HAGERSVILLE, Ontario — When the Canadian Short Track Nationals was drawn up last season, Brandon Watson was one of the first names to come up in drivers to contend for the win. He proved that in the inaugural edition, leading laps en route to a sixth-place finish.

Now heading into the second edition, the young man is ready to make a statement. He will enter the race with momentum on his side after winning Thursday’s APC Auto Parts United Late Models of Ontario Tour event at the half-mile.

“Definitely a lot of fun out there,” he told SHORT TRACK MUSINGS. “Had some good battles with the 32 (Treyten Lapcevich) and 3 (Shae Gemmell), so looking for a good run here and got it. Hopefully we keep it going for the Fall Brawl weekend here. We learned a couple things. Definitely looking forward to having a new MRE (McColl Racing Enterprises) car with some of things off this piece here, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The victory on Saturday night was not easy, as he was hounded by series front runner Treyten Lapcevich through the final 40 laps, with the pair running side-by-side several times.

“I was definitely feeling the pressure there,” he admitted. “I was just trying to stay smooth and keep the fenders on it. I gave him a lane there a few times, but just tried to keep a good run on the outside. I didn’t have a lot of grip out there – little loose – so tried to stay out there and it worked out for us. Fortunately, the lap cars helped us a lot there.”

Although running an abbreviated schedule to date, Watson has been successful this year as the victory at Jukasa Motor Speedway marked his third of the 2019 APC Series season. Now it’s about turning that into success at the half-mile in September.

“Looking to build on what we did last year and lead the second half, not the first half,” he commented. “Definitely learning a lot every time we come here and hopefully it’ll pay off in a few weeks.”