Sauble Falls Tent & Trailer Park NASCAR Late Models

Multi-time Barrie Speedway champion Gord Shepherd completed his transition to a full-fledged Sunset Speedway star this season, earning his first career Sauble Falls Tent & Trailer Park NASCAR Late Model division championship. ‘The Smoke’ put forth a display of unflappable consistency all season long, remaining in the hunt for his first ever track title from April to September thanks largely in part to his 18 top-5s and 22 top-10s in his 24 weekly Sunset starts. While only two of those outings resulted in trips to victory lane, Shepherd’s knack for remaining within shouting distance of the front of the field on most nights was too much for the rest of the talent-laden division to overcome in the end. The points battle played out as a mostly back-and-forth affair between Shepherd and defending champion Taylor Holdaway, with each side seemingly taking radically different approaches to their campaign to the top of the standings. For all of Shepherd’s dependable consistency, Holdaway countered with performances that were at times both dazzling and dominating, racking up 7 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly triumphs in 24 starts. However, Holdaway’s downfall was the result of a number of untimely DNFs that kept the points gap between his familiar No. 41 and Shepherd’s No. 10 close despite the reigning champion’s gaudy win totals. In the end, only 11-points separated the pair, and Sunset had a new rivalry to captivate it’s fan base moving into the 2017 season.

St. Onge Recreation NASCAR Super Stocks

Second-generation racer Matt Bentley has long been respected as a driver that could pull a feature victory, seemingly, out of mid-air but would struggle during the four-month grind of a championship season. As a result, the Guelph, ON native was often saddled with a ‘good but not great’ assessment when ranked next to other Super Stock division talents at the top of their game. Thus, Bentley entered the 2016 season intent on proving his doubters wrong. He made clear throughout the off-season that his one and only goal was to roll into Sunset’s season as the best version of himself, win as many races as possible and walk out with the division championship. Four months later – he had done exactly that. In a division brimming with talent, and averaging well over 25-cars every Saturday, Bentley rattled off a career-season that is not likely to be duplicated or topped any time soon. In 14 weekly starts this summer, Bentley earned a head-turning 5 victories and 11 top-5 finishes. He sat atop the division standings for 19-straight weeks, taking the lead after his win on opening night and never looking back. Despite very game attempts by perennial veteran contender Stan Coe (who seemed welded to Bentley’s back bumper nearly every time the pair left the paddock area) and freshman sensation Jordan Howse (who shocked the entire division with four weekly feature wins in just his first year removed from the Mini Stock division), Bentley stood tall and tightened his grip on the points lead with each passiong week. When the dust had finally settled, Bentley walked out of Sunset’s pit area for the final time with a 21-point advantage and the right to call himself the Sunset Speedway Super Stock champion for the first time in his career.

Graham Construction Corp. NASCAR Mini Stocks

The race for the 2016 Sunset Speedway Mini Stock championship was a battle between one of the most promising rising stars to come through Sunset’s system in the last decade, and one of the most criminally underappreciated veterans on the roster. Sophomore Nic Montanari and former champion Eric Yorke kept things entertaining from beginning to end this year. Montanari, a graduate of Sunset’s entry-level MIGHTY Division, fashioned a steady diet of consistency, tallying 10 top-5 finishes in 14 starts to setup shop within the top-2 in the points standings all season long. A number of competitors did their best to unseat – and subsequently distance themselves from – the up-and-comer, with the most efficient effort belonging to Yorke. The Milton, ON product combated more than his fair share of hard times throughout the summer, but on-track incidents and mechanical gremlins notwithstanding, exited the 2016 campaign with a very impressive 4 feature wins. In most other seasons, it would be safe to assume that four wins would be more than enough to punch your ticket to the head table at the year-end banquet, but Montanari was not to be denied. The son of NASCAR Pinty’s Series Crew Chief Rino Montanari ended his title run with a flurry of 4 podiums in his final 5 starts to ensure York remained in his (figurative) rearview mirror, closing 2016 with a narrow 15-point advantage for his first career stock car championship.

Signs of Innovation MIGHTY Division

Sunset’s entry-level MIGHTY Division helped launch the career of Treyten Lapcevich in its inaugural season in 2015, then followed-up by introducing Ontario to blue-chip prospect Johnny Paradzinski in 2016. Paradzinski, an Alliston, ON native that transitioned to stock cars after cutting his teeth in competitive R/C Racing, debuted as a complete unknown this season but worked diligently to quickly develop a fan base as he carved out a reputation as the foremost rising star on the MIGHTY Division roster. After a few weeks spent finding his footing behind the wheel at the opening of the season, Paradzinski went on to dominate the 2016 campaign, racking up 4 weekly victories and 12 top-5s in 14 starts. Paradzinski appeared experienced beyond his years from beginning to end, and ultimately clinched the division championship with a whopping 45-point lead over his closest pursuer. Next season, Paradzinski will make the move to the wildly competitive Mini Stock division, and all eyes will be on his No. 4 to see if he can find a way to keep his momentum rolling against far more experienced adversaries.

Photo By: Jerry Abramowicz