Sometimes when you stick a microphone in front of a driver’s face, you have no clue what they may say and a couple of times you’ll hear something that surprises you or gives you a bit of a perspective.

Throughout the 2021 season, I had the opportunity to speak to a bunch of different competitors. During those interviews, there were some quotes that stood out. So it seems only fitting we take a glance back through the year at what was said.

“It almost feels like a sports car to me driving an OSCAAR modified. They’re light, you can see the wheels, they have good horsepower, they come up off the corner good, and they don’t feel big and bulky. A full body racecar, they are cool to drive as well, but they don’t just have the same feel as a modified as the modifieds are so unique to drive and watch. That’s the real draw to them, for me.” – A.J. Emms

“Modifieds are the most fun to be a part of because of the speed. They’re just as fast as a pro late model without the massive stress and money.” – Andy Kamrath

“The really cool part of modified racing is the fact that you can have a wide swath of competition due to the nature of the class so to pick one driver or even a few to watch would be hard without missing other potential ones. The LRR sponsored cars (Kamrath and Kelly Balson) are always good, TJ (Edwards) is a Varney (Full Throttle Motor Speedway) trained guy so he has an advantage for sure but honestly there are another five -10 that can get things done on a given night with a few new faces coming in to try it out. I personally love watching quite a few of these guys and the talent they have, especially in the rear view mirror!!” – Gary McLean

Based on his young experience to date, Jake Watson‘s advice to others who are hoping to reach his level is “to always keep your head in your shoulders, and be patient and never give up.”

“I’ve been fortunate to have Brian Macdonald help me along the way with this modified. I’ve learnt so much over the last two years and am finally getting a good grasp on these Tour Mods. I’ve also got some very good tips from Dale Reinhart and Andy Kamrath on how to drive these cars. We’ve always had some issues with corner speed and hopefully this season we can pick up the pace to keep up with the top cars.” – Norman Newman

““I have turned many laps at Varney, Sauble Beach and Flamboro (Speedway). The tracks like Sunset (Speedway), Peterborough (Speedway) and Kawartha (Speedway) will be challenging to get up to speed quickly, (but) I hope to run as much as I can. I prefer the larger tracks like Jukasa (Motor Speedway) that I am used to running south of the border. This will be the event I have circled on my calendar for 2021. But the smaller tracks with the close competition in this division will be interesting and require a good qualifying effort to start and run up front.” – Paul Townsend

“It would mean a lot to me for us to get a top 5 or heat win, just because I know how hard myself and my team have worked at getting to that point. It’s been a lot more difficult than anticipated, but I believe we’re capable of it next season. Of course as special as it would be, I also know that we have work to do to continue improving, and a lot of time in the shop preparing the cars to potentially win a championship and features in the future!” – Wally Wilson