MCNICOL AND MARSHALL

Great Lakes Legends And Cvm Champions

Stories by Bryce Turner KENNY MCNICOL

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QWICK WICK GREAT LAKES LEGENDS

It was a year full of firsts for Kenny McNicol in the inaugural season of the Qwick Wick Great Lakes Legends Series (GLLS). The Exeter, Ont. driver started the season by winning the first race, at Grand Bend Speedway, in a Dan Russ Motorsports car.

“It was good to be able to jump into another car, that wasn’t mine, and be able to go out and win,” said McNicol. “We had good equipment.”

McNicol followed that up with a win in race two, also at Grand Bend. The GLLS then visited the dirt track of Southern Ontario Motor Speedway and the road course at Grand Bend Motorplex, where McNicol continued his strong start with finishes of second and third.

While he did not return to victory lane, McNicol continued to run consistently well, recording three additional podium finishes en route to the championship.

The penultimate race of the year, at Flamboro Speedway, was another highlight of the season. It was a unique opportunity for McNicol, as he was able to compete against the other three members of his immediate family in the same Legends event for the first time.

He finished third in that race, ahead of daughter Hailey McNicol (14th), stepson Zach Hatch (15th) and fiancée Jennifer Hatch (DNF). Kenny says the support of his family and team was key to his success this season.

“My fiancée and my kids, they supported me 100 percent,” he said. “And I couldn’t have done it without Dan Russ Motorsports and Rob Indig. They supplied the car and brought a good piece to the track every weekend for me.”

While he’s won a championship before, McNicol says the inaugural GLLS title ranks near the top of his list of career achievements. He plans to continue Legend car racing next season.

T.J. MARSHALL – CANADIAN VINTAGE MODIFIEDS

T.J. Marshall ended the Canadian Vintage Modifieds (CVM) season with his third series championship. The Brantford, ON driver had a dominant campaign, with a pair of fourth-place finishes in the first five features marking his worst results of the season. He went on to record 10 victories and 23 podiums in 25 features that he ran.

Marshall says that keeping the nose clean, keeping the wheels on the car and completing every lap were the keys to his success. While he consistently found victory lane, he did notice that drivers who joined in recent years were getting harder to beat.

“As they’ve been improving, working on their cars, working on their driving skills, they’ve been getting more challenging,” said Marshall. “The competition level’s getting better over time; that’s probably the biggest challenge, which is great for the series and great for spectators.”

Marshall says that the return of regular racing to Flamboro Speedway, where the CVM runs their full schedule, helped to build up the second lane last season, making passing easier and changing how drivers’ race.

Despite increased competition, Marshall considered himself a title favourite early on, with his lengthy experience in the series.

“Not to sound arrogant, but probably from the start, having the incumbent advantage – I’ve been with the club for 10 years,” he said. “I think we have a fairly well-sorted program…if we weren’t going out there to try to win week-in and week-out, I don’t know what the point would be.”

Marshall acknowledged that a fast car doesn’t always equal winning races, citing a rough 2021 season. He says that it’s easy to give up points but hard to make up points.

He’s building a new car for the 2023 CVM season and hopes to race in two to three OSCAAR Modifieds events. IT