Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
After a successful season last year, Josh Stade is hoping to add more wins to his resume as he will have a busy season, running both the full Sauble Speedway schedule, as well as the full APC Auto Parts United Late Models of Ontario Tour presented by Grisdales Auto Parts tour.
“It’s going to be tough, especially with APC car,” Stade told OnPitRoad.com. “There’s a lot of guys building new cars and the competition is probably the best in Ontario. It’s going to be tough to run with those cars.”
Last season marked the inaugural year for the tour, with the pro late models tackling eight races across the province. Stade was able to have success, highlighted by four top-10 finishes en route to finishing sixth in points. Looking back, he says he really impressed with the tour, as well as the feedback that he’s heard from fellow drivers, fans and the tracks.
“Spencer Lewis, Darryl Timmermans and Luke Ramsay are doing a fantastic job, and from what I hear, everybody is liking it – fans, sponsors are liking the series,” he commented.
With a full slate ahead of him for the upcoming year, Stade noted that he’s obviously looking forward to running in the APC Series at his home track of Sauble Speedway due to the experience he has there, but also notes that he’s looking forward to Sunset Speedway and Delaware Speedway, as well.
Though as noted previously, he will be busy outside of the series with running Sauble Speedway’s full Limited Late Model schedule. He ran the full schedule last season, coming out on top with the championship. Stade started off the year by winning the season opener, before backing it up with a string of podium finishes. He would then cap the season off with a victory on August 29, followed by a third-place finish on September 5 to take home the crown.
“My nerves were shot for the last three weeks of the season,” he commented. “I was points racing up to the second last night and I told the boys, ‘You know what, we just need to go out and get a win, stop points racing and have fun’ and that’s exactly what we did.”
