Sauble Beach, ON – David McCullough (No. 39M Oke’s Auto/Hosie D’s Donuts) used his pole starting position to earn his first career OSCAAR Modified tour win at Sauble Speedway Saturday night.
After a pair of strong heat races, McCullough grabbed the top starting spot for the 30-lap feature event with defending champion Gary McLean (No. 8 McLean Industrial Design) starting to his outside.
McLean led off the initial start, but on lap five touched the outside wall on the exit of turn two which he said knocked the tow out of alignment in the car’s front end.
A caution flew on lap six after Bobby Tolton (No.13 Amsoil/Knightworks Design) and Michael Ford (No.04 Caldecott Millwright) stopped on the backstretch. Ford, who was making his first career OSCAAR start, appeared as though he got loose in turn two to end up in the infield grass, but would continue. Tolton wasn’t as lucky as he lost power to the car’s ignition system, ending his night.
McCullough would get an early jump on the ensuing restart over McLean to retake the lead he held for half a lap to start the race. Before OSCAAR officials could diagnose it as a false start, the caution came out for Mike Westwood (No.91 Stryker Chassis/Stryke Force Clothing) who spun in turn three.
The lead was returned to McLean for the restart, however the veteran driver decided to choose the outside line in hopes of pinching McCullough to the bottom of the speedway.
The two drivers made contact on the exit of turn two, which allowed McCullough to take the lead as McLean backed out of the throttle to avoid hitting the outside wall.
“I’m sorry about the contact with Gary,” said McCullough. “It wasn’t intentional. The car had a push in the middle and it slid up. I respect him too much to do it intentionally.”
From that point, McCullough led the remaining 23 consecutive green flag laps to earn the first OSCAAR sanctioned victory of his career on his father’s birthday.
“This is a pretty good birthday present for dad,” said McCullough. “We changed a lot from the afternoon to the feature. We had a push all day, but it came around in the feature.”
McCullough was challenged by McLean in the closing laps as Gary drew to the back bumper of the No.39M a couple of times, but was not able to get by.
Brent McLean (No.7 Bowmanville Home Building Centre) ran third from start to finish, but didn’t have anything for the top pair which paced the field from start to finish.
Matt Barton (No.2 MDB Racecars) was consistent throughout the entire night to finish fourth and Dave Osborne (No. 11 O’Neil Farm Supply/Ohsweken Speedway) earned his first career top-five finish with a fifth-place result. Osborne was also the top rookie on the night.
The OSCAAR Modifieds will return to action next Saturday at Flamboro Speedway, their first ever stop at Hamilton-area facility since the tour’s inception in 2012. For information on the event, stay tuned to www.oscaar.ca throughout the week.
By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia)
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Results: Sauble Speedway 30-Lap Feature – July 13, 2013 (Starting Position in Parentheses)
1. 39m David McCullough (1); 2. 8 Gary McLean (2); 3. 7 Brent McLean (3); 4. 14 Davey Terry (6); 5. 11 Dave Osborne (5); 6. 2 Matt Barton (4); 7. 91 Mike Westwood (8); 8. 67jr Branden Bullen (9); 9. 39 Shane Stickel (10) (DNF); 10. 62 Darryn Wright (11); 11. 04 Michael Ford (12) (DNF); 12. 13 Bobby Tolton (13) (DNF); 13. 47 Brian McLean (7) (DNF).
Heat Race Winners: 2 Matt Barton, 8 Gary McLean, 7 Brent McLean, 14 Davey Terry.
The OSCAAR Modified tour is presented by a number of dedicated sponsors throughout Ontario, including: Knightworks Design, Hoosier Racing Tire, Klotz Synthetics Canada, Race2way.ca, Dave Franks Photos, Dickson Printing, Finishline Fabrication, McColl Racing Enterprises, McGunegill Engine Performance, Stefko Racing Engines, VP Racing Fuels, OntarioOval.com, RaceTime Radio, Inside Track Motorsport News, Jenco Equipment, Midas of Orangeville, Reinhart Trailer Sales, North Toronto Auctions, and South Shore Services.
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