INNISFIL, Ont. – After battling ill-handling issues at Barrie Speedway, Tyler Hawn was hoping to find the right handle to get around the 3/8-mile known as Sunset Speedway. The Hawn Motorsports team worked hard throughout the weekend, posting a 15th and a 10th place finish in the pair of features.
Coming into the weekend, Hawn was frustrated about the performance at Barrie Speedway two weeks ago. Hawn commented before the night that its frustrating to work hard on changes throughout the off-season, and have them not work out according to plan on track for good results.
With the frustration, though, they weren’t going to let it get them down as it only made them want to work harder, putting in a bunch of practice laps on the Friday night before the weekend.
After signing some autographs for the fans, Hawn kicked off the night with time trials, posting a 14.073 second lap time to qualify 16th in the 19-car field. As a result, Hawn would start eighth in the second OSCAAR Super Late Model heat and was able to make some passes in the 15-lap race to finish sixth.
The Don Biederman Memorial format only called for the top four to be locked in via the qualifying races so Hawn was forced to run the b-main. Starting in the fourth spot, Hawn would battle hard in the early laps with Jesse Kennedy for third, however contact from Mike Beyore at lap three would result in the No. 42 going for a spin. Hawn would restart at the rear of the field and was able to make his way up through the field to finish fifth.
With qualifying in the books, Hawn started the first 50-lap feature on the weekend in the 13th spot. By the first caution at lap 11 for Jeff Dunford spinning, Hawn was up to the 12th spot. Hawn would run 12th for the majority of the race, however as the handling went away in the final 10 laps, Hawn would drop a couple spots, finishing 15th overall.
Post-race, Hawn noted that they are starting to find what they need to run better, however still had lots of work to do heading into the second day of the Don Biederman Memorial and the rest of the season.
Kicking off day two under cloudy skies, Hawn would start the first heat in the eighth spot in the first heat due to his finish on Saturday night. Practicing under the hot sunny skies, there was a bit of loop thrown for Hawn and the team as by the first heat, it was cloudy and a little cool. As a result, the handling wasn’t exactly where it needed to be, leading to a seventh place finish.
As a result, Hawn would start the 13th in the feature for the second straight night. In the early laps, though, Hawn would drop back a spot, running 14th by the 10th lap of the feature. However, as he got into the second half of the feature, Hawn began his charge, running ninth as of the first caution at lap 26. On the restart, Hawn battled with Glenn Watson for ninth and unfortunately lost the spot, slipping back to 10th.
For the rest of the feature, Hawn battled hard in keeping the tires underneath him as they lost grip and keeping the gap over the back half of the field on his way to finishing 10th and scoring a top-10 finish.
Special thanks to Fox’s Bakery and Deli, TSS Top Shops, Belt Conveyor Guarding, Backwoods Maple Syrup, Daly Custom Fab, WriteitOutLoud.com and Stewart Carriers Limited for their continued support.
Keep up to date with all the details surrounding Tyler Hawn and Hawn Motorsports by checking out the website at http://www.hawnmotorsports.ca while liking the ‘Hawn Motorsports’ facebook page.
The next race for Hawn Motorsports and the OSCAAR Super Late Models is Kawartha Speedway on July 13th. Be sure to check out www.oscaar.ca for full details about the event.
Race Report by Ashley McCubbin.
