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Tuesday April 20th, 2010
Next
week, racecar driver Chris Raabe, fresh off his first year in engineering at
Queen's University, starts a summer job. He hops behind the wheel and goes about
painting traffic lines at a blinding 3 km/h -- normal walking speed.
Come the weekend, however, behind the wheel in
his part-time job, Raabe works and maneuvers at speeds 50, 60, even 70 times
faster than the sloth-like, line-painting unit.
"The school year's almost
over and it hasn't been too bad," said the Teenage Tornado who, at 19, will
be in the market for a new nickname on his next birthday. "The good side: I
get to go home, work on the car and get ready for the weekends."
It's a challenging campaign that awaits the
Napanee product. For starters, Raabe defends two track titles (Can-Am
Motorsports Park and Thunder Alley Speedpark) and two series championships. He
paced the Dirt-car Sportsman class with 19 feature wins in 2009, becoming just
the third driver (and youngest ever) to capture consecutive Mr. Dirt crowns.
Inside Track Magazine feted him with the Canadian Dirt Driver of the Year
award.
And less one thinks last year's success was a
fluke, a one-off, a touch of serendipity, here's his aggregate record over the
past two seasons: 42 victories, five track and five series championships.
This summer Raabe will race on both dirt and
pavement, with the emphasis squarely on the latter competitions.
He hopes to run in at least two of the 13 races
on the NASCAR Canadian Tire series, the first taking place June 5 on the
half-mile asphalt oval at Delaware Speedway outside London.
The pre-season target was to run in eight NASCAR
races. That's still possible, though at an estimated $15,000 a pop Raabe could
use a big-name sponsor.
"Pavement's the future, so we want to get
Chris in as many (NASCAR) races as possible," said longtime supporter Garry
McColman, whose sponsorship of Raabe began when the latter was a nine-year-old
go-kart pilot.
McColman, who made Raabe a partner at age 14 and
mentored him on the business side of the sport, relinquished his share of the
dirt-car operation this year. Chris and his dad, Mike, have teamed with north
country Modified mainstay Perry Francis while McColman, aka Big G to his
listeners in radioland, continues to sponsor the pavement car along with local
companies Len Corcoran Excavating and Kingston RV Centre.
"There's no other person in the world I'd
rather be involved with than Chris," lauded Big G, who still handles
marketing and promotion and personally chauffeurs Raabe to and from gigs in his
38-foot motor-home. "He's someone with a special gift, but he's also a guy
who possesses strong morals and character and a ton of determination. He's the
real deal, just a great, great kid and a very talented driver."
McColman
speaks from firsthand knowledge. He's a fan first and foremost, a hopeless
diehard who sees the racetrack in the same light Hugh Hefner sees his mansion: a
place to indulge in one's preferred craving.
If Raabe is to pursue checkered flags on asphalt,
he'll need serious sponsor backing. He can boost his chances of landing some
with a strong showing in the upcoming NASCAR races.
"Some people who are interested in Chris
will be on hand to watch him race," McColman added, referring to, among
others, representatives from the "top three teams" in the country.
McColman, Raabe's financial drive train for the
better part of a decade, estimated the annual operating budget for a Dirt car at
$60,000 and nearly seven times that amount to run the NASCAR series.
Late last summer, Raabe moved out of the family
home in Napanee and into a campus dormitory.
His absence left a void in the close-knit family,
which includes twin 16-year-old sisters Jenna and Heather and parents Mike and
Lana.
He did, however, leave behind something that
would prove invaluable to the impressionable twins and a blessing in disguise
for mom and dad -- a template for model behavior.
"Chris always set good examples for
us," said Jenna, the oldest sister by four minutes. "He had the marks
in school and he was competitive; that's definitely where my sister and I get
it." (Like their brother, the twins are active. One plays soccer, the other
rugby. Both play rep hockey).
Jenna said her brother's passion for racing is
such that "he even dreams about it.
"He'll be dreaming and saying things like
'I'll pass him high on the outside and take him low.' It's hilarious," she
said.
Have the demands of first-year university
diminished his zeal for auto racing? Not in the least.
"He's still into it, big time,"
reported Jenna. "Dad picks him up every Friday and they go to the shop and
work on the car."
Asked to trace his polite manner, pleasant
demeanor and unwavering work ethic, Raabe blamed his folks.
