By Jim Clarke
CORNWALL, ON-Once a racer initially makes their mark in the sport, it is next to impossible for them to walk away.
Cornwall, Ontario’s Sandy MacFarlane finished the 2022 season in 4th place in the Brockville Ontario Speedway Novice Sportsman point standings. Throughout the year, he also logged selected starts in the Sportsman-Modified field. For the 61-year-old father of 4, it was his first full season of local racing action in more than 3 decades.
With the upcoming new schedule on the horizon, MacFarlane will be part of a 2-car team. His No. SS3 ride will run with the Small Block Modified fields, while the No. 17M driven by his son Gavin is also scheduled to make its debut in the 358 Modified ranks. The elder half of the father-son pairing says the cars have changed quite a bit from when he first started.
“In the first stage of my career, many of the Sportsman-Mod runners were using machines that had been handed-down from the Modified teams, but now the cars are so similar, they’re almost interchangeable between the divisions,” Sandy MacFarlane said. “The car I used in the Sportsman field last year is a 2022 Outlaw Chassis and I’ll run it as a 358 this year. Champions Race Supply and Auto Repairs is a dealer for these cars. They have become very popular with racers at some of the different tracks in our area.”
Working through the week as a mechanic, Sandy MacFarlane says it would be a toss-up between Brockville Speedway and Cornwall if it came down to picking his favourite weekly race track. While he’s content to spend this season close to home, MacFarlane says he’d like to run some laps in the western region of the province at Merrittville and Humberstone. For the 2023 schedule, the No. SS3 effort will be supported by Champions Race Supply and Auto Repairs, Celtic Treasures, Cornwall Door Systems, True Rest Float Spa and Bowes Race Products.
With a couple of cars from the same team moving to a different division to kick-off the 2023 schedule, its been a busy off-season at the MacFarlane Racing shops. Sandy MacFarlane says it has been an exciting time for the father and son duo.
“Neither Gavin nor I have made any long-term plans,” Sandy MacFarlane explained. “We’re looking to have fun, learn as much as we can and make some new friends along the way. That’s what racing at this level of the sport is all about.”
Photo attachment: Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media
Sandy MacFarlane (No. SS3) is continuing his motorsports comeback with a move to the Small Block Modified division for the 2023 seaso
