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2023 CHAMPION - DYLAN GOSBEE
CREW MEMBERS
Kent Livingston | Danny Livingston | Jody McKenzie | Chris Wonnacott
SPONSORS
Clamdiggers Restaurant | Cornwall Self Storage | Powered Up Electrical | Shine Depot
ROUND 1 - Riverview Ford Season Opener at Speedway 660
The inaugural Super Late Model Series race was an instant classic, that saw Dylan Gosbee cement his name into the mix of title contenders.
The championship bid began in his heat race, where Gosbee would earn a piece of history of his own right from the start. After leaders Robbie MacEwen and Nicholas Naugle made contact to draw a yellow flag, Gosbee would take advantage and then edge out Greg Fahey in a photo finish to win his heat race. With the passing points qualifying structure being introduced, Gosbee would land the inaugural EIT Race Radios Pole Award with a +3.
With the feature getting delayed to Sunday due to rain, Gosbee would lead the field to an early afternoon green flag on Mother’s Day – however, he would not lead the first lap, as Cory Hall would take the lead on the outside. A flurry of early cautions worked to Gosbee’s advantage, allowing him to reclaim the lead on two occasions for a total of 16 laps.
All race long, Dylan hung inside the top 5 – often maintaining a podium position. In the closing laps, a heated battle ensued for third with Lonnie Sommerville fending Dylan off. With just a few laps to go, Dylan would get loose, but would make a phenomenal save and recover without missing a beat, reeling the 23 car back in only to settle for fourth in a photo finish.
RACE STATS
HEAT FINISH: 1st | START: 1st | FINISH: 4th | LAPS LED: 16 | POINTS RANK: 4th
ROUND 2 - Chapman Bros. 150 at Oyster Bed Speedway
After a rainout at Petty International Raceway, round two brought Dylan Gosbee back to home turf at Oyster Bed Speedway. A frigid cold June day and a threat of rain adjusted the schedule and made for some intense racing action. To kick it all off, Dylan would join fellow PEI drivers Darren MacKinnon and Robbie MacEwen locking down heat race victories, setting Dylan up for a starting spot just outside the top 5.
As the feature went green and the threat of rain loomed, the opening portion of the race featured plenty of long green flag runs. Dylan would hover around positions 5 and 6 for much of the race, but as the field passed the halfway mark, the intensity and the aggression was building. Gosbee would exchange contact with several drivers as an all-out-war waged on.
Late race cautions set up a PEI showdown, in which Gosbee would race up to the third place to secure a podium position and the points lead. Coming to the white flag, contact from Darren MacKinnon resulted in Dylan tagging the wall, and while he was able to hang on for the finish, Dylan was not pleased with the late race aggression – but was pleased to emerge on top of the standings.
RACE STATS
HEAT FINISH: 1st | START: 6th | FINISH: 3rd | POINTS RANK: 1st
ROUND 3 - Fog City Auto Spa 150 at Petty International Raceway
Sporting the yellow points leader trim for the first time, Dylan Gosbee entered round three on top of the Super Late Model Series. Unfortunately for Dylan, his heat race win streak would end thanks to a second-place finish in his heat, which would ultimately relegate him to a starting position outside the top 10.
It would prove to be a challenging race from the beginning, but one that would show what it takes to be a champion. On the sixth lap of the race, while marching towards the front of the field, Lonnie Sommerville blew a motor two cars ahead of Gosbee. With smoke and oil being emitted from the 23 car, Gosbee would spin on the front stretch along with Troy Burke. Sliding into the infield, Dylan would come to a rest after tagging a light pole hill – which was later learned to have resulted in a wrist injury.
Pitting for some repairs, it was time to go to work and the entire #16 team put their heads down and did just that. Avoiding several wrecks and taking his fellow competitors three-wide by times, Gosbee worked his way up to the runner-up position in the final third of the race. In an epic duel that was a quintessential display of how-to cleanly race for the win, Dylan made many attempts to overtake race leader Cory Hall. For 40 laps this battle ensued, but Gosbee would ultimately settle for second and extend his points lead as the first half of the season wrapped up.
RACE STATS
HEAT FINISH: 2nd | START: 11th | FINISH: 2nd | POINTS RANK: 1st
ROUND 4 - Universal Truck & Trailer 150 at Oyster Bed Speedway
Coming back home as the points leader with finishes of 4th, 3rd, and 2nd, all eyes were on Dylan Gosbee at Oyster Bed Speedway. Another event plagued by weather saw the entire race pushed to Sunday afternoon. This would not stop the #16 team, as Dylan would win his third heat race of the season, good enough for a 7th place starting position.