"They're the best role models I know,"
he said. "They are nonsmokers, non-drinkers, and they taught their kids
that school comes first before anything."
A dozen years after he took his first lap in a
go-kart, Raabe's goal remains unchanged. He wants to drive professionally,
become perhaps the first driver sporting a mechanical engineering degree.
"I'd love to drive for a living and
hopefully use my degree as another part of the package that I bring to the
table."
Photo Attachment: Chris Raabe poses for a portrait outside his Queen's University dormitory Monday night. Raabe will race this Friday at the CAN AM Speedway in Lafargeville, NY. (Photo by Andrew Reimer for The Whig Stand)
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Canada’s Largest Retailer of NASCAR Licensed Products to Roll Out Chris Raabe Souvenir Line in 2010
Bruce
Sellars, owner of Red Beard’s Sports, and Chris Raabe Racing will unveil a new
line of 01 race team products, in the coming weeks. Chris Raabe announced today
that the team will be aggressively marketing the Chris Raabe brand along with
his sponsors for both his dirt and pavement efforts.
Red
Beard’s Sports has retail outlets in Barrie, Kingston, and Belleville, as well
as having a mobile retail trailer which attends most NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
races in both Ontario and Quebec. The Red Beard’s Sports stores will also
sponsor the 01 dirt car and will have their mobile retail trailer at selected
dirt races along with other promotional events, during the coming year.
“I
am really excited about our new marketing program” announced Chris, “as most
teams just have t-shirts available. We need to step our marketing up as we
transition to the next level of the sport”.
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The 01 Team is Back From Canadian Motorsports Expo
By Harvey Hubb - January 30, 2010
Last
weekend was a big one for the Chris Raabe race team. From
set up on Thursday and the Canadian Motorsports Expo show Friday to Sunday, to
re-set up at Kingston RV on Monday, there was a lot of work and not much rest
and relaxation, but according to Chris Raabe, it was well worth it.
“Our
goal was to get some much needed awareness for our race program in Toronto at
the Motorsports Expo and that is what I know we got. A
lot of the current NASCAR Canadian Tire Series drivers came to our booth and
said they are looking forward to having us in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. We
learned a lot from both the NASCAR series tech guys and the series head man in
Brad Moran. They encouraged us to get our team and cars together in time for the
series test day in May and that will let us and them know each other in
person”.
The
team booth was one of the best at the show with Dave and Donny Raabe doing the
design and graphics on all the aspects of the booth. It
looked fantastic (check out pictures).
Also,
Chris was honored Saturday night with the Inside Track Magazine “Canadian Dirt
Driver of the year for 2009”. Chris
beat out Mr. Small Block Pete Bicknell in the voting 41% to 24%.
It was the icing on the cake for “The Teenage Tornado” for 2009 after
setting more records for becoming the youngest DIRTcar driver to ever win
back-to-back Mr. DIRTcar championships and 10 overall championships in just 2
years.
After
packing the dirt and pavement cars up in Toronto, they were brought back to
Kingston and put on display at Kingston RV in the cul-de-sac on O’Connor
Drive. You can visit the cars there
for the next couple of weeks. Check out the pictures from Toronto.
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Raabe Ready For Pavement Racing in 2010
Harvey Hubb - September 30, 2009
If
we look back at the beginning of the 2009 race season we will see that the goal
of the 01 Chris Raabe race team was to get a pavement car and start as many
races as they could with that car in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCTS).
That goal unfortunately for the team did not happen. It had a lot to do
with the fact that the sponsorship opportunities in racing has become a major
problem for all levels of racing including the Sprint Cup series… the top
level of NASCAR.
The goal was started back last
December when Canadian stock car veteran Peter Gibbons announced that he had
picked Chris Raabe to become his driving protégé for the NCTS and hopefully
get Chris to drive for Gibbons Motorsports in 2009. A team was put together to
get Chris some pavement experience, Garry McColman and Peter working on
sponsorship and Mike Raabe to get a team together with the help of some of the
Gibbons team.
The week of January, the Canadian
contingent headed to North Carolina for a week of meetings and getting Chris his
first taste of pavement at the historic Hickory Speedway. As Garry McColman
remembers, “The new team jelled right away at Peter’s shop in Mooresville.
