After getting his start in the Pure Stock class at Flamboro Speedway, Chris Pendlebury is ready for the next step of his racing career.

“I’m a little nervous going into the mini stock class,” he told SHORT TRACK MUSINGS. “It’s grown so much and the competition is amazing. Not sure what to expect yet.”

Going into the season, he says the goal is to take home Rookie of the Year honors, while hopefully scoring a top-10 points finish. He knows it will be a challenge, though, with several heavy hitters expected to tackle Flamboro in 2020.

“The current competition in the mini stock class is pretty fierce,” he reflected. “Watching drivers like Andy Kamrath, Karl Sault and Dylan Sharpe move their way around Flamboro – it will be very challenging.”

Outside of his home track, he says the team will be running the special at Jukasa Motor Speedway, and a possibly a few nights at Full Throttle Motor Speedway – Varney & Grand Bend as “the common rules make it very easy to try other tracks, which is amazing.”

The 2019 campaign was a mix of ups-and-downs in the Pure Stock for Pendlebury, but he was still able to score seven top-10’s.

“We took a different approach and went with a Honda Civic,” he commented. “We didn’t have the most success with that car like we had with our cavalier. It was pretty much a trial and error season.”

Looking back, he says the biggest thing they learned was different set-ups to help the car turn, and “how to gain a little speed with not to big of adjustments.”

Based on his lessons learned through his career to date, Pendlebury’s advice to others getting started is begin with a lower class, and work your way.

“Each driver I’ve met is always there to help out so don’t be afraid to ask,” he added.