One of the drivers entering the upcoming season has to be Dale Reinhart, following a strong close to last season.
“Really looking forward to it,” he said. “Going to be interesting to see with all the new drivers in how everything plays out. The competition is definitely going to be better than it’s ever been before, I think, and it’s kind of has me and my team working as hard as we can in the shop to make sure everything is ready to go for the start of the season.”
After the success he experienced in 2018, he says the goal to get as many wins as he can this year.
“The biggest goal is just to come out of the gate as good as we can, and not leave any spots not spoken for,” he added. “We want to start from heat races, and put a 120% into every second we’re on the track.”
The OSCAAR schedule is set to take him to five different tracks across the province, including returning to Delaware Speedway twice this season. Reinhart notes the London, Ontario half-mile is where he is looking most forward to getting back to.
“Last time we went there, the car didn’t come home in one piece, so really looking forward to going back,” he commented.
While that trip to Delaware in 2017 didn’t work out for him, you could say that he had an incredible 2018 campaign. With six top-fives and 10 top-10’s, he was able to place third in the year-end standings and take home the “Most Improved Driver Award” at the banquet.
“I’d definitely say it was a success,” Reinhart spoke of 2018. “The end of the year is kind of when we had everything clicking and everything was going good, so we just want to keep that rolling over from the end of the last season.”
One of the highlights was seeing the No. 51 reach victory lane for the first time, as Reinhart put together a flawless performance at Sauble Speedway to capture his first feature victory.
“That was probably the coolest thing that I ever experienced,” he said. “Everyone from my team was there so it definitely makes you want to do it again; that’s for sure.”
Now looking to build last year into a great 2019 campaign, he says the key is coming out of the gate as strong as possible.
“I know some races it would take until the middle of the race to start clicking, where I need to get my focus and come out as soon as we’re on the track at a 110%,” he commented.
For Reinhart, he got his start in racing through his father.
“He never had a chance to race, but we always talked about it,” he said. “I originally raced dirt bikes and then just getting hurt all the time, so we wanted something that was a little safer. We definitely picked the right thing.”
For those who are looking to get behind the wheel like him, Reinhart says the best advice he can give is to “never give up.”
By: Ashley McCubbin
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