“We were competing against arguably the best field of limited late models around”, said Poole in an e-mail interview with OSCAAR.ca. “My team has been with me since I started in 1999 and together we keep challenging ourselves to grow and develop in our racing career, so OSCAAR seems to be the obvious next step.”

Poole will be driving his familiar #45 Visser Farms ‘Pick Your Own’ Strawberries, R.A. Electrical, Alliston Auto Sales & Leasing, AgNav, BFI Canada, Reliable Waste Management (RWM) Chevrolet Impala SS. Poole’s car will be powered by a built motor out of Ideal Supply Machine Shop in Collingwood, Ontario.

Part of the reason behind Poole’s move to OSCAAR is the opportunity to compete at different tracks throughout the province and the challenge associated with determining a new setup each and every week.

“I anticipate many challenges, adapting to the speedways in which I’ve never been too, learning the new car and setups, and just getting comfortable with the speed of the car is what I’m expecting,” explained Poole.

Nonetheless, Poole is particularly excited to return to his home Sunset Speedway among other tracks on the OSCAAR tour.

“I’m excited to return to Sunset Speedway. With it being the first race of 2012, it will be good as I’ve done lots of laps around there and it will be one less thing to get use to for the first night out,” said Poole. “I’ve always liked racing at Kawartha Speedway, so I’m looking forward to that as well.”

Poole will be among half a dozen or so rookies that will be competing for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. While the rookie championship is certainly a goal of Poole’s, the team simply hopes it can stay competitive and finish every race.

“We’re just going to try to stay consistent, hopefully not have too many mechanical failures and the rest will sort itself out,” said Poole.

Poole is excited to be joining the close-knit OSCAAR family. On multiple occasions in 2011, OSCAAR drivers came together to help their fellow competitors ensure they would be able to run the feature for the night’s event. Poole explained that this atmosphere is not only what makes OSCAAR great, but racing in general.

“I think that is what racing is all about. It’s not much of a race if the cars are on the trailers.”

Perhaps the most exciting element of joining OSCAAR for Poole is the chance to race with some of the top drivers in the province. Poole is familiar with several drivers on the OSCAAR tour, including Dwayne Baker, Charlie Gallant, and Brandon Watson after competing against them at Sunset over the past five years, but is most excited to race amongst the big names of the sport.

“I never thought I’d ever get to this level so just being able to be out there with the likes of the Watsons, the Hanleys, and the Clarkes is something I’ll definitely appreciate,” said Poole. “I’m looking forward to racing them all but it will be fun to run against Glenn Watson as he has helped us a bit over the last little while.”

Rob Poole’s OSCAAR career will kick-off with the OSCAAR season opener on Sunday, May 20 at Sunset Speedway. For more information on Rob Poole and his race team, visit www.robpooleracing.com .

OSCAAR will be attending the 2012 Canadian Motorsports Expo presented by Inside Track Motorsport News from February 10-12 at the International Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Stay tuned to www.oscaar.ca for up-to-date news as the season approaches.

By Clayton Johns

The season kicked off at Sunset Speedway where Watson finished second and fifth in his first two heats of the season, leading to the third starting position. Watson ran second all race behind his nephew Brandon Watson until Brandon decided to pit on lap 35 under caution. Glenn assumed the lead and from that point on he never looked back, leading the final fifty laps on his way to victory lane.

The second event at Kawartha Speedway had Watson draw the pole position for the 50-lap feature. Watson out duelled Lloyd Ritchie on a few restarts and opened up a big lead in order to lead all fifty laps en route to a second consecutive victory.

Mosport Speedway brought more of the same as Watson led 47 laps en route to his third victory of the season after starting fifth.

Watson put on one of his most dominating performances of the year at Sunset Speedway as he won both of his heat races and drew the fifth starting position. Dwayne Baker jumped out to the early lead in the #48 Zancor Homes Ford, but Watson wasted little time getting to the front, taking the lead from Baker on lap 11 to lead the final 40 laps for his fourth straight win.

“We come out, try to bring a good car every week and try and get the win,” said the always humble Watson. “It’s pretty cool having a good car, picking up four wins in a row,” Watson later added.

Watson had another dominant performance at Sauble Speedway when he qualified first with a time of 14.601 seconds, five-tenths of a second quicker than second place Wayne Isaacs. Watson started on the pole for the feature and survived a few challenges from #00 Wayne Isaacs on the outside and lead all 50 laps for the second time in the season to earn his fifth straight win. Isaacs figured after the race there was one way he figured he could beat Watson.

“Well if he was sick and stayed home, I think that would work,” said Isaacs jokingly.

