By Don McLeod / OSCAAR.ca
MOSPORT, ON - Saturday night racing at Mosport Speedway witnessed a welcome return to action for the OSCAAR Outlaws after a three week break. Emerging victorious after another exciting round of super fast racing was Glenn Watson and Team #22. It wasn’t a cakewalk for Watson who didn’t lead the race until the final 6 laps. Until then it was Shane Maginnis leading the pack for 39 laps after taking the lead from polesitter Derrick Tiemersma on lap 5.
Watson started in 4th and made two quick passes on the first lap to pick up 2nd on the first caution. He would remain there until lap 44, giving Maginnis a good run for the money and frequently hounded just behind by the 7 and 70 cars.
The hard charging Shane Maginnis picked up the most spots early in the race, going from 7th to 3rd in the first 3 laps. Over the next lap he raced sided-by-side with Watson to take 2nd spot, then set his sights on Tiemersma and quickly took the lead. Maginnis once again showed that the Kerr Cadillac Goodwrench Service 03 car is one of the top running cars in OSCAAR. He was only a few laps from victory when unfortunately the 03 Outlaw had a flat tire, forcing the car pitside and leaving Maginnis even hungrier for that next Super Late Model win.
In the end, Saturday night belonged to Glenn Watson and his crew who were all smiles in victory lane. “This is the best car we’ve had at Mosport” said Glenn, “It’s a good way to start off the 5 week stretch of racing!” Indeed the winning performance increases his points lead over 2nd place from 39 to 109 and makes the 22 car the one to beat over the next few weeks. The other teams will have to contend with one of the hardest working teams in the series. “My crew worked really hard getting the car ready after the Peterborough race so with this win I owe a lot to my team” said Glenn, “and I would also like to thank Race2Way.ca/Rival Office Solutions for their sponsorship support.”
The return to Mosport also proved to be a tonic for the 2007 OSCAAR Champions. Derrick Tiemersma and the Wayfreight #7 Team picked up one of their 2007 wins at Mosport and found a return to winning form with a heat race win, 5 laps led and a season best 2nd place in the feature. “I want to thank my guys for putting the car back together after Peterborough” said Derrick. Peterborough Speedway’s crash-filled 75 lap race saw the #7 hit the turn 4 wall hard causing extensive damage to the rear-end. There was no evidence of that crash left during a strong performance at Mosport. Fans were treated to an exciting duel between Tiemersma in 3rd and Jeff Hanley in 4th until late in the race when Hanley retired with motor problems.
“I want to thank Jeff for his help over the past few weeks as we made repairs” said Derrick, “and a big thank you to Wayfreight for the continued support of our racing program.”
Picking up their first podium finish in 2 years of OSCAAR racing was Stu Robinson Jr, Team 68 and car owner Howard Robbins. “I wish Howard was here” said Stu “He would have enjoyed this finish. I want to thank him for the opportunity to race in his Super Late Model.”
Robinson started in 9th but made short work of moving up to 6th by lap 6. The remainder of the first half was spent dueling it out with the 52 while the 83 and 20 were close behind. By lap 23 Robinson was able to get by Mark Gordon and soon was up racing with the top five cars. After Hanley and Maginnis retired from the race, it became a three way battle with Robinson taking home 3rd. “Thanks to my Dad, Jimmy and Dillon for all their hard work” said Stu “and thanks also to Rob-Ens Equipment and RB Graffix for all their support.”
Rounding out the top five finishers were John Owen in 4th and Mark Gordon in 5th with both drivers marking their 2008 season best finishes. The John Owen Performance Engines #2 Outlaw car has participated in a limited schedule for 2008 but has looked very strong. Owen and his team had a great run going at Peterborough but fell short at the end. Mosport’s excellent result was like a victory and and a great payback for all their hard work. Also happy with their night were Mark Gordon and FOX Racing Canada/APX Racewear Team 52 who picked up their first heat race win and best OSCAAR finish yet.
For his racing efforts at Mosport, Mark Gordon was awarded the APX Outlaw Award. It was a great performance in front of his home track fans, friends and family, capped off with a corn roast courtesy of Mark Gordon and assisted by the excellent staff at Mosport Speedway.
OSCAAR fans were surprised and delighted to see Mike Bricknell and the familiar 69 Nuclear Banana out on track and in time for the 2nd set of heats. Mike was pleased to have his newly re-built Outlaw car on the trailer in one piece after the 50 lap feature and also to take home a very respectable 7th place finish. 2007 was the season from hell for Team 69 with several crashes and a dramatic car fire at Cayuga Speedway.
Welcome back Mike - great to see you back on track! Not so fortunate was Ed Bowlby who everyone was cheering on to have a good race. Bowlby had a blown motor sideline his racing efforts after Kawartha. He worked hard to pull the program back together and was running well at Mosport until lap 23 when a fire under the hood ended his night. We wish Ed all the best with the repairs.
Feature Race Finish Order: 22, 7, 68, 2, 52, 20, 69, 54, 83, 7T, 88, 40, 03, 70, 19
Heat Race Winners: #22 Glenn Watson, #7 Derrick Tiemersma, #03 Shane Maginnis, #52 Mark Gordon
Click here for photos from the event.
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