BRANTFORD, Ontario — Veteran driver Doug Brown can hardly wait to get the 2007 racing season underway as he and his teammates head to Cayuga Speedway on Saturday, May 26th for the inaugural race in the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
It’s been a long off-season for the Brantford-based team which is now operating as HB Motorsports (formerly Brown Auto Racing) reflecting major changes in the team’s management and direction.
This year the team’s on-track programs have also changed substantially since the end of last season’s final race of the CASCAR Super Series at Kawartha Speedway.
For the first time in his racing career, Brown will be behind the wheel of a new Dodge Charger and will be competing under the corporate colours of his new title sponsor Haldex Commercial Vehicle System. Long-time sponsor NAPA Autopro will continue to play a key role in the team’s programs.
When asked about the switch to Dodge, Doug responded by stating “I think in all competitive sports you’re always looking for an advantage. At HB Motorsports we felt that switching to Dodge would be our best option especially for gains in horsepower and Dodge's contingency commitment to the series. Teaming with DJK Racing (DJ Kennington) will also boost our programs by allowing us to share car info and use a road course car out of the DJK shop.
The Brantford Ontario native is also quick to point out the much sought after support of a major sponsor has added a tremendous motivation to his programs and is thrilled to have Haldex come on board in a major way. “Haldex really has made a major commitment to HB Motorsports. Partnering with them will give us direction right out of the box in knowing we are doing the full schedule before the first race. Their involvement will help us upgrade our equipment and elevate our program to an elite team in the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
Brown’s thoughts on NASCAR’s ownership and direction of the new series are also indicative of his upbeat outlook entering the season. “The name itself (NASCAR) raises the level of everything it’s involved in and stock car racing in Canada will benefit huge from the racer to the fan and certainly to those businesses involved in our series.
“NASCAR’s involvement will be a positive for every race team, on and off track. It has raised the bar and by season end the awareness of the series nationally will have grown tremendously. With this awareness, the competitiveness will also have grown and race team commitments will be pushed to gain that first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series title.”
At HB Motorsports, consistency has always been at the forefront of the team’s goals and Doug Brown and his teammates will be striving to put the Haldex Mopar powered Dodge Charger on the podium throughout the season and to achieve our first win is being realistic.
The 12-race NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will see teams travel to 10 tracks across Canada to compete on a variety of road, street and oval tracks from Vernon, BC to Antigonish, Nova Scotia in search of the national championship for late model stock cars. Four of the scheduled events are on the demanding road and street courses of Mosport International Raceway: the temporary street course at the Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres; Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as part of the NASCAR Busch Series weekend; and fast but flat City Centre Airport in Edmonton site of the Edmonton Grand Prix (CHAMP Car) Weekend.
In addition to the Cayuga (which will also hold a Labour Day weekend event), Barrie Speedway (2 races), Mosport Speedway, Sun Valley Speedway, (Vernon, BC), Riverside Speedway (Antigonish, NS.) and Kawartha Speedway will host NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events in 2007.
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