Going racing, and teaching, at Daytona
ON TRACK
Scott Maxwell will be a busy man in Florida later this month for the opening round of the 2018 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.
The Toronto native is a veteran of the road race series, and will not only don his racing suit and helmet but will be fostering the careers of several young drivers as part of the Markam-based Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT4 team in the series’ GS class.
Working with Ford Performance, the team drivers will be Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer and Ty Majeski.
Briscoe is 23 and rookie of the year in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. A teammate of Briscoe with Brad Keselowski Racing last year, 19-year old Cindric won the Chevy Silverado truck race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in September, and does have some road racing experience.
Custer, 19, made his mark in NASCAR’s XFINITY Series, winning the Ford 300 with StewartHaas Racing, while three-time ARCA Midwest Tour champion Majeski, 23, competed with Roush Fenway Racing in the XFINITY Series in 2017.
These four young drivers will benefit from the experience and skill of Maxwell, inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2013. Through his association with Multimatic, Maxwell has been the lead test driver and been a big part of Multimatic’s world-class effort not only in its ISMA efforts but in the development and growth of the Ford GT on a global level.
Cindric is taking a refresher course, but said he will be still learning from Maxwell.
“For me, with my background, some of my biggest moments in the early part of my career have been with Multimatic racing Mustangs in the Continental Tire Series, so for me I’m coming home,” he said. “I come from a different background than the other guys and I think we’re going to have a lot of fun, learn a few things and hopefully bring home some hardware because I know those Mustangs are pretty strong around Daytona. Scott and I have become really good friends and he’s been a big help to me in my career and I look forward to being teammates with him again.”
Maxwell would like to continue to be successful, as he won Sebring last year and took the series GS title in 2016 with co-driver Billy Johnson, but enjoys his role as teacher and mentor.
“The Ford Mustang GT4 has been a great project from the start,” noted the 55-year old Maxwell, “and I’m glad to get back in the seat in Daytona. It’s just a fun car to drive. I’m happy to work with the young NASCAR drivers Ford has signed up, too, to help these drivers get acclimated.”
The Multimatic Motorsports team will field the Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R-C. The Rolex 24 at Daytona takes place Jan. 25-28 on the 3.56-mile road course, part of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Challenge and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The series races at circuits throughout North America, including a stop at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park July 6-8.
Flamboro Speedway has some big events gearing up for next year along with the regular Saturday night shows on the paved oval just outside of Millgrove.
The track will hold its inaugural Stock Car Nationals June 10 and July 8. These events will feature 50lap races with qualifying through time trials. The divisions include Pure Stock, Mini Stock, and Super Stock. Payouts are expected to be large as the drivers themselves are pursuing sponsorship and contingency monies on a lap-to-lap basis.
Flamboro will also hold its fifth annual Gold Rush race, a 100-lapper Aug. 19.
No Super Lates at this race, as the Pro Late Models will return for the big $10,000 payout, $5,000 to the winner and another $5,000 if the top qualifier for the race starts in last place and wins.
The track will once again host rounds in the APC Series and be part of the new Ontario Super Late Model Series, which will replace the former division of OSCAAR. Details of the new series include eight races, two at Flamboro, two at Sunset, two at Peterborough, and singles at Sauble and Jukasa. The features will be 75 laps, and pay $2,500 to win.