After a month off, the OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modifieds are set to make their fifth trip of the 2014 season to Sunset Speedway. The 1/3 mile oval always produces a good solid show with excitement from top to bottom.
Two-time Champion Gary McLean leads the crop into the weekend with the points lead. 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 five wins and a series of solid finishes. McLean leads the modified drivers in victories at Sunset with seven victories in 12 races. Expect McLean to be fast as he looks to pad his points lead.
Coming off back-t0-back runner-up finishes, Max Beyore is hoping to pick up his third career victory this weekend. Beyore has been strong at Sunset in the past, scoring three runner-up finishes.
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 following a third and second on the 1/3 mile at the end of June. A good run would mean a lot after mechanical issues took him out of the running late in August.
In his last six starts at Sunset Speedway, Brent McLean has only one 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.
In each appearance at Sunset, Ryan Dick continues to improve as a driver behind the wheel. He’ll be looking for a solid run after finishing sixth at Delaware and ninth at Sunset in August.
Following an eighth place finish at Delaware 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 three top-six finishes in the races at Sunset so far this year. Shane Stickel is hoping for a good run also, after finishing seventh in August at Sunset. 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.
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 after posting a fourth and a third at Sunset at the end of June.
Rookie Tommy Robb hasn’t had the luck that he would’ve hoped for this year with incidents taking him out of contention. Robb will hope to score his fourth straight Sunset Speedway top-10 on Saturday night.
The No. 26 Terry Baker/Kevin Jobs’ owned modified has been quick in the times that it has been on track. Baker posted a third at Kawartha and fourth at Barrie, before winning at Sunset Speedway at the end of June. Cayden Lapcevich then jumped behind the wheel the next night, posting a victory. Baker would cross the line first at Kawartha, though saw the win be lost in post-technical inspection. It’ll be interesting to see what hapepns this weekend.
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 three top-fives in the four features at Sunset so far thus year.
Drew Stieler’s season did not start at all as he hoped, though he has been slowly turning it around with stronger runs with each passing weekend. Stieler will be looking for a top-10 finish after finishing 10th at Kawartha Speedway earlier this month.
Going into the weekend, Gary Elliott is one of the drivers to watch as he has been posting solid finishes with each passing week, getting closer to his first Modified victory. Sunset Speedway marks a good spot for it to happen as he has tons of laps around Sunset in the Late Model division, and has ran upfront at Sunset Speedway.
Beyond those mentioned here, there are other drivers that may show their face on Saturday night so be sure to be in attendance to see these cars in action.
