By Jacob Fehr
THREE… two… one… go!
Hot on the wheels of his second consecutive Northern Thunder Stock Nationals championship, race car driver Ryan Beagle of Vittoria told the Maple Leaf about what’s under the hood of his hobby.
Thunder Stock is a competition class of stock car racing sanctioned by the Ontario Dirt Competition Committee (ODCC) at racetracks in Ontario. Eligible cars must be North American passenger cars with a minimum factory wheelbase of 100 inches.
Mr. Beagle competes in Thunder Stock races at nearby Ohsweken Speedway. He shared that he’s been interested in car racing for most of his life.
“I started watching racing on TV when I was younger, always been around cars. My father took me to the races for the first time around 2002, we were spectators for a bunch of years, and I thought it looked like a lot of fun, so we built a car and gave it a try,” he explained.
Mr. Beagle started racing in Ohsweken Speedway’s four-cylinder Mini Stock class in 2010 and has competed every year since. He switched to Thunder Stock in 2012 “because the car we had in four-cylinders wasn’t competitive enough.”
“I usually race 15–20 times a summer. Depending on weather and free time. If we got really ambitious, I could race at the other tracks more often and race 40 [or more] times a year,” he said.
Mr. Beagle looks over his car between races, checking bolts, fluid, and parts that may need changing. “Some weeks we have bodywork to do,” he added.
That maintenance work is one of the aspects of the sport he likes, along with racing, competing, constructing, and socializing.
“I enjoy the competition, the thrill of building and maintaining a car and trying to win races with it. I mostly enjoy the social aspect. I’ve met a lot of good people and made some good friendships over the years.
“Racing cars can be a lot of fun. There [are] times when it’s not but any hobby is like that. While I’m racing, the rest of the world is kind of forgotten about. There’s not a lot of thinking going on, you’re just kind of concentrating on where you want to be and what other cars are doing around you.”
Like many of his peers, Mr. Beagle competes in a Chevrolet Camaro. But the model he drives “is actually a little newer than what most guys use, it’s a generation three Camaro built from ’82–’92 while most use a generation two built from ’70–’81.”
“Most use the gen-two Camaro because of the front-end geometry. They steer a lot better than other factory cars. My generation of Camaro doesn’t work as well up front but the rear end design allows me to get more traction.”
His preference appears to be working for him. After finishing second place in Ohsweken Speedway’s 2022 Thunder Stock standings and third place in 2023, Mr. Beagle bested his competition to finish first in 2024 and 2025.
In 2024, he won the racetrack’s inaugural Northern