After putting on an impressive show two weeks ago at Barrie Speedway that featured a side-by-side battle between Gary Elliott and Gary McLean in the late going, the OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modifieds are back this weekend for a pair of 30-lap features at Sunset Speedway. Both days promise to be action packed with a full field of modifieds set to deliver.
Two-time Champion Gary McLean leads the crop into the weekend following back-to-back feature wins this season. McLean didn’t start off the year as he hoped in the season opener as a result of being a victim to bad luck, but has been on a roll since with a win at Kawartha and the win at Barrie. McLean leads the modified drivers in victories at Sunset with six victories in nine races. Expect McLean to be fast both nights as he looks to pad his points lead.
Coming off a third place finish at Barrie, Max Beyore continues to search for his first career Modified victory. Beyore has been strong at Sunset in the past, scoring a pair of runner-up finishes.
Branden Bullen surprised everybody with his lack of appearance at Barrie Speedway two weeks ago. If Bullen is in attendance, he will be strong based on his third place finish last July. Bullen also has multiple laps around Sunset from his Mini Stock days.
When Davey Terry is at Sunset, he either finishes in the top five – or he has a DNF as a result of bad luck. Terry is hoping for a good run after getting his fenders ruffled a little at Barrie two weeks ago and a late race spin at Kawartha to start the month.
In his last three starts at Sunset Speedway, Brent McLean has failed to finish in the top-five and honestly, that’s surprising. The Conn native is a previous winner at Sunset and has finished in the runner-up spot on four different occasions. Coming off more bad luck at Barrie, McLean is hoping to return to previous Sunset glory.
Mike Westwood has shown speed the previous two seasons behind the wheel of a modified. However, the finishes at Sunset don’t show that as a result of bad luck. Pulling double duty this weekend in also running the Ontario Pro Challenge Series event on Saturday, Westwood hopes the days of bad luck are behind him.
After posting a pair of top-fives to start the year, Ryan Dick missed Barrie Speedway as a result of a lack of sponsorship. If Dick is in attendance, he should be one of the drivers upfront based on his growth as a driver the past couple of years.
Following a seventh place finish at Barrie Speedway, Matt Barton is hoping for a top-five finish this weekend and it’s very well possible as he has done it before, posting a third place finish in the season opener.
Shane Stickel was one of the drivers who missed Barrie Speedway. If Stickel hits the track this weekend, he should be one to watch as he finished second in the season opener at Sunset Speedway.
Bobby Tolton has been struggling to find the right handle on his ride and it has shown in previous Sunset Speedway events. With a couple weeks to look for the right set-up, Tolton will be hoping that the work leads to a solid finish this weekend.
Chad Strawn kicked off the year in style, winning the season opener at Sunset Speedway and finishing a solid seventh at Kawartha. After missing Barrie due to eye surgery, Strawn is hoping to get back on track this weekend with a pair of victories to keep the string of success going.
A modified veteran, Brian McLean wasn’t one of the drivers to watch at the beginning. However, McLean continues improving and will be looking for a top-five this weekend.
Rookie Tommy Robb had a very unfortunate end to his night at Barrie as contact from other cars resulted in a hand injury. Whether Robb will be in attendance is yet to be known at press time. However, Robb will be one to watch if he is there as he showed lots of speed and potential in the season opener.
Sunset Speedway Super Stock competitor Cayden Lapcevich will make his modified debut this weekend as he will be driving the Terry Baker/Kevin Jobs’ owned modified. The car is quick based on Baker’s third at Kawartha and fourth at Barrie, so it’ll depend at how well the teenager adjusts to the new ride.
Speaking of young guns, 13-year-old Dustin Jackson returns to the sight of his first career heat win this weekend and will be looking for more success after a top-five finish in May.
Drew Stieler missed the season opener after blowing a motor in practice, however is definitely top-10 material following the speed that he has shown since.
Going into the weekend, Gary Elliott is one of the drivers that is dominating the majority of the headlines. A veteran racer, Elliott will be making his 700th consecutive start behind the wheel of a stock car – whether late model, mini, vintage mod, open-wheel modified – when he takes the green flag on Sunday night. Elliott could celebrate this milestone achievement in style as he posted a second place finish at Barrie in only his third career modified start and has tons of laps around Sunset that could lead to success.
