Still young at 16, Cushman has high hopes in Legends

George Cushman has his eyes on the Legends' championship at Old Dominion Speedway this season.

The 16-year-old Waterville, N.Y., driver is only 16 points behind leader Matt Cannon. Cushman has eight top fives, including three seconds, and has an average finish of fourth.

"It feels real good to be running so well," Cushman said. "I'm hoping to get the points lead soon."

Cushman led points for nearly a month this season until he burned up a rear gear while running third in the second twin race June 6. He wound up 12th.

"That was frustrating because the car was pretty good that night," he said. "It also knocked us out of the points lead."

Since losing the lead, Cushman has posted two seconds. Two weeks ago, he came close to notching his first win as he battled Cannon for the lead, pulling beside him several times, but was unable to pass. It was easily his most exciting race at ODS.

"We're getting closer to a win at Old Dominion," Cushman said. "I almost got Cannon in that last race but just couldn't get past him."

At Chemung Speedrome in New York last Saturday, Cushman grabbed his first feature win of the season. He started 10th in that race but after colliding with another car had to restart in the rear of the 14-car field. He scrambled back and took the lead in lap 14.

Cushman has steadily improved this season. In his first four races at ODS, he had two fourths, a fifth and a third. In his last five, he's notched three seconds, a fourth and a 12th.

His team had a pretty good setup on the car early this year. But they'd get the car close and the setup would go away. Finally, on Memorial Day weekend, they stripped the car down and found that the clip was bent.

Since then, Cushman's finishes have risen. Two weeks ago, he won the pole and took home a second for the second week running.

Now, Cushman is hungry for his first victory at ODS.

"We're hoping to get some wins," he said. "But it's hard to pass at Old Dominion because the track is so rough. It's hard to hold the car on the bottom once you get underneath someone."

Coming into the season, Cushman's team figured he would do well. In 2006, he won rookie of the year at Chemung. Last season, he was named most improved driver at ODS. He finished seventh in points after missing four races and his highest finish was third.

He also ran quarter midgets for three seasons, winning 27 races and a track championship at Syracuse.

This year, Cushman wanted to run for a track championship. He also wanted to try for a New York state championship in semi-pros and is currently leading the state. He's aiming for a national championship in semi-pros as well.

He's racked up 13 semi-pro wins and calculates that he should get a top three in points at least. Now, he's 27th since his competitors have run almost twice as many races. But he should catch them as the year ends.

ODS is Cushman's favorite track. He likes it because it's challenging.

"It teaches you a lot," he said.

And he's hoping to make it to victory lane there soon.