Mike and Donny from Pete’s team and Chris, Mike , Dave Andrew and myself from
our side had a very good week together in Mooresville with Chris having a great
test session at Hickory Speedway. Peter
and Denise Gibbons were the perfect hosts.
We left Mooresville on a high for sure, but as the winter and spring went
by, I knew for sure we were going to have a hard time getting the kind of
sponsor we needed to field a team in 2009 in the NCTS.”
After several meetings, it was
decided to form a local Kingston pavement team, purchase a car and get Chris on
pavement in the Ontario Sportsman Series (OSS), which is one level below the
NCTS in Canada.
Dave and Christine Andrew, Dan and
Deb Corcoran and Garry McColman formed the team, bought the 2008 racecar in July
and set out to get in a few races in the current race season. “We got the car
ready for the August 2nd race in the OSS series and headed off to
Hamilton to race at Flamboro speedway”, said Garry McColman, “ We showed up
with full team, a lot of borrowed equipment from Peter Gibbons and unknown
expectation. Peter came up from North Carolina and Mike and Donny came with him.
We had our regular team plus uncle Todd and Pete and all went to work.
To say we were shocked at the outcome is an understatement”.
The results were just fantastic for
the Raabe pavement team at there very first outing, finishing the first 50 lap
feature 5th, after starting from 22nd and the second 50
lap feature 9th, starting from 21st.
“I had a great car from the
start”, says Chris Raabe, “Peter gave us a great motor and Dad and Greg had
the chassis just about perfect for that track from out of the hauler. The car
worked on both the outside and inside and I had no problem getting to the
front…. But once you get up there the running is very close and I got shuffled
around in both those races”.
The final pavement run came in
London Ontario at the famed Delaware Speedway on Labor Day weekend. The team
again headed there with at least a little idea of the procedure of race day and
got the car ready for a bigger track. Donny and Mike from the Gibbons team once
again came to help the 01 team and again the car was fast out of the hauler with
Chris finishing 5th in time trials out of 22 cars.
Starting the first 50 lap feature 6th
in the re-draw, Chris began his charge to the front. And charge he did,
taking the 01 Kingston RV/Len Corcoran Excavating/ McColman Media Chevy
Monte Carlo to the lead in just 11 laps.
Chris led the race for 22 laps before being taken out with just 4 laps to
go.
“Chris and I had a chat with 5 to
go on a caution”, said spotter Garry McColman, “We knew the 81 was going to
try and get to our bumper and move us, but the decision was to stay low and try
and win it rather than pull over and let him by, after all that’s what we are
used to doing in dirt. However,
the pavement guys seem to use that attic a lot more than in dirt… so it was a
learning night for us for sure. Chris Raabe proved to everyone on that night
that he can handle pavement with the same talent he has on dirt as far as I am
concerned. Watching him take my direction from the spotter position and
drive that car to the front was the highlight of my 10 years of watching Chris
from go-karts to this level of racing. Much of the credit has to go to Mike
Raabe, Greg and Chris Hale and Dave Brunet for getting the car ready at the
shop. For a team of pavement rookies.. they hit the set up almost
perfect and that is the why our team is second to none”.
Chris Raabe agrees, “Well if it
wasn’t for Garry, Dave and Christine Andrew, and Dan and Deb Corcoran, we
wouldn’t have had the opportunity to race on pavement this year, so I have to
thank them first and foremost. I agree with Big G, we do have a great team and that’s what makes the difference
especially at the track when I need the car to get better. I know that’s why
we did so well on pavement, because we are used to making changes on the fly and
it paid off for our pavement races. All I can say is that I am very excited
about moving our program to the next level and now have a lot of confidence that
our team can compete on pavement with the best”.
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Raabe's Pavement Team Regroups After Successful Debut
Harvey Hubb - August 18, 2009.
Repairs are underway at the Kwik
Load shop on highway 38 these nights on the 01 Monte Carlo. Some of the support
bars in the rear quarter panel and the rear bumper had to be changed from our
first venture at Flamboro. A big thanks to Sean and all the team at Crown
Collision for doing all our body repairs on the Kingston RV, Len Corcoran
Excavating, McColman Media 01 Monte Carlo.
The team is getting the car ready
for the September 5th race in London at Delaware Speedway in the OSS
racing series.
