Vermonter Dragon Wants to Win Ottawa Race for Home Team
Champion Late Model stock car driver Brent Dragon is headed “home” to Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, Ontario for Saturday’s Toromont CAT 100. But there’s one small thing: Dragon is from Milton, Vermont, 200 miles and an international border away. In fact, he’s never even seen Capital City Speedway. So why is it “home”?
Enter Mike and Tom Kenyon. Through their Kenyon Racing Products company, the Kemptville, ON brothers supplied the Port City chassis that Dragon pilots on the American-Canadian Tour (ACT). Mike Kenyon is also Dragon’s crew chief, and in fact, Kenyon Racing Products sponsors the weekly Late Model division at Capital City Speedway. Beyond that, Dragon, an avid big game hunter, spends much of his winter months in the Ontario woods.
“It really is like a homecoming for a lot of reasons,” said Dragon, a three-time ACT Late Model Tour championship runner-up and Airborne Speedway (Plattsburgh, NY) Track Champion. “Mike, Tom, and the rest of the crew have been such a huge help to me this year, and I’d really like to do well for them in their back yard. Plus, I’ve done a lot of hunting in Ontario for many years, and my family has raced in Canada forever. It’s strange that I’ve never been to Capital City, but I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a pretty special place for us already.”
Dragon currently ranks sixth in ACT Late Model Tour point standings. The Toromont CAT 100, however, will be his first foray into the Québec/Ontario-based Série ACT Castrol. He knows the competition will be tough. “You’ve got guys like Karl Allard, Alexandre Gingras, and Jean-François Déry that are very good racers,” said Dragon. “I’ve raced a couple of times against them over the years, and there are the veterans like Claude Leclerc and Yvon Bédard, plus I’m sure there will be a lot of Ottawa-based cars. It should be exciting.”
Nineteen year-old Spencer MacPherson, of Carleton Place, ON, is a Série ACT Castrol rookie that also drives a Kenyon Racing Products chassis. He won six feature events at Capital City Speedway last season. He and the Série ACT Castrol drivers will be joined by former Capital City Speedway Champions Rick Rump of Ottawa and Ken Baird of North Gower, ON, Kawartha Speedway Champion Larry Jackson of Oakville, ON and popular Ontario veteran Steve Munro of Carp. Other top drivers expected include Martin Lacombe of Terrebonne, QC, young Brandon Watson of Stayner, ON, and top Série ACT Castrol rookie Patrick Hamel of St-Édouard, QC.
Capital City Speedway is located on Highway 7 in Stittsville, Ontario, ten minutes west of the city of Ottawa. Qualifying action for the Série ACT Castrol Toromont CAT 100 begins at 5:00pm on Saturday, August 9. For more information, call ACT at (802) 244-6963 or visit www.laserieactcastrol.com or www.acttour.com, or call Capital City Speedway at (613) 244-1162 or visit www.capitalcityspeedway.ca.
Sources:Justin St. Louis/ACT Late Model Tour PR