In a season that will see Spencer Riddell busy on both asphalt and dirt, there is a lot of excitement.

“Flamboro has kind of stepped it up,” he told Short Track Musings. “They kind of gave the Pure Stocks some nights off this year, which is nice, so we can not race every weekend which sounds weird. But as most people know, Flambpro likes to run us dry if we call it that but they have some cool events, of course – The Gold Rush, Frostoberfest, and then the one I really looked at was the PedalPower race for Clarke and Ingrid. I’m really excited for that one for the Pure Stock.

“Then the mini stock, we’re gonna run a whole season on the dirt this year. So there’s a lot of events I’m excited to try there. We’re actually practicing next weekend in that car, so super excited to get started. That’s for sure.”

Returning to Flamboro Speedway, Riddell is hoping to secure his first track championship as he feels they’ve been close a few times, but either struggled or got caught up in some incidents which stopped it from happening. He also wants to make the trek to Sauble Speedway and finish a race there after having wrecked out or had tire issues in past experiences.

The goals on the dirt side aren’t no cake walk, either, as he is looking to score a podium finish this year.

“I think that’s a realistic goal,” he commented. “We did pretty good near the end of the year and it’s actually a mini stock now. It’s no longer a pure stock so that should help with our speed and handling there. So I’d like to get a podium under our belt.”

It won’t be easy, though, knowing both tracks get full fields of racecars every given week.

“Like Mini Stocks, you’re almost guaranteed a full field,” he continued. “Every single Friday night and even when we go to Merrittville, I got caught in the B-main last year for their year-end special but they draw like a good solid 20 to 24 cars.

“Then the pure stocks at Flamboro, like everybody says, it’s probably one of the toughest feels to drive through, just with the tight corners and there’s not much room to move around. So it’s all a matter of if you pick the right line and can move forward.”

It’s why going into each night, Riddell knows he needs to be aggressive behind the wheel.

“You can’t take a lap off,” he expressed. “So we’re gonna have to really put our car in position to find those holes and make moves. But with the competition at Flamboro that I think is coming out this year, a lot of those guys are really aggressive and they do the same thing as they’ve been doing it for years. So we gotta kind of drive like a veteran now.”

Although some may think bouncing between asphalt and dirt can be challenging, Riddell cites that both cars handle very much alike.

“With Ohsweken, you’re full throttle, so I still struggle a little bit there, just because my mind stopped going into the corners,” he explained. “But like they’re guys tell you if you’re on the brake, you’re driving it wrong. So that track, I still gotta work on. I ran Merritville once last year and I really enjoyed racing there. It felt a lot like Humberstone which I ran before, too. It’s more of a technical track so you do have to break and all that stuff. So that one drives pretty similar to a pavement track.

“But hopping from Ohsweken Speedway and going into Flamboro the next night, it’s tricky, because like the pedals feel different in both cars. So you gotta like to re-adjust yourself. In practice, like most of the time, I’ll go into the corner and I’ll hit the brake and oh yeah, this car actually stops where the dirty slide, right? So going back-and-forth, you get used to it as the night goes on, that’s for sure.”

As noted, both cars will carry the same No. 17 which we have watched Riddell run through his career to date. It’s a number that stuck with him after winning a couple championships while playing soccer and it doesn’t hurt he was a Mark Martin fan growing up.

For Riddell, continuing to be involved in the sport comes down to the people.

“I just have so much fun with everybody in the pits, even racing with them,” he commented. “Like a lot of us, we raced with a lot of respect. You know, we don’t block or do mirror driving or anything like that. Like, we genuinely have a lot of fun racing at Flamboro. You’re gonna have your bumps and rubs, but like we usually hop out – like me and Leo, I feel like we’re always battling, and we’re always hitting doors and we both get out and we’re both laughing. So the people at the track are what keep me going back.”

As for what the future holds, that has yet to be determined but Riddell says he would like to try a rear-wheel drive car.

“Whether that be a mini stock or maybe a thunder car or something like that, just to get some laps,” he commented. “I know I’ve talked to Nick Clarke and he said that ‘oh, you should come out to full throttle and test my hot rod one night,’ so I mean they’re out there and they’re offers. I don’t know if I’m comfortable racing in that yet. I want to get some seat time because it probably handles a lot differently; my goal is to get a rear-wheel drive car, get some seat time in one.”