This track will be a true test for
us as it is a track that the NASCAR Canadian Tire boys race at and it will be
interesting to see what we can do there. Our goal is to get Chris into the last
NCTS race on Sept 26th at Kawartha Downs in Peterbough, but it is
very expensive to run that series and we will need some more sponsor help for
that race. If anyone can help us out with sponsorship, give Garry McColman a
call at 613-536-8093. It would be a great opportunity for a sponsor to get
national exposure on TSN as they will be carrying the race on their national
network.
“We would have run the past two
races in the OSS series if we were not in contention to win multiple DIRT
championships this year again,” said team manager Garry McColman. “The OSS
is the perfect series for us to get Chris the pavement experience that he and
our team needs to run in so we can move up to the NCTS next year. This series
has some very good runners that have many years experience as some of the best
racers in Canada. Peter Gibbons says that it is the best series next to the NCTS
in this country. If we can run up front in the OSS, we can be competitive in the
NCTS”.
So be looking for the 01 Monte Carlo Labour Day weekend at Delaware Speedway in London, Ontario.
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Raabe's Pavement Debut is a Success
Harvey Hubb - August 4, 2009.
With
great anticipation, the racing life of young Chris Raabe has changed
forever. If ever there was any doubt about whether the “Teenage
Tornado” could drive a high powered roadster on pavement with the same
kind of success as dirt, the answer came full blown on Sunday afternoon
at Flamboro Speedway near Hamilton, Ontario.
With the eyes of the racing world
on the young speedster from Napanee, Ontario, he proved once and for
all, Raabe is for real.
The 01 hauler was met by the
executive of the Lucas Oil Sportsman Racing Series at 10am outside the
pit entrance of Flamboro Speedway and they were introduced to the powers
that be for the series. “They
just wanted to meet us and let us know about some of the things that
they expect from all new teams to the series”, said Garry McColman,
“Dave Connelly and Dave Alexander had talked with me on the phone and
I had called their race director, Brian Thomas for clarification of
rules as we were getting our car together over the past two weeks, so it
was nice to meet in person. I thought it was great of them to want to
meet our team and Chris before even getting into the track. They made it
clear if Chris just wanted to run at the back for the first time there,
it would be fine”.
They even discussed parking and
hauler rules with the 01 team to make them feel more at home at their
first race in the popular Canadian racing series.
Then it was the business at hand,
getting the 01 car ready for action.
The team went to work with the plan that was discussed back at
the team meeting on Thursday. McColman in charge of radio
communications, Dave Brunet in charge of tires, Greg and Chris Hale on
chassis, Dave Andrew on Chris’s cockpit needs and stop watch,
Christine Andrew on keeping the most important thing, the team, notes,
and Mike Raabe crew chief keeping all the crew together with every call
to action.
Chris had two “hot lap”
sessions and would then line up first for time trails to set the
starting position of the first feature.
“The car was very fast right out
of the hauler”, said Raabe, “ It felt good going in and coming off
the turns and I had lots of power off as well”.
Dave Andrew reported that Chris was
about 3 tenths off the fastest car in hot laps, which is not too bad for
the very first time on asphalt.
In time trails, Chris ended up 14th
fastest out of the 22 cars. The race director, Brian Thomas then came
over to the hauler to ask if Chris would feel better is he started last
for the first feature. Mike Raabe quickly decided that he would leave
his son in his qualifying position.
Then the race began, with the whole
team holding their breath, spotter Garry McColman (another first) was
very nervous and was trying to remember all that Chris told him before
the race he wanted to hear. “I
only want to hear what’s beside me, what’s behind me and if I am
clear”
When the green flag fell the
pavement career of the Teenage Tornado was underway. On lap one, a spin in turn 4 bunched the field and Chris got
hit in the right rear quarter panel hard.
A tire rub brought the 01 car into the pits for quick repairs,
and restarting the race at the rear.
Now with 20 cars to pass, as the green fell, Raabe moved the 01
car methodically through the field picking off car after car.
The caution again brought the field together and with Chris up
into the tenth position, he was starting in the fifth row on the double
wide restart with 20 laps to go. The
green fell again and Chris got 3 cars on the first lap, moving into 7th
and then one by one the 01 car moved pass the front runners… 6th..
