INNISFIL, Ontario — Battling mechanical gremlins through the whole weekend, SKLD Motorsports was able to salvage a trio of top-10 finishes.

Everything began right from the first green of the afternoon in practice, as Austyn Jennett ran into problems right away, blowing a motor. Instead of packing up, the SKLD Motorsports team, along with help from Shake n Bake Motorsports, Peter Wakeling, and others changed out the motor in the No. 9 Acura Integra.

While the team worked on accomplishing the feat through Saturday’s qualifying action, Andrew Shilling put together a solid run with a third in the first heat, followed by a sixth in the second qualifier. Karlie Wilman was able to score a seventh and eighth in her races.

After missing the heats, Jennett shook down the car during intermission, entering the feature with confidence. Starting deep in the field, the strategy was to work his way forward. Unfortunately, a flat tire and suspension damage ended his feature on the opening lap.

Shilling had a much better beginning, pacing the field until the second caution at Lap 3 for debris. He was taken three-wide for the lead on the restart, fading back to sixth by the halfway mark. he battled hard to the checkered flag, crossing the finish line in sixth.

Wilman started off her feature solidly, but would go around for a spin in turns three and four on Lap 14 as she challenged for a top-10 position. Restarting tail of the field, she picked up a 15^th-place finish.

Returning to Sunset Speedway on Sunday, the SKLD Motorsports trio looked for the fresh reset, and was able to get that. Shilling won the first qualifier with Jennett completing all 10 laps to place sixth. The boys carried the momentum to the second heat, with Jennett finishing fourth right in front of Shilling. Wilman was not as lucky, placing sixth in the first qualifier, and was unable to finish the second due to battery issues.

Come feature time, Shilling moved himself up to second in the early stages, fading back to sixth by the first caution at Lap 5. That caution was not good for other half of the team, as the yellow waved for Wilman stalling on the backstretch; she was able to get the car fixed and return to action. Jennett, meanwhile, was able to avoid issues this time around to run 13^th under the caution.

The restart saw Shilling battle inside the top-five for position, including splitting lap traffic as he tried to hold on for positions. He also tried to make a move for fourth with five laps to go, but was blocked by his fellow competitor. He kept himself in contention, running fifth when the yellow waved with two laps to go. Shilling battled on the restart, crossing the finish line in seventh.

Jennett worked his way forward through the second half, breaking into the top-10 before the late race caution and made a pass on the last lap for ninth. Wilman’s persistence paid off en route to a 15^th-place finish.

SKLD Motorsports is proud to be supported by Wilman Haulage, Hamilton Contracting, Able Taxi, The Canoe, SMG Motorsports, Brent Harrison, and Short Track Musings.

Be sure to keep up with SKLD Motorsports all year long by liking their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SKLDMOTORSPORTS/.

By: Ashley McCubbin/AM Marketing – ashleymccubbin17@gmail.com