The second trip to Mosport Speedway was a déja-vu for Watson who won his third heat of the season to earn the fourth starting position in the invert draw. Much like a month earlier, Watson grabbed the lead from Isaacs on lap 3 this time, and lead the remaining 48 laps to win his sixth consecutive race to start the season and sweep the season’s first half. Watson, however, stated there was no pressure to continue the winning streak.

“We just try and bring a good car every week. We get what we get. We were fortunate we got out front quick tonight. We made some good moves to get out front. It’s a little easier to do it out front then to have to fight through the pack.”

The first blemish to Watson’s 2011 record came at Peterborough Speedway, but the race was a classic. Watson came from the ninth starting position to challenge pole sitter Jeff Hanley in a tough battle for the lead. Hanley closed the door on Watson as he made several pass attempts in the dying stages of the race, ousting him from Victory Lane for the first time of the season.

The final trip to Kawartha Speedway and the Don Biederman Memorial had Watson starting 13th as he missed the invert draw. Watson passed race leader Hanley on lap 29, but chose to pit on lap 47 to change two tires, giving the lead back to Watson. Watson wasn’t able to make up the ground as the race ran green flag for the final 26 laps; handing Hanley is second straight win and Watson his second consecutive runner-up finish.

Perhaps Watson’s most spectacular feat came at the Outlaw Shootout at Delaware Speedway. After blowing a motor in practice, Charlie Gallant offered his ride to Watson. Taking a car he had never driven, Watson survived all the carnage on the night to finish fifth and keep the streak of top-five finishes alive.

That streak would end at Peterborough Speedway when Watson finished sixth after suffering a bit of damage to the nose early on and a broken support arm on the car’s rear spoiler.

Heading back to his home Sunset Speedway for the final time of the season, and was determined to get back in the winner’s circle after being absent for four races. The night started off well as Watson won both of his heats, just as he had at Sunset on July 2. Watson however drew the 12th starting position and had to start right in the middle of the 24 car field. Watson took the lead from Hanley on lap 19 and battled with Rob Clarke for the final 32 laps. The two raced side-by-side on multiple restarts and for the final five laps. The cars were door to door exiting turn four for the final time and Clarke beat Watson to the line by less than a wheel length in the outside groove. Both drivers praised one another’s performance.

“Glenn was giving it his all; I was giving it my all. We touched a couple of times, but that’s just racing. I trusted him on the outside and he trusted me. Glenn ran me as clean as can be, and I had a lot of fun, but man I worked hard” said Clarke.

“Rob kept us honest and the rest of the guys did too. It was a lot of fun tonight. I had fun racing with Rob and all the other guys,” said Watson.

The Autumn Colours Classic gave Watson his final chance of 2011 to get back in victory lane and he would not waste the opportunity. After winning one of his heats, Watson drew the pole position and was never challenged as he led all 50 laps for the third time of the season and won his seventh race of the season and his fourth consecutive championship.

“Yeah we’ve had an awesome year, as you say with seven wins. To cap it off today with a win and a fourth championship, it’s pretty special,” said Watson who added his second Autumn Colours crown was also exciting. “That’s up there; it was a really nice weekend, a lot of people here. It’s really nice to pull that off.”

Watson’s season was easily the most dominant ever as he won seven feature events, was the runner-up in three others and never finished outside the top-six. Perhaps more spectacularly, Watson led a lap in all, but three races. In total, Watson led 350 of 650 laps, a record of 54%.

Watson intends to return in 2012 as he begins the drive for five championships. He will face some stiff competition, one eager to get their piece of the championship pie.

By Clayton Johns

Dunford’s season kicked off at Sunset Speedway with a seventh place feature finish. After being a lap down and driving without any brakes at all, Dunford received the lucky dog on lap 35 that led to his first top-ten finish of the year.

At Kawartha Speedway, an incident on a lap 34 restart caused significant cosmetic damage to the nose of the #7T and was the result of a flat tire on Dave Taylor’s #51 which prevented Taylor from getting up to speed. Dunford would finish 11th.

Two weeks later at Mosport, Dunford missed both of his heat with more mechanical issues in the engine. The crew rallied to fix the car for the feature where they finished seventh for the second time this season after starting in the scratch position.

A return trip to Sunset Speedway gave the Callander, Ontario native his first top-five finish of the year. Dunford had one of the strongest cars of the night, working from his 12th-place starting position up to fifth in just 15 laps. Dunford ran a clean race and finished fifth.

“We’ve had a tough season. The first three races were junk and this one here happened to come around and we’re getting back to where were supposed to be,” said Dunford post-race. “The car worked great from start to finish. I just needed a couple more laps and might have picked up a couple more positions.”

The power under the hood of the #7T was exhibited at Sauble Speedway when Dunford qualified third with a quick time of 14.648 seconds, just four hundredths of a second off second place Wayne Isaacs’ time. Dunford then won his heat to maintain his third starting position. After running in the top-five all race, Dunford succumbed to another brake issue on lap 45, resulting in a tenth place finish.

