By: Ashley McCubbin/OSCAAR Midget Series
October 13 2016
Jessica James made it clear from the moment she hit the track that she was the driver to beat. The pieces ended up coming together for her as she dominated the OSCAAR Midget feature en route to a Autumn Colours Classic victory.
The first heat saw a couple drivers run into problems as Owen Elliott slowed on Lap 2, while Mike McLaughlin spun on Lap 6. Wally Wilson picked up the win ahead of Nigel Buttivant, Brian MacDonald, Darryl Anthony, McLaughlin and Bill Hetherton. It’s worth noting the No. 10 ran into problems on the last lap, while Heatherton spun on the last lap.
Jessica James won the second heat ahead of Ryan Brown, Wayne McKibbon, Shawn Stanley, James Stanley and Zack Millman.
The third heat started off with both Brown and James Stanley spinning on the backstretch. MacDonald picked up the win ahead of Hetherton, Anthony, Stanley, Wilson and Brown.
Jessica James went for the daily double, winning the fourth heat ahead of Elliott, Shawn Stanley, McKibbon, McLaughlin, Buttivant and Millman.
Come feature time, it’d be Darryl Anthony starting pole ahead of Ryan Brown, Brian MacDonald, Wayne McKibbon, Wally Wilson, James Stanley, Jessica James, Shawn Stanley, Owen Elliott and Nigel Buttivant.
Ryan Brown took the early lead, but the first caution flew on Lap 1 as a result of an incident involving Shawn Stanley, Elliott and McLaughlin.
Jessica James got a good restart to take the lead ahead of Brown as McKibbon moved into third ahead of MacDonald, James Stanley and Wilson. Things got interesting on Lap 4 with Wilson, Buttivant and Shawn Stanley going three-wide for sixth. Ahead of them, James Stanley got alongside MacDonald for fourth on Lap 4, completing the pass a lap later as Shawn Stanley, Buttivant and Elliott went three-wide for sixth. Elliott got the spot on Lap 7, getting alongside MacDonald for fifth.
James Stanley kept moving forward, passing McKibbon for third on Lap 8 as Elliott cleared MacDonald. Elliott then got alongside McKibbon on Lap 9, making the pass a lap later for fourth. Behind them, Shawn Stanley ran sixth ahead of MacDonald. Stanley was able to make the pass on McKibbon on Lap 12, moving into the fifth spot.
While there were some battles through the field over the second half of the feature, all the focus was on Jessica James as she continued to pull further away from the field. She picked up the feature victory ahead of Ryan Brown, Owen Elliott, Shawn Stanley and James Stanley. Nigel Buttivant finished sixth, followed by Wayne McKibbon, Brian MacDonald, Wally Wilson and Bill Hetherton. Zack Millman finished 11th, followed by Mike McLaughlin and Darryl Anthony.
As a result, the three drivers moving on to Flamboro Speedway’s Frostoberfest with a chance at the OSCAAR Midget Championship will be Ryan Brown, Wayne McKibbon and Brian MacDonald. Whomever finishes the highest of these three drivers at Flamboro will be the champion.