HAMILTON, ON- Veteran Terry Baker will be one of the most active drivers at Delaware Speedway this weekend. With both the OSCAAR Modified Tour and the APC United Late Model Series headlining each night of the lauded Great Canadian Race weekend, Baker will look to race his way to the front of the field on back-to-back nights in two very different racecars.
“There’s a certain kind of energy that you, as a driver, get from a big event like the Great Canadian Race,” says Baker in regards to Delaware’s annual Crown Jewel.
“Competing at this level, this will be one of the biggest crowds we race in front of all year, and that’s huge. It’s an incredible feeling when you walk out onto pit road for your qualifying run and see that huge mass of people staring back at you. At that point – it’s all about wanting to give them their money’s worth”
Baker has a number of laps under his belt at Delaware, and makes it clear that there are right ways and wrong ways to approach the blisteringly fast half-mile.
“I have a lot of respect for that racetrack,” explains the Hamilton, ON resident. “That’s the kind of place where, if you don’t respect it, you’ll be leafing through a parts book searching for replacements on Monday morning”
“It’s a racey track – but you have to attack it a certain way. We’re not going to be looking to push the envelope until it’s absolutely necessary. The Modified and the Pro Late [Model] are different in just about every way, but both races are pretty similar in the sense that if you aren’t around at the end you won’t be a factor. So, for us, the key is going to be taking care of our stuff until we get to the deep water”
The former Pro-4 Modified standout last saw action at Delaware in an OSCAAR Modified event on July 10th and hopes to utilize some of the intel he acquired in that top-5 performance.
“The last time we had the Modified at Delaware, we ran up front all night and finished 4th. Most importantly – we picked up a lot of knowledge about this car that we didn’t necessarily have last season,” explains Baker. “Since then, we’ve made some adjustments and some tweaks, and I really believe that we now have a car that’s more than capable of winning this Friday”
After spending Friday night behind the wheel of his Open Wheel Modified, Baker will switch gears and turn his attention to his Pro Late Model for the season finale of the upstart APC United Late Model Series.
“The amount of talent on the APC [United Late Model] Series is scary,” marvels Baker. “It’s like an all-star race every single week. I know that there are a ton of teams coming out for the Great Canadian [Race], so our number one concern on Saturday morning is going to be making it into the show”
“If we can qualify for the event, I know that we can keep our car in contention long enough to play a part at the end of the race. I’ve been a slow starter in a couple of these races this season, but the car is always there when the laps start to matter, and I hope that’s the case on Saturday night.”
For more information on this weekend’s doubleshot, visit www.DelawareSpeedway.com.
Terry Baker will carry sponsorship this weekend from Ohsweken Speedway, EPIC Racewear, Bryan’s Auction Center, JustJunk.com of Hamilton, Baker Performance of Hamilton, Permatex and NAPA Auto Parts.
Fans can keep up with Terry all season long by visiting the official Terry Baker Racing page on Facebook.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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