Derek McCullough of Glencoe, ON finally finished off his fantastic start to running in the Ontario Sportsman Series by securing the victory in the Iron Man 100, Presented by Akal Steel & London Drive Systems at Delaware Speedway. McCullough, who made his first OSS start at Sunset in 2022, and showed impressive speed right away in his #38 CPE Services Ltd. Dodge Challenger. McCullough and his Payne Bros. Racing team has shown that in 13 starts, he had a staggering five podiums, including a second place finish at Delaware in May 2024. On this night at Delaware, Derek’s #38 car showed fantastic speed, starting off in practice, and qualifying, only to be bested by Michael Hryniuk Jr. in the battle for the EcoTek Pole Award. The two fought side by side on lap one, with Hryniuk Jr. taking the lead, but as the two racers drove into one, McCullough turned in catching the rear of Hryniuk Jr, and Hryniuk spun, with the entire field coming towards them! Unfortunately, Sauble’s winner Ollie Ferguson was unable to miss the #15 car and damaged the left front of the car, ending his day after one lap. On the restart it was McCullough and Brendan Patrick who took off the from the field! Cory McAllister would wage battle with ARCA Menard competitor Amber Balcaen, with Doug Cathcart, Kevin Trevellin and a storming Hryniuk Jr. following. The battle would become intense, with charges by McAllister met with resistance from a persistent Balcaen, aiming for her first podium finish. The race would hit a solid green flag period, with McCullough and Patrick having a ten second lead over third place Balcaen, until 35 laps to go, when Kaden Patrick spun, after a mechanical issue. On the restart, Doug Cathcart took the field three wide into one, turning Balcaen, who slammed the inside wall, before careening into Cory McAllister and the turn one wall. Cathcart would slide up the track too, taking Kevin Trevellin with him. Chad McGlynn would also pick up damage. After a lengthy cleanup, McCullough and Patrick stormed away and while Patrick gave it a solid effort, McCullough was able to hold him off to secure he and Payne Bros. Racing’s first ever OSS win!

This win marked the third straight first time winner in OSS this season, with Brad Robinson and Ollie Ferguson also picking up wins. The Ontario Sportsman Series will head back to Peterborough Speedway next, for the EcoTek Triple Track Challenge! In 2023, Brendan Patrick picked up his first career OSS win! In the points, Cory McAllister loses a little bit of his lead to Patrick, while Chad McGlynn moves past Trevellin into third. Michael Hryniuk Jr. moves back into fifth place, while Ollie Ferguson drops to sixth by one point. Lora Authier makes solid ground up to seventh, and Nathaniel Greenaway stays put in eighth. Derek McCullough made a solid jump into 9^th in the standings, despite only making four starts.

We would like to thank Akal Steel and London Drive Systems for their support this past race at Delaware.