August 9th Capital City Speedway

The Giant Tiger team was back in Ottawa this weekend racing as part of the ACT tour weekend race. As usual, Mother Nature appears to dislike auto racing. Practice and heats were to start at 2pm but a steady rain kept all cars of the track until just after 6pm. That forced the organizers to cancel all heat races and we drew for a starting spot. Paul started 17th of 19 cars. Paul quickly started to move through the field but with a shortened race of only 20 laps there wasn't much time. Paul was running 4th and was right on the bumper of #20 Frank Johnston for 4 or 5 laps. Paul made his move on the white flag lap entering corner 3 and got by Frank , but a couple of lapped cars (deja vu from Barrie)were at the wrong place and the wrong time and caused Frank to have to move high just as Paul was passing him. They touched wheels and Paul spun. Paul was able to get going and finished 12th. A great race to watch but with a disappointing result. Our next race is another double header weekend Aug 22 at Kawartha Speedway and August 23 at Peterborough Speedway.

August 2 Barrie Speedway

The Giant Tiger race team was in Barrie to race with the Ontario Legends Series. Practice was delayed an hour due to ...what else..rain. The team fought a loose race car during practice and made many changes to get the car right. Paul started 7th in the 1st heat and made his way through the field to finish 2nd. Paul started 3rd for the 2nd heat and made his way to second just behind the #88 car for the second time tonight. Paul qualified 3rd for the feature race but they inverted the top 4 meaning Paul started outside pole. Paul took the lead with a good start and lead for 4 laps. The #88 car slid by on the bottom, and the #24 was right there. Two laps later we were in third and now had to fend off a very aggressive Tim Fernandes in #77. Paul was still in third after getting the two laps to go flag. On lap 23, when a lapped car let the first two cars through, and then slid high at the last moment and blocked us. We tried to cut to the bottom, but Tim and Adam Cuthbertson shot by on the bottom to push us back to fifth place on the last lap. It was a disappointment to have a lapped car cost us two positions, but the Giant Tiger team had a great race anyway. The next race is this Sat. Aug. 9th in Ottawa at 2:00 pm.

July 13th Kawartha Speedway

Sunday we were at the high banked Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville as part of the ACT Summer Sizzler 200. We struggled for speed earlier in the day and changed a gear and then struggled with handling as the temperature got very hot in the afternoon. A huge field of over 28 Legends cars showed up for the race. After struggling all afternoon and a bunch of changes for the feature, Paul started 16th and raced his way to 11th place just behind Frank Johnson. Video is opening few laps of feature race.

July 12th Mosport Speedway

The Giant Tiger race team made it's way to Mosport Speedway's fast 1/2 mile track this weekend as part of a 2 day , 2 race trip. As with the the last couple of races at Mosport, mother nature was the eventual winner as all but one heat race was washed out with rain. On the card that night was the super fast Osscar Outlaw Super Late Models.

June 29th Capital City Speedway

Rain date from June 28th at CCS. A good field of 19 Legends cars showed up for some Sunday racing. Paul won his first heat and ended up finishing 3rd in the 35 lap feature race.

June 4th Capital City Speedway

The Giant Tiger Legends race team was at Capital City Speedway for the second time this year. The car worked well in practice, and we backed it up by winning the first heat race again. Paul survived a first lap bumping incident, to go on for the win. The feature saw us start in third place and jump to the lead on lap one. On lap 3 there was a caution, and Paul had to be very careful on the restart due to oil dry on the inside of turn one. The # 55 car passed us on the outside, and with 5 laps to go the # 77 of Tim Fernandes used the "push to pass " bumper and Paul finished in third place. It was a good night of racing, and the Giant Tiger car was in the mix the entire time. Our next race will be on Sat.June 28th in Ottawa as part of the big June Jam Night Of Thrills____________________

Mosport May 31st

The team did not travel to the fast 1/2 mile track due to terrible weather conditions. Next Race is June 5th in Ottawa at Capital City Speedway.

2008 gets underway!!!!!

Racing went well this Friday night. 17 Legend cars were there to start the season off. Paul started the heat in 6th, and made some great passes and was in the lead by lap 3 and checked out. A late caution caused a restart but Paul got a good restart and grabbed the checkers. Paul started 15th in the feature, lots of crazy traffic to deal with and by just past half way was passing Frank for second place !! Paul got by him into second place in corner 1, and then Frank and Paul got together and Paul spun out. Back to the rear with only 5 laps to go. Paul was on a mission, and he passed Frank at the checkers for 4th place, but that was all she wrote. The #16 Giant Tiger Car was great all night and only a little fender and running board damage to fix. The stands were packed with fans, and it was a great start to the season.

