Cole Powell, a 25-year-old from Mt. Brydges, Ont., is going to have big shoes to fill in 2018. The young driver will run full-time in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series for Ed Hakonson Racing.
He’ll drive the No. 3 Chevrolet for EHR, replacing Jason Hathaway, a nine-time winner on the Pinty’s Series circuit.
“Partnering with EHR for the 2018 season gives me a great opportunity to jump into winning equipment at every event,” Powell said in a team release. “I’m excited to be running my first road course at CTMP and the other tracks that I have never seen before! Also, having Jason Hathaway and the EHR team behind me is a superb way to begin the next phase of my racing career.
“We have had some good potential sponsorship meetings so far with corporate Canada wanting to be involved in NASCAR. This experience has been positive for myself as a race car driver.”
While Powell is new to the Pinty’s Series, he certainly won’t be new to high levels of motor racing. He has 30 starts in NASCAR’s Whelen Modified and Southern Modified Tour in the United States. He also has five ARCA Racing Series starts where he has a best finish of third at Talladega Superspeedway.
The big shoes and expectations Powell has to fill don’t only come from Hathaway, who vacates the seat of the No. 3, but of fellow Mt. Brydges resident, Cole Pearn. Pearn won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship as crew chief of Martin Truex, Jr. in 2017.