LAS VEGAS — British Columbia driver Aaron Willison returns to this year’s Bitnile.com Open Wheel Showdown Presented by askROI looking to take $50,000 back to Canada.
Willison won the inaugural 2023 Open Wheel Showdown and is all too familiar with what it takes to win the prestigious event. He is set to battle the best winged pavement sprint car drivers in the country November 6-8 at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The “Asphalt Assassin,” as he is nicknamed, has had a very good season. He has won on three occasions this year. He finished runner-up in the Northwest Sprint Tour championship and ended up third in the Must See Racing championship. It was a successful season by any account.
But in Willison’s eyes, it was mediocre. Last year alone he led the country with 12 feature victories with no less than six different sanctioning bodies. He was also the NST champion and finished as the No. 2 ranked driver in the National Pavement Sprint Car Rankings.
A win in this year’s Open Wheel Showdown would salvage the season as being successful for Willison.
“We had a great car all year. Lots of great speed everywhere we went,” stated Willison. “But it was just one of those years. We kept getting caught up in little issues. Got run into, run over, run over things, everything under the sun. In 2024 it seemed like everything went right. This year everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It’s one of those deals. You take the good with the bad. A win in the Open Wheel Showdown, or at the very least a good run there, would feel good on the year.”
Willison is one of only two drivers to have finished on the podium at the Open Wheel Showdown each of the previous two seasons. Willison finished third in last year’s event.
“This year, just like the last couple years, you hear all these stories going into it about this star driver, this star crew chief, this person, and that person putting deals together for this race,” Willison said. “When it all shakes out on Saturday night, it’s always the regular guys who run well all over the country that end up on the front straight there. It’s been an honor to have been there both times and I’m proud of it.”
Just like the previous two seasons, Willison is taking preparation for the Open Wheel Showdown seriously.
“It’s the same as the last couple of years,” Willison explained. “The bulk of it is you come with a fresh motor, fresh rear end, fresh shocks, and fresh brakes. You go through the car from top to bottom. You don’t just pull across the country and go to a race of this level with stuff that’s got a bunch of time on it.
“The Rendle Brothers Racing team is coming with our best foot forward. We got a fresh motor I’m really happy with I think we’re gonna bring a great product out there again. I can’t wait to get back to Las Vegas.”
