OMRS SportsMods: Chad Strawn Wins Bill Pickford Memorial

Racers, officials and fans of the OMRS SportsMods Series gathered on Saturday, August 16th at Peterborough Speedway to honour one of their own. The annual Bill Pickford Memorial was staged with a pair of headline events – 30 and 31 laps in length – to match the car number that the former group official and competitor ran during his career.

Chad Strawn and John Baker Jr. started on the front row as the field came to the line in the opening leg of the total point format. Strawn took the early lead, with teammate Brad Stevenson coming along from his starting spot on the inside of row two. The driver of the No. 35 machine moved out to an advantage of nearly 10 car lengths before the headliner had 10 laps on the scoreboard.

The leaders started working through slower traffic, with two-thirds of the race distance complete, but Strawn was never challenged through the caution-free event. Stevenson, JBJ, Glenn Morris, Ethan Thompson, Garrett Yake and Rick Warnes completed the running order.

A 31-lap nightcap had Morris and Baker Jr. leading the starting field to the green flag. JBJ grabbed the early lead, with Strawn taking the runner-up spot. Yake – who’s been very impressive in his first year in the sport – held third, with Stevenson settling into fourth.

Baker Jr. and Strawn put on a show for the fans as they ran side-by-side for several laps before Strawn wrestled the lead away from JBJ with about seven laps remaining. While the first segment ran without a yellow flag, a caution for debris in turn three brought the pack back together for a late-race charge.

Strawn held Baker Jr. at bay through the closing stages and returned to victory lane with a sweep of the show’s two segments. Stevenson, Morris, Thompson, Yake and Warnes completed the final rundown. With his back-to-back checkered flags, Chad Strawn was named the 2025 winner of the Bill Pickford Memorial.