The second visit of the season to Mosport Speedway was much better than the first for Dunford and good things seemed to come in threes. A pair of third place heat finishes led to a third place finish in the feature, the first podium finish of the year for the Castrol Canada team.

“The guys worked really hard. We’ve had a tough five races. We’ve got the bugs worked out, we’re so close now,” said an excited Dunford after the race.

The following weekend at Peterborough Speedway, Dunford started the feature fifth after two strong second and third-place heat finishes. The #7T ran in second place for over 10 laps and in the top-five all race before a tire rub and oil leak forced Dunford to park his car with nine laps to go.

A pair of top-ten finishes was in store for the two 75-lap events at Kawartha and Delaware Speedways. At Kawartha, Dunford started mid-pack and quickly moved his way up to the front and made a pass for sixth on lap 52, but couldn’t catch Ian Bourque for fifth in the final 20 laps and settled for sixth. Dunford was once again challenging for the top-five at Delaware when a spin on lap 68 forced him to start at the back. He would work his way back to seventh in the final seven laps.

After a slow start in the second stop at Peterborough Speedway that included a pair of top-five finishes, Dunford rebounded in the feature to finish third for the second time on the year.

The final stop at Sunset Speedway earned Dunford his second heat win of the year and had him sitting on the pole for the feature. Dunford was running with the lead pack when he lost power on lap 6, and had to end his night just six laps later on lap 12 due to engine failure.

The final event of the year at the Autumn Colours Classic gave Dunford a chance to earn the second spot in the championship standings. Dunford made a statement on qualifying Saturday with two second-place finishes in his heats. He drew the eighth starting position for the feature, but had a very quick car and took the second spot from Lloyd Ritchie on lap 12. Dunford closed the season with a second-place finish, his best of the year. His third podium finish of the year secured the runner-up spot in the championship standings for the second consecutive year.

Dunford evaluated his season and explained he is looking for more than second place in 2012.

“It’s been an up and down year, we’ve had some tough times. It’s all worked out for us. We still finished second with three DNF’s. So we’ll be back next year and maybe go after Mr. Watson for first place.”

Dunford intends to run a full schedule in 2012, but hopes the season can go without the hiccups that plagued 2011. Congratulations to Jeff Dunford and the Castrol Canada #7T on a second consecutive second place finish.

By Clayton Johns

Ritchie’s season did not start off as planned as he suffered a blown engine in practice at the season opening event at Sunset Speedway and was unable to compete.

Two weeks later, Ritchie made his presence felt at Kawartha Speedway as he won his first heat of the season. This led to Ritchie starting the feature in third. A strong starting position coupled with a smooth and consistent race landed the #62 on the podium, narrowly missing his first OSCAAR victory with a second place finish. Ritchie later said he didn’t feel he would have been able to catch winner Glenn Watson.

“I tried everything I had there. If he had gotten a little loose on the restart I might have been okay, but he was hooked up pretty good,” said Ritchie.

Ritchie then took his act to the Mosport Speedway and won both of his heat races to give him three consecutive heat victories. Ritchie started the feature outside the second row in fourth and battled with the #9 of Brandon Watson and the #00 of Wayne Isaacs all night long and later with the #89 of Drew Spicer before settling for a fifth place finish.

Ritchie returned to face his demons at Sunset Speedway and things appeared to be looking up as two strong heats landed him the fourth starting spot. Unfortunately, a blown engine once again ended his night, this time on lap 10. Ritchie felt the events were outside his control.

“Just bad luck. That’s two races in a row (at Sunset). I think we got one more here so maybe we’ll be back for the last one. Third times the charm,” joked Ritchie.

Time trials had Ritchie excited at Sauble Speedway and good fortune was the result as he qualified the #62 fourth with a time of 14.675 seconds. Ritchie wasn’t able to improve his starting position in his heat race, as he spun on lap seven and did not complete the race. Ritchie was forced to start at the back, but quickly made his march to the front of the pack and settled in the fourth spot by lap 30, where he would finish. Ritchie was the last car on the lead lap.

A return visit to Mosport brought Ritchie his second best night of the year as a pair of second-place finishes in his heats led to the runner-up position in the feature after starting sixth. A caution on lap 40 game Ritchie his best chance to pass leader Glenn Watson, but the #22 was too strong and pulled away with five laps to go.

The first of three trips to Peterborough Speedway kicked off the second half of the season and Ritchie achieved a fourth place finish as one of just five cars remaining on the lead lap in Jeff Hanley’s first win of the season.

