In our first part of our interview with Josh Stade, he detailed the experience he had at New Smyrna back in February, so be sure to check that out. Now for part two……

After an incredible campaign that saw him win the championship, Stade will be returning to the APC Auto Parts United Late Model Ontario tour for the 2026 campaign.

“I think it’s gonna be maybe one of the best years yet,” Stade revealed. “There’s a lot of big names coming back. There’s kind of the rivalry between chassis builders. There’s a lot of moving parts and pieces, a lot of stuff going on and I think APC is going to have some really exciting races – some extended long races. So really looking forward to getting back in the seat.

“I’m (also) looking forward to getting back home to Sauble (Speedway) and running one of the cars there a little bit more.”

Stade joins a list of big names that will be partaking in the tour, from past series champions like Brandon Watson and Kyle Steckly, to some of the newer faces across the province.

“There’s so many big names and I feel like you know the last three, four years, the racing has been incredible,” he continued. “I feel like the respect level is definitely there especially after racing New Smyrna. I feel like in Ontario, the respect is a lot better, but yeah there’s a lot of big names and a lot of big chassis builders trying to prove their stuff. Everyone’s going to be bringing their best stuff to the track.”

Stade enters the season as the driver to beat after capturing the series championship in 2025 by six points ahead of Jake Sheridan with nine top-five finishes and two poles in the nine events.

“It was huge,” Stade commented. “I’ve been one of the originals in the series – they actually awarded me an Iron Man Award a couple years ago because I’ve raced every single race in the APC series, so I’ve always believed in the series. I’ve always loved being a part of it and just seeing the growth of it continuously – you don’t think it can keep growing and it does. I just love being a part of it, so to finally put that stamp on the trophy and have my name on it was huge.”

Knowing his competition is going to be tough, Stade feels he can improve his program by being better at Flamboro Speedway and Peterborough Speedway.

“Peterborough is tough for me too because I only end up racing there once a year so it’s hard to have an expectation there,” he admitted. “I can’t even get there to test, but if I can clean-up a few loose ends at Flambpro and get a little better at Delaware, I feel like we’re gonna be coming on strong.”