June 22 2015
Ayr, Ontario – This past weekend was a busy one for the Johnsonville Racing team, at Sunset Speedway. The Barrie, Ontario-area oval played host to a pair of special events on Friday and Saturday.
On the first night of action, Adam Martin – driver of the #97 Johnsonville Ford – raced in the 50-lap Super Stock feature that was part of the Garry Reynolds Memorial, in honour of the popular driver who passed away in 2011. This was the first time that the event – which was a tradition at the now-defunct Barrie Speedway – has been held at Sunset.
“We had a bit of a slow start after getting into an early accident when a guy spun ahead of us,” said Adam Martin, after the race. “The result was that we got ‘T-boned,’ which caused a bit of body damage to the Johnsonville Ford. But we recovered from that and worked our way up to ninth, before getting taken out again… and went back to the rear of the pack. The car was still pretty good, so we got back at it and managed to climb to seventh by the finish.”
All things considered, it was a positive outing for Ayr, Ontario racer, who is currently third in the weekly NASCAR Super Stock division points at Sunset Speedway. The Garry Reynolds Memorial wasn’t a points-paying event, so the result didn’t impact his Adam Martin june 19 Sunset 2 (Medium)standing in the championship chase.
The race was Martin’s most eventful of the season. In the majority of his outings, so far in 2015, he’s qualified well and raced near the front of the pack in the features. So it was a new experience for the 2014 Rookie of the Year to have to come through the pack, twice, after on-track incidents.
“There was a lot of action and we got to pass a bunch of cars because of the way things went. It was actually a lot of fun,” continued Martin. “It was good to get so much practice passing and driving in traffic.”
KERRY MICKS TAKES #97 JOHNSONVILLE LATE MODEL FOR A SPIN: Friday’s Garry Reynolds Memorial also featured a 75-lap Late Model race. NASCAR Canadian Tire Series veteran Kerry Micks participated in that event, driving Adam Martin’s Johnsonville Sausage / Candy Tree / Reser’s Fine Foods / Little Potato Company / SecureDrive / Stihl / Beyond Digital Imaging / GoTire / Micks Motorsports / Permatex Ford.
Micks enjoyed his run in the car, which is prepared by Micks Motorsports. He ran well, but was also involved in an incident that knocked him out of contention for the win. Mirroring Adam’s performance, Micks came home seventh in the Late Model main.
“It was exciting watching Kerry,” said Adam. “He seemed like he was having a lot of fun. He hadn’t been out in a Late Model for a while, so I think he enjoyed it.”
In addition to the on-track activities, Adam Martin Racing hosted several team sponsors at Sunset, some of whom had an opportunity to turn a few laps in the Johnsonville Super Stock. Many of them were also at the one-third-mile oval for Saturday’s Leland 300 Presented by Johnsonville NASCAR race. All in all, it was a great weekend of racing and entertainment for the team and its supporters.
UP NEXT: Following a weekend off for the division at Sunset, Adam Martin will be back behind the wheel of the #97 Johnsonville Super Stock on Saturday, July 4. According to Adam, the extra week will give Micks and crew time to get the #97 Super Stock back in pristine condition.
ABOUT JOHNSONVILLE SAUSAGE: Founded in 1945 by Ralph F. and Alice Stayer, Johnsonville is the most popular brand of sausage in the United States, and is available in 30 other countries, including Canada. The company’s headquarters are in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Their award-winning product lines include Brats, Italian, Smoked, Breakfast, and Snack sausages. More information about Johnsonville products and recipes featuring the products can be found at www.Johnsonville.ca.
ABOUT ADAM MARTIN RACING: Seventeen year-old Adam Martin is in his second season of action in the Super Stock class at Sunset Speedway, near Barrie, Ontario. Affiliated with the successful Micks Motorsports NASCAR team, Martin plans to be competing in both the Super Stock and Late Model divisions before the end of the 2015 racing season. For more information about Adam Martin, visit www.Johnsonville.ca, follow him on Twitter at @johnsonvilleCA and on Facebook at Johnsonville, or call the team at (519) 658-7447. You can follow the team’s progress in Sunset Speedway’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at www.SunsetSpeedway.ca.