The Don Biederman Memorial did not go as planned for Ritchie as he hit the wall in his heat race while trying to avoid an incident on restart. Several race teams and crew members banded together to help fix the #62 for the feature and Ritchie was able to start the 75-lap show in the scratch position. With a few ‘make-due’ parts on the car’s front end, Ritchie still managed a ninth place finish, his sixth top-ten of the year. Ritchie commented after the race on the help he received from the OSCAAR family.

“Yeah I have a lot of different parts on it. I have to thank the #7T car, the #10 car, the #39 car, the #97 car. All of those guys pitched in and helped me out with the different parts I needed to get it going. I’m really proud to me an OSCAAR driver because of those guys tonight.”

The second 75-lap event took the series to Delaware Speedway and has Ritchie in the 12th starting position. The ‘Orange Blossom Special’ had a very strong race and survived several incidents to run at the front of the pack for most of the night. Ritchie lost his fourth place spot on lap 68 when he ran out of gas following a multitude of cautions. Ritchie finished in 13th.

The highest point of Ritchie’s season came in his second visit to Peterborough Speedway. Ritchie won his first heat race and followed it with a fourth place heat finish. The invert draw landed Ritchie on the pole position for the feature, and the #62 never relinquished it. Ritchie led every lap on route to his first ever OSCAAR feature win.

“A relief. It’s been a long time. I didn’t like those cautions coming out (near the end) because I thought it was better with more green flag laps. Relief, that’s all I can say,” said Ritchie following the event.

A third trip to Sunset had Ritchie hoping for a better result than the previous two.

“I haven’t had too much luck over at Sunset, so maybe it owes me one and I hope it does.”

Two fourth-place finishes got Ritchie in to the invert draw where he drew the outside pole. Ritchie was in contention for a podium finish until he spun alone on lap 37 and had to settle for a tenth place finish. The driver of the #62 was happy to have brought the car home in one piece.

The Autumn Colours Classic brought Ritchie his fifth heat win of the season and a fourth place heat finish. He started the feature in third, but changes in track conditions from Saturday afternoon and a lack of practice meant Ritchie’s Outlaw wasn’t at its best. Ritchie still finished in seventh.

Ritchie’s first ever OSCAAR victory was the ‘feel-good’ story of the year among many other bright spots in the 2011 season. Ritchie intends to be back in 2012 with an even stronger car and potentially a new paint scheme on the ‘Orange Blossom Special’. Rest assured it will remain orange.

By Clayton Johns

Campbell started his year off in style, winning his first ever OSCAAR heat race in the season opener at Sunset Speedway. Campbell started the feature in seventh. After being shuffled to the back early on, Campbell received the lucky dog award on lap 42 and pushed his way to the front, narrowly missing the top-five with a sixth place finish.

Campbell followed up his first event with another sixth place finish at Kawartha, a strong result considering Campbell acquired a ‘DNF’ in his heat that night and had to start in the middle of the pack.

Campbell has difficulties travelling to Mosport Speedway for the third event, which resulted in a late arrival to the speedway and Campbell missing all of the practice sessions and started his first heat in the scratch position. He started the feature in 12th and managed a third consecutive top-ten finish when he crossed the line in ninth.

The Canada Day Weekend placed Campbell in a very tough heat at Sunset and resulted in fifth and sixth place finishes. This forced Campbell out of the invert draw and in to the 16th starting position. However, Campbell remained optimistic about the season and stated his goals for the season, and the possibility of challenging for the overall championship title.

“That would be pretty awesome to have a shot at (the championship). Not really expecting that, but if we can finish in the top-five we would reach our goals. To win rookie-of-the-year would make me pretty happy with the year,” said Campbell.

Campbell would come from the back to finish seventh.

Sauble Speedway gave Campbell a chance to put his car on display and he did just that by qualifying fifth with a fast time of 14.695 seconds. Campbell followed that with a fourth place heat finish that put him for his first top-five finish, but fell just short after a Jesse Kennedy won a strong battle for the fifth position, giving Campbell his third sixth-place finish of the year.

Campbell’s second trip to Mosport Speedway was much different than his first as Campbell explained experience has helped the team improve as they continue to make improvements.

“We just have to keep getting the car a little better. We’re working on it every week, and we seem to be gaining every week. We’re getting closer (to where we want to be),” said Campbell at the time.

Campbell started the event in third and wound up in seventh against a competitive field.

As the second half began, Campbell was still search of his first top-five finish, but had yet to finish outside the top-ten. Some mechanical problems in his heats meant Campbell would start near the back in 16th. Campbell was once again up for the chance, as he gained ten spots throughout the race to finish sixth for the fourth time in seven races.

Campbell’s first Don Biederman Memorial was rather quiet for Campbell as he finished 10th after he failed to qualify for the invert draw and started 14th.

