Story By: TIM BALTZ / BROCKVILLE ONTARIO SPEEDWAY – BROCKVILLE, ONT – A pair of Brockville Ontario Speedway Hall of Famers are set to embark on a part time effort for 2023 at the Brockville Ontario Speedway with an emphasis on winning races.
Long time racer, championship car owner and supporter of local racing in the area, Steve Polite has teamed up with 14-time Brockville Speedway 358 Modified track champion and Kingston Ontario native, Danny O’Brien for this upcoming season.
The current plan is for Danny to compete in 10 events at the Brockville Ontario Speedway in the DIRTCar 358 Modified division. There is also one personal goal that Danny would like to achieve, after doing so much at the speedway in his great career.
“I would like to get 100”, said O’Brien, referring to his current win total at the speedway, which sits at 99 Modified wins (95 in the 358 Modified division). “Steve has a really good car ready to go and his son Kenny, a 2-time Vintage Modified champion and DIRTCar Sportsman winner at Brockville, is pretty sharp when it comes to the setups, so we are looking forward to this year and hopefully winning a lot of races.”
O’Brien also added that he has been working hard at re-learning the modifieds and also getting himself into top physical condition to compete against the likes of Kyle Dingwall, Ryan Arbuthnot and reigning track champion Chris Raabe.
“I want to win and so do Kenny and Steve, we’re going all in this year, to the point of wrapping the car to look the same as my championship car from 2018,” Said the 14 time champion. The car will of course carry Danny’s iconic number “17D”.
Along with his 99 career wins and 14 track titles, Danny also owns a record 4 Oglvie’s 358 Modified Triple Crown Series wins, where he also holds the all time win record with 7.
The Polite Sand and Gravel team will once again compete in Vintage Modified events at Brockville and the surrounding area during the 2023 season. Their Vintage Modified program has been very successful, with Steve’s son, Kenny Polite claiming a pair of Brockville Speedway Vintage titles in 2018 and 2019. Veteran driver Randy Gaudet has been behind the wheel since 2020 and has claimed several wins as well.
Car owner Steve Polite said, “I wish we were starting the year now, I’m so excited to see Danny go. We are both ready to win, I want to see him get 100 because it will be a big deal.” “I’ve always wanted to own a car and have a quality driver behind the wheel, our team now has that driver and we are ready to go.”
Polite also added that he hopes this will bring old fans of Danny’s back out to Brockville and maybe bring some new ones to the track, to possibly see him make history this coming season.