OPC & CANADIAN LEGENDS

Norris Becomes Youngest Pro Challenge Champion

MIKE NORRIS – ONTARIO PRO

Stories by Bryce Turner

CHALLENGE

It was a meaningful season for Mike Norris in the Ontario Pro Challenge (OPC). Despite starting the season with five top-two finishes in the first six features, Norris said he wasn’t doing the right things on track early in the year. He then decided to change his driving style after a season-worst fifth-place finish.

“(I was) just being more cautious and aware,” said Norris. “If I don’t get (the car in front) this lap, it’s not a big deal, I can work on him for another two (laps) and then I’ll pass him when the time is right.”

The Hamilton, ON driver followed that new mindset with a dominant stretch, recording seven wins and five runner-up finishes in the final 12 features to claim his first series title.

He also won the Pro Challenge National Championship, combining Canada and Alabama regions.

At 19 years old, he became the youngest Canadian championship winner in the 20-year pro challenge history.

But it wasn’t all easy this season. On May 28, Mike and his dad Tim went racing at Flamboro Speedway after Mike’s grandfather Jim Norris passed away in hospital that morning.

“I got to win the first feature and then my dad went out and won the second, so that was pretty big,” said Mike. “Having that many race wins…I really wish my grandpa was here to see this, but I know he’s there helping me out.”

Family was a constant throughout the season.

Mike and his sister Emma, along with their dad, all raced full-time. That created the opportunity for a highlight race on July 30, at Flamboro, where they filled the top-three in a feature; Tim winning, followed by Mike and Emma.

Mike says he’ll defend his championship next season and plans to stay in the OPC for a long time before eventually stepping up to another series.

PARKER TRAVES – CANADIAN LEGEND CAR SERIES

It was a dominant year for Parker Traves in the newly branded Canadian Legend Car Series, which merged the two Ontario Legends Series regions. Traves recorded eight wins and three runner-up finishes in 11 races that he competed in, using the other two events as his points drops, to win the championship by 121 points over Adam Cuthbertson.

“It felt really good (winning the title), definitely been a dream of mine to get it done,” said Traves. “I had lots of help getting there, so it was good. It’s very stressful, so after it was all done, it was just very relieving that I was able to put a season like that together.”

While he ran well everywhere that the series visited, the continued success also created its challenges for the early part of race day.

“Just trying to navigate through traffic every week (was a challenge),” said Traves. “The way the system works, they take an average, so if you’re leading the points and you’ve had good points races, you must start at the back in all the heat races. So just trying to be smart and get up to the front so hopefully, by feature time, I’ll get the invert.”

Of his victories, the race that stands out to Traves is the Canadian Asphalt Nationals, which took place on the Labour Day weekend at Sunset Speedway.

He swept both features to claim the overall event win.

Traves says the keys to his success this season were preparation in the shop and making sure the car was perfect, along with racing smart and not tearing up any equipment.

Traves is building a new Legend car this off-season and says he’ll start the year by running INEX spring and summer races in the US before competing here in Canada. IT