Three OSCAAR Modified races into the 2016 season, and some drivers are off to a strong start while others wish it could’ve gone better.
For Dan Price, his season has been a bit of mix of both as while he’s shown speed, he has posted only a pair of top-10s.
“It’s been up and down,” he said. “It looked really promising at first, and it kind of thought we could win the race at Flamboro leading with five laps to go and then ended up going around. It sucks – could’ve won that race. We got together; I spun out – it’s racing.”
Following the spin at Flamboro, Price was relegated to a sixth-place finish.
He was hoping for a strong result at Delaware, running in the top-five at the halfway mark. Unfortunately, a spin and contact with the wall resulted in not finishing the race.
The rain-out for Full Throttle Moor Speedway wasn’t in the original plans, but it gave Price an opportunity to test.
“I made some changes on the car – wanted to try something so went testing at Peterborough and extremely happy with it,” he commented. “I went to Flamboro and it wasn’t great – over adjusted and got a mediocre finish, still a top-10. It wasn’t great.
“It’s been up and down. It’s hard as you have to get everything working but I’m generally happy with where we’re at.”
This season marks Price’s second year of modified competition after making the jump last year to the division from thunder car competition. He notes he made the decision to go modified as he’s always enjoyed watching the tour-type modified and it’s the “most economical car” for racing and being able to tour around the province to different tracks. It also gives him the chance to work on the car more, which he enjoys.
“There’s a lot of stuff on it that I can build myself – rather than buying off the shelf,” he said. “It’s right up my alley. If I need a fender or something, I like to make my own.”
With the speed shown this year, along with four top-10s last year, highlighted by a fourth in August, the question remains when the first podium finish will come from Price. While he knows he has a car capable of getting the result, he says it’ll take hard work on his part to make it happen.
“I know the car is there; it’s just a matter of getting the adjustments right and staying out of trouble,” he said. “That’s the main thing – staying out of trouble so you can be there at the end. Look at Delaware – ended up doing something on my part, spinning out and taking me out of the race. I’d like to say that we can win every race, but realistically I know that we can’t.
“I want to get a podium this year – that’s the plan – so we’re going to keep working at it.”
He added he’s been able to put more effort into making the car stronger with having stayed out of trouble – for the most part – to start the year so he’s trying things and testing, versus focusing on repairs.
The driver of the No. 09 Hy-Hope Farm, Cochrane Automotive, Langilles Scrap, A&T Mechanical and Bennett GM Modified now has his attention turned to Sauble Speedway next weekend on Friday night, which will mark his first modified race on the oval as he missed last year’s event.
“Well, Friday is going to be survival for the points race and just keeping the thing out of trouble because I’ve got Andy Jankowiak from New York to run it in the Rick Woolner Memorial (on Sunday),” he commented. “He’s got a race that he’s going to run on Saturday in New York and then he’s going to run my car on Sunday. So the plan is to not jeopardize that.
“I’m still going to race and not just drive around, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to be cautious. The last thing I want to do is tear this thing up when I’m hours from home and have to push hard to get this thing fixed.”
By: Ashley McCubbin
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