Story By: ASHLEY MCCUBBIN / KEVIN BRIDGE RACING – KINCARDINE, ONT – The past two seasons have seen Kevin Bridge have some of the biggest success in his career to date, with back-to-back championships at Sauble Speedway. He is hoping to add another two titles by the end of this year.
The Kincardine, Ontario-driver has confirmed that he will chase both his third straight Sauble Speedway championship, as well as the inaugural title in the Great Lakes Concrete Series. The new series will see Bridge make three stops at Sunset Speedway, as well as three stops at Sauble.
While excited for the competition the new series will bring, Bridge is also happy about the common rule package developed by both tracks.
“A lot of work has been done with the NASCAR sanctioning,” he said. “It’s going to be good to get back up to Sunset on a semi-regular basis, competing in the Great Lakes Concrete Series.”
The series isn’t the only new addition this year, as Sauble Speedway been NASCAR-sanctioned, allowing competitors to battle for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division Championships. The NWAAS puts drivers from across North America up against each other, utilizing their best 14 nights to set the standings. Over the past five years, Ontario drivers have been able to win the title twice with Shawn Murray (Barrie Speedway) and Eric Yorke (Sunset Speedway).
“It’s a big thing, not only for sponsors but the community as well,” Bridge said of the NASCAR-sanctioning. “I know talking to (track owners) Mark (Dilley) and Paul (Gresel) that a lot of new sponsors have come onboard, as well as sponsors that had given up on Sauble are coming back. So it’s breathing a lot of new life into Sauble Speedway, which is great to see.”
The second year with having Dilley and Gresel at the helm of Sauble Speedway indeed shows a lot of promise, just by these factors and the new schedule alone.
“Last year when they took it over, they were dealt the short stick where they only had I think five weeks from the time they purchased it to the time they opened up the track,” Bridge commented. “So they couldn’t really put their stamp on things and get things how they liked with the schedule. This year, you look at the schedule, you look at even down here (at Motorama), the booth were in, is phenomenal. Sauble is well represented with all the cars here; they all look phenomenal. It’s just a testament to how much work the two of them are putting in.”
Earlier this month, Bridge unveiled the brand new No. 17 Honda that he will be driving for the six-race Great Lakes Series at the Motorama Custom Car and Motorsports Show. Over the course of the three days, various compliments were given about the car.
“We’ve had a lot of people comment on the quality of the build and how it looks,” Bridge said. “I have to thank Craig (Kamrath) from ImageWraps for how the car looks. I literally just gave him a basic of what I’d like to think it’d look like and he kind of goes with that. A lot of people have been commenting that the car looks extremely good.”
Despite battling engines issues late in the year and a wreck mid-season, Bridge did everything that he needed to do, including a victory in the final feature of 2017.
“Hoping to get started off on the same foot – we went out last year and won the first feature,” he said. “So the first race we’re going to be at on May 20 up at Sunset Speedway for the opening night of the Great Lakes Concrete Series. We’re going to have the new car up there, so I’m hoping we can rattle off a win to start off the same way as we ended off last year.”
