INNISFIL, Ontario (May 2, 2017) — The efforts by JL Motorsports to overhaul their program during the off-season look to be paying off, as Jordan Latimer posted a pair of top-10 finishes on opening night at Sunset Speedway.
The third-generation racer kicked off the night by laying down a lap of 15.017 seconds in time trials to qualify sixth. Once the green flag flew on the 35-lap feature, he’d quickly moved up to fifth, but slipped back to sixth by the first caution on Lap 4. The early laps didn’t prove out promising, as he continued to slip back, falling to eighth by Lap 11. A caution at Lap 20 benefited the sophomore, as he was able to get by Mike Bentley for seventh on the restart. He then put together a solid string of laps to complete the event, crossing the finish line seventh.
Come time for the second 35-lap event, Latimer drew the fourth starting spot, and moving forward quickly as he got alongside Billy Zardo for second, clearing him on Lap 3. The caution then came out shortly after for a multi-car incident in turn four. Latimer got a good restart, battling hard with Josh Stade for second till the caution flew once again for more contact, this time in turn two. The solid restarts kept coming for the teenager, though he’d fall back to third on Lap 8 after being passed by Taylor Holdaway.
He’d remain in the last podium position till shortly after a restart at Lap 14, as he’d fall back to fourth after being passed by Gord Shepherd. The final caution of the event flew with just three laps to go, which Latimer was able to use the ensuing restart to his advantage, edging Chris Morrow at the line to finish third.
Speaking after both events, Latimer said the night went better than expected.
“I didn’t think we were going to run as well as we did,” he said. “I was hoping for a solid top-10, maybe a top-five, and to come out with a seventh and third – I’ll be happy with that every weekend. I mean, we led a lap or two and battling for the lead, that’s where I want to be and that’s what I missed out on all year last year. This is why we come to the track every weekend, and that’s why we work so hard in the off-season.”
The night is especially bittersweet after the struggles the team endured last year, with wrecks and mechanical problems throughout the season. Notably, he only posted three top-10 finishes throughout the entire 2016 campaign, highlighted by a sixth-place finish on July 2.
“It means more than anybody could imagine,” Latimer said to be back up front. “This is a win to us. After the year we had and the luck we had, this is a win for our team. Finishing third in this feature here – I don’t know what we’d do if we actually did win.”
Latimer and JL Motorsports will be back at Sunset Speedway this weekend on May 6 for the second event of the 2017 season.
JL Motorsports is proud to be supported by KICX 106, The Dock 104.1, Tax Smart, Kitchen Tire, RIM Mechanical, Gambridge Go Karts, Krueger Electric, and Creechers Design for the 2017 season.
Be sure to follow Jordan on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/LatimerJordan, and like the JL Motorsports facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/JLMotorsports/304091730527.
Press Release by Ashley McCubbin/AM Marketing – ashleymccubbin17@gmail.com
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