The off-season in Canada is long, in fact longer than the actual race season itself in being seven months in length. It’s why it’s no surprise some of the drivers escaped the cold and snow to go down to Florida during the month of February.

James Stanley did not go just go down there and spectate the action at Daytona International Speedway, or one of the local tracks. Instead, he ran with the Mighty TQ Midgets at Auburndale Speedway.

“I’m still in a bit of shock about winning the Saturday night show down there but I’m really proud of the run we had all weekend,” he told Short Track Musings. “I’m extremely thankful for the people around me. Without Adam, Daniel, Tyler and Zander my car would not have been in Florida. I owe it all to those guys. Proud of our whole group.”

Stanley had a successful trio of nights at Auburndale, including finishes of second and fifth, before picking up the checkered flag in the feature on the final night.

“It was extremely special,” he shared. “I lost my dad a few weeks before the race and I wasn’t sure if I was even going to make the trip south. Felt him right there with me in victory lane, that made it extra special to win it for him.”

One of the biggest fans will notice in watching the TQ Midgets battle in Florida versus Ontario is there are no wings on the car in Florida, to which Stanley says, “you don’t notice how much downforce it gives until you take it off.” He went onto add another difference is they are “a bit more aggressive which always makes it interesting.”

“Other than it being rough I’d say that there isn’t really a top lane,” he said of the track. “Mostly a 1 groove track for a full size car; we still can run 2-3 wide in the midgets. There just is no grip on the outside there at all. Another challenge is the wing helps plant the car and you don’t need as much brakes. So saving the brakes for the whole race was also a hard one to navigate.”

The success across the border comes after a solid season in Ontario, including a couple trips to victory lane throughout the year.

“It was a good season but looked a bit better than it really was,” Stanley revealed. “We had car trouble all year long but managed to get lucky a few times. It sure was a long season but we learned a lot.

“We changed everything in the electrical and fuel system on the car 3 times. Swapped the engine out a few times and just couldn’t find the issue. If we found it sooner or didn’t have issues at all the year would have went a lot better and maybe could have got some better results.”

Out of all the wins throughout the year, Stanley says the last race the TQ Midgets had at Sunset Speedway stands out above the rest for him in being able to capture the victory with a ton of family and friends there in victory lane. He added, “It also was the last race my dad attended so that I will always cherish.”

Now looking ahead to the 2026 schedule, he says it’s hard to pick a single date to get excited for, but Sauble Speedway currently stands out in being the sight of his first ever career Can-Am Midget victory.