HILLSBURGH, ON- Second-generation star Jordan Howse will mark a new milestone off of his bucket list this Saturday, when he unloads at Sunset Speedway for the first time as the Mini Stock division point leader.
The Hillsburgh, ON-based hot-shoe took control of the lead after a pair of wins in competition last Saturday and Sunday, sweeping both ends of Sunset’s July 18th and 19th doubleshot weekend.
The clean sweep continued the sophomore’s recent hot streak, marking his second and third straight wins in Sunset’s maddeningly competitive Mini Stock division.
“We didn’t get off to the start that we were looking for, but these last two weeks have been the best of my career,” smiles the oft-humble teenager. “It’s hard enough to win one race in this division, so taking down three in a row is absolutely amazing. I could have never imagined having a car that works as well as this one does. It makes my job easy”
Howse admits that his recent resurgence has come as somewhat of a surprise to the family-run team, who suffered a mechanical DNF on June 13th that they initially feared would remove them from championship contention.
“When we DNF’d a couple weeks ago, I honestly thought that might be enough to take us out of the championship battle,” offers Howse. “Everyone on this roster is so evenly matched, when you have a slip-up like that it’s typically pretty tough to come back from. As it stands right now, we’re the only team in the top-10 with a DNF on our record. So, winning three in a row has really pulled us out of the fire”
Now, for the first time in his young career, Howse will prepare to enter a Saturday night of competition with the proverbial ‘bullseye’ on his back.
“This is a whole new experience for us,” laughs the fan-favourite. “I have a ton of experience being the guy that chases the points leader, but I’ve never actually been the guy that’s being chased. To be honest, I don’t want to change our strategy or outlook one bit. I plan on unloading on Saturday morning just as hungry as I’ve been for the last year and a half”
“I’m not going to stand here and say that points don’t matter – because we’re absolutely racing for a championship,” continues Howse. “But, I don’t want to get comfortable. I’m happy we’re in the lead now but I don’t think I’ll be keeping a close watch on how much of a gap we have from here on out. We’re going to race like we’re 50 points out of the lead for the rest of the year. That’s our strategy”
“Junior [Hanley] and my Dad have worked nonstop to get this program pointed back in the right direction again. There’s no way I’m going to let all of that happen for nothing. Now that we have the lead, we’re not looking back.”
Details for July 25th’s event can be found at www.SunsetSpeedway.ca.
Jordan Howse’s 2015 season would not be possible without 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, MacMaster Motorsports, Chris Braiding 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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