@41Holdaway • @Sunset_Speedway •ORILLIA, Ont. – August 8, 2016 – It wasn’t a picture perfect night for Taylor Holdaway, but the driver of the Bay Auto and Truck Parts/ KartSTART by Toyota No.41 maintained his point lead on Saturday night at Sunset Speedway.
Third- and sixth-place finishes for the Orillia, Ont. native in twin 35-lap features allowed him to hold on to his 14-point advantage over Gord Shepherd in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Limited Late Model championship standings.
“It was a really good weekend. This was one we were trying to salvage on old tires. I was going in to the weekend expecting to lost four or five points on our lead, but we were lucky enough to break even. Anytime you can go in on old tires and keep pace is pretty good,” Holdaway said.
Holdaway’s night started with a ninth-place qualifying effort. He drove to a sixth-place finish on old tires and used his sixth-place starting spot in the second feature to earn a third-place finish. It was the most exciting third-place finish of Holdaway’s career as his teammate Scott Wylie earned his first career win at Sunset.
“It feels really good to finally get him a win. It’s two years now that he’s been trying. It’s pretty special for him and for us now as a team,” Holdaway exclaimed. “It shows that not just one car can compete, but we have two of them coming out of our stable and both can compete for wins each night.”
Holdaway has finished eight of his last 12 starts in the top-five, an impressive streak of consistency that has built his point lead. Maintaining such a pace is difficult against the challenging Sunset competition.
“Obviously you want to win as many races as you can, but with the competition level at Sunset it’s not feasible (to win every week). I think anytime that you can finish in the top-five at Sunset, that’s pretty much like a win,” Holdaway explained.
“The number of different winners shows the level of competition and says a lot about the track. I think we put on good shows for the fans.”
The grind of a weekly schedule with double features begins to take its toll on drivers towards the end of July and into August. It’s the dog days of summer and the final string of races which can make or break a championship. Holdaway will use next weekend’s scheduled week off to recharge and refocus for the final four points nights.
“We’re lucky we have a weekend off to regroup after three features last weekend too. The two features a night makes for a long day. We’re lucky enough we’re in one piece again so we can enjoy a weekend off,” Holdaway added. “When we come back, you just hope you can stay out of trouble over the last four nights and hang around the top-five. Obviously you hope to get to victory lane a couple more times this year.”
It’s a challenging proposition to face the task in front of you without glancing too far ahead on the calendar. At the same time, Holdaway constantly has the bigger points picture on his mine.
“You can’t look too far ahead. You have to take it one race at a time and make sure you’re as prepared as you can be for that one race,” he commented.
Holdaway will return to action at Sunset on Saturday, August 20 for another pair of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 35 laps races.
HOLLYWOOD HIGHLIGHTS
Taylor Holdaway 2016 Stats – 19 Starts: 7 Wins, 13 Top-5s, 16 Top-10s
UP NEXT
August 20 – NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Sunset Speedway
HOLDAWAY MEDIA
Website: www.taylorholdaway.com
Facebook: facebook.com/HoldawayMotorsports
Twitter: @41Holdaway
Taylor Holdway’s 2016 season is supported by Bay Auto and Truck Parts, Holdaway Automotive, Image Factor Motorsports Design and Photography, KartSTART presented by Toyota, Joes Racing Products, Yamaha Motor Canada, Wix Filters, Castrol Canada, Sunshine Super Wash, Hall Tree Farms, Mechanix Wear and Stefko Racing Engines.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media
claytonjohns@hotmail.com
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