5th…. 4th… and when passing for 3rd the
43 car moved up the track and put Chris into the wall hard, knocking off
the muffler and tail pipe assembly and a 10 pound weight bar from the
rear chassis position. After losing 3 positions, Raabe gathered the 01 car back up
and with just 3 laps to go got back up to finish 5th, and as
they say, THE CREW WENT NUTS. You
would have thought we won the race, and for all good reason, we did.
We won the question, “can
the 01 team perform as well on pavement” asked a beaming Dave Brunet
high fiving Garry McColman back in the pit area.
Then the celebrations came to a sudden halt in post race tech. The
01 car weighed in 8 pounds light. Raabe
gets the 5th place finish, but the points and money were
taken away.
“The tech crew felt bad having to
DQ us knowing that well over 8 pounds was knocked off the car during the
race”, said crew chief Mike Raabe, “ race director Brian Thomas made
a point of coming to the hauler to let me know they were well aware the
weight DQ was caused by losing the weight bar and exhaust system, but
like I told him, rules are rules”.
In the second race, the 01 race
team went to work on the car, putting the weight bar back on, patching
the body, changing some tires, getting Chris ready for the second round
but instead of starting the race 5th, he would have to go to
the rear.
Starting the second 50 lap feature
dead last, Raabe again was on the move from the green flag.
By lap 20 he had moved up to 11th from 22nd.
Two quick cautions bunched the field again and Chris slowly began
another charge to the front. With
tires going away and the track getting heavy with rubber, few passes
were happening, but the 01 car kept moving up and with five to go Chris
finally got past tenth place for ninth, and finished the race
a very respectable ninth.
Race day of the 01 team was
complete, the highlight was the participation of Canadian stock car
legend Peter Gibbons. Gibbons had come from Mooresville NC to watch
Chris in his pavement debut and was very impressed. “ Chris Raabe
proved today that he is a very talented stock car driver”, said
Gibbons after the twin 50’s.
“When we tested in Hickory this
winter I could see that he was just a natural, and a super kid to work
with also. I think this team and Chris will move their program to the
next level without any problems and I wouldn’t be surprised to see
Chris in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in the very near future”.
Gibbons held an impromptu meeting
with all the team after the races and gave them his observation of their
performance for the day. “Peter had some very frank comments for us as
a team after the races”, said crew chief Mike Raabe, “but he was
only telling us how to get better for the next race and we really
appreciated that he was very honest and sincere with us. How many young
drivers in Canada would love to have Peter Gibbons not only come to
watch their very first race on pavement, but actually get under the car
during the event and help change the set-up of the car, and that’s
what he did for us today and Chris and I are very proud to call Peter a
mentor and a friend”.
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Raabe Set for Pavement Debut This Weekend at Flamboro Speedway
Harvey Hubb - July 29, 2009
Well
this is the week for the debut of the 01 pavement team. The first race for the
team in their 2008 Monte Carlo will be this Sunday afternoon at Flamboro Speedway in
Hamilton Ontario. The car sponsored by McColman Media, Len Corcoran Excavating
and Kingston RV will have the same team at the race with a couple of additions.
“We will have 3 of Peter Gibbons
team with us for our races this summer and fall”, said Mike Raabe, crew chief
for the 01 race team. “They have helped us set the car up at the Gibbons shop
in Stouffville and Peter has been on the phone to us on a regular basis to help
us find the starting point for the race. After that we will be relying on some
of his team members during the race to give Chris what he wants to make the car
better. It will be a steep learning
curve for us, but we are up for the challenge”.
Team manager Garry McColman says of
Sunday, “Our goal for the first race is to work as a team in a very different
environment and learn what each of our jobs are. We
just want to finish both 50 laps races and come away with the experience. Our
team will have to learn from scratch on the pavement with radio’s and all,
heck I am going to be Chris’s spotter, so I have been listening to the NASCAR
guys trying to learn how to do that”.
The race is Sunday afternoon at
Flamboro speedway, starting at 2pm… you can get all of the directions and
information by going to their website, www.flamborospeedway.ca
See you at the races!
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Raabe Has Successful Test Session at Adirondack International Raceway
On Friday afternoon, Chris Raabe and the 01 team
hit the pavement for a test session at the Adirondack International
Raceway in New Bremen, New York. Raabe
tested a car out of the Brent Cross racing stable, piloting a car from
the ARCA/Remax series.
