By Jim Clarke, Kawartha Speedway PR/Clarke Motorsports communications

His 7 wins – including 2 stretches of 3 in a row – and a top 5 finish in all 13 starts paved the way for Larry Jackson to clinch Kawartha Speedway’s 2007 track championship.  The same year, he was named the division’s most sportsmanlike driver in a vote by his peers.

The rain-shortened 2008 campaign saw the Oakville, Ontario firefighter score a pair of wins and 6 top 5 finishes in 8 starts.  Still, he was 24 markers behind track champion Dan McHattie when the final points were counted, but earned another most sportsmanlike driver trophy at the season-ending banquet.

As 2009 kicked-off, Larry Jackson was missing from Kawartha Speedway’s late model roster.  His bright blue #84 Chevrolet had been sold during the winter and the driver had plans to spend the year in semi-retirement.  When Bruce Rankin stepped away from his #55 machine for a pair of events midway through the year, Jackson took over and steered the green Monte Carlo to a pair of qualifying heat race wins and a top 5 finish in a NAPA Auto Parts Late Model main event.  Then, as quickly as he had returned ‘Action Jackson’ was gone again.

“The pair of races I got to run in Bruce’s ACT Tour late model were fun, but it was like offering someone a thimble of water after they’d just walked across the desert,” said Jackson with a smile.  “It just made me want more, but other than doing the 100 lapper at the end of the season, I didn’t do too much racing last year.  I wanted to, but some other projects, work and family responsibilities kept my helmet on the shelf for most of the year.”

With the Fraserville, Ontario oval’s 10^th anniversary season scheduled for a Friday, June 4^th kick-off, Larry Jackson recently announced he’ll be back behind the wheel of a machine in the track’s headline division.  Fans can look forward to seeing him steering Rankin’s car on a regular basis.  Jackson says he’ll also be running his asphalt modified at U.S. based tracks like Dunn Tire Raceway Park (formerly Lancaster Speedway) and Oswego Speedway during the 2010 season.  After taking nearly all of 2009 off, he’s anxious to get out there and mix it up in each machine.

“Rankin’s car will get a complete overhaul from top to bottom and front to back,” according to Jackson.  “The car will be housed at our shops Oakville but it will still carry Bruce’s number and colours.  In my brief time driving it last year there were some changes we made to the geometry and race day set-ups that made it more like what I’m used to.  When Bruce got back behind the wheel of the ‘Incredible Hulk’ he was quite impressed with the changes we’d made.  That was when we started making plans to combine our programs for this year.”

For more details on Larry Jackson’s 2010 schedule, see www.bartonmotorsports.com.

Kawartha Speedway’s 10^th Anniversary season kicks-off with an open practice session Friday, May 28^th.  The season opener – including the OSCAAR Outlaw Super Late Models – is Friday, June 4^th.  The full schedule is available now at www.kawarthaspeedway.com.