Open Wheel Free Agents
Following a run that has seen the division have some up and down moments over the years, the Delaware Speedway�s Powerade Open Wheel Modified teams were invited to a meeting with track management in November. It was explained to the teams that the track was going to be forced to make some changes to the division before the 2010 season, and the reasons were explained.
Speedway officials pointed out that the cost of running the division for the track exceeded the product that they felt the class was providing the speedway and their fans. They then informed the Modifieds teams that they had a few options if they wanted to continue to race at Delaware Speedway on a regular basis.
The teams have taken a pay cut from the track and saw their number of races reduced, but the track has given the class one last chance, and set the program up with incentives to increase car counts - the more cars, the more prize money per car into the purse.
One of the main cogs of the group is Bill Robinson, who explained, "It actually turned our first meeting into a swap meet. We had one guy that only needed a rear end, and the next thing you know he had a rear end coming, and then another guy needed something else and it just went from there. We picked up some new cars in a couple of minutes. I think it�s a good bunch of racers, and they really just want to keep racing. We see why the track is making this move from a business standpoint, but they have given us a shot to make the class grow again. That�s what we�re going to try to do. We just have to stay united as a group, and work with the track. Delaware Speedway has been so helpful through the whole process."
Spearheading the group is Robinson, a former TQ Midget and SOS Sprint Car owner and current Open Wheel Modified crew member getting assistance from multi-time division champion Jamie Cox, and veteran Delaware racer John Saunders.
The Modified class started at Delaware in 1993 shortly after Windsor�s Checkered Flag Speedway closed down. As the years wore on treaded racing tires were phased out and replaced by used slicks and they in turn replaced by new slicks. In addition to other performance enhancements, the lap times of the cars dropped into the range of the Late Models. During the early years the class was very slow to grow, but the used tire rule seemed to encourage higher car counts, as it increased to right around the 20 mark for a few seasons.
The most recent problems with the division�s car count came when the class moved to new tires, exponentially increasing the team�s tire bills and putting cars on the sidelines. Over the years the car count dwindled again, and led to fields of eight to 12 cars in 2009, causing the track to start looking at changes to the division.
The tentative plan is to race nine times at Delaware, and take their act on the road to Sauble for one appearance.
Presently there are only two other asphalt tracks in Ontario that run full-sized Modifieds (Varney Speedway and Mosport Speedway) on a weekly basis. Some members of the division are hoping to compete at some of the events in Varney Speedway, and that some of the Varney drivers will make some appearances at Delaware and at the Sauble show.
One successful model would be the Canadian Vintage Modifieds. The club runs 13 of their 19 events at Flamboro and then travels for their other six shows, including a usual date on the schedule at Delaware.
Could that be a future plan for the class?
If they can figure out how to cut costs and increase car counts, the revival should be fairly quick as the equipment is abundant. With more cars, both 2010 and beyond would see a very entertaining class. Hopefully the car count can get back to around the 20 mark. That many Modifieds make for a tremendous show and the group of local talent that wheel those cars are, as a whole, second in ability only to the Late Models.
Story and Photos by Jamie Maudsley
Maudsley Motor Sports