The Matco Tools Outlaw Shootout at Delaware Speedway was also quiet as Campbell sat back and survived the war of attrition. He started in 14th and allowed several other drivers to take one another out in order to achieve his fifth sixth-place finish of the year, narrowly missing the elusive first top-five.

His second trip to Peterborough was more of the same as Campbell started 10th and finished sixth, but was as high as fourth with 11 laps to go, but was shuffled backwards on a restart that cost him his first top-five once again.

The consistency exhibited by Campbell appeared to be a recipe for success. Heading in to the Peterborough event, Campbell has made it his goal to finish in the top-five in each event, but fell just short in the first leg.

The final trip to Sunset looked like it might hand Campbell his first top-five a he won his first heat and followed it with a third-place heat finish. Campbell started fourth in the feature and jumped out to the lead on lap four, but fell off the pace on lap six due to engine difficulties, ending his night and resulting in the 22nd finishing spot.

Heading in to the final event at Peterborough Speedway, Campbell has locked up the Rookie-of-the-Year title and a top-five point’s position, something Campbell said was satisfying.

“It feels pretty good. That was our main goal and a top-five in the points. It looks like we’re going to accomplish both. I’m pretty happy and excited about how the season has gone.”

Campbell had a pair of strong heats, and drew the fourth starting position for the 50-lap feature. Campbell’s set-up wasn’t fit for the changing track conditions and he slipped back quickly, but did make his way back to sixth before falling to his eventual finishing position of 13th.

While a top-five finished eluded Campbell for the duration of his rookie campaign, consistency was crucial for the #07. Campbell has many race fans excited about his program for 2012 after finishing in the top-ten in ten races this season. It appears Campbell will only get better in 2012 and has every intention of challenging for a podium position each and every night in the New Year. Congratulations to Todd Campbell and his crew on winning the Inside Track Motorsport News Rookie-of-the-Year award.

By Clayton Johns

The season kicked off well for Isaacs who drew the pole at Sunset Speedway for the season’s first feature event. Isaacs had a strong race and finished just shy of the podium in fourth place.

The second event was much the same for Isaacs as he started outside four-time champion Glenn Watson. Isaacs kept pace until he lost several positions on a lap 34 restart when he avoided an accident with Dave Taylor. Isaacs finished fifth.

Isaacs registered his third top-five in as many races to start the season after he finished fourth at Mosport Speedway following a consistent run with the leaders, but falling just shy of the podium.

A return to Sunset Speedway put Isaacs on the podium for the first time after he finished third behind Glenn and Brandon Watson in a caution filled affair that Isaacs explained may have hurt his chances for a win.

“It was very frustrating. My car needed about good 7 or 8 laps before it came in, stopped the pushing, and started working. Each time we had a caution, to try and get (the car) back to (the way it was),” said Isaacs.

The fifth event of the year took the series to the beach and Sauble Speedway, where Isaacs posted the second quickest time in time trials, which guaranteed him a spot on the outside of the front row. Isaacs never relinquished the position and challenged leader Glenn Watson on several occasions, but was unable to make the pass, finishing second and registering his fifth top-five in as many races. Isaacs joked after the race that he had developed a new strategy to beat the now four-time champion.

“Well if he was sick and stayed home, I think that would work” joked Isaacs.

Isaacs looked to sweep the first half of the season with top-five finishes. Isaacs had two strong heats that allowed him to draw the pole position, but a blow engine on lap 18 meant Isaacs would suffer his first DNF and a 14th-place finish.

Isaacs debuted a brand new car for the seventh race of the season at the Peterborough Speedway and struggled to adjust to the confines of his new Outlaw. Isaacs struggled in his heats, resulting in a 13th-place starting position. The adjustment process continued as a spin on lap 33 but the #00 at the back and resulted in a ninth place finish.

Isaacs spent the next week adjusting the car in a few test sessions and the work paid off with his first heat win of the year at the Don Biederman Memorial at Kawartha Speedway. Isaacs started third and was consistent all night, finishing fourth and avoiding a series of collisions. This gave Isaacs his sixth top-five in eight races.

The Matco Tools event was as friendly to Isaacs who battled a loose race car and a spin following a lap 41 restart sent Isaacs to the rear of the field. Isaacs was able to battle back to a tenth place finish.

The second trip to the Peterborough Speedway has Isaacs thinking about his championship hopes with three races remaining.

“Well we thought about it last week when he broke in the practice and we thought we might gain a little bit. After borrowing another car to keep his points going the guy makes you think that it’s not going to happen,” said Isaacs eluding to Glenn Watson borrowing Charlie Gallant’s car at Delaware Speedway after he had engine problems in practice.

