INNISFIL, ON- 2014 Bruce Gowland Memorial champion Dwayne Baker returned to the Sunset Speedway podium on Sunday, September 28th. ‘The Bully’ tallied his 5th top-3 in just his 6th OSCAAR appearance of the season, after winning a near race-long highlight reel battle with Super Late Model heavyweight Jeff Hanley.
“That was good racing with me and Jeff”, smiled Baker post-race. “He wasn’t going to give an inch and neither was I. That was good, hard racing”
Baker’s crusade to the front of the field was halted numerous times throughout the 50-lap affair, as a rash of cautions kept the field from finding its rhythm.
“Too many cautions”, offered Baker. “It felt like as soon as we started to get going, we’d see another yellow. It’s hard to find your groove when you can’t lay down 10-laps at a time”
“The [crate] engine package that we run with gives up a lot on restarts”, continued Baker. “It takes us a few laps to get going, so the cautions definitely hurt us tonight”
“Once we got going the car was fine, if we had a long green flag run – 30-laps or 40-laps – I think it would have been a different story”
With his podium finish in tow, Baker has now finished within the top-5 in 12 of his last 14 OSCAAR tour appearances, dating back to the 2011 season.
Baker and team will now take a well-deserved week off from competition, as they prepare their Ltd. Late Model and Super Late Model for the final event of the 2014 season – the Peterborough Speedway Autumn Colours Classic on October 10th, 11th and 12th.
The Stayner, ON veteran will enter as the 2-time reigning and defending Ltd. Late Model champion, and will look to become the first 3-time winner the division has ever seen.
“Peterborough is one of the best events we go to all season”, said Baker. “We’ve had great cars there the last two years, and hopefully we can keep our streak going”
“There’s no question the best of the best will be there, we just have to hope that our stuff is that much better than theirs”
Dwayne Baker’s 2014 program is fueled by Zancor Custom Homes, Four Valley’s Excavating, Clearview Heating & Cooling, Baker Performance Parts and Nisco National Leasing.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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