INNISFIL, Ontario (September 23, 2021)- — Sliding sideways across the finish line, Paul Senior was declared the winner of the OSCAAR Hot Rod feature at Sunset Speedway’s Fall Velocity, marking his first trip to feature victory lane.
Tyler Hawn won the first heat ahead of Rob Bromley, Steve Book, Jeremy McLean, Nick Clarke, Jeremy Taggert, and Mike Weitz.
Paul Senior was victorious in the second qualifier in front of Amanda Balson, Drew Robertson, Dave Waite, Ryan Cowan, and Matt Hopkins.
Tom Walters picked up the checkered flag in the third race, followed by Trevor Thompson, Adrian Foster, Steve Mayhew, Paul Bogensberger Jr., Kyle Fetterly, and Sean Walker.
Steve Book won the fourth heat ahead of Hawn, Senior, Robertson, Waite, Bromley, and Taggert.
Amanda Balson was victorious in the fifth qualifier in front of Hopkins, Fetterly, Walker, Mayhew, Cowan, Gary Hannah, and Bogensberger Jr.
Tom Walters went for the daily double, followed by Thompson, McLean, Foster, Clarke, and Wietz.
Come feature time, Amanda Balson led the field to green in front of Jeremy McLean, Steve Book, Tyler Hawn, Tom Walters, Paul Senior, Trevor Thompson, Drew Robertson, Rob Bromley, Matt Hopkins, Steve Mayhew, Dave Waite, Kyle Fetterly, Nick Clarke, Ryan Cowan, Sean Walker, Paul Bogensberger Jr., Jeremy Taggert, Mike Weitz, Gary Hannah, Jaymee Adams, Billy Alderson Jr., Bill Clarke, and Adrian Foster.
The trouble began early, with Amanda Balson heading down pit road on Lap 2 with an issue, as the caution came out the following lap for Bill Clarke going around in turn two.
The restart would see a battle for the lead between Book and McLean, as Hawn and Walters ran side-by-side for third. Book grabbed the top spot on Lap 4 with Hawn moving into second, as McLean and Senior battled for third. McLean grabbed the spot on Lap 6, with Walters looking for a way by Senior.
The battle for the lead got interesting on Lap 7 with Hawn getting alongside Book, as McLean and Walters continue to battle for third in front of Senior. Walters got the spot on Lap 9, with Book holding off the challenge from Hawn. Senior now ran fourth in front of McLean, Thompson, Bromley, Robertson, and Hopkins.
Nick Clarke would get alongside Hopkins for ninth on Lap 14, completing the pass a lap later as Waite ran 11th in front of Foster, Alderson Jr., Fetterly, and Balson. Balson continued her terror back up through the field, passing Fetterly for 14th on Lap 17, followed by a pass on Alderson two laps later.
At the front of the field, the leaders never got separated, with Hawn getting back alongside Book on Lap 21. He would complete the pass for the lead a lap later, with Walters immediately challenging Book for second. Behind them, Senior continued to fourth with Thompson up to fifth ahead of McLean, as Bromley remained seventh in front of Robertson, Clarke, Hopkins, and Waite, with Balson alongside Foster for 12th.
The field would find themselves knee-deep in lap traffic, trying to navigate around the slower cars, while battling for the positions at the front of the field. As a result, the top-three never got away from each other.
Walters would make his move on the last lap, getting to Hawn’s inside in turn four, with contact occurring resulting in both cars getting sideways. Senior kept his foot in it, making contact with the pair, going sideways, crossing the finish line in first to score his first career series victory.
Steve Book now holds an 11-point advantage over Tyler Hawn going into the final three races.
The next event for the OSCAAR Hot Rods is at Delaware Speedway on Saturday, September 25, presented by Gen7 Fuel Oneidea. The OSCAAR Modifieds and APC Auto Parts United Late Models of Ontario Tour will also be in attendance.
Report from Ashley McCubbin
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