04/16/2026
Poole Motorsports Heads in a Different Direction for the 2026 Season
By Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media
After a career spanning time in a Street Stock, Sportsman-Modified, 358 Mod and Crate Sprint Car, Athens, Ontario Ryan Poole will be putting his own racing program on hold to serve as car owner, mentor and coach while his son Rhylan makes the move from Go Karts to Sportsman racing for the 2026 schedule.
Joining forces with a group of friends and former competitors including Dana Aikens, Brian McDonald and 2025 Ogilvie’s Auto & Fleet Sportsman champion Dylan Kirkland, the 14-year-old – who had been competing in Karts since 2017 – will get his feet wet by beginning the year in Brockville Ontario Speedway’s Novice Sportsman ranks to kick-off the new season.
“Dana Aikens and I have been good friends since we raced Street Stocks and Sportsman cars together at Brockville,” said Ryan Poole. “He’d been following Rhylan’s Kart racing career since he started and recently made the very generous gift of a Bicknell chassis and some equipment that he could use to further his racing program.”
Poole says the collaborative effort to put the new car together is indicative of the level of sportsmanship that exists between drivers and teams on the local racing scene. Everyone wants to win, but they’ll do whatever it takes to keep a competitor on the track.
With racing experience in the Open and Blue-Plate karting divisions at Brockville and Cornwall Motor Speedway, Rhylan Poole is ready for a new challenge. While a Go Kart and Sportsman Car are quite different in style, appearance and performance, that’s where the tutelage of Aikens, McDonald, Kirkland, as well as the young racer’s father comes to the table. Each member of the quartet brings along a special skill set with the goal of helping the talented teen make a smooth transition to the new racing division.
Sponsorship for the next generation for Poole Motorsports will come from returning backers 1000 Islands Concrete and ET Performance, with new partners Beatty’s Construction, Landex Earthworks, West Front Construction, Next Level Racing and Clarke Motorsports Communications joining the team. JS Simpson Welding has backed Ryan Poole’s career since 2002 and they will also be on the car for Rhylan Poole’s Sportsman division debut.
“We’re planning on getting his feet wet by running the full season in the Novice Sportsman division at Brockville and some selected dates at Can Am, Cornwall and Mohawk International Raceway while evaluating his progress and seeing how things go,” Ryan Poole explained. “He might also run a couple of Sportsman-Modified events along the way. The Sprint Car is still in the shop, just in case I feel the need to get back out there.”
The team thanks everyone for their support and encouragement as they begin this new venture. Keep an eye out for the No. 76 of Sportsman racer Rhylan Poole.
Photo attachment: Herrington Graphics layout/Poole Motorsports
14-year-old Rhylan Poole of Athens, Ontario will make the move from Go Karts to a local Sportsman racing program to open the 2026 season.
Prepared by: Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media
