After a great season in 2015, Gary Elliott kept the solid performances rolling this past season en route to picking up a fourth place finish in points.
Starting out the season at Flamboro Speedway in May, the season opener didn’t go as entirely planned with Elliott coming home with a seventh place finish. Unfortunately, the bad luck carried forward to Delaware Speedway where he failed to finish after a mechanical failure.
Making the trip back to Flamboro in June, it seemed the year started to show signs of hope for Elliott. He’d post a sixth place finish at Flamboro, backing it up with a fifth in his next appearance at the Hamilton, Ontario-based oval. However, it also seemed as though he couldn’t shake the bad luck which plagued, with the next two races resulting in finishes outside of the top-nine.
Looking to turn things around, Elliott headed to back to Flamboro in August with hopes of a solid performance. The first of two features on that night went better than expected as he ran in the runner-up spot throughout the majority of race behind Luke Gignac. Then with two laps to go, Gignac slowed with a mechanical problem, giving Elliott the opportunity to past and take the lead. Elliott then led the final two laps behind the wheel of his No. 36 Quaker State, Lincoln Welders, JDS Insurance, Open Doors, Cabral Racing Promotions, Timber Green Landscaping, Grindstone Property Management, Speedway Photos, Permatex, Artica Home Heating & Service, Drew Mac Securities, SU Sports, Scripture Union, EmbroidMe, PPG, Oakville Trailers, FMS and Creative Edge Graphics Modified en route to scoring his first career feature victory. The second feature that night at Flamboro also went solidly, with Elliott picking up a third place finish.
Unfortunately, the luck didn’t carry through the entire rest of the season with Elliott finishing 15th at Delaware Speedway to complete the month of August. Still, with the victory and three top-fives he was able to garner, he was one of the seven drivers who qualified for the inaugural OSCAAR Race for the Cup.
Kicking off the Race for the Cup with Peterborough’s Autumn Colours Classic, Elliott started off his weekend solidly with finishes of fourth and second in his pair of heats.
Starting pole for the feature, Elliott led the first three laps before being passed by Gary McLean. He then ran second till around Lap 12, fading back to the fourth spot. He continued to slip back a couple more spots, eventually finding himself involved in a pair of wrecks through the middle portion of the event. He stuck with it, though, crossing the line in the ninth spot. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as he would fail to qualify for the next round of the Race for the Cup.
Despite not being one of the three qualified drivers, Elliott made the most of the season finale at Flamboro Speedway, picking up a third place finish at Frostoberfest.
On behalf of OSCAAR, congratulations to Gary Elliott on your success this past season. We look forward to seeing you once again in 2017.
By Ashley McCubbin
The post 4th in OSCAAR Modified Points – Gary Elliott appeared first on OSCAAR Racing.