Saanich’s Bill Okell has done it again.
The 70-year-old road racer returned from Portland, Ore. with two more wins in the bag and a familiar grin on his face. Competing in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Hoosier Super Tour on May 10 and 11 at Portland International Raceway, Okell once again proved he's still the man to beat.
Both races saw Okell finish ahead of Tom Tuttle of Windsor, Calif. – and in very different conditions.
Saturday’s race was clean and dry, but not without issues.
Okell had to deal with a near-disastrous problem when a wheel nut on the front axle stripped before the start. He and his crew scrambled to fix it, got the car patched up, and started from pole position. From there, he never looked back.
Sunday brought rain and a tricky tire decision. With the clock ticking down, Okell and his crew made a gutsy call to go with dry tires on a damp track. It paid off. He cruised to another comfortable win, finishing about a minute ahead of Tuttle once again, just like the day before.
“It wasn’t a perfect weekend, but darn close,” Okell said. “We had issues, we had problems, but we had all the parts, we had all the people. Everything just worked out really well.”
The wins marked Okell’s fifth consecutive victory in Portland, catapulting him up the national SCCA standings despite having raced only twice this season.
It’s a sweet spot to be in, but it comes with a catch. The SCCA tour now shifts east, with the final three races taking place in Ohio, Wisconsin, and New York. Okell, who only runs the west coast portion of the schedule, won’t be heading that way.
“Part of me says, gosh, maybe I should go,” he said. “But that’s a lot of time and effort and cost. It’s just not on the calendar this year.”
Okell knows that means he’s likely to fall in the standings as other drivers rack up points. Still, he’s enjoying his time at the top while it lasts.
Looking ahead, Okell will switch cars – from his MG Midget to an MGB – and compete at Laguna Seca in June in a regional SCCA race. After that, he’ll return to the Midget and rejoin the all-British Columbia-based vintage racing series where he’s found plenty of success in recent years, including three wins in his last four starts.
That series may not count toward a national title, but Okell doesn’t mind. It scratches the same competitive itch – and it’s closer to home.
“There’s no big trophy or points total at the end,” he said. “But the racing’s just as tough. You go out there, try to win, and that’s what I love.”
As for the national championship runoffs in September at Road America, Okell hasn’t decided if he’ll make the trip. He’s qualified for five in the past and has his sights set on future events – preferably ones held at his preferred track in Indianapolis.
For now, he’s content with a clean car, a couple more wins, and a first-place spot in the standings – however long it lasts.
