Bill Okell has reached a career milestone, capping off his 50th year in racing with his best-ever finish in the Sports Car Club of America’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour national points standings.
Okell placed fourth overall in the HP Class among 34 drivers, collecting 100 points over the season.
The veteran driver was perfect in his appearances, winning all four races he entered – two at Buttonwillow Raceway Park near Los Angeles and two at Portland International Raceway.
Jesse Prather of Topeka, Kansas took the championship with 134 points, also winning four races across the 10-event schedule.
For Okell, the season unfolded in a way he didn’t expect.
“When I looked on paper for the first couple of races, I thought I was maybe a third or fourth-place car at best,” he said. “And then it was like Moses in the Bible as the seas parted – everyone fell by the wayside, and getting to four first-place finishes was amazing.”
The series began in Florida before criss-crossing the continent, eventually ending in New York’s Finger Lakes region at Watkins Glen Raceway Park.
Twice during the season, Okell even found himself leading the national points race.
“Once the series went back east, I thought, ‘How far am I going to fall?’” he said. “It was really cool that I only came down to fourth place. From a national perspective, that was outstanding.”
Rather than make the long trip to Wisconsin’s Road America for the late September national championship – a track he says favours bigger, more powerful cars – Okell is turning his focus to races that better suit his MG Midget.
That means staying closer to home, starting with the British Columbia Historic Motor Races at River’s Edge Raceway Park in Mission on Aug. 16-17, where he’ll defend the title he won last year.
It’s a different style of competition, running under vintage racing rules with street-legal tires and an emphasis on camaraderie.
“They told me, ‘If you kick our asses, we’ll never invite you back,’” Okell said with a laugh. “But we’ve done quite well without running away and hiding, so they keep inviting me.”
For Okell, the highlight of the year hasn’t just been on-track success.
“Really, it’s been getting out and acknowledging 50 years – meeting people, hearing their stories, and having folks tell me they’ve followed me since I was 20,” he said. “If I can give people hope that we can still do what we love after 60 or 65, that’s a win in itself.”
