In continuing his progression through the OSCAAR ranks, Norman Newman impressed in his rookie Queenston Chevrolet Buick GMC, Scott Reinhart Trailer Sales Ltd OSCAAR Modified campaign en route to placing fifth in the year-end standings.
Adding a modified to the fleet at Newman Motorsports to go with their Living Lighting OSCAAR Pro Sprint was an easy decision entering the season for Norman Newman.
“I’ve always been an open wheel guy and loved growing up watching the mods, so we thought this was the best direction for Newman Motorsports to go,” he commented.
The decision paid off immediately, as Newman caught the attention of his fellow competitors and fans in his modified debut, with a sixth-place finish at Jukasa Motor Speedway. The series’ next event at Sunset Speedway would not go as smoothly, though, as the No. 11 Modified was caught up in a pair of wrecks – one at the end of his second qualifying heat, and a spin in the feature. Despite this, he was able to leave the Innisfil-based facility with a ninth-place finish.
The success would continue into July, with Newman scoring a fifth-place finish at Delaware Speedway, and finish sixth in his return to Sunset despite starting deep in the field due to an incident in his second qualifying heat. He then capped off month with a seventh at Flamboro Speedway.
The continued string of solid finishes in the features proved that Newman was quick, and he backed that up to start August with his first career heat victory at Peterborough Speedway. He was fast in the feature, as well, running inside the top-five all race long en route to a fourth.
The return to Delaware would not go smoothly with Newman running into mechanical issues during practice. While the team was able to make the necessary repairs, he was unable to make it out for his qualifying heats. Despite starting tail on the feature, he drove his way through the traffic to finish ninth. He then capped off the month with another qualifier win and fifth at Flamboro Speedway.
The playoffs saw continued success, with Newman running up front in the first 36-lap feature at Sunset Speedway en route to a fifth. Starting on pole for the second 36 feature on Sunday, he would get caught up an incident battling for fourth in the final five laps. As a result, he was credited with a 12th-place finish.
Unfortunately, the bad luck followed him to Flamboro a couple weeks later, as Newman was involved in a couple incidents in the feature en route to finishing 14th. While he was involved in an incident at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic, he rebounded to the cap off the year with a fifth.
There was certainly some tough moments through the year, but Newman was able to overcome the adversity and prove that he has good speed behind the wheel. It should not be long before we see the No. 11 winning a feature.
On behalf of OSCAAR, congratulations on your success this year, Newman. We look forward to seeing you back on-track in 2020.
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.
OSCAAR’s 2019 racing season is supported by several dedicated partners including Queenston Chevrolet Buick GMC, Knightworks Design, Living Lighting Canada, Scott Reinhart Trailer Sales Ltd., American Racer, and Grisdale Race Products.
By: Ashley McCubbin