ACTON, ON- For the first time since July 4th, reigning Sunset Speedway Mini Stock champion Brandon McFerran will unload on raceday with hopes of tallying back-to-back feature wins.
‘The Astronaut’s triumph in his last start on August 15th ended a near two-month long winless streak, and revived the 16-Year Old’s bid for the 2015 track championship.
“It’s a completely different feeling preparing for a race when you’re coming off of a win,” explains McFerran. “It’s been a little while since I’ve felt it – and man oh man have I missed it. I’ve been on cloud nine for two weeks, now”
The third-generation competitor has been forthcoming through his recent slump about his team’s efforts to reignite their offensive streak. Weeks’ worth of work culminated in McFerran’s head-turning outing two weeks ago, and have the Sunset faithful once again looking to the Peter D. Laird Transport-sponsored standout as a championship contender.
“I don’t care how much confidence a driver has in his team and equipment, when you’re going through a cold streak, you second guess everything,” says McFerran, leaning forward for emphasis.
“It plays with your mind in a big way. There were weeks where we just couldn’t get this car to work. The same things that made us so successful last season just didn’t seem to make a difference. I was worried that I just straight up got out of bed one morning and forgot how to drive this car”
After a 2014 championship season that saw McFerran control the points lead from opening night to the year-end banquet, the fan favourite admits his 2015 efforts have had a decidedly different feel.
“I don’t wanna say that we took winning for granted last season, because I appreciated every single win that we got,” offers McFerran. “But, we definitely got used to being in contention every night”
“I didn’t realize just how much I missed being in victory lane until we rolled to a stop under that flag stand two weeks ago. Now, from the time we rolled out of the pits that night, I’ve been thinking about what I need to do to get another win”
With three nights remaining before Sunset crowns its 2015 champion, McFerran currently finds himself second in Mini Stock points, just three markers removed from current leader Doug Butler.
“We’ve been keeping watch on this points situation all season long out of the corner of our eye,” laughs McFerran. “It’s going to be tight. I mean, it’s probably going to come right down to the last night. We can’t control how everyone else runs, all we can do is bust our asses to get the absolute most out of this No. 64. If we can keep this thing up front, good things will happen to us.”
Brandon McFerran will continue his march towards a second straight Sunset Speedway championship this Saturday, August 29th. Details for the event – including advance ticket sales- can be found at www.SunsetSpeedway.ca.
Brandon McFerran’s 2015 season is fueled by Peter D. Laird Transport, Sauble Falls Tent & Trailer Park, Road Ranger, East End Car Wash, B&B Towing, Creative Edge Graphics, Finish Line Painting & Restoration, DS McClure Farms, AMD Electric, Ultimate Finishes and Matalco.
To learn more about Brandon, visit the official Brandon McFerran Racing page on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter @BrandonMcFerran.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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