car previously driven by Brent McLean. A lot of people are hoping to see him in the field as he missed the season opener. Divenanzo will be joined by a fellow TQ Midget graduate in the form of David Balych. Balych has spent the past 27 years traveling with the Midgets. He had a solid debut at Sunset Speedway in May, posting a seventh place finish.
After driving a wide-range of open-wheel cars over the years, highlighted by a championship in the four-cylinder Outlaw Modified Series last year, A.J. Emms will make the jump up to the OSCAAR Modified division. Emms drove the Allen Adams’ owned No. 99 entry to a solid finish in the first night of competition, finishing the feature 10th.
Sault St. Marie native Mike Hearty will make the jump from the super stock ranks to the modified ranks in 2015. He was also solid in the season opener, finishing eighth.
Thunder car veterans Dan Price and John Baker Jr. will both make the jump up to the Modified ranks in 2015 after both having success, respectively. The pair will hope to break into the top-10 this weekend after finishing 13th and 12th, respectively, in the season opener.
Cory Horner enters his first full season on the tour after running the final two events of the season. He turned a lot of heads in the season opener, finishing third to round out the podium. He’ll go for his third straight top-seven finish after finishing seventh at the Autumn Colors Classic at Peterborough Speedway last season.
Chris Milwain showed a ton of speed in his debut, winning a heat race, but found himself victim to mechanical issues during the feature.
Beyond those mentioned here, there are other drivers that may show their face on Saturday night so be sure to be in attendance to see these cars in action. Details about the event can be found at http://www.oscaar.ca or http://www.sunsetspeedway.ca.
