With having been involved in motorsports for a long time, Bill Brekelmans has certainly made some memories along the way. Though for him, his most memorable is the first checkered flag he got winning an Enduro.

“That was way back in 2013,” he recalled. “So that was eight years of racing without any wins, and then 2013, I came up with a win in an Enduro and actually beat Steve Books in the closing laps for the race, and it was probably one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever experienced.”

Now eight years later, Brekelmans will get the chance to race alongside Steve Book once again as he joins the Knightworks Design OSCAAR Hot Rod class for 2021.

“Well, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the state of everything going on,” he commented. “Right now, I know a lot of tracks have come up with a Plan B COVID schedule, but I’m excited. It’s going to be a good exciting series. It’s probably one of the most exciting series right now in Ontario just based on the class of some of the drivers involved with it. There are a lot of drivers in there that decided they wanted to move on to something they enjoy from their past with the older cars.”

Brekelmans admittedly is taking a unique approach, as his team is currently in the process of putting together a 1974 El Camino.

“Why? Because we can,” he explained. “Nobody else has one and it’s unique. I don’t know if we’re going for fan favourite, but we’re going recognizable. There’s a few cars out there that look like late models with an old style roof on it, but we’re going for identifiable from five feet or two feet away. We want people to look at it and say, ‘That’s an El Camino; that’s cool’.

“From what we can tell in the research we’ve done, there isn’t another El Camino running circle track anywhere in Canada – I don’t want to say anywhere in North America as we found one that used to run in the States somewhere a while back but that’s the only one that we can find. If we’re the first – that’s amazing.”

Entering a new class, the goal is simple – be competitive and run up front alongside the veterans of series in Tyler Hawn and Book.

“Book is a legend in his own right,” Brekelmans said. “When I started racing back when I was 22 – that’d be like 2005, Book was dominant and the wining guy at the Enduro at Delaware Speedway. To race with him again is fantastic – looking forward to that. Hopefully we can pull off a win and be competitive with everyone.”

A return to his home track behind the wheel is certainly high up on events he’s looking forward to, but it isn’t the only one. Jukasa Motor Speedway also marks a highlight, as well as the double-header with Kawartha Speedway and Brighton Speedway back-to-back.

For Brekelmans, his initially got his start in racing through his cousin Rick Verberne.

“When Rick was looking at moving into the trucks, he had his car for sale and he gave me a bit of a deal and I decided I should go racing,” he recalled. “I went and brought his car and the rest is probably a 100,000 dollars down the tube.”

It may be a bunch of money spent, but it’s also produced memories that will last a lifetime, and hopefully will be built upon moving ahead into 2021 and beyond.

Be sure to keep up with OSCAAR by staying tuned to the series website at http://www.oscaar.ca. Also, make sure to “like” the official OSCAAR Racing Facebook page, while following both the Twitter and Instagram accounts (@OSCAARRacing) to keep up to date on everything you need to know.

OSCAAR’s 2020 racing season was supported by several dedicated partners including Queenston Chevrolet Buick GMC, Knightworks Design, Living Lighting Canada, Scott Reinhart Trailer Sales Ltd., Touchwood Cabinets, Sauble Falls Campground, The Fyre Place & Patio Shop, Ohsweken Speedway, American Racer, and Grisdale Race Products.

By: Ashley McCubbin