May 6th, Sunset Speedway Opener
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May 6th was opening night for Sunset Speedway’s 2023 season, this year they have combined the Limited Late Models and the Pro Late Models for their regular nights of racing. This came as a shock to us, but a pleasant one as we were unsure what our options would be for the 2023 season as it was clear the number of Limited Late Models were quickly declining. A lot of which were replaced with Pro Late Models, converting to hot rods or just sitting. 
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There haven't been any rule changes to the Limited Late Model package so we are running our car the exact way it came off the track in 2022. In 2021 we competed without changes to our car in the Velocity 250 Pro Late Model race, we finished 6th in a great field of talent - so for this year I'm looking forward to racing with a great field. 
This year there was rain both days we attempted to test, therefore we unloaded on opening night with 0 laps under our belt for the season. When we attempted to roll through tech we noticed the right rear tire didn't look right, we diagnosed some very minor suspension issues, fixed them up and got ready for practice. 
Our car felt pretty good in both practice sessions, as far as qualifying goes we were not and will not be expecting much as the Limited should be more competitive during longer runs with the Pro’s. Out of 18 cars to take time (Awesome field by the way!) Saturday we qualified 13th. 

In the first feature we rolled off 12th as Billy Zardo was ahead of us and dropped to the rear before the beginning of the race (I think he had to come down pit lane before the green). After the initial start we made a pass on the 23 car to put us up to 11th spot. On Lap 8 we were closing in and looking to make a pass on the 39 when we were spun by the 23 car. I came out of the spin with bumper/ right rear quarter damage, but the 23 car was not sent to the rear with me. 
I restarted 16th, shortly after the green flag dropped, the 69 had some electrical issues which led to another caution on lap 8. With the choose cone rule in effect I was able to grab 2 spots on the restart and restart in the 14th position.

By lap 20 I had made my way up to the 12th position and that's where I would end the 35 lap feature. 
I was pretty happy with how the car was handling, however the brakes were fading a little. 

Between features we would change the brake pads in preparation for another 35 lap feature, which I love double features! 

For the 2nd feature we would start where we finished, 12th and this feature would run green to checkered without any cautions. I finished 10th and our brakes were not up to par at all, even worse than the first feature. 

Again I was really happy with the car's handling, it's just hard to really push and make moves with no brakes. 
We know what we have to do for our next race on May 27th, and we’re excited to get back to it!

May 27th, A Night to Remember

This past weekend at Sunset gave us racers the perfect weather and conditions to put on a great show. This weekend we had two 35 lap features, a lot of fans mentioning how amazing both the Pro Late Model shows were. I am sad we have to wait until June 24th to hit the track again, as this past weekend was one of the most fun times I have had in a race car. 

For qualifying we came 5th on the board, out of 14 cars in attendance. We were surely happy with this and in the first feature we started straight up. 

Lap 1 caution for the 07 spinning, full restart. On lap 5 the 23, 07 and 69 had spun in turn 4, and again I would line up for the restart in 5th. 

On this restart the 8 car made heavy contact with my rear bumper and pushed me up the track, we would drop a couple positions due to this, we would battle a few laps side by side until I made the pass on the outside. 

I then made the pass underneath the 16 car to put myself into the 6th spot. Then started working on the 10 to pick up another spot after some good door to door racing. 

Lap 19 would bring an upsetting wreck for the 46 of Zardo, him and the 94 got together on the front stretch, door to door, which sent him into the outside wall in corner 1. Thankfully he is okay, sadly we can't say the same for the race car. Hoping to see that 46 on the race track again soon!

I would restart in the 3rd position, the 10 made a pass on me and in the same lap the 07 would bring out the caution with a spin. I’m not sure why or how as generally we go back a lap, but I was lined up in the 5th position for the restart. 

10 to go, and I would choose to start on the outside line for the first time that race. 

The 39 came off of turn 2 SLOW, I was told he accidentally hit the kill switch, he did get the car back going but slowing up the top line meant the 8 and 94 dove inside and now we were 3 wide. They made contact and spun. I would restart in 5th, but took the top line in 6th as the top was faster for me. 