With a looming threat of rain, many wondered if the Universal Truck and Trailer 150 would be a race to halfway. For the early leg of the race, Dylan mostly rode around the 7th place position, but a rain shower hit as the field was working near the lap 50 mark. After the extended yellow flag for rain - and halfway within striking distance - Dylan put the hammer down.
Within laps Dylan had worked his way up to third and had the best seat in the house for a battle between Troy Burke and Dave O’Blenis. When O’Blenis fell victim to a flat tire on a restart just past halfway, Gosbee would assume the runner-up position and unleash a furious hunt for the lead against his fellow PEI driver in Troy Burke – the same driver he found himself in the infield with during the opening laps just one race prior.
After 30 laps of battling side-by-side, Gosbee was able to grab the lead and run away on a long green flag run to the finish to score the big win and extend his points lead.
RACE STATS
HEAT FINISH: 1st | START: 7th | FINISH: 1st | POINTS RANK: 1st
ROUND 5 - ReCar 150 pres. by Wonder Auto at Speedway 660
Fresh off his first SLMS victory, Dylan Gosbee rolled into the penultimate race with the biggest lead of the season in standings. The ReCar 150 presented by Wonder Auto & Tire would prove to test the character and ability of the Kent Livingston Racing team as they chased a monumental championship. Despite winning a series leading fourth heat race, being the most recent winner meant Gosbee could not start higher than 50% of the field. In a 27-car field, this would situate Gosbee 14th on the grid.
The opening laps of the race would feature the first test, as Gosbee was part of a multi-car incident on the second lap. Fortunately, Gosbee was able to avoid significant damage - but unfortunately, he would be relegated to the rear of the field. When the race got into a rhythm and a long green flag run, Gosbee would be in jeopardy of losing a lap to the leader as he struggled to advance into the top 12. He would ultimately go for a spin that would draw a caution flag.
Perservering and working to make the car better, Gosbee would crack the top 10 for the first time on lap 123. After a near miss with a gutsy three-wide move, Gosbee would work his way up to a 9th place finish after a flurry of late cautions. While not a pretty showing, it was a day that was salvaged with some damage control en route to a top 10 finish that kept a healthy points lead heading into the finale.
RACE STATS
HEAT FINISH: 1st | START: 14th | FINISH: 9th | POINTS RANK: 1st
ROUND 6 - Old Fashion Meat Market 150 at Petty Intl' Raceway
Entering the season finale – the Old Fashion Meat Market 150 at Petty International Raceway – Dylan Gosbee had a simple task ahead of him; finish 15th or better and claim the inaugural Super Late Model Series championship. Besides Dylan, all eyes were also on his fellow PEI competitor in Robbie MacEwen who entered second in points, and was Dylan's biggest threat to win the title.
Gosbee and the Kent Livingston Racing team made a bold decision that was highly talked about to debut a brand new car – their new McColl chassis – for the championship race. It was a move that shocked some - and one the team did not take lightly - but Dylan stated "why not bring our best bullet in the chamber?" However, bringing a new car without the bugs being worked out can be risky...
It was a tough heat race draw for Gosbee, as he got mired deep in the field and would only finish 5th - his worst heat race result of the season - scoring a +1, good enough to start 13th. However, having shown speed in practice, Gosbee knew he had a fast car.
The race went green and Gosbee would quickly go on the hunt, marching towards the front while MacEwen ran inside the top 5. The first 50 laps saw a pair of cautions that helped Gosbee on his charge. However, at some point Dylan recognized some sort of issue was arising in the car.
In an unexpected turn of events, the final 104 laps of the race would be run caution free, making it increasingly difficult to work through the field. Dylan would get as high as 7th and wage a heated battle with Jarrett Butcher for the 6th position. Knowing 7th was enough to solidfy the big picture - and with something mechanically looming over the car - Dylan would remain on Butcher's bumper to the finish, crossing the line 7th and securing the historic inaugural Super Late Model Series championship.
In an ironic twist of fate, mere moments after crossing the finish line to solidify the championship, the transmission suffered a catostrophic failure on the #16 car. Gosbee was unable to do a celebratory burnout in what was truly a story with an ending that even Hollywood couldn't script.
After 30 laps of battling side-by-side, Gosbee was able to grab the lead and run away on a long green flag run to the finish to score the big win and extend his points lead.
RACE STATS
HEAT FINISH: 5th | START: 13th | FINISH: 7th | POINTS RANK: 1st
SEASON STATS
YEAR | STARTS | WINS | PODIUMS | TOP 5'S | TOP 10'S | HEAT WINS | LAPS LED | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 63 | 1 |