OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modified Preview: Summer Rush Presented by Knightworks Design Race 2
After featuring a mix of faces in victory lane over the past month, the OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modifieds prepare for their third straight weekend of racing in a row. With the championship battle in full swing, every pass will matter this weekend towards the championship.
The spring race at Kawartha didn’t go to plan for Justin Demelo as mid-race contact resulted in a eighth place finish. However, Demelo knows his way around Kawartha with a runner-up last year and finished fifth at Peterborough last weekend.
The trip to Ottawa and Capital City Speedway was actually what the doctor ordered for Max Beyore as he finally broke through, scoring his first OSCAAR career victory. He then backed it up a month later, scoring his second career victory at Peterborough to sit only 14 points behind Gary McLean in the points. He will look repeat past Kawartha success as he has a second and third in his two previous trips.
Speaking of Baker, he will be back this weekend behind the wheel of the No. 26 as that team looks for their third straight victory after missing the three races following the Sunset sweep with Baker and Lapcevich. Baker has been strong since he debuted this year, pulling off a third place finish at Kawartha in the spring.
Peterborough didn’t treat Gary McLean too kindly as trouble late would result in a poor finish. However, Kawartha could be what he needs as he scored the victory at Kawartha earlier this year.
Brent McLean, meanwhile, is hoping to better his sixth place finish from the spring at Kawartha after scoring a second place finish last year. McLean had a solid weekend at Capital City, finishing fourth and fifth in the pair of features, though struggled with mechanical issues at Sauble Speedway.
Davey Terry has been solidly consistant, finishing fifth in the Rick Woolner Memorial and second at Peterborough last weekend. With a third at Kawartha last year, Terry has a good chance to become the fourth new face in victory lane of the season.
Chad Strawn is hoping to keep the season going well following a third place finish at Peterborough Speedway. A winner earlier this year at Sunset, Strawn has been fast in each OSCAAR start and last year at Kawartha was no different as he picked up a heat victory before finishing seventh in the feature. Unfortunately, the spring didn’t go as planned with a eighth place finish.
Coming off a sixth at Peterborough, Shane Stickel is hoping to have better luck than he had in spring as a wreck took him out of contention.
After posting a eighth and a ninth in the previous two events, Ryan Dick is hoping that experience leads to a good finish this weekend following a fourth place finish in the spring event at Kawartha.
Dustin Jackson hopes that positive momentum brings more success after scoring a solid eighth at Peterborough. Jackson hasn’t had the best of luck at Kawartha, though, with his highest finish in a pair of starts being a ninth place finish.
Gary Elliott has momentum on his side, posting a second at Sauble and a fourth at Peterborough. With this being his second trip to Kawartha, Elliott will hope to keep the positive momentum going with another top-five.
Lane Zardo announced via twitter this week that he will be making his first start of the season in this weekend’s event. Zardo ran last year’s Kawartha race, scoring a solid top 10 finish.
Be sure to join us at Kawartha Speedway this weekend to take in some of the hottest action this summer has to offer. Along with the Modifieds, the OSCAAR Super Late Models, Brighton Speedway Vanderlaan Building Products Pro Late Models and the Four-Funs will be present, while OSCAAR presents the second ever “Mini Stock Nationals”.
Army National Guard to End NASCAR and IndyCar Sponsorship After Current Season
The Army National Guard announced Wednesday night via a press release posted on their website, that they will make considerable changes to their motorsports sponsorship programs. These changes will include “an end to its sponsorship of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Graham Rahal in the Indy Racing League (IRL).”
The release further stated that the sponsorship contracts are due to expire “at the end of the current season.” A statement issued by Hendrick Motorsports Wednesday indicates a different contract expiration date.
“Our team has a contract in place to continue the National Guard program at its current level in 2015. We have not been approached by the Guard about potential changes and plan to honor our current agreement.”
Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with David Letterman and Mike Manigan released the following statement.
“We were informed this afternoon that the National Guard will end all sponsorship of motorsports, including both IndyCar and NASCAR at the conclusion of the 2014 seasons. This is obviously very disappointing news to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing given the significant incremental brand exposure we have worked to produce for the National Guard in our first season together, including various off-track marketing and advertising programs focused on supporting the mission set forth.
“We will continue to work hard to uphold the honor and integrity of the National Guard throughout the remainder of the season. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing would like to thank the National Guard for allowing us the privilege of representing some of the finest men and women, those ‘citizen soldiers’ that protect our freedoms and safety each and every day… as we Focus Forward!”
Major General Judd H. Lyons, acting Director of the Army National Guard cited budgetary reductions as the reason behind this decision, explaining, “Significantly constrained resources and the likelihood of further reductions in the future call for more innovative and cost-effective ways of doing business.”
The Army National Guard currently spends $32 million on its NASCAR sponsorship and $12 million on its IndyCar sponsorship. Their fiscal budget for 2015 is expected to be approximately half of what it was in 2012. As a result of reduced resources, they are now looking for more efficient methods to aid in recruitment.
The Guard has come under intense political scrutiny in recent years over its motorsports sponsorship programs. In May, the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on financial and contract oversight again questioned the effectiveness of these programs.
Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) was one of the most vocal, saying, “The facts speak for themselves. The data is very clear. You are not getting recruits off NASCAR. This is data that you gave us.”
However, Lt. Colonel Christian Johnson, head of Army Guard marketing, believes the sponsorship has netted positive results.
“As part of a broad recruitment marketing strategy, motorsports partnerships, including NASCAR, played an important role in helping the National Guard build strong brand awareness and in turn helped us achieve extraordinary recruiting and end-strength objectives over the past decade.”
“Our NASCAR sponsorship was principally a marketing program, intended primarily to build awareness of the National Guard as a career option,” added Johnson. “The NASCAR sponsorship allowed the National Guard to leverage a 77 million fan base and the sport’s most popular driver.”