Sept 22nd - Barrie Speedway

Saturday Sept 22/07 was our last scheduled Ontario Legends Series race with Paul planning to attend the Asphalt Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. Paul was doing double duty this weekend as he was also driving the #37 Late Model for Valley Full Throttle Racing. Getting the late model up to speed meant little time to practice the Legends car. Paul was running 3rd in the first heat and had to spin to the infield to avoid an accident late in the race. Paul ended up 9th. Off to the Late Model car and they were running a double feature so the first race of the day was a 35 lap race. Early on the car inexperienced major brake problems that resulted in several spins . Paul eventually parked the car until repairs could be made. Paul's 2nd Legends heat did not go much better with handling problems resulting in an 8th place finish. We made some major chassis changes for the feature in an attempt to get the Legends car back up to speed. The legends feature (see video) went much better with Paul starting 18th and finishing in 9th place. The Late Model's had a 50 lap feature and after the brakes were repaired and some chassis adjustments Paul drove the car from a last place staring position to a 13th place finish in his first day in the car.

Sept 8th - Capital City Speedway

Story to follow, Huge field for the Legends Regional Qualifier Frank Johnston and Shannon Stiles waiting to race Legends Heat 1 Race: Monster Truck Action:

Aug 15th Capital City Speedway

more to come

August 11th Peterborough Speedway

The crew arrived at Peterborough Speedway 4 hours early in order to try to fix the car in the parking lot on another very hot day. After major front end repairs the car was taken out in hot laps, and it actually drove fairly well, even though the frame is bent. We started at the back of the first heat, and moved up to seventh at the finish but the car was very loose. After an adjustment to tighten it up, Paul started on the outside of the front row, but fell back to 8th at the finish. More adjustments were made to try to improve the car for the feature. Starting 13th, Paul was up to 10th on lap 4 when it all went wrong again ! Paul had to swerve hard to avoid the # 02 car and he spun out into the grass. The caution came out for Paul's spin and then the # 7 car of Matt Marshall crashed into the # 33 car and rolled several times end over end, and over the wall into the spectator fence. He was knocked unconscious, and the car was destroyed, but he walked away in a few minutes. They say it was the worst crash in quite a few years, and our team wishes Matt a speedy recovery from what appeared to be only minor injuries. The car was not handling well after the restart, and Paul finished near the back of the pack. The team will try to repair the car in order to race it on Wed. Aug 15th at Capital City Speedway, and Jeff will also return behind the wheel of the # 18 car for a two car assault.

Aug 10th Kawartha Speedway

The team headed to Kawartha Speedway this hot Friday night. The #16 car would draw a last place start on this fast 3/8 mile oval in the first heat. A great start would see Paul get to 4th place on lap 2, only to see the position evaporate as Paul spun the car entering turn 2. We finished 10th in the heat. The 2nd heat saw Paul start on the pole, and he lead every lap en route to his first heat win in the Ontario Legends Series! It was a slippery race due to an oil down in the late model race. Paul started the feature in 13th place and was running 7th on th last lap when disaster struck. Paul crashed into the # 21 car very hard, while trying to get around two other spinning cars. We received major front end damage, and had to be towed to the pits resulting in a 17th place finish.The crew had to work for two hours to get the damaged car back in the trailer.More work would be required in order to race Sat. night in Peterborough.

Aug 8 Capital City Speedway

Wed night was the first of three races planned in 4 nights for the Giant Tiger team. Jeff took the night off, and Paul would drive the older car which allowed the new car to be ready for the weekend. It was like re-uniting with an old friend, as Paul charged from 10th starting place to a second place finish in the first heat. The car was great, and we followed it up with wins in the 2nd heat and the feature ! That made it two feature wins in a row for Paul in two different cars. It was also the first night for our new associate sponsor , TZ Hair Salon in Petawawa. Welcome aboard and thanks to Darrel and Theresa. The car # was adjusted to reflect Paul's familiar # 16, but it will return to #18 when Jeff retakes the wheel on Aug 15th at Capital City.

