@CoreyJones82 BADEN, ON- Super Late Model up-and-comer Corey Jones will make his first career OSCAAR start at Flamboro Speedway, as his J-Star Motorsports team returns to their hometrack for the first time since graduating to the province-wide tour.
Jones will unload at Flamboro eager for an easier outing than his team experienced a week ago – struggling through electrical issues on raceday that cost them their final practice session and qualifying heat races before rallying back for a top-5 finish in the 50-lap feature event.
“I haven’t had a day that long at the speedway since last season,” sighs Jones. “We had an ignition disconnect go bad at the end of practice and it looked like we were going to have to put it in the trailer. But, these guys on this team are just as insane as I am, and we worked on this thing all night to get it working again”
“We had the carburetor off twice, then we had the fuel cell out of the car and taken apart just trying to find the problem before we finally diagnosed the issue,” adds the former Canadian Vintage Modified star. “We missed both of our heats and I was really thinking we would only be able to start and park the feature once we finally got the car to fire”
Against long odds, Jones and team found a way to keep their car powered throughout the 50-lap A Main, and charged from 14th to 5th before burning up their tires late in the race.
“It’s a shame that we cooked the tires, because I think we had something for the podium,” offers Jones. “Picking up 9 spots on this tour is not easy to do, and as good as this car felt in the first 25-laps, I think we could’ve picked up a few more if our day had gone the way we had hoped it would in qualifying”
The sophomore is excited to return to action so quickly this weekend, and hopes to work his No. 82 to a podium finish on familiar turf.
“Saturday was the kind of disappointment where you immediately want to get back to work,” says Jones. “So the schedule is looking pretty good right now”
“I’m excited any time I get to go to Flamboro, and I couldn’t think of a better place for us to get back on our feet after last week. We have a ton of laps there in other series, and I honestly believe that we can contend for our first win there”
Despite logging a bevy of laps at the facility in open practice sessions, Jones has never appeared in an OSCAAR-sanctioned event at the 1/3-mile oval.
“Flamboro is our hometrack, and I’m positive that I have more laps of practice there than anywhere else, but I haven’t had the chance to race there in this car yet. It’s going to be awesome to compete in front of a lot of our friends and family that aren’t able to follow us on the tour all summer long. We’ll also have a lot of our sponsors in the stands, so there will definitely be an added incentive to perform”
With four events contested over the course of the next seven weeks, Jones hopes to exit Flamboro in one piece with some much-needed momentum in his hip pocket.
“The schedule is pretty stacked from now right through to the end of the season, and every team on this tour wants to do all that they can to keep momentum on their side,” offers the Shane Gowan-protégé. “This is not the time of the year in which you want to be coming from behind and working through bad luck. A top-5 at Sunset was a solid start, and if we can get to the podium this weekend I think it would be a fantastic way to start our late-season push.”
Visit www.FlamboroSpeedway.ca for information on how to secure tickets for Saturday’s Don Biederman Memorial.
Corey Jones’ 2015 season is fueled by Griffen + Highbury, Nelson Aggregate, LaFleche Roofing, Royal Bank of Canada, Accountable Automotive, Castle Building Centres, Anmar Cleaning, Oktane Productions, Ken Robinson Refrigeration and EPIC Racewear.
Fans can stay up to date with Corey and the rest of the team by visiting the official Corey Jones Racing page on Facebook and by following @CoreyJones82 on Twitter.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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