@SudsburyRacing • BOWMANVILLE, ON – After sitting out almost the entirety of the 2014 season, Bryan Sudsbury is ready to return to Peterborough Speedway – on the biggest stage in Ontario short track racing – the 22nd annual Autumn Colours Classic.
“It killed me sitting out this season,” explains Sudsbury. “We knew that we needed to take our program in a new direction, and that meant building a brand new Late Model chassis. Unfortunately, building a brand new chassis takes time and money, which put us on the sidelines for 2014.”
Fortunately for Sudsbury, a joint partnership between himself and longtime friend Kelly Balson found the pair in possession of a Mini Stock just in time for the Ontario Short Track Playoff Season. After a season worth of waiting, ‘Party Time’ was back in the game.
“As soon as Kelly asked me if I wanted to go halves on a Mini Stock, I was in,” laughs the former Peterborough Speedway Ltd. Late Model champion. “Coming out of Karting, the Mini Stock division was the first bit of stock car racing I experienced. In a lot of ways, picking this car up was like coming home.”
Sunset Speedway’s Velocity 250 event on September 28th marked Sudsbury’s official return to the division, and after notching a 7th place finish the former front runner is ready for the Autumn Colours Classic.
“There’s still a lot more left in that car,” says Sudsbury. “The Velocity was far more about knocking the rust off of the driver than it was finding speed in the car. It’s an absolute rocket ship, and I’m more than confident that we can find a few more tenths that will keep us at the front all weekend at Peterborough.”
“I look forward to running with the elite level guys in this division,” continues Sudsbury. “I don’t think there’s any question that the Mini Stock class is one of – if not the most – competitive in Ontario. There are 15 to 20 drivers that could win ‘the Classic’ and no one would even bat an eye. That level of parity is what has me so excited about this weekend.”
When asked strategy for the 50-lap A Main, Sudsbury has a hard time hiding his enthusiasm.
“I just want to get to the front and worry about everything else later,” offers the veteran. “50-laps is an eternity in a Mini Stock, and a lot can happen between lap-1 and lap-49. The most important thing is to stay out of the messes. The first few laps are traditionally pretty crazy. Those are the moments where a good qualifying run and a decent starting position are a life saver”
“Hopefully we can be quick out of the box, make the right adjustments, win our heat race and find ourselves close to the front when the green drops on Sunday.”
Marketing support for ‘Party Time’ Bryan Sudsbury’s 2014 Autumn Colours Classic weekend is courtesy of London Recreational Racing, Cochrane Automotive and Castrol Canada.
To learn more about ‘Party Time’, be sure to follow on Twitter @SudsburyRacing.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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