NEW HAMBURG, ON- Despite holding the title of the youngest driver on the Sunset Speedway Mini Stock roster, sophomore Jake Watson exudes the poise and composure of a veteran well beyond his years.
The third-generation competitor – son of former Mini Stock regular Wade Watson – will look to wrap up his first full season at Sunset Speedway in the coming weeks, in a pair of marquee events in the form of the Frequent Flyer 50 on September 18th and the Velocity 250 weekend on September 27th and 28th.
“This year has been huge for our whole team, we’ve come a long way”, explains Watson from within his Wade Watson Racing hauler.
“Every time I pulled onto the speedway, I could feel myself improving bit-by-bit. I became more comfortable with the car, and learned to understand what it was doing and why”
‘The Derringer’ displayed a knack for consistency, securing top-10 performances in over 70% of his races at Sunset this season, en route to snagging 10th place in the overall division point standings.
“I learned pretty early on this season that I wasn’t going to out-motor anyone”, says the thirteen-year old with a smile. “When you’re down on power, the only way to make up for it is to corner better than the guy beside you”
“My dad taught me that – and it’s stuck with me all this time. That’s where I’m able to pick up my positions. By being smooth and racing smart, we were able to finish in the top-10 pretty regularly – which is exactly what we had hoped to do this season”
The soft-spoken middle-schooler is aware of just how tough the Sunset division is, though Watson does not appear intimidated for a moment.
“This is the best Mini Stock division in Ontario – which is exactly why we wanted to race here this season”, says Watson. “There are racers here who have been doing this for a long time. Of course I want to be at the front with them contending for wins, but I know that I have a long way to go and a lot to learn”
“I’m not afraid of a little hard work. We’ve already picked up a lot of ground from where we were at the start of the season”
“If this was easy – everyone would do it”, adds Watson with a smile.
Watson’s No. 88 Spira Fire Protection/HYPE Energy Drinks Mustang will be back on track this Thursday, September 18th when he lines up alongside some of the top competition Ontario has to offer, in the $1300-to-win Frequent Flyer 50.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than this race”, says Watson. “Every Mini Stock driver in the province wants to win this one. We just need a lucky pill draw and a strong heat race. If we can make the A-Main, it will be like a win for us”
‘The Derringer’ Jake Watson is proud to carry the support of Spira Fire Protection, HYPE Energy Drinks, Fast Eddie Racewear, Process Group, Race2Way.ca, Expressway Ford, Cloverleaf Farms, Stewart’s Equipment, Artik Ice, WIX Filters, Gunk, Chetty’s Hot Sauce, Cambridge Source For Sports, Oktane Productions and Lucas Oil.
Fans can follow ‘The Derringer’ on Twitter @JakertWatson and be sure to visit the all new Jake Watson – WWR page on Facebook.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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