After 13 successful seasons as a competitor at Sunset Speedway on Saturday nights, Rob Poole has decided to make the jump to Ontario’s top asphalt touring series, the OSCAAR Super Late Models. After finishing third in championship points at Sunset Speedway in the limited late model division in 2011, the Cookstown, Ontario native decided he and his team needed a new challenge.
“We were competing against arguably the best field of limited late models around”, said Poole in an e-mail interview with OSCAAR.ca. “My team has been with me since I started in 1999 and together we keep challenging ourselves to grow and develop in our racing career, so OSCAAR seems to be the obvious next step.”
Poole will be driving his familiar #45 Visser Farms ‘Pick Your Own’ Strawberries, R.A. Electrical, Alliston Auto Sales & Leasing, AgNav, BFI Canada, Reliable Waste Management (RWM) Chevrolet Impala SS. Poole’s car will be powered by a built motor out of Ideal Supply Machine Shop in Collingwood, Ontario.
Part of the reason behind Poole’s move to OSCAAR is the opportunity to compete at different tracks throughout the province and the challenge associated with determining a new setup each and every week.
“I anticipate many challenges, adapting to the speedways in which I’ve never been too, learning the new car and setups, and just getting comfortable with the speed of the car is what I’m expecting,” explained Poole.
Nonetheless, Poole is particularly excited to return to his home Sunset Speedway among other tracks on the OSCAAR tour.
“I’m excited to return to Sunset Speedway. With it being the first race of 2012, it will be good as I’ve done lots of laps around there and it will be one less thing to get use to for the first night out,” said Poole. “I’ve always liked racing at Kawartha Speedway, so I’m looking forward to that as well.”
Poole will be among half a dozen or so rookies that will be competing for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. While the rookie championship is certainly a goal of Poole’s, the team simply hopes it can stay competitive and finish every race.
“We’re just going to try to stay consistent, hopefully not have too many mechanical failures and the rest will sort itself out,” said Poole.
Poole is excited to be joining the close-knit OSCAAR family. On multiple occasions in 2011, OSCAAR drivers came together to help their fellow competitors ensure they would be able to run the feature for the night’s event. Poole explained that this atmosphere is not only what makes OSCAAR great, but racing in general.
“I think that is what racing is all about. It’s not much of a race if the cars are on the trailers.”
Perhaps the most exciting element of joining OSCAAR for Poole is the chance to race with some of the top drivers in the province. Poole is familiar with several drivers on the OSCAAR tour, including Dwayne Baker, Charlie Gallant, and Brandon Watson after competing against them at Sunset over the past five years, but is most excited to race amongst the big names of the sport.
“I never thought I’d ever get to this level so just being able to be out there with the likes of the Watsons, the Hanleys, and the Clarkes is something I’ll definitely appreciate,” said Poole. “I’m looking forward to racing them all but it will be fun to run against Glenn Watson as he has helped us a bit over the last little while.”
Rob Poole’s OSCAAR career will kick-off with the OSCAAR season opener on Sunday, May 20 at Sunset Speedway. For more information on Rob Poole and his race team, visit www.robpooleracing.com .
OSCAAR will be attending the 2012 Canadian Motorsports Expo presented by Inside Track Motorsport News from February 10-12 at the International Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Stay tuned to www.oscaar.ca for up-to-date news as the season approaches.
By Clayton Johns
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