July 25th Capitial City Speedway - 2 outta 3 ain't bad

Both Giant Tiger cars were back in Ottawa this week for the Wednesday night races. In the first heat , Paul started deep in the field and quickly made his way to the lead. Right from the start Jeff's car didn't appear right and soon had to drop out with a failed clutch. Paul was leading with 2 laps to go when the number 77 car tried to make a pass for the lead and was hit by the #5 car which turned the 77 into Paul and they they locked bumpers. Paul had to start 2nd last with a green/white/checkers restart and in 2 laps managed to get back to third place. In the 2nd heat ,Paul put on a show by quickly taking the lead and never giving it up to take the win. Jeff missed the 2nd heat while the crew were busy replacing the clutch in his #18 car so he could get back on track for the feature. The feature went just like the 2nd heat for Paul , he quickly made his way to the front and then held off a few attempts by the 77 car and then put some distance between himself and second place and easily took the feature win. Jeff got tangled up with the 21 car early in the race and had to come in to the pits for some bodywork to be removed and then returned to the track for a solid 5th place finish considering the right rear rim and trailing arm were badly bent from the earlier contact.

July 14th Mosport Speedway

Mother nature decided this race - we were rained out.

June 23rd Brighton Speedway on Dirt

Brighton Speedway would play host to Canada's first ever Legends race on dirt. Jeff DeJong would be the lone car starting the race from the Dejong Motorsports stable, as Paul decided not to race. The team spent all day Saturday at the Ontario Legends race shop just outside of Brighton, Ont. preparing the car for the clay surfaced track. The windshield was swapped out for a screen, shocks and spring packages were changed over to a dirt set-up, and the repairs from the prvious nights racing were all completed before we headed to the track. Once at the track, pictures of hard slick corners were all but washed away. Six inches of mud covered the track at the beginning of the night, and hotlaps proved to be a mess. Fenders were caked with mud, and helmets were blurred with the clay. The first rounds of heats went off without any damage to the car, however, Jeff did spin out, thus finishing near the rear of the pack. The second round of heats saw Jeff get more comfortable and work his way to the front and put a challenge on for the lead. With a late fake caution (caution light came on momentarily, then went back out) Jeff dropped to 3rd. Jeff qualified in the 11th spot out of 19 cars. Once the feature started, the track came around and it was more like a tradional dirt track we were expecting. The 20 lap feature turned into about a 60 lap one with all of the cautions. Jeff spun the car out once by himself, and once to avoid another spinning car. Starting at the back twice, Jeff slowly made his way towards the front. After several crashes and a few cars knocked out of the race, Jeff found himself in the top 3. He had found the quick way around the track and it was working for him. After some late race cautions and having to pass a past Brighton Speedway track champion twice, Jeff managed to hold off all other drivers and take the win. Along with a large trophy, and the bragging rights to winning the first race on dirt in Canada, Jeff also took home $1000, the largest purse of the season. The teams next expected race is in Mosport on July 14th.

June 22nd Kawartha Speedway

The DeJong Motorsports team traveled to Kawartha Speedway this past Friday night to run in the Ontario Legends Series for the first time as a 2 car team. The 3/8 mile high banked track of Kawartha Speedway is very fast, with lots of room to make passes. Paul has run here before with some success and some top 5 finishes, however this would be the first time Jeff would get to race the track. Practice went well, with Jeff getting used to the track quickly. Paul's gear choice for the first time at this track with the new car was slightly off, and the team had to work quickly to change to a new ratio. As the heat races started, Paul's car was extremely loose entering the corners. Twice in the first two heats, he spun the car, luckily not sustaining any damage. The crew went to work to tighten the car up. Jeff ran his first heat race rather cautiously and came home in 5th place. His second heat, Jeff was in 3rd place with a lap to go on a restart, when he was run into from behind and spun out, finishing second to last. The car was only damaged cosmetically, but none the less the team gave it a full look-over. For the feature, Paul started from the 11th starting position, while Jeff started 16th. The race went well for both Paul and Jeff as they moved steadily through the field. Paul ended up finishing in the 6th position with a better, but still ill handling racecar. Jeff avoided several bad wrecks by inches a few times and came home with an 8th place finish. The team packed up the following morning and headed for the dirt in Brighton.

June 10th Capital City Speedway

Sunday June 10th we were racing as part of the huge 2 day racing weekend at Capital City Speedway. 12 Legends cars showed up for the 40 lap $500 to win event. Paul finished 2nd in the first heat and won the second heat. The feature race was a great battle between Paul and Tim Fernandes with Paul briefly taking the lead with a lap and a half to go but Tim Fernandes did a good job with lap traffic to regain the lead as they took the white flag. Paul managed a 2 place finish in a very entertaining race.

June 2nd Mosport Oval

Saturday June 2nd the Giant Tiger Race team was at the fast 1/2 mile Mosport oval. The team made an at the track gear change to try to help get the car out of the corners and that seems to have caused a slight misfire. Paul finished 4th in the first heat and 3rd in the second heat. After an ignition module change , Paul managed a 6th place finish in the feature.