HILLSBURGH, ON- Less than two months into his second full year behind the wheel of a stock car, second-generation star Jordan Howse finds himself a mere 26-points removed from the top of Sunset Speedway’s hotly contested Mini Stock Championship Standings.
“It’s pretty incredible how tight the points are at the top of the standings,” says Howse in reference to the ten cars competing within 30 points of the lead. “I’m not sure there’s another Mini Stock division in Ontario with this many top tier teams on a regular basis”
Howse is likely correct – of the top-10 battling for their chance at a division champsionship, nine are past feature winners and three hold former championship credentials.
“We’ve improved so much from where we were last season – but so has everyone else,” explains the well-spoken teen. “It seems as though every time we unload at Sunset, the entire field has taken it up a couple notches. You have to be constantly improving here if you want to stay relevant”
Improvement is something Jordan has worked tirelessly on – bouncing ideas off of his father (former Grisdale Triple Crown champion) Paul and mentor Junior Hanley.
The work has appeared to pay off – as indicated in his most recent performance – a harrowing battle with reigning Sunset Speedway champion Brandon McFerran that resulted in Jordan earning runner-up honours in the speedway’s June 19th running of the Garry Reynolds Memorial.
“Brandon was one of the first guys to take me aside and show me the ins-and-outs of what makes these cars work at Sunset – so any time I get to race with him it’s a ton of fun,” smiles Jordan. “He’s the best in the division right now, and it’s up to all of us to find a way to beat him”
“We were chasing him down at ‘the Reynolds’,” recounts Howse. “A few more laps and I think we would have had something for him. Seeing how well the car performed in that race gave us a lot of confidence. We’re getting ready for a fairly busy stretch of races through July – and it’s good to know that the changes we’ve been making on this car are paying off”
Jordan will enter the month of July sitting 7th in the division standings, though with the points as tightly packed as they are, a breakout performance could quickly vault Howse into the top-5.
“We’re a couple of really good runs away from being back at the top of the points. The car’s working really well and I feel completely confident in my team and our program. We have everything we need to be successful – now it’s all about putting it all together.”
Jordan and his family-run operation will have an opportunity to crack the top-5 this Saturday, when the Mini Stocks return to action at Sunset Speedway.
Details for the event, including gate times and advanced ticket sales, can be found at www.SunsetSpeedway.ca.
Jordan Howse’s 2015 season is made possible thanks to the support of Stewart’s Equipment, Kubota, Glenn Windrem Trucking, Paul Howse and Associates, Central Industrial Supply, Foodland of Hillsburgh, Progressive Waste, Howse Automotive, John Teune Engines, FierceWraps.ca and Georgia Beck Brooms.
Fans can keep up with Jordan on Twitter @JHowse72 and on Facebook at the brand new Jordan Howse Racing page.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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