The OSCAAR Modifieds have been in existence for three years, and each of those three years, there’s been only one champion. Last season, Gary McLean won his third straight OSCAAR Modified Championship and was honored for those accomplishments this past weekend. McLean was on stage at the Motorama Custom Car and Motorsports Show as part of the Short Track Night of Champions, and was slotted in the ninth spot on the Inside Track News/London Recreational Racing Power Rankings.
“I just want to thank the guys that work on the car,” McLean said. “I’m just the lucky guy that gets to drive the car – I keep saying that and everybody laughs, but that’s the way it is. The work is done at the back of the shop, and realistically, we had to tear apart the car so many times this year or we would’ve been a lot better off. We had about four or five nights that were just a disaster, and the guys did the work and put it back together.”
McLean is quick to give all the credit to his team after each weekend, mainly crew chief Greg Gibson whom leads the team throughout the season.
“We’re good friends, and have been for a lot of years now,” he commented. “We get playing with the car, doing a lot of stuff. He’s great. Everybody knows what he’s like building racecars and he loves to keep working on them and stuff. I’m pretty excited for this year because they changed the rules up, and kind of threw the challenge out there to them so I’m thinking that it’s going to be pretty fun.”
The 2014 season didn’t start out as warranted, though, as McLean would post a 13th place finish in the season opener at Sunset Speedway as a result of a late race wreck. However, like a champion, McLean came back stronger than ever. He would kick off the month of June with a victory at Kawartha Speedway, before heading to Barrie Speedway a couple weeks later for another victory.
Though, unfortunately, bad luck would strike the Conn, Ontario native again as he would finish 16th in the first feature of the Don Biederman Memorial weekend as a result of a flat tire. Determined not to let it get him down, McLean would come back the next night and put forth a strong effort all feature long, en route to finishing second behind Cayden Lapcevich.
With luck back on his side, McLean looked to make the summer stretch one to remember, and he certainly did just that. Behind the wheel of his No. 8 McLean Industrial Design and Fabrication Ltd. and McLean Farms Modified, he would have a great inaugural trip to Capital City Speedway, scoring a victory in the first feature, before finishing second in the second feature. A trip up to the beach would result in McLean’s second straight Rick Woolner Memorial victory in dominating fashion, taking the lead on lap three and never looking back.
However, the good-bad luck pendulum would swing once again for the veteran, with bad luck coming his way at the Chase for the Colors event. Despite being the top qualifier for the event, McLean would end up finishing 13th as a result of a mid-race incident. The rest of August, though, would fall his way as he would finish fourth at Kawartha, fifth at Delaware, before returning back to Sunset Speedway to capture his fifth victory of the year.
Looking to end off his season on a good note, McLean returned to Sunset Speedway a month later and captured the victory in the Velocity 250 for his sixth victory of the season. unfortunately, the Autumn Colors Classic a couple weeks later didn’t go as planned as a mid-race incident resulted in a 19th place finish. Still, the veteran had lots of celebrate with the championship on his hands.
In each season that he has won the championship, he has watched the competition get increasingly tough, highlighted by rookie Max Beyore finishing second behind McLean in the season ending standings.
“We’ve got guys that are looking at the modifieds and wanting to try it, and they’re good,” McLean commented. “Loved racing with Max (Beyore) last year – solid competitors; that’s more of the guys that we need. The guys that are going to take pride in their cars, bring a good piece and race respectfully.”
With over 25 years of racing experience, McLean has seen it all across the board, and continues to prove no matter the track that he is one of the best to ever sit behind the wheel of an open-wheel car. Entering another season of competition, it’s likely that you will find the No. 8 Modified in a victory lane near you.
“I think this year, we’re more motivated then we were the last few,” he commented. “This year looks to be a lot more fun (already). With the rule changes and what not, there’s going to be a lot of tinkering with the cars and lots of great racing.”
