2K10 Season Preview – The Veterans

In 2009, there was an easily identifiable lead group in the Ontario Pro Challenge Series.  Last year’s victories were shared by just four drivers – Dennis Thomson, Tim Forbes, Tim Norris and Josh Nicholson - but the competition promises to be even tougher in 2010.  A number of second and third-year drivers will enter the new campaign with a season or more worth of experience under their belts, making them quicker than ever.  A huge rookie class, which we will preview later this week, is also primed and ready to surprise the establishment.

Thomson remains the series standout for 2010, as the star driver is entering the new campaign with a brand new car after selling his title-winning Ford Taurus to rookie Owen Smith.  It won’t take Thomson long to shake any bugs out of his new ride, and he’ll be gunning to repeat a season of consistency that featured four wins and a staggering nine straight top-four finishes.  That said, Norris should again challenge Thomson for the crown, capping off the ’09 season with an impressive win at Flamboro to make it a pair of victories on the year.  A return to the Millgrove, Ontario facility to launch the new season should give Norris the extra confidence he needs to start the schedule with a  ‘W’. 

Nicholson is a young lion in the paddock and is only getting better each season, while Forbes kicked off the ’09 season with a win at Sunset.  He’ll looking for more of the same this time around.  Forbes and Nicholson both have the experience and speed to vie for wins on any given evening, so last year’s race winners will need to fight each other first before even thinking of the snarling pack of veterans, sophomores and freshman who are ready to pounce.

Leading the charge after last year’s victors will be Ken Nicholson, Robert Coverdale, Scott Fletcher and Kyle Batty.  Nicholson was a charger all year, but just wasn’t able to crack the ‘winners circle’ despite multiple heat race wins. The veteran finished in the top-five on six occasions, was runner-up at Kawartha and took third at Sunset, Flamboro and the non-points Varney special.  A win is just around the corner for the Brantford hotshoe.  Coverdale’s 2009 season showed impressive consistency as well, especially for a series rookie.  An incredible eight top-10 finishes were punctuated by three fifth place results, including two at Flamboro and one at Sunset.  Fletcher was a rookie to the series last year, but not racing itself, although he had not been behind the wheel since 2003.  Once Fletcher had sorted out the Dodge Avenger that he had purchased out of the US, he completed the season with a total of our top-seven finishes in the final five races. 

Batty will also be one to watch, as the young pilot got quicker and quicker at the season wore on.  A solid fourth place result at Sauble in mid-July was his best effort, but it was his five top-10 finishes that advanced him to seventh in the final standings. 

Another year’s experience will certainly help many drivers to step up in 2010.  Bob Hopton capped the ’09 season with an impressive second at Flamboro, while Malcolm McMaster scored six top-10 finishes in ’09 and will again be ready to fight for top-five results.  Tim Shanahan will be looking to using the experience gained in his rookie season, as will John Sloot, Larry Majuery, and Matt Marshall.  Dario Valente had a season-high eighth at Sunset, while showed Daniel Wilson showed her mettle en route to a third at Sunset last summer, hinting at great things to come. Long-time series driver Kevin Crowhurst is also hoping to running a full schedule this year, but a limited schedule is a given for the driver who sits near the top of the list in all-time series wins.

In our next preview installment, we’ll look at the 2010 freshman class, which will certainly help take the series to a new level.  With the opening round of the series happening this coming weekend at Flamboro Speedway (May 8), we’ll know soon enough who is in the position to make a run at this year’s crown.