After a long off-season, the OSCAAR Modifieds are ready to get their 2017 season underway this Saturday, May 27 at Flamboro Speedway.
Last year produced a bunch of notable thrills for the open-wheel beasts, with a battle for the championship right to the end as Gary McLean picked up another crown. But who will get to call to hold the title this year? It all begins with this weekend.
A.J. Emms put together an impressive sophomore campaign, scoring seven top-five finishes with a victory in the Autumn Colours Classic at Peterborough Speedway. He’s had success at Flamboro, posting a pair of runner-ups last year.
John Harper also put together a great 2016 season, with four top-fives in the final six races. It’s also worth noting that he knows how to win at Flamboro Speedway, picking up a victory last year in August.
Kicking off his second year, Luke Gignac has a great chance to pick up his first career feature victory this weekend, scoring a pair of podiums in July and running up front last October till a mechanical issue. last year was an overall success for the 2016 Rookie of the Year, noted with top-eight finishes in nine of the 11 races, including five top-fives.
Gary Elliott was solid last year, posting eight top-10s in 11 races. The biggest event of the season had to be at Flamboro Speedway, where he scored his first career modified feature victory.
Dan Price faced his fair share of issues in 2016, but fought back with five top-10’s. Notably, he posted his best finish last season at Flamboro with a fifth in August.
Brian McLean will be one of the past Flamboro Speedway winners in the field after winning the inaugural OSCAAR event in 2013 after taking the lead in the late stages. McLean had a great performance at Flamboro last June, finishing second.
David Balych will continue to search towards his first career series victory after posting a third place finish last May. He finished off the 2016 season with back-to-back top-10 finishes.
Dale Reinhart kept working hard last year, posting a top-10 finish in each of his starts except for one.
Cory Horner knows how to get around Flamboro Speedway, posting four top-fives last year, including a runner-up.
As the series’ regulars get prepared for the bullring, there are also a slew of rookies – with six drivers intending to run the full campaign this season.
Tim Tolton may be one of the most experienced rookies, having driven a variety of cars throughout the years prior to this season as his team looks “forward to a new challenge in a new series” as they try something a little different.
Dave Hodgkinson makes the move to eight-cylinder open-wheel cars from four-cylinder modifieds, set for the next chapter of his career that saw him start back in 1975.
Ken Hayward makes his return to racing competition for the first time in nine years, using a past super late model chassis from 2005 to build his modified.
Another driver returning back behind the wheel after time spent away is Jase Cornell, who hasn’t raced in the past 10 years. He made the decision to join the modified ranks as the open-wheel cars have always held a “soft spot” in his heart.
Marty Monette will begin his endeavor with OSCAAR driving a Craig Ellis-owned entry after having success in a thunder car at both Barrie Speedway and Sunset Speedway.
OSCAAR fans will recognize the name Wally Wilson, as he has spent the past two years racing as part of the OSCAAR Midget tours. After a pair of top-five points finishes with both the OSCAAR Midgets and OSCAAR Pro Midgets, he purchased a modified for 2017.
Beyond those mentioned here, there are other drivers that may show their face on Sunday so be sure to be in attendance to see these cars in action.
Along with the OSCAAR Modifieds at Flamboro Speedway this weekend will be the OSCAAR Super Late Models and OSCAAR Hot Rods. They will join Flamboro’s regular Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Thunder Cars, with racing starting at 6pm sharp. The full itinerary and prices can be found on the Flamboro Speedway website at http://flamborospeedway.ca/.
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