INVERARY, Ont. – July 25, 2017 – Danny O’Brien scored his fourth victory of the season in a come from behind win last Saturday night at Brockville Ontario Speedway. The win capped an excellent weekend for the driver of the 1000 Islands RV Centre No.17d 358 Modified, who was also awarded second-place in a dead heat on Friday night at Mohawk International Raceway.
O’Brien started the weekend on Friday night at Mohawk, his first start at the Hogansburg, NY track since June 2 due to numerous rainouts. After a fourth-place finish in his heat, O’Brien lined-up mid-pack for the 30-lap main event and began a march to the front.
“We don’t run there weekly, so I started 11th,” O’Brien said. “Billy Dunn started 10th and we raced up through the field together. It was all under green and I got to second. With two to go we had a yellow and he was right in front of me at that point. We had a two lap shootout side-by-side.”
The door-to-door dash ended with a historical moment as the two drivers crossed the finish line at the exact same time.
“We lost by about an inch on Saturday night, I’m told,” O’Brien said. “When we crossed the line, the scoring system read 0.000.”
Dunn was credited with the win and O’Brien in second. While he would have preferred the win, O’Brien was ecstatic at the entertaining finish on one of his favourite tracks.
“The fans got to see a great race, so that’s what really matters,” O’Brien said. “That place is just fun. When it’s a wide track, they can’t hold you back there. There’s so much room. If you’re fast, you can get to the front.”
The following night, O’Brien set out to get back to Victory Lane and did just that. The Inverary, Ont. pilot won his heat and lined-up mid-pack following the handicapping process. A wide and racey track allowed O’Brien to maneuver his way forward and into contention for the win.
“It took a long time to get to the front,” O’Brien said. “We didn’t get there until late in the race. Johnny Mulder was leading and he was going good. It was tough. The track was two lanes and fast. You could race anywhere on it. It was a good race all around.”
O’Brien took the lead on the outside with four laps to go and held off Mulder on a final restart with two laps to go to claim his fourth win of the season at Brockville and extend his point lead. O’Brien’s strength on this night was his versatility on a well-prepared racetrack.
“I was everywhere. I was passing cars middle, top and bottom,” O’Brien said. “You could go anywhere you wanted to.”
After his only finish outside the top-10 two weeks ago and a third-place finish last week, O’Brien was glad to return to his winning form on both nights.
“I think we’re back on track now,” O’Brien said. “We got pounded hard here on Monday with rain. They’re pumping water out of tracks, so who knows what this weekend will bring, but it was good to get back to Victory Lane.”
O’Brien will be back in action at Brockville on Saturday, July 29 to continue his 2017 championship chase. Race time is 7:00pm. For additional event information, visit www.brockvillespeedway.com.
SEASON STATS
Danny O’Brien – 13 Starts: 4 Wins, 10 Top-5s, 12 Top-10s
DANNY O’BRIEN MEDIA
Website: dannyobrien.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/DannyOBrienRacing
Danny O’Brien is proud to partner with several dedicated marketing partners for the 2017 race season, including 1000 Islands RV Centre, ATC World Class Trailers, Bob FM, Pat’s Auto Centre, Bicknell Racing Products, Heather-Lynn Topping, Integra Shocks, Number One Speed Shock Service and Kenneth Topping.
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