2K10 Season Preview – The Rookies

After six years of steady development and growth, the Ontario Pro Challenge series is about to see its grid explode into 2010 thanks to a major influx of competition.  The quality of the program and the passion of its promotional team are now paying dividends as the traveling series will likely enjoy 20+ cars at every outing this summer.  A total of nine series rookies are expected to join the program and have cars either race-ready or in the process of completion; some veterans of roundy-round action, some new to stock car racing and others with impressive resumes in other categories.  This preview will have a look at a few of these drivers.

The freshman class features competitors who can be found both ends of the age spectrum, as well as the experience ladder.  On the experienced side, Jason Podewils comes to the Ontario Pro Challenge with a solid winning resume in Ontario Mini Stock competition, and he will debut a former U.S. car that he and OPC regular Tim Forbes picked up from Georgia.  Podewils’ past oval success could quickly see him become a frontrunner once he has figured out the Pro Challenge equation.  Likewise, Owen Wilson is a long-time Ontario short tracker with both Street Stock and Legend car time, and his purchase of Dennis Thomson’s title winning Ford Taurus will give him a tried and true ride to begin his PC journey.

Motorsports journalist Rob Howden will join the fray this season, having purchased a car from North Carolina last fall.  The son of a former Ontario Super Late Model frontunner, the Cambridge resident has a diverse resume that includes high-level 125cc shifter karting and open wheel formula car racing.  In between trips to major karting events around North America, where he acts as the sport’s leading commentator, Howden is targeting a limited schedule of between 5-8 events in 2010.  Having been away on business all winter, Howden and his crew will begin work rebuilding his Monte Carlo in mid-May with a planned June debut.  The car will sport backing from eKartingNews.ca, the Canadian arm of Howden’s popular US karting website – eKartingNews.com.

The rookie field is also ripe with young talented drivers who are making their way from both Junior Late Models and Ontario karting.  Waterloo’s Dale Wilson will run an ex-Ryan Heavner car from the south, having worked with his father to rebuild and update the car throughout the winter.  Wilson graduated his way through the Waterloo Regional Kart Club – which now runs on Saturday mornings on the Flamboro Speedway karting course – and he continues to run with the growing organization to gain continued track time.  Over the past two years, the 15 year-old has also run in selected JCAR and Mini Truck events at Grand Bend Motorplex, getting some time in the full-bodied cars.  Along the same lines, London’s Patrick Freel purchased a second Heavner car, which he will use to make his Pro Challenge debut after devoting his entire development on the Junior CASCAR program, with much success.  Junior titles in 2006 and 2007 at the London oval graduated him into the senior categories in ’08-’09, where he quickly came up to speed against his older competition, which occasionally included such famed provincial stars JR Fitzpatrick.  It is expected that both Wilson and Freel will focus on making a smooth transition in 2010, working to gain the respect of the established veterans.

Additional rookies include Ken Lillycrop, Rick Sealy, Jason Davidson and Bryan Stevanus.  PLO was unable to gather bios on this quartet, but further information on these competitors will be posted to Pro Challenge Online soon.

While Mother Nature is threatening the season opener at Flamboro Speedway this Saturday with rain, you can be sure that the freshman class of 2010 has its collective fingers crossed that clear skies will be the order of the day.  After a long off-season, they are all ready to hit the asphalt.