The year’s final checkered flag waved Friday, September 9th but Andy Ford – of Scarborough, Ontario – is about to embark on one of the biggest racing adventures of his career. The driver of the Ford Brothers Racing #93 Chevrolet in Kawartha Speedway’s Better Carpet Thunder Car division will make a trip to Rockingham, North Carolina to compete in this year’s edition of the $5,000.00 to win Polar Bear 150.
The Saturday, November 26th Street Stock Nationals event at Rockingham Raceway Park is promoted by 9 time ARCA series champion Frank Kimmel and will feature more than 50 starters on the former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racetrack. Ford says running the event is like taking a step back in time when drivers barnstormed, travelling to as many different tracks as possible and racing whenever and wherever they could.
“A couple of years ago, we did some shows at Capital City Speedway in Ottawa,” said Ford. “Last year, we gave-up the final points paying event at Kawartha to run the Kimmel race at Bristol Motor Speedway. In 2011, we made appearances at Mosport, Sunset and Peterborough and we’ll wrap-up the year at Rockingham. Going into this event, we’ll take the same goal as we had for Bristol in 2010. If we can finish anywhere in the top 20 or better, it’ll be as good as a win. They’ll be trying to put as much action as they can into just 2 days and most of us will be in the same boat. Just having the opportunity to tackle a track with as much history as Rockingham and run about 50 miles an hour faster than we’re used to is a little intimidating.”
To prepare for the event, a new set of sheet metal is being put on the machine that found its way to Kawartha’s victory lane twice in 2011 and saw the driver finish 4th in track points. Significant front and rear suspensions upgrades have been made and a full containment seat has been added. They’re also outfitting the car with a larger fuel cell. 2006 Kawartha track champion Donny Beatty and multi-time race winner Mike Poulton have joined the team to get the car ready and will put in some hours at Dan Ford’s shop in Grafton. The driver says they’ll be burning the midnight oil to get the car set for the race that’ll be 3 times longer than even the extra distance shows he’s used to running.
“Racing is a contact sport, so it’s pretty easy to get your stuff banged-up and a little rough looking from time to time,” said Ford. “Our body panels were kind of long in the tooth and needed to be replaced anyway, so upgrading the car before the Rockingham show just seems to be the perfect time. If everything goes according to plan, we will be able to still have the car in pristine shape once the new season begins at Kawartha.”
Knowing his trip to run the Polar Bear 150 will take a higher level of preparation than a typical Friday night in Fraserville, Andy Ford is thankful to have the backing and support of long-term sponsors MTV Live, J.P. Accounting, Advanced Hydraulics, Herco Lift, EX-LL Welding, Top Side Racing and Clarke Motorsports Communications in his corner. The team hopes to have their updated ride ready for a Friday, November 18th test session at Kawartha.
Rockingham and Roll: A freelance television video tape operator by trade, Andy Ford has worked on a variety of projects for CTV, The Comedy Network and MTV Live including Comedy Now, So You Think You Can Dance – Canada and the Winter Olympics. He is also a former touring and studio guitarist who has played with ‘Nothing in Particular’ and ‘Lucky Stiff’...Fans can keep up with the Polar Bear 150 by visiting www.streetstocknationals.com and by following Andy Ford’s updates on Facebook.
Kawartha Speedway will hand-out 2011 awards at their annual banquet – Saturday, January 14th. Fans will find the latest off-season news at www.kawarthaspeedway.com.
Photo attachment: Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications
Andy Ford made it to victory lane twice during Kawartha Speedway’s 2011 season. The Scarborough, Ontario racer will travel to North Carolina November 26th to compete in the Frank Kimmel Street Stock Nationals.
Prepared by: Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications
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