PORT ELGIN, ON- One year after one of the biggest victories of his career, 2014 Velocity 250 champion Jason Parker is preparing his return to Sunset Speedway with hopes of becoming the event’s first back-to-back winner.
‘The New Age Punisher’ will enter Ontario’s ‘Playoff Season’ with momentum on his side, after winning Sauble Speedway’s season finale on September 5th.
“I’ve never been more excited for the Playoff Season,” explains Parker. “Coming to the checkered at the Sauble finale was the best this car has felt all season. We’ve worked nonstop on this program all summer – between APC [United Late Model Series] events and Sauble shows, and we’ve got this car in fantastic shape right now”
Parker’s Velocity triumph last September marked his second career win at Sunset, a statistic he hopes to pad this weekend.
“Our main focus right now is the Velocity,” says the Port Elgin, ON veteran. “We’ve had good cars – but not great cars – on the tour all season. After how good this thing felt at the Sauble finale, I wholeheartedly believe that we can show up at the Velocity with a car that can contender with any of these guys”
“It’s a track that I had never really had a lot of luck at prior to last season, and now that we’ve figured it out, I want very badly to get back to victory lane there”
As the reigning and defending race winner, Parker admits there was never any doubt on wether he would be returning to the year-end Crown Jewel event.
“What kind of racer would I be if I didn’t come back to the Velocity to defend my win?,” asks Parker with a laugh. “Our Sunset program is as good now as it has ever been – so it really doesn’t take a hell of a lot of convincing for me to haul there. I love that place. I love that event. I love the guys that race there. It’s a spot that I know that we can unload at and be in the ballpark from the word ‘go’”
“When we’re at Sunset, we’re not working overtime to find the right package, we’re fine-tuning something that we already know works and massaging it to get the best possible performance out of our stuff”
Looking ahead, Parker details that this weekend’s Velocity 250 will not be the last appearance for his JP Motorsports team – as plans have already been put in motion for the team’s last race of 2015 at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic on October 9th, 10th and 11th.
“The Classic is that win that has always seemed to elude us,” says Parker. “I know there’s a lot of guys that say that – but it’s felt like we’ve been close more than a couple times and haven’t been able to seal the deal”
“I’ve gone down there and been top qualifier, I’ve gone down there and spent the whole race running up near the front and I’ve gone down there and yardsaled some really good cars. So, the way I see it, we’ve done just about everything except win the thing,” continues ‘The New Age Punisher’.
“So, let’s go ahead and knock that off our list. My long-run stuff is better now than it’s ever been – and I think that 2015 could be our year.”
For more information on this weekend’s event, visit www.SunsetSpeedway.ca.
Fans can keep up with Parker all weekend long by following him on Twitter @NewAgePunisher8 and by visiting the official Jason Parker Racing page on Facebook.
Jason Parker’s 2015 efforts are powered by International Boiler Makers Local 128, Prestige General Contractors, Saugeen Shores Transmission, MacDonnell Fuels, BAXI / Marathon Industries, Colourworks, Keeprite, Candue Homes, Ron Gibbons Construction and Crabby Joe’s of Port Elgin/Hanover.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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