2020 Little Middleton Race Series Approaching

TILLSONBURG, ON (March 11, 2020)- It always seems to sneak up after enjoying winter sports that the race season is coming up. The schedule was posted before Christmas, with almost all events are Tuesday nights.
As for motors, last year we introduced a minor tweaking of the rules and weights in the Box Stock division so please be sure your team is ready and legal at the first race. The only other rule adjustment is Open wings. The rule says that Open wings cannot be bigger than standard Open QRC wing. The change occurred when QRC made their wing side panels slightly bigger for 2020. The next new karts or wings we sell will be the new style wings.

If you have not already heard, the Toronto Motorama show is this weekend, March 13th to 15th and two of our track Champions will have their karts on display. Beginner Champion, Race McConnell and Open Champion, Jacob Ross will be there to answer perspective questions about racing. Thanks to these teams for assisting in promoting our track, club and race series. If you get a chance, the show has something of interest for almost everyone, not just racing.

We have had many racers come and go through our system the past 12 years. Enough that I can go to most local Big race tracks and know drivers in the top classes who started or raced at our club. While some drivers started with us in the lower levels , a few figured the 500cc Open class was not worth their effort and they moved on to 600 micro sprints or 440’s or Dwarf cars and even 360 Sprints before getting to the level they are now at. Examples of these drivers include, Conor Mahoney, Alex Hill, DJ Christie, Eric McGlone, Hannah Ferrell and Jacob Sheridan. Another driver who had success going this route is Dylan Westbrook who has been Champion in the 360 Sprint class at Ohsweken, but we cannot claim him as our own home grown boy since he bounced around several clubs after starting with us.

So if having a little bit of racing experience in our club can boost a drivers results elsewhere, what would happen if a driver fully goes through every level of our small racing club. We are just starting to send the kids who stuck with us through every level including the Open Division, out to the bigger world. While Holly Porter has been racing since before our club was formed, she has raced with us every year including after she moved to bigger Sprint Cars. Holly is an example of the talent that is hiding in our 500 class that our next generation of kids have raced against. Not only raced against, but often beat.

Well, the page has turned and we are now sending our fastest graduates from the Open Division out into the world . 2019 Was the year we sent a young man who started as a Beginner and raced every division with us, including the Opens, . While Bea Courtnage, Scott Hall and Andrew Marshall also went though all our divisions, , Nick Sheridan is the first to show what we have been preaching, if you can win in the Tillsonburg Open Division, against some of the best drivers in the industry, you can win anywhere driving any type of big horsepower monsters. While that may seem like a bold statement, look at the recent results. 2019, Graduate Nick Sheridan joined the Crate Sprint division in a year they had the highest car count ever. He did that on a private one car team that did not have years of experiance at the track or division. In his first year Nick went from Nick who?, (he should have said ” I’m a Tillsonburg Outlaw”) to Nick Sheridan who won the Crate Sprint Championship as a 14 yr old rookie competing in the highest level allowed for his age. Due to his young age, his only choice is to remain in the class for another year where I am sure he will be a good choice for a repeat. The funny thing is, what he learned in a 500 cc Open Kart will shine through even more in the 360 Division.

But wait, Tillsonburg Little Middleton Outlaws have a bunch of young drivers who have been through the ranks, having learned not only to be fast but how to race and deal with the complexity of being competitive. When they graduate from our club, their new competitors will quickly know who they are. For the 2020 season, we have a couple more drivers coming at you but it is Austin Roes who will shine(his car and his results) in the Crate Sprint Ohsweken class. He has the skills to do the same thing Nick did, which is turn the Crate Sprint division on its head. For anyone wanting to see the future talent coming your way, just attend our Tuesday races.