Stroud, ON – Justin Demelo (No.82 EMCO Waterworks) used a late race restart to get by Brent McLean (No.7 Bowmanville Home Building Centre) to earn his first career OSCAAR Modified tour win on Sunday night.
“It’s about time,” said an excited Demelo. “I was tired of finishing second.”
Demelo’s win followed a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s feature. The London, Ont. driver said the team tinkered with the setup, but the biggest advantage they held was tires.
“We put some new tires on for Sunday, whereas we didn’t have any tires for Saturday,” said Demelo.
McLean held the pole for the second night in a row and led until a caution with 21 laps to go gave Demelo his best chance to earn his first OSCAAR win.
Restarting on the outside, Demelo was able to power around McLean to grab the lead for the final eight laps. The outside line was the preferred line for many drivers all weekend long and Demelo attributed his success to making the car work in the top groove.
“Being confident on the outside definitely helped us this weekend,” explained Demelo.
The race got off to an ugly start when the field accelerated down the backstretch coming to the green flag, a number of drivers checked-up and Ryan Dick (No.88 Johnston Bros. Sand & Gravel) got the worst. The damage didn’t appear to be significant, but Dick was unable to start the main event as a result.
When the race did get to green, it only took one lap for disaster to strike. A three-car battle for second between Brian McLean (No.47 Bowmanville Home Building Centre), Davey Terry (No.14 Wasteco/Brennan Haulage) and Gary McLean (No.8 Industrial Design) ended badly when Terry got pinched to the bottom and Gary had nowhere to go but in to the back of the No.14. Terry was sent hard in to the inside front stretch wall.
Terry was shaken-up, but would be okay. His Wasteco Camry suffered the worst of the damage, while Gary’s No.8 took significant damage to the left-front of the car. Gary was able to return to the track after some quick repairs by crew chief Greg Gibson, but finished several laps down in 12th.
The second caution of the night came on lap four when Bobby Tolton (No.13 Amsoil/Knightworks Design) spun in turn one, but avoided any contact.
The race ran green from lap 10 until the lap 21 caution. During the 11 lap run, Demelo had battled his way to the front from his 8th-place starting spot to run second behind Brent McLean. Brent McLean was able to break away from Demelo during the run until he was reeled back in by the yellow.
The caution came following turn two contact between Brad Pearsall (No.1B Plaza Kia/Syracuse Nationals) and Barry Newman (No.1 Vipond Fire Protection). With Newman on the outside, Pearsall drove hard in to turn one attempting to take the third spot. Pearsall slid up the track and when the open-wheels touched, Newman was sent in to the outside wall. It looked as though most of the damage to Newman’s car was suffered by the right-front. Pearsall was able to finish.
Demelo didn’t waste any time on the restart, quickly pulling away from Brent and cruising to the victory over the final eight laps.
Brent McLean’s win and second-place finishes combined with the unfortunate results for Gary McLean should vault the young driver in to the points lead for the first time in his OSCAAR career.
The OSCAAR Modified tour returns to action on Saturday July 13 at Sauble Speedway for round six of the 2013 tour and another 30-lap A-Main feature event. Stay tuned to www.oscaar.ca for schedule information.
By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia)
Gary McLean Post-Race Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAbDYMTS3q8
Davey Terry Post-Race Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcuAC4uNs1s
Results: Sunset Speedway 30-Lap A-Main Sunday June 30, 2013 (Starting Position in Parentheses)
1. 82 Justin Demelo (8)
2. 7 Brent McLean (1)
3. 34 Brandon Watson (5)
4. 67jr Branden Bullen (15)
5. 39 Shane Stickel (R) (6)
6. 1B Brad Pearsall (9)
7. 13 Bobby Tolton (R) (11)
8. 77 Chad Strawn (R) (12)
9. 91 Mike Westwood (R) (10) (DNF)
10. 1 Barry Newman (7) (DNF)
11. 8 Gary McLean (4)
12. 47 Brian McLean (2) (DNF)
13. 48 Ted Patterson (13) (DNF)
14. 11 Dave Osborne (16) (DNF)
15. 14 Davey Terry (3) (DNF)
16. 88 Ryan Dick (17) (DNS)
17. 19 Dean Scott (14) (DQ)
Heat Winners: 1B Brad Pearsall, 8 Gary McLean, 82 Justin Demelo, 14 Davey Terry, 7 Brent McLean (2).
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