SAUBLE BEACH, ON- Current Sauble Speedway Ltd. Late Model point leader Jason Parker continued his streak of head-turning performances, earning a 2nd place finish in June 21st action at ‘the Beach’.
Charging from 10th on the grid, Parker put on a clinic as he weaved his way through the pack, appearing well in contention for his third straight feature win to start off the 2014 season, when he seized the lead at lap-10.
The pace of the A-Main would slow as it neared its conclusion, with a spate of late-race cautions setting up a final battle between Parker and perennial rival Scott McTeer, with 7-laps remaining in the 35-lap contest.
“We had an awesome car in practice and qualifying, and I made a final adjustment just before we pulled out for the feature that I think hurt us”, explained Parker post-race. “We’d been racing on the same tires through the first 2 weeks of the season, and started out tonight on that same set. When we realized how deep we were starting in the field, I made the call to bolt on fresh rubber and it upset the car more than we had anticipated”
Parker and McTeer would race side-by-side after the final restart, with McTeer gaining the advantage in the race’s dying stages.
“I have to give Scotty all the credit in the world, he ran an awesome race tonight”, said Parker. “We had him beat the last two weeks, and he went home, figured his car out – like he always does – and beat us fair and square tonight”
“I think I was too hard on my stuff coming from the back”, admitted ‘The New Age Punisher’. “The front brakes were awfully hot after coming through the field, and when we went back racing on the final restart, there just wasn’t enough pedal”
“At one point, I tried to sail the car deep into the corner and the brake pedal went right to the floor. I almost washed up into Scott and took both of us out”
Despite seeing his 2-race winning streak come to an end, Parker was all smiles post-race, as his JP Motorsports squad began to design a plan to improve their McColl Racing Enterprises chassis.
“It’s impossible to be upset with the start we’ve had to this season”, explained Parker matter-of-factly. “Now is the fun part, now we get to go to work and try some things to see what works and what doesn’t. This car has been so great, from the time we brought it home, that we haven’t had to work too hard on it. But, this week, we’re going to start experimenting”
“We had an awesome long-run car tonight, but we boiled the brakes and couldn’t get off the corner after that final restart. So, it’s our job to go back to the shop and make sure that doesn’t happen again”
Jason Parker will return to action at Sauble Speedway this Saturday, June 28th. Gate times and ticket prices for Week 4 of the Sauble season can be found at www.SaubleSpeedway.ca
Parker’s McColl Racing Enterprises chassis is sponsored by Prestige General Contractors, Saugeen Shores Transmission, MacDonnell Fuels, BAXI / Marathon Industries, Keeprite, Candue Homes, Ron Gibbons Construction and Crabby Joe’s of Port Elgin/Hanover.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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