LONDON, Ontario — Taking the lead after a couple early race cautions, Dalen Martin did not look back en route to winning the Qwick Wick OSCAAR Hot Rod feature powered by EPIC Racewear at Delaware Speedway.

Cole Weber won the first JRS Auctions heat in front of Rob Bromley, Steve Book, Nick Clarke, Dave Evison Sr., Gary Hannah, and Bill Clarke, while Chad Clutterbuck did not take the green flag.

Bill Zardo Sr. was victorious in the second qualifier ahead of Robb Starr, Paul Senior, Trevor Thompson, Steve Ecker, Ryan Cowan, and Rick Verberne.

Dalen Martin picked up the checkered flag in the third heat, followed by Jesse Kennedy, Mat Hopkins, Jordan Morris, Connor Ellis, Ron Parsons, and Matt Spry.

Bill Zardo Sr. and Paul Senior led the field to the green flag for the feature, with the pair battling side-by-side through the opening laps. Zardo would grab the advantage, taking over the top spot as Senior slipped into second. Behind them, Dalen Martin began to climb his way forward after starting sixth, moving up into fourth in the opening laps.

Jesse Kennedy showed speed in the early stages of the event, and made a challenge for second on Paul Senior with just seven laps on the board. Unfortunately, he would see his feature end early, having a mechanical issue on the ninth lap for the caution flag. With 10 laps on the board, Zardo led in front of Senior, Martin, Robb Starr, Cole Weber, Steve Book, Trevor Thompson, Rob Bromley, Mat Hopkins, Dave Evison Sr., and Jordan Morris.

The restart was exactly what Paul Senior was looking for, as he was able to grab the top spot ahead of Zardo, as the veteran slipped back a couple spots in the process. Senior was unable to get away, though, with another yellow flag for Spry going around in turn one.

Dalen Martin started alongside Senior and was able to slip behind him, followed by a pass underneath to take over the top spot. Senior tried to put together the crossover maneuver, but it was not enough as he was unable to take the lead back. Instead, Senior’s focus was turned on those behind him, in trying to hold off the hard charge from Weber.

Starr’s early run saw him fall back a couple spots on the mid-race restart, finding himself running just outside of the top-five. He would try to rebound to get back up front, but made contact with the back of Bromley, resulting in Bromley hitting the inside turn four wall. Behind them, Book went around for a spin of his own in the process.

With everyone knowing the laps were counting down, the restart was frantic, and resulted in another yellow flag. This time, three-wide around 10^th between Ecker, Clarke, and Morris, resulted in Morris going around and making contact with the outside turn one and two wall.

Dalen Martin kept showing his strength through all the chaos, though, holding the top spot through the series of restarts, and cruised away en route to scoring the victory. Cole Weber made the pass on Paul Senior with 11 laps to go on the board to finish second, with Trevor Thompson and Dave Evison Sr. rounding out the top-five.

The next scheduled event is set for Flamboro Speedway on Saturday, October 1.

OSCAAR is proud to be supported by Qwick Wick Fire Starters, Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park, JRS Auctions, Point S Tire and Auto Services, Knightworks Design, McColl Racing Enterprises, EPIC Racewear, and The Fyre Place & Patio Shop.

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.

Race Report by Ashley McCubbin

Photos Courtesy of Delaware Speedway’s Facebook Page