Raabe had 3 20 lap test sessions, turning faster lap times with each session. "This car is a lot heavier than anything I have driven in the past", said Raabe after the session, "but I could certainly feel the 750 HP even on this short track like Adirondack International Raceway".
Team owner Brent Cross was impressed with the results of the test session.
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Chris Raabe's Pavement Debut Delayed Just a Little Longer
July 10, 2009
Trying to get a new race car ready
for competition turned out to be a little more than first expected by the 01
Chris Raabe race team. At their racing headquarter inside the Kwik Load
shop on Kingston's 38 highway it was decided late on Wednesday night that
without a few of the parts that were supposed to be delivered, the
car setup would not be right for the 1/3 mile track at Peterborough.
"We decided as a team late last night, (Wed) that we didn't want to put Chris out there for the very first time without the proper shock and chassis set up", said team crew chief and father Mike Raabe. "There will still be 5 Ontario Sportsman Series events left in the season and 2 Canadian Tire NASCAR events that we are looking at, so there is plenty of time. You just can't rush these things and go to the track not ready to compete to run up front, that is not what this team wants to do for Chris".
Chris says he was really excited about getting started this weekend on pavement,
but agreed with the team decision, " I heard from a lot of people who where
going to come to Peterborough for the race, but we just got the car last week
and I knew it was going to be close to preparing it to get to the race. I tested
with this car at Hickory Speedway this winter so I have had a little bit of
experience with it. I guess we just get done what we have to for the August 2nd
race at Flamboro in Hamilton".
Raabe will compete with his dirt car this weekend at Can Am on Friday night and
Thunder Alley on Saturday night. Next weekend, the 01 race team has been
invited to the All Star weekend at Weedsport NY.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
June 27, 2009
With the economy in the tank, Chris Raabe's stock-car racing career was put on hold this spring.
Now, after a frustrating stint on the sidelines, the Napanee native and his team are taking matters into their own hands.
With a national sponsor not materializing to get Raabe motoring for Gibbons Motorsports in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the top stock car racing series in Canada, the dirt car handlers of the "Teenage Tornado" have stepped up to get the 18-year-old on track.
Dirt car team owner Garry McColman recently finalized the purchase of a car from the North Carolina shop of Peter Gibbons, owner of Gibbons Motorsports and one of the more successful drivers in Canadian stock-car racing history.
This weekend, the team is picking up the car Gibbons drove on the series last year and taking it back to Canada. Raabe will race in three Ontario Sportsman Series races -- the level below the Canadian Tire series -- before competing in at least two NASCAR Canada events -- Sept. 12 in Barrie and Sept. 26 in Peterborough.
"We've wanted to go in this direction for a while," Raabe said. "We've got a lot of great help out of Kingston and it's just exciting to get going.
"It's so frustrating," Raabe added, "when it comes down to money."
While Raabe won't be racing for Gibbons, the ex-driver still will serve as a mentor for him as he makes the transition to pavement.
Raabe will make his pavement debut in the Sportsman Series July 11 in Peterborough.
"We've all been looking forward to going on the pavement," said Raabe, who will start studying engineering at Queen's University in September after graduating from Napanee District Secondary School.
"We tested well and we're excited to race with the car."
McColman will continue trying to add to Raabe's local sponsor list, while the driver keeps active on the dirt.
Raabe will race four days in a row next week, including stops in Brockville on July 4 and Cornwall on July 5.
Then, it will be time to get ready to make the switch.
"We're going to race as many races as we can afford," McColman said.
"The big thing is getting him some experience on the pavement."
It's not cheap to run in the NASCAR Canada series. The entire 12-race schedule costs in the neighborhood of $750,000.
The good news is Raabe can get his feet wet on pavement this year before the team takes another run at landing more sponsorship dollars for next year in hopes of competing for the rookie of the year title.
Running only two races this season would leave Raabe eligible for that rookie trophy next year. The series, in previous years, has featured former Champ Car World Series drivers Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani.
As for Raabe, he's just looking forward to starting a new phase of his race career.
"We want to see how we measure up against the best in the country," he said.
"I don't think I'll get too nervous. I'm more excited than anything."