Oakville driver Kenny Wilden, the defending Grand Am Continental Tire champion who’s a veteran of Grand Am Rolex sports cars and Formula Atlantics, has joined Derhaag Motorsports to race a Chevrolet Corvette in this weekend’s SCCA Trans-Am Series race at Mosport.
Wilden and team owner Jim Derhaag last raced in the Trans-Am together nine years ago and celebrated a victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
In a release, Wilden said: "It's great to be back with Jim and to be racing in the SCCA Trans-Am
series once again. Although it's been awhile since I’ve been behind the wheel of one of these high-horsepower brutes, Derhaag Motorsports is one of the best in the business. I love
racing at Mosport and believe we can enjoy a successful weekend, like we’ve done together in the past."
The Trans-Am race, which will go Sunday afternoon, is one of six headline events Mosport has lined up for the annual Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend, which starts Friday with practice for all classes.
The SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge Series and the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship Series will both run two races, one Saturday and one Sunday. The Sundown Grand Prix will be held Saturday evening.
Wilden has been one of Canada's most accomplished road racers since he won the Player’s/GM and Firehawk Series crowns in 1992. He very nearly landed a ride in the CART Indy car series before his sponsorship dried up. . . .
Bad weather forced Brantford-area speed plant Ohsweken Speedway to cancel last week’s scheduled opening. But with nothing but sunshine on the immediate horizon, Ohswekend’s 15th anniversary season will kick off this Friday night when RapStar Energy Drink presents Friday Night Thunder featuring the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars, ESSO Thunder Stocks, ESSO Mini Stocks, and Bombers, plus the first of three visits by the Mod Lite Stars Championship Tour North.
And don't anybody forget that that the Pro Modified and Quick 32 drag racers will be kicking off the 2010 season at Toronto Motorsports Park this weekend. . . .
It has been illegal for some time to sell leaded fuel - of any kind - in Canada. There are permanent exemptions – small aircraft and the agriculture sector. There have also been temporary exemptions; the one for some racing cars ended at the end of 2009.
"Paperwork" has apparently held up another five-year exemption for racing cars – it’s expected to be pushed through by June – but this has forced the Alberta Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series to cancel its race this weekend at Lethbridge.
I wonder why those guys are still using that stuff? . . .
Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series driver Mark Wilkins of Toronto is returning to competition in the American Le Mans Series this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, joining Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker in the Level 5 Motorsports No. 55 FLM09 LMPC class.
This will be Wilkins’ first outing in the car since they won the class at the 12 Hours of Sebring back in March. The ALMS race will be a six-hour event, starting late Saturday afternoon and running into the twilight.
"We had a great first outing with the car at Sebring scoring the class win", said Wilkins. "It was quite the experience, the car being so different from the Daytona Prototypes, and that track is very tough on drivers. After helping the team come away with the victory, I was hoping for another opportunity to drive so it was a nice surprise when (they) called to ask if I would be available."
Meantime, the next round of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear takes place this weekend at Laguna Seca and AIM Autosport of Woodbridge will be there with series sophomore David Ostella, 17, of Maple.
Ostella and the AIM team travelled to California after testing on the half-mile oval at O’Reilly Raceway Park outside Indianapolis where the Star Mazda cars will share the traditional Night Before the 500 program on May 29th with the USAC midgets and the U.S. Formula 2000 series.
Michael Furfari, also of Woodbridge and who also races in the Star Mazda series for AIM Autosport, won’t be Laguna this weekend because he’s busy writing his Grade 11 exams. . . .
Dale Earnhardt Jr,’s JR Motorsports Nationwide Series team sent out a news release this week that veteran Greg Sacks would pilot the team’s No. 88 car on July 2 at Daytona.
Of note for Canadian fans is that the No. 7 car will be raced by Steve Arpin, of Fort Frances, Ont.
In a special tribute, Dale Jr. will drive a No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet for the Daytona event. . . .
North American Rally Champion Andrew Comri-Picard of Toronto and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey of the U.S. won the Oregon Trail Rally last weekend.
"It’s a great result," said Comrie-Picard. "Everything went according to our strategy and the win is an important one at this point in the season. It’s great the the car, the teams and our partners are all working so well."
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