When Davey Terry started the season with the OSCAAR Modifieds, there were a lot of questions of how the rookie would do.
“We were real late getting into the modified deal,” Davey Terry said. “My dad came up with the idea real late to get a car, with pretty much a month left. It was kind of a mad thrash to get the car done. Started the season with no practice on the car, no laps at all. We didn’t have any goals when the season started. We set goals as the season went on.”
By the end of the season, Terry answered the skeptics as he took home the OSCAAR Modified Rookie of the Year Award while finishing third in points.
For the Erin, Ontario native, he says the turning point to his season was the top five finish at Varney Motor Speedway mid-season.
“It wasn’t a track that I thought I’d do really well at because I never really did well there in a mini stock,” Terry said during the 2013 Canadian Motorsports Expo. “With a little guidance from guys like Gary McLean and Brent McLean had a huge impact on me.”
Terry picked up many lessons through the season and one of the important lessons was patience.
“Just make sure you take care of your equipment and everything else falls into place,” he said.
In learning those lessons, there were driver that Terry went to for advice.
“Anyone who’s last name is McLean,” Terry said. “They’ve been racing modifieds forever. It’s such a great group of guys. You can almost go to anyone and get some advice. Everybody will help each other out.”
While it marked the first year for Terry in the Modified ranks, it was also the first ever season for the Modifieds under the OSCAAR banner, touring around Ontario.
“I think it exceeded expectations,” he said. “I think it was neat to see all of the drivers come out of the wood works.”
Terry also sees growth for the 2013 season, noting the number of drivers that have contacted series director Dave Gainforth looking to how to buy a car to get started.
“It’s just good news for OSCAAR in general,” Terry added. “The cars, they look cool and everyone wants to drive one now so it’s good news for everybody.”
One thing that Terry would like to see maybe is one race have a time trials worked in deciding the starting line-up rather than double heats.
“Well, some fans don’t like time trials – they like heat races,” Terry started. “So what I’d like to see is time trials and then 1 set of heats so fans can have the best of both worlds. I’d like to see time trials for the added challenge.”
With the success in 2012, there’s one thing that the sophomore driver wants to accomplish in 2013 – winning his first modified race. That win may come early in the season after he ended the season with a second in Sunset’s Velocity 250 and a fifth at Autumn Colors.
