ONTARIO SPORTSMAN SERIES

By Cam Harris

The steam coming from Tim Tolton’s ears following late race contact on July 29 at Peterborough Speedway was evident – following a ‘move’ and win by Brendan Patrick. And while the agony of defeat was still raw on August 12 at Full Throttle Motor Speedway (FTMS), the motivation to win was higher than ever.

Tolton had not had a lot of success, in 2023, with his Black Magic Team prior to Peterborough, as mechanical issues had plagued Tim and the team’s ‘guest’ drivers Billy Zardo and Rick Bastien.

But at Full Throttle, the No. 3 car settled for outside pole to start the race and was out front at the end of the first lap. So far, so good.

Not long after, Chad McGlynn’s championship lead evaporated as the 2021 series champ experienced smoke emanating from the No. 8 car, resulting in an extended trip to the pits.

The field behaved itself all the way to lap 45 at which point the No. 12 car of Mark Patrick went around in Turn 4. After the restart, it was Cory McAllister – the winner of the June race at FTMS – who slid by and into the lead.

Simultaneously, the battle for the top-five got interesting, as Brendan Patrick spun off the nose of Michael Hryniuk Jr. Chad McGlynn tried to limit the damage by heading back out on track before Michael Hryniuk Jr. went around, sustaining damage.

Sean Mangin had climbed his way back through the field, but sadly the Brimstone Games Dodge had a mechanical failure leading to another caution. McAllister, who had led for a stretch, also had to climb his way back, as after a flat tire forced him to the pits and restart from the back.

As the laps wound down, Tolton was out front while five others battled behind. Brad Robinson, Connor James, McAllister, Ollie Ferguson and Hryniuk Jr. were all in the fight.

In the end, it was the Black Magic Racing Monte Carlo pulling into Victory Lane to register Tim Tolton’s third career OSS win, and his third at Full Throttle.

Sunset Speedway

On August 26, Cory McAllister put on a dominant performance at Sunset Speedway in the 100-lap OSS feature race. The event was presented by Akal Steel, N2Y Tire & Performance, and Learn-to-Trade.com.

The Durham, ON pilot of the No. 71 took to the track and scored maximum points (106) for the evening. He won the pole and led every lap on his way to the checkered flag. The result was enough to boost him ahead of Chad McGlynn in the standings. McGlynn struggled all night at Sunset, before finishing eighth.

Connor James, the series’ points leader, made his way up from fifth to second by the midway point. James, racing with a heavy heart in memory of his late friend Allan Lankin. He was the only competitor to finish on the lead lap, with McAllister, at the end of lap 100.

Sadly, the night ended early for Richmond, ON’s Doug Cathcart, who had mechanical troubles resulting in his first DNF in several seasons.

Another driver who had a tough night was rookie phenom Ollie Ferguson, who struggled all night with the handling on his No. 55 Tile Plus, MBRP Exhaust Camaro.

Tim Borne made his OSS debut in the familiar No. 2, piloted over the past two seasons by Todd Sheppard. Borne struggled with speed before eventually retiring, also with mechanical issues.

After taking the win, McAllister blew the car’s gears and had a small fire, leaving him to walk to Victory Lane.

In his series return, Shawn McGlynn worked his way from seventh to finish third, battling hard with Brad Robinson for the final podium spot. Sunset track favourite Billy Zardo impressed, taking his No. 3 from ninth to third in the first half of the race, before he lost brakes and finished seventh.

Leaving Sunset, Connor James retained the points lead, by five points, heading to the next race at Sauble Speedway. IT