By Carol D. Haynes, ISMA PR
Oswego, NY (May 3, 2015) – Over 40 cars filled the Oswego Speedway pits on a picture perfect day for their May 2 practice session. Two ISMA winged machines took advantage of the day to get a jumpstart on preparations for the upcoming opener at Delaware Speedway (Ont) on Friday, May 15. Alison Cumens hauled her number 39 in from Lyndell, PA and the veteran Gary Morton-Dave McKnight team brought the yellow 70 in from their native Canada.
Cumens indicated that there were few changes made from last year on her car, but that a late season blown motor was their concern. “We put in the old motor and really wanted to test it before going to Delaware. There wasn't much else that we did other than that.”
And why make many changes if you've done pretty well in only two years of competition?
The 2013 ISMA Rookie of the Year, who came up from the ATQMRA ranks, picked up 3 top five finishes on her way to the ROY title in her dad Brent's car. The team finished with nine top ten finishes in 2013, three of which found her on the podium, with a spectacular best second place run at Sunset Speedway in August. 2014 started out well, but some bad luck followed her to the end of the season with the blown motor part of the bad luck. Saturday at Oswego, Alison hit the track running early 15.6s and 7s with a fabulous 15.5 second lap her best for the afternoon. Fans can certainly look for congenial and talented Cumens to be a force to reckon with at the Harvey Lennox Memorial 75.
The veterans of many racing wars, Gary Morton and Dave McKnight also are geared up for a good Canadian opener and possibly becoming a factor in the ISMA point chase. McKnight, the 2001 ISMA driver champion and the first Canadian to win the title, commented that the team is more prepared than ever. “Gary's got two new Forest and Forest motors in the car, and some good sponsors. We've got the whole package this year and we'll see how the season goes. Who knows, if we're in the point chase, we'll be around the whole season.”
The former 4-time Can-Am Midget champion won the 2001 title with car owner Brad Lichty, garnering six feature wins that season including victories at Oswego (May), Kawartha, Sandusky Hy-Miler, Lancaster, Cayuga and the Oswego SuperNationals. McKnight stands sixth on the All-Time ISMA feature win list with 18 total feature wins. He also has two non-point Florida victories.
Liftow.com / Toyota Industrial Equipment, Dale Farren & Son Trenching Ltd., Taylor Bros. Truck Wreckers, and Southwood Graphics back the 2015 number 70 team effort.
With 25-plus years of supermodified racing, McKnight clicked off some great practice laps himself showing he, too, will be looking to be in the thick of things at Delaware.
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