The night looked like it would have a positive outcome for Isaacs as it began with another heat win for the driver of the #00. The change in track conditions from the afternoon in to the evening changed Isaacs’ car drastically, forcing him to pit on lap 31, and resulted in a tenth place finish. This was the final event in which Isaacs participated in 2011.

Personal reasons forced Isaacs to miss the final two races of the year. However, Chris Burrows, regularly the driver of the #64b Outlaw, drove Isaacs’ car for the final two races, running for Isaacs’ points in the first of the two races. Burrows made the decision after having engine problems in two consecutive races at Delaware and Peterborough. Burrows would finish 9th and 12th at Sunset and Peterborough, respectively.

Isaacs’ 2012 season schedule remains unclear  but OSCAAR hopes to have a strong championship contender back on the racetrack when the season kicks off next spring. Congratulations to Wayne on an impressive season that totalled seven top-five finishes and nine top-ten finishes in ten events.

By Clayton Johns

Passer’s first top-ten of the year came in the season opener at Sunset Speedway where he finished eighth. The finish was an impressive feat after Passer had struggled in his heat races and started last in the 15th position.

The good fortunes continued for Passer in the series’ first visit to Kawartha for 2011. Passer started fourth after a strong heat race qualified him for the invert draw. After receiving the lucky dog award on lap 34, Passer vaulted himself in to the top-ten and finished seventh.

Passer’s first misfortune of the year came at Mosport Speedway where mechanical problems ended his second heat race of the night on lap 1. Passer started the feature in 11th, but had to pull his Chevrolet behind the wall after three laps.

Another strong outing was in store for Passer at Sunset Speedway on Canada Day weekend. Passer ran in the top-ten for most of the race after starting third, but a spin on lap 34 put Passer at the back of the pack with just 16 laps to go. He would go on to finish 12th.

A unique format at Sauble Speedway saw Passer qualify 7th with a fast time of 14.823 seconds before he finished third in his heat to advance his feature starting position to fifth. A few misfortunes, however, dropped Passer out of the top-five, but a seventh place finish was nothing to frown at as it brought his third top-ten finish in five races.

The second event at Mosport Speedway was one of Passer’s best as he finished fifth. After starting the feature in ninth, Passer made quick work of his competition and was sitting in fourth by lap 20 and ran with the race leaders for much of the night.

A second consecutive top-five feature finish came in the first visit to Peterborough Speedway, an impressive feat considering Passer spun once early on as well as on lap 36. The resiliency of the #13 was certainly seen on this night as it was not Passer’s perfect night.

Passer’s best finish of the year came at the year’s biggest race in the Don Biederman Memorial at Kawartha Speedway. After drawing a middle-of-the-pack starting position of 11th, Passer found himself just off the podium in fourth following 75 laps at the Fraserville oval.

Delaware was not meant to be for Passer as he battled a loose car for the duration of the night en route to a 15th place finish.

Two weeks later at Peterborough, mechanical troubles frustrated the #13 who was forced to start scratch after missing his final heat of the night. Passer would finish 19th after an incident on lap 31 ended his night early.

Things appeared to be looking up for Passer in the final trip to his home Sunset Speedway where he won his first heat race of the season. The feature race was not as friendly to Passer, as hard contact exiting turn two on lap six sent the #13 in to both the inside and outside walls of the backstretch. He would finish 21st.

The incident at Sunset did not allow Passer to repair his car in time for the Autumn Colours Classic at Peterborough. Passer borrowed the Outlaw of his brother Roy to run the event and finished a very respectable 14th after battling handling issue and a poor 21st starting position.

The year may not have been ideal for Passer, but more often than not, the car was brought home in one piece and culminated in a top-ten finish in championship points. Many drivers could only dream of such a season in their first full season of OSCAAR Racing. Passer will look for his first OSCAAR victory and podium finish in 2012 to add to his first OSCAAR heat win.

By Clayton Johns

Vanderwel committed himself to running the full OSCAAR campaign and never backed down from the challenge despite the learning curve required moving up to Canada’s fastest short track touring series. The season did not start off as planned for Vanderwel as he finished the opening race at Sunset in 14th place after retiring 18 laps in to the affair.

Vanderwel was not able to start the second event of the season at Kawartha after having problems occur in his heat race.

The season took flight for Vanderwel in the third race of the season when he posted two 4th-place. Vanderwel drew the pole position in the invert draw which he followed up with an eighth place finish. The finish was impressive for Vanderwel who earned a top-ten in his first completed race.

“Well I would like to do a little bit better than eighth. Coming in here as a rookie I was pretty happy with our first finish. We’ll just try to keep getting better and better,” said Vanderwel following the race.

Canada Day weekend at Sunset unfortunately did not give Vanderwel anything to celebrate as he was forced to end his night on lap 39, finishing in fifteenth.

