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| Another
newcomer to the Southern Ontario Sprints is former
DIRT Modified driver Joe Middlemiss. With only a
handful of races under his belt in 2005, Joe turned
heads with his short learning curve and early success.
Many expect the #11M team to be a force to be reckoned
with in 2006. We sat down with the driver out of
Chippawa, Ontario to learn a little more about his
background and love for racing. |
| Many
know that you have a background in DIRT Modified
racing but what is your complete racing history? How
did you get start and find your way to the SOS? |
A
friend of our family, Rick Smith, had two girls who
were very successful in go-karting, and he was kind
enough to give us some of the equipment his daughters
were no longer using, which allowed my brother Rob and
I to start racing.
We began racing at our local Dirt Oval track, Welland
Motorcycle Club, and Beida's Farm and Leisure. The
club was called Niagara Kart Racing Club, it was a
very small but enjoyable club to be part of. Many
racers have come out of this club and have been
successful in many different avenues of racing. In
1992, Henry Beida decided to pave his oval, and we
started racing at Hamilton Kart Club, winning races
and running consistently each and every week, winning
many titles including Points Champion.
The following years would see both my brother and
myself competing at a National Level, with much
success.
In 1998, my family decided to invest further into
racing, and we purchased a 1997 BRP house car, in
order to race the DIRT sportsman series. In that
season, I won 4 races, and I was a contender for the
Series Title, with the likes of Larry Lampman, Tammy
Willard, Chad Brachmann, and Rob Pietz: what an
amazing group to be a part of at the age of 19 :-) The
end of that season saw me win the Title of Rookie of
the Year at Merrittville Speedway, as well as the
opportunity to race at the "Moody Mile",
Syracuse NY.
In 1999, we decided to kick it up a notch, and run
DIRT 358 Modified - what a phenomenal experience!!!
The learning curve was instantly increased - I often
heard from those in the know that I should have stayed
at the Sportsman level for another season, however I
am a thrill seeker who is always after a new challenge
- and regardless of others opinions, I think 6 top
five finishes for my first season (many of which were
back to back) was a good showing of my readiness for
racing at that level. I had one more season of
Modified racing in me, and then I decided to focus my
attentions on my career goals and my young family. I
did keep a finger on the pulse, though, by
volunteering my time at Merrittville Speedway on
Tuesdays as a flagman for go-karting.
I also had the opportunity to run Fast Freddie Cades
Modified on a couple of occasions, and that kept the
racing itch alive. It only took Fred mentioning the
possible sale of his first sprint car for me to
realize that I wasn't happy just spectating - a new
challenge was just what I needed!! |
|
| In
2005 you purchased a car from Fred Cade late in the
season. How did that sale come to be? |
| It
is truly a blur - Fred and I had stayed friends, and
he stopped in to get his groceries at the family store
one Tuesday afternoon, mentioned that he may be ready
to upgrade his Sprint car, and BANG, my dad and I
decided to buy it ... the rest, as they say, is
history :-) |
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| You
competed in just the final three races of the season
but were very impressive with your finishes. What led
to such early success? |
| I
was unsure of the limits of a Sprint car, and I kept a
safe distance my first race - but with the help and
coaching of Fred Cade, Chuck Hebing, the Huppunen
family and my father (not to mention my wife, who kept
telling me to drive hard into the corners), I feel
like I really got the hang of Sprint racing during the
Nationals weekend at Ohsweken Speedway. |
|
| There
seems to be a large influx of modified drivers
switching to sprint cars in 2006. What do you feel has
contributed to this? |
| There
has been a lot of modifications made to the DIRT rules
during the past few seasons - I think this, coupled
with the fact that Sprint racing can be more cost
effective to run, makes Sprint the obvious choice for
DIRT racers who are looking for a change. |
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| How
does your current sprint budget compare to your DIRT
modified budget? |
| There
is no comparison - I can't believe how much easier it
is (never mind cheaper) to maintain and repair Sprint
cars - the nicest thing about them is that the parts
are pretty much universal - a Gambler chassis will
still accept a Maxim part, and vice versa. The other
benefit of Sprint racing is that there is many
available used parts - because frame technology has
stayed relatively unchanged, a part from 2001 will fit
on a frame from 1996, and so on. |
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| Have
you enjoyed competing with the SOS? |
| Running
with the SOS has been amazing - I cannot get over the
fact that the drivers all work together as a family;
there is no gossip or politics, not to mention the fun
times that are had off-track, after hours :-) |
|
| Of
the four tracks that the SOS competes on which is your
favourite to visit and why? |
| Ohsweken's
facilities are untouchable. |
|
| What
type of work will you and your team be doing to
prepare for the 2006 season? |
| I
would tell you, but then I would have to kill you ....
This is currently TOP SECRET information..... |
|
| With
some solid finishes early in your SOS career what are
your goals for your first full season? |
| I
want to stay a competitive part of the Rookie of the
Year award - and a first place finish would be great! |
|
| More
then any other driver you seem to be all about the fun
of racing, what makes racing so fun to you? |
| I
used to take things so seriously - I think that having
a family has opened my eyes, and shown me that sports
can be just as much about fun as winning - my son is
so proud of me, no matter how I do - nothing tops
hearing "GO DADDY GO". |
