Danny O’Brien Claims 18th Top-Five Of Season At Brockville

Story By: CLAYTON JOHNS / DANNY O’BRIEN RACING – INVERARY, ONT – Danny O’Brien was back in action with his 1000 Islands RV Centre No.17d 358 Modified last weekend and the veteran racer battled through a good dose of adversity to achieve a fifth-place finish at Brockville Ontario Speedway last Saturday night. It was his 18th top-five result and 22nd top-10 of the 2018 season.

The night started with a second-place effort in his heat race. With his win last week, O’Brien was handicapped to start 12th in the 30-lap Feature. The car was strong in the opening laps until O’Brien felt something change in the rear-end.

“The car was good in the heat race and we just did our normal adjustments before the Feature. We had a torsion bar go bad early in the race and it was flopped over on the right-rear, so we had to battle all night,” O’Brien said. “We were lucky to get fifth. We’ll take that one. It’s still a good night.”

The task to drive through the field was significantly more difficult for O’Brien from that point forward, especially against the talented cast of Brockville regulars.

“It’s tough getting through the pack. It always is at Brockville,” O’Brien remarked. “There’s a lot of good cars and it was a good race. There’s a lot of really good cars and good drivers, so if you miss it by a bit you’re not going to win.”

The top-five came in the eighth race since O’Brien debuted a new car in July. Since that time, he already has five wins to make eight in total.

“This car is strong out of the box,” O’Brien said. “We brought it out eight races ago and its won five of them, so it’s got a good batting average. You can’t win every one though, so the one’s you can’t you just make sure you get every spot you can.”

After recording another top-five, O’Brien plans to head south of the border on Friday night, this time for competition at Brewerton Speedway, located just outside of Syracuse, NY, against the Big-Block Modifieds.

“We’re going to go to Brewerton this Friday,” O’Brien stated. “We want to get some running in on the softer tires down there and have some fun before Brockville Saturday. It’s a little different setup and a little different driving style, so we’re going to go down and get a run in on them. It’s a big-block track, so we’re not going to set the world on fire. We’re going to go down and have some fun.”

Other than continued competition at Brockville Ontario Speedway for the balance of the season, O’Brien does not have definitive fall schedule other than to say he will race where time and work permits, but also where it’s most enjoyable.

“We’re just going wherever it’s fun,” O’Brien said. “We’ve been doing that and having a lot of fun at it.”