With consistency through the middle of the season, Nick Clarke was able to score a top-10 placing in the final Knightworks Design OSCAAR Hot Rod standings.

Clarke started off his season in August at Sunset Speedway, finding his way on the wrong end of some bad luck. While battling inside the top-15, he would go around for a spin on Lap 20, resulting in a 17th-place finish. He did not let that faze him as he took the No. 86 Mustang to the lone-dirt event of the year at Brighton Speedway, kicking off his day with a third-place heat finish. He also led some laps to start the feature off, before a spin relegated him to sixth.

Although Nick was not in attendance for Sauble Speedway, his father Bill Clarke would play the fill-in role. A veteran on the tour himself, he parlayed a mid-field starting spot with qualifying cancelled to a 12th-place finish.

The positive momentum continued when Nick returned to the tour for Sunset Speedway in September, as he ran inside the top-10 all race long en route to an eighth-place finish. He repeated the performance in similar fashion a week later at Delaware Speedway, this time for a ninth.

The highlight of the year for Clarke and his team had to be Flamboro Speedway. A strong run in qualifying allowed him to start up front for Frostoberfest, where he was able to make some passes over the run to move forward. Late-race contact with the leaders played into his favor, allowing him to pick up a couple spots for a second-place finish.

Unfortunately, the luck did not follow him to Peterborough Speedway as he found himself out of the event early, resulting in 18th on the final rundown.

Despite some tough moments through the year, Nick Clarke proved that his team can still get it done on the tour and be competitive with the best of the best. It’s why nobody would be surprised to see him return to victory lane once again.

The 2021 OSCAAR Hot Rod season is sponsored by Knightworks Design and The Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park Campground.
Be sure to keep up with OSCAAR by staying tuned to the series website at http://www.oscaar.ca. Also, make sure to “like” the official OSCAAR Racing Facebook page, while following both the Twitter and Instagram accounts (@OSCAARRacing) to keep up to date on everything you need to know.

By: Ashley McCubbin