“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

Call Shane for details: (519)861-4699

The series once again will kick off at Sunset Speedway, on the Sunday of the Victoria Day long weekend. Following the season opening race, OSCAAR will join Kawartha Speedway’s three weekly divisions to kick off their 2012 schedule on Friday, June 1.

Two weeks later, OSCAAR makes its return to Barrie Speedway for a Saturday night show on June 16. Following that, Super Late Model racing will once again invade Sunset Speedway on the Canada Day Weekend, this year on Saturday, June 30.

OSCAAR will then make its inaugural trip to Varney Speedway located in Durham, Ontario for promotional, non-points event on Saturday, July 14. The race will be run alongside Varney’s regular Saturday night show. OSCAAR inaugural event at Varney will also see the Outlaws make an attempt to break the North America ¼ mile track record of 11.9 seconds. This event will test the fast ¼ mile feasibility of hosting an OSCAAR feature event in 2013. The event will consist of 10-12 cars running heat races and a shortened feature.

The following week the Super Late Models will make their only trip of the year to Mosport Speedway on Saturday, July 21. This weekend is a busy one for racing enthusiasts as the Mosport Road Course is hosting the Gran Prix of Mosport. Last year Colin Braun was a spectator of the OSCAAR event, and has expressed an interest in competing with the Outlaws in 2012.

With the focus on keeping a consistent schedule, the second half of the 2012 campaign remains the same as 2011.

The Super Late Models will spend the Civic holiday weekend at Peterborough Speedway with a 50 lap feature on Saturday, August 4.

The 13th Annual Don Biederman Memorial will once again be at Kawartha Speedway, with the 2012 edition occurring on Friday, August 10. The 75-lap Don Biederman Memorial will be the only race on the 2012 schedule extending beyond the usual 50 laps.

OSCAAR will return to the Delaware Speedway on Friday, August 24 for 50 laps at the ½-mile oval just outside of London, Ontario.

OSCAAR will take up residence Labour Day weekend at Peterborough Speedway on Saturday, September 1 for its second event there in 2012.

The third and final trip to Sunset Speedway will be on Sunday, September 23 as part of the track’s Velocity 250 weekend and OSCAAR will once again be running a 50-lap feature. The 2011 event was an instant OSCAAR classic as Rob Clarke narrowly defeated Glenn Watson on a last lap pass.

As it has become a staple on the OSCAAR tour, the final event of 2012 will be a two-day event at Peterborough Speedway for the Autumn Colours Classic. Glenn Watson will attempt to defend his 2011 Autumn Colours Championship when Thanksgiving roles around in 2012.

While the 2012 edition of the OSCAAR Super Late Models remains similar to that of 2011, there will be one significant addition. The newly created OSCAAR Outlaw Modified Series will act as a support system for the Super Late Models and will run alongside them at seven events, including the Super Late Models stop at Varney Speedway.

2012 promises to be an exciting year with several new drivers already registered to contend for the Rookie-of-the-Year title and the entire field set to take a run at the OSCAAR Championship which has been held by Glenn Watson for the previous four seasons.

Stay tuned to OSCAAR.ca for news and updates leading to the start of the season. Be sure to stop by the OSCAAR booth at the 2012 Canadian Motorsports Expo at the International Centre in Toronto from February 10-12.

By Clayton Johns