The racing fire in Vanderwel was fully ignited following his return to his home Sauble Speedway. A unique format saw Vanderwel qualify sixth and he took advantage of the good starting position along with additional knowledge of the facility. Vanderwel wasted little time and spent most of the night chasing second place Wayne Isaacs. Vanderwel would earn his first podium finish at the end of the 50 lap affair. The driver of the #97 was ecstatic following his third place finish.

“It’s great. It’s absolutely phenomenal to be able to do that here,” said Vanderwel of his best finish. “I raced here for quite a few years, it’s been eight or nine years ago now. Third place is my best so far. I’m really excited to do it here.”

The final race in the season’s first half did not follow as planned as Vanderwel hit the outside wall exiting turn four on lap 25. The incident ended his night and resulted in a 12th-place finish.

Peterborough Speedway was unfortunately not any friendlier to Vanderwel who fell off the pace 10 laps in and had to end his night just 12 laps in to the race. The night had looked promising following fourth and second place finish in his heats, but was not meant to be.

The Don Biederman memorial started well for Vanderwel who was the fourth qualifier after a second-place heat finish. He drew the tenth-place starting position. However, a strange incident on lap nine saw the #97 make contact with another car on the front straightaway that sent it in to the inside retaining wall and both left side tires up on the top of the wall. Remarkably, Vanderwel brought the car back out for the remainder of the race, but was only able to finish 15th after sustaining damage.

“I’ve never experienced something like that before. The #10 car got a little loose in his rear-end there and then pointed his nose towards me and came in to me,” said Vanderwel post-race. “Then I got all wiggle-wobbly there and touched the wall. Once you’re there you start climbing and I just couldn’t pull it back off the wall.”

The Matco Tools Shootout was another strong event for Vanderwel who was the top qualifier on the night after winning his first heat race of the season. Vanderwel drew the fourth starting position and contended with some of the series’ top drivers in Rob Clarke, and Brandon Watson for the duration of the race. At the end of the turmoil, Vanderwel was fourth with his second top-five of the season.

Labour Day weekend at Peterborough Speedway was better than his previous as he finished fifth following two second-place heat finishes.

The final event at Sunset Speedway saw Vanderwel start eighth, but a loose car forced him to pit on lap 23. Vanderwel nursed the car up to the tenth position before a spin with eight laps to go sent him to the back of the field for the restart. He would finish 15th.

The Autumn Colours Classic was Vanderwel’s first in OSCAAR. Contact in his second heat resulted in a DNF and he fell out of contention for the invert draw. Vanderwel had worked his way in to the top-ten and was pushing for the top-five when he spun in turn three with just seven laps to go. The spin resulted in a 15th place finish.

Through the ups and downs the #97 team, led by crew chief Tony Cable, were able to surmount the challenges posed by a rookie season. The Shoreline Stone Chevrolet competed amongst OSCAAR’s perennial contenders on numerous occasions and offers a promising future for 2012 and years to come. Vanderwel is a key component of a core of new talent that has been infused in to OSCAAR over the past few seasons, reaffirming its position as the fastest touring series in Canada.

Very few tickets remain for the OSCAAR banquet on December 3rd at the Best Western in Milton, Ontario. Contact Edna White by e-mail at emac1963@hotmail.com for tickets.

By Clayton Johns

“These cars are a lot different than the average car. You turn one little thing in one spring and it changes everything. The whole team is all new to this whole set up. We’re just trying to get everything figured out, a little bit here, a little bit there. Progress every week (is our goal),” said Hawn at Mosport Speedway on June 18.

Hawn started his first full season in OSCAAR with a top-ten tenth place finish at Sunset Speedway to start the season. Two weeks later Hawn finished eighth at Kawartha after starting ninth.

At the June 18 event at Mosport Speedway, Hawn’s first ever visit to the Bowmanville, Ontario facility, he finished a very respectable 11th. Being his first experience at Mosport, Hawn realized there is certainly a learning curve to joining Ontario’s top touring series.

“This is our first major year in (OSCAAR), and that was my first time ever at Mosport. We’re learning a lot, we make notes and we can improve from those notes for next time.”

On the Canada Day weekend, Hawn had arguably his best race of the season at the Sunset Speedway in an event that saw 21 cars take the green flag. Hawn started right near the back of the field in the eighteenth position. Prior to the race Hawn explained he would do whatever it took to move to the front of the field.

“I’m gonna drive the wheels off it. I’m gonna try everything I can to get up there. I’m hoping it’s going to be a nice clean night, but you never know around these parts. We’ll take positions where we can and try to keep it clean.”

When the dust settled, Hawn had managed to avoid multiple accidents on the night to finish tenth, his third top-ten of the season in four races to that point in the season.

The unique format at Sauble Speedway a week later saw Hawn finish ninth after qualifying and starting in the same position.

In his second ever trip to Mosport Speedway Hawn improved on his first appearance by finishing just shy of his first ever top-five in the sixth position. The finish had Hawn excited about the progress the team had made just six starts in to their first full season.

“It’s very exciting. A lot of things are going well with the car. For positives, now we can start tweaking little things. We’re trying to learn with an old chassis. This chassis is around twenty years old. It’s a learning experience for us. We’ll pick away at it and see what happens,” explained Hawn.

Hawn was equally prospective about running his first ever Don Biederman Memorial race at Kawartha, especially after a strong start to the season. However, it was not meant to be. Hawn had to end his night 47 laps in to the 75 lap affair when an accident involving Ed Bowlby punctured air flow ducts and radiator in Hawn’s #42, ending his night.

At the Matco Tools Shootout at Delaware Speedway, Hawn’s first ever event at the facility, he finished in twelfth. Hawn started in eighteenth and managed to avoid the carnage that took place throughout the night.

At Peterborough Speedway on the Labour Day weekend, Hawn had a pair of strong heat races in addition to an 11th place feature finish.

The end of the season did not go as planned for Hawn. In the final trip to Sunset Speedway Hawn had problems that forced him to sit out his second heat race. Consequently Hawn elected to start the feature in the scratch position. Unfortunately the car wasn’t fit to race and Hawn called it quits after two laps.

The Autumn Colours Classic saw Hawn start the feature in 17th and finish in 16th. While Hawn may have fallen short of the top-ten finishing positions, he explained the atmosphere of the race was enjoyable despite a loose race car.

“Yeah (the sun) was getting real bad. I thought it was my tires, but now that I think about it, a lot of guys were getting real loose. We all had fun.”

Reflecting on the season, Hawn said it was just some bad luck that hindered the team from taking a better run on the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

“I’m really happy with the top-ten in points. We had some real bad luck the last few weeks, we’ve been out of the top-ten finishes a few times. I think if we had kept it up there we would have been a lot higher and maybe have given Todd a better run for the rookie-of-the-year.”

The off-season will prove to be just as exciting for Hawn who is contemplating big changes to his program. Although no changes are guaranteed, Hawn will be back in OSCAAR for 2012 regardless.

“There’s a few things in the works. There might be a new car, there might not be a new car. It’s all depending on how some sponsorship stuff works out. We’ll see how it goes. If not, if we don’t get a new car, we’ll update this thing a little more and have some more fun with it next year.”

Either way, the #42 will be stronger in 2012 and challenging for a top-five position in the points standings.

By Clayton Johns

“(My)daughters want to race. (They’re) 20 and 23 years old, and they want to go racing. So, we’re here.”

Taylor’s season began with a fifth place finish at Sunset Speedway, a very impressive result considering the lay-off. Two weeks later at Kawartha, Taylor took his first heat win of the season at the Fraserville, Ontario oval and followed that up with a third place feature finish in which he looked very strong.

A strong sixth place finish at Mosport preceded an unfortunate event at Sunset on the Canada Day weekend. Taylor was involved in a wreck on lap 17 and the car overheated and suffered significant damage to the front end. The damage would force Taylor to miss the next three races, ultimately resulting in his elimination from championship contention.

Taylor, however, returned to the track in time for the 12th Don Biederman Memorial. A seventh place finish was the result at Kawartha after Taylor fought a poor handling car for the better part of 75 laps following a minor incident with Brandon Watson that resulted in some cosmetic damage to the car’s nose.

In the second half of the Matco Tools Shootout, Taylor equalled his best finish of the season with another third place tally at Delaware Speedway.

An incident at Peterborough Speedway early in the race resulted in a DNF for Taylor, although he did pick up his second heat win of the year earlier in the night. Another top-five and fifth place finish closed out the Sunset portion of the schedule for Taylor, who ran as high as third at the Velocity 250 event.

The final event at the Autumn Colours Classic was a battle of attrition for Taylor. An incident in Saturday morning practice broke the right-front control arm of the car. The crew scrambled and put the car back together in time for his second heat race, where he finished third. After the feature in twentieth, Taylor moved gradually through the field and achieved his fifth top-five finish of the year after passing under the checkers in fourth place.

Taylor insists that his 2011 return was not a one shot deal. He is anxious to continue learning and improving, especially with the significant technological changes since his pausing his racing career.

“(The season) was okay. We came back after a twelve year absence and all the new technology, we were way behind. We don’t buy our cars, we build them. It took us five races to catch up. We’re pretty good now, and I’m happy,” said Taylor following the season ending event.

The Oakwood, Ontario native ensured that he has bigger plans and bigger goals for 2012 than simply keeping up.

“A championship. We want to win a championship.”

By Clayton Johns