This race had a lot of great side by side racing and a lot of bumping and rubbing - but nothing we couldn't handle, just something we aren't used to as we haven't had fields this large in a few years! 

We finished the race in 6th with a broken left rear shock mount, happy with our result! We got the car fixed up and thank you to Taylor Holdaway for your help! 

The second feature only had an invert of 2, so we lined up 6th. There was a long green flag run for the first 20 laps. During this time we were put three wide on the top with the 16 and 82. I ran in 4th until the first caution came out. 

The 48 and 39 car would wreck in front of us going down the backstretch in a big way, I know the 48 had some serious left rear body damage. 

With 15 to go I would line up on the bottom of the front row, in second with the 10 leading. There were 2 quickie cautions back to back after this with one single car spin, and then the 23 with a broken rear end in turn 3. 

Another restart with 13 to go, starting on the bottom again in 2nd. The limited late model is not near as competitive as the pro late models are when it comes to short run speed and firing off, so we did fall back a bit on most of these starts. 07 spun and brought out the caution. 

Same line up for the final restart, and I would be passed by the 82 and finish the race in 3rd. 

My team and I are so proud of our efforts in this division and as I said above- this past weekend was one of the best times I've had in a race car. 

With all of that being said, during post race tech for the 2nd race we were disqualified for an illegal carburetor. This was actually a spare carb I put on the car in 2021 after my original carb flooded, and this is the first time its been through tech inspection. Pretty disappointing for us, but we know the carb wasn't the reason for this incredible night - we'll be putting on our old one and heading back June 24th- to do it all again!

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Rain out and missed race

We were rained out two race nights in a row and then July 22/23 was added to the event calendar and I had to miss the night of racing as I was already committed to covering the Nascar Pintys Race in Edmonton.  So with the earlier DQ in tech and this race I had to miss due to work,  unfortunately that would take me out of the points for 2023.


August 2/23 we were back on track and I qualified 7th and finished the 75 lap feature in 8th place.

August 19/23 was fan appreciation just ahead of the Steve Slaughter Classic, we ran 75 laps - our first long race since velocity!

We were lucky enough to have David and Margaret from Mobil 1 with some of their friends to watch last night and it was definitely a successful night.  We really struggled in practice but ended up qualifying 7th out of 16 cars!  We’re really thrilled with this considering we’re racing some of the best Pro Late Models in the province, with our Limited Late Model.

The 75 lap event was pretty smooth with only one caution and we managed an 8th place finish, on the lead lap! Thank you to my friends and family for supporting me and our team, and a massive thank you to Mobil 1 for bringing our fans tons of swag last night and supporting our racing program.
Also shout out to Curtis, a friend of my fathers who came to support and crew with us this weekend while he was visiting Ontario.
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We’ll be out next for a 50 lap event on September 3!

September 3/23 - Allan Lankin Cup - this was one of the biggest races of the year, and the one the touched me the most.   Allan was one of my favourite people in the world and we lost him at the age of 27, on Aug 11th, to his battle with Cancer.  We will never forget Allan, he will forever be in our hearts.  The Allan Lankin Cup was an incredible event, supported by racers across the province.

We raced, but to be honest, I don't remember much about the night.  Race Monitor says I qualified 11th, but I have no idea how I finished in the race.   You will be forever missed Allan.

September 9/23 was championship night.  With the DQ and the make up race I couldn't attend, we decided to skip championship night and attend DriveFest at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with our sponsor, Mobil 1, who is the title sponsor of the event.  We were at the event last year as well, as I absolutely love it.

It is an incredible event and I strongly recommend that you attend.  So much to do and see.

September 15/23 - Velocity weekend - Qualified 19th, finished 144 lap feature 13th - It was a difficult race, having issues with the car. A caution came out around half way, and I was just going to go down a lap, so it was good timing for me.  I considering pitting, but decided against it to hang on for the best outcome.

2024 is up in the air as our limited late model is so disadvantaged against the pro late models we are racing against.  We are grandfathered in and allowed to race the LLM against the PLM's for one more year, but we just can't run competitively week in and week out.   So we'll take some time in the off season to figure out what we can do, if anything, to improve our program for 2024.