PLATTSVILLE, ON- With a pair of top-5 finishes in APC United Late Model Series competition in his back pocket, former Flamboro Speedway champion Shawn Chenoweth is set for Round 3 of the upstart tour at Delaware Speedway on June 26th.
Despite fans and insiders across Ontario’s short track realm hedging their bets that a Delaware regular will escape with the 100-lap triumph, Chenoweth remains unintimidated at the mention of a perceived advantage for Delaware’s weekly regulars.
“I don’t buy into the notion of home track advantages,” shrugs Chenoweth when asked the odds of a non-Delaware regular racing to victory lane in Friday’s ‘Sifton 100’.
“I’ve heard a lot of guys mention them – but I really don’t believe them. I’m not sure how the rest of the teams on this roster have structured their programs, but I know that we’ve built ours in a way that we can compete at all five tracks on the schedule”
‘The Mastodon’ has proved competitive in both of his tour appearances thus far, logging a 4th place finish to open the 2015 season at Sunset, followed by a dramatic come-from-behind 5th place performance at Flamboro Speedway in Round 2.
“Our goal is to come out and contend for the win everywhere we go,” states the London Recreational Racing representative. “We’re trying to maximize our points at every event. There isn’t one race on our schedule where I’m going to be holding my breath and waiting for it to be over. That’s not how a tour like this works”
A year removed from a successful outing with the 2014 Delaware-Flamboro co-promoted APC Six Pack Series, Chenoweth is prepared to apply what he learned in last season’s mini-series in his return to Delaware.
“A year ago, if you had asked me what our Delaware program was liked, I would admit that it needed a little bit of work,” says Chenoweth. “But we learned a lot running the Six Pack Series last season and it thickened up our Delaware notebook in a big way”
“We’re bringing the same car that we had at Delaware last season, with a relatively similar setup. We only get two practice sessions to find out if it’s working or not, so we may have to do a little adjusting on the fly”
Chenoweth will enter the event sitting 3rd in series points, and hopes to continue his string of solid outings with aim of advancing through the crowded championship standings.
“We haven’t finished outside of the top-5 yet – and I don’t intend to break that streak anytime soon,” says Chenoweth matter-of-factly. “This team just seems to respond well to pressure. The more fast cars there are in the pit area, the harder we’re willing to work”
“Something tells me we’ll need to pack a lunch on Friday, because I know how badly the Delaware guys want to win this one,” adds the former Autumn Colours Classic champion. “But, we’re not intimidated and we won’t be unloading with anything less than our A-Game. We’ll be ready come feature time.”
Details, including gate times and ticket prices, for Friday’s APC United Late Model Series-sanctioned Sifton 100 can be found at www.DelawareSpeedway.com.
Shawn Chenoweth’s 2015 season would not be possible without the support of London Recreational, Bennett GM, KR Communications, Midas of Orangeville, Castrol Edge, Hitman Hotrods, Wilson Ponds, Graybar, McColl Racing Enterprises, Ideal Brake Parts, Team Vincent Motorsports, Finish Line Concrete Therapy, Innerkip Plumbing and Heating, ProWraps and Automotive Truck & Tire.
Fans can keep up with Shawn by visiting his official Shawn Chenoweth Racing page on Facebook.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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