Beachburg, Ont. racecar driver shifts career into high gear
Nathan Blok leads the pack from the Ottawa Valley when it comes to his skill behind the wheel.
Driving out of his hometown of Beachburg, Ont., Blok has won three Canadian Championships in his 13-year professional racing career.
This season Blok is taking the next step by launching his own racing team, Futec Motorsports, and driving his own car, a 2009 Nissan 370Z.
"It's my world; it's everything I do," Blok told CTV News.
"So I'm very fortunate to be able to make [racing] a long term commitment."
Until this year, Blok has been driving other people's cars under their team names. Blok says starting his own team allows him to save costs, create his own racing brand, and cement a legacy as a winning driver and team lead.
"I didn't become a three-time champion because they sent the trophy in the mail. I had to work for it," he said.
"It's a new venture for me but I know I have enough experience to be able to handle it."
Following a 3rd place finish last year, Blok will be moving up a competition level this season, racing in one of Canada's most competitive fields, the Super Production Challenge.
"We have a good car, we're competitive, we're fast, and I know that I have the abilities to be able to do it."
Blok has lived most of his life in the Beachburg area and is proud to be steering his way to success from where his dream first took off.
"I'm very happy to be from the valley," says Blok.
"A lot of people want to be hockey players or whatever. But it's not very often that you hear of people who say they want to be racecar drivers and then are able to act upon it."
His freshly wrapped car sits in an unassuming garage behind a modest house in the Beachburg area. It's an indication of how much money goes into putting a successful racecar on track and all the effort and support he's received from the local community.
"It's probably close to 1,000 people that have either helped me in the past or are actively supporting me now."
Blok admits he is still welcoming sponsorship support and wants to contribute back to any sponsors that do appear on the side of his car. To bring in dollars Blok will also be renting out his car to amateur drivers and giving racing lessons.
The first race of the season takes place at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville on Victoria Day weekend.
Blok says he first needs to win races in order to grow his team and bring on new drivers and additional vehicles.
"Money punches your ticket to get into the show; it's what you do with it afterwards that counts," he says.
"And I've spent basically every waking moment of my life practicing, preparing, studying, doing everything I can so that when I get in the position to have that ticket punched I can actually do something with it."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.