To say last season was a dream season for Kevin Cornelius would be understatement. The 2011 season marked the first championship for the driver of the No. 17 Halton Lee Sand and Gravel, Sandbox Tech Child Care, Hanson Pipe, Alliston’s Transmission, Ed’s Automotive and Fierce Wraps Chevrolet.
To cap it off, Cornelius was named the best driver in Ontario last weekend via Inside Track’s Ontario Short Track Power Rankings.
“It’s phenomenal,” Cornelius says. “It’s something that I never thought I’d be a part of and if you look at the names of the people that were up there, it’s a fairly elite group.”
Cornelius got his start in racing through a friend after working in his garage.
"I started my apprenticeship at a small shop for mechanicing in Almand, Ontario, working with Ed Almand and he raced at the time at Sauble Speedway so naturally I went up with him to help out with his car," he said. "There happened to be what they'd call Enduro Cars or Street Stock for sale for $400 and that was big money for us back then. So we were going to buy it, but something came up so we couldn't buy it. So actually Ed and his wife Susan actually ended up buying me the car.
"We ran the first race at Sauble Speedway; we actually won, but actually got DQ'ed. Apparently the rear end was locked and we weren't allowed that.
"Then the next weekend in that car, we brought my parents to the track, them not knowing that I was racing at the time. They thought they were just coming to watch Ed race and we pulled out in the car and it ended up in one of the heat races, we put it on its roof."
He made the choice to get into racing as he already was interested in cars, adding, “It seemed like a natural fit to just get into racing.”
Cornelius completed the season with six feature victories and 12 top fives in 19 features to win the championship, 25 points over Tom Walters. The ability to have the success came from not only the hard racing on the track, but the hard work off the track by the crew.
“The biggest thing with us is maintenance, maintenance, maintenance," crew chief Grant Mitchell says. "Not just repairing, you’ve got to do the preventive stuff. You got to work on the stuff that’s going to stop you mid-race.”
Mitchell got involved with Cornelius and KDR Motorsports after car owner Dick Launspach asked him.
Dick came to me a couple years ago and asked if I’d be willing to give him a hand,” Mitchell says. “I was more than willing to give them a hand. Next I know, I was right in it 100%."
The year included many highlights for the team, but the top highlight for Mitchell is a night that included controversy.
"The one that sits really great with me is we had another driver concerned in the strength of the motor," he says. "He took it to the tech shed. The tech guys did an awesome job. They’re policing it, they took it seriously pulled us in, they whistled us. The whistle was right on the line. It was perfect. Stefco Engines rebuilt our motor back in the spring and they did a heck of a job with it. So they whistled it, we were right on the line and I guess some people weren’t happy with the numbers that it come up with so they called us back in and whistled us again.
"We went over that thing top to bottom. We worked mostly with Stefco with tuning issue and the motor is completely legal. There is no part of this car that is cheating. We don’t race like that and I despise anybody that does.
"So anyway, after all of his controversy as far as our motor goes, we proved ourselves straight up, straight shooters and we came back out the following week and dominated the field once again. To actually show that were not a flash in the pan, were not cheating, there’s nothing cheater about this 17 car and to come out the following weekend and dominate the field, it was just a huge relief to myself and a big boost for Kevin, too, as a driver. It was great for the whole team."
For the 2012 season, Cornelius will once again run the full season at Sunset Speedway, looking to possibly defend his championship.
“I think we have a good chance to,” he says. “I don’t wanna stand here and say for sure that we’re going to defend it, but I think with the improvements we’ve made over the winter, we’re going to be as competitive as last year, maybe even more. Looking to get started as soon as we can. Should be a good year.”
One of the changes for the new season, however, is the new look that the car will have.
“I love it,” Cornelius says of the paint scheme. “Fierce Wraps has done a phoenominal job on this. Really excited to run this for the 2012 season.”
For more information on Kevin Cornelius and KDR Motorsports, check out http://www.kdrmotorsports.ca.
Pictures Credit to Ashley McCubbin/Sunset Informative - http://www.sunsetinformative.com.
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