BOWMANVILLE, Ont. — Dale Curran got his feet wet in the 360 sprint car division last year, and the 20-year-old is ready to dive in head-first this year.
Curran first gained notoriety in karts, claiming multiple Canadian national championships between 2015-’20. The young driver has represented Canada in karting events internationally as well, and was the Ron Fellows Karting Challenge champion in 2018. Curran began the transition to full-size cars in 2020, and was the highest-finishing rookie in the 2021 Action Sprint Tour standings with a tenth place finish.
2022 was a year of learning for Curran, as he spent six months racing wingless sprint cars and midgets in California for open0wheel racing legend Cory Kruseman, owner of Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car and Midget Driving School. Curran claimed a pair of wins out west before heading back to Canada in September; his abbreviated fall season in Ontario resulted in his first crate sprint car win, four top-fives, and nine top-10s.
The 2023 season began with Curran’s first attempt at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Oklahoma. Despite a part-time crate sprint car schedule in Ontario due to engine trouble, he claimed another win along with seven top-fives.
Curran will drive for a pair of notable car owners this year as he takes the wheel of the No. 70M&M for Gary Morton and Dave McKnight. The pair has fielded cars in both the 360 and crate sprint divisions in recent years with McKnight doing the driving. Both Morton and McKnight are best-known for their exploits in the supermodified division, especially McKnight, who has two dozen Supermodified wins and the 2001 International SuperModified Association (ISMA) championship on his résumé.
Curran competed in the Morton-McKnight car in both the Northern Sprint Car Nationals at Ohsweken Speedway and The Fall Classic at Humberstone Speedway at the end of the 2023 season, claiming a top ten finish in his fourth night out.
“The last couple seasons in crate sprints have gone great,” Curran commented. “I couldn’t have asked for better. We got a couple of wins, a bunch of podiums, and had a lot of fun.”
The team is planning to compete full time in the Southern Ontario Sprints series in 2024, and will likely pick and choose other 360 sprint car events in the region. While confident in his abilities and encouraged by his top-ten run at Humberstone in September, Curran is taking a measured approach.
“My goals for this year in 360 Sprints are to get better progressively throughout the season to become a top-ten to top-five car every night,” Curran said of his outlook on the upcoming challenge.