BRAMPTON, ON- For the first time in their career, brothers Billy and Lane Zardo will compete in a Sunset Speedway Late Model event in entries owned and prepared by their legendary Zardo Racing outfit.
Former Super Stock champion Lane will slide into Billy’s tried and true No. 46, while Billy will pilot a McColl Racing Enterprises chassis acquired from multi-time feature winner Jason Witty at the conclusion of the 2015 regular season.
“Lane and I have never run two Late Models out of the same shop before, so this is going to be an awesome experience,” says Billy. “We’ve competed against each other a handful of times in this division, but it’s going to be a different story now that we’re both preparing our own stuff”
The 75-Lap contest is likely to pit the two against divisional standouts from across Ontario, most notably Sunset Speedway champion Taylor Holdaway, Sauble Speedway champion Josh Stade and reigning Velocity 250 winner Jason Parker.
“I love longer races – they’ve always suited my style a lot better,” explains ‘Z3’. “I think that my program may have suffered a little bit moving back to the shorter features this season. I’m really looking forward to having 75-laps on Sunday to work. It gives us a way better chance to come out, find our rhythm and pick our way to the front”
For Lane, the team’s acquisition of a second Late Model is a dream come true for the third-generation driver.
“I think this weekend is just about everything my brother and I have ever talked about from the moment we started racing for my grandpa,” beams the former Super Stock titlist. “For a long time, it felt like it was never going to happen. I can’t thank him and our sponsors enough. A lot of things had to fall in place for this weekend to go down. I’m on cloud nine”
‘The Thrillbilly’ will hope to establish himself quickly, to help set the stage for a Rookie of the Year effort in 2016.
“Above everything, I just want to make a strong first impression,” insists Lane. “This is a completely new challenge for our team, and the last thing i want to do is come out of the gate and fall flat on my face”
“We just have to take our time and get a feel for this car. We know the equipment is top shelf, now we just have to familiarize ourself with it. If we can do that – I think we can be a factor on Sunday.”
Log on to www.SunsetSpeedway.ca for advance ticket sales and schedule information for this weekend’s 2-day Velocity 250 event.
The Zardo Racing program is powered by Holmes On Homes, National Exhaust, Shelby Roofing, Better Contracting and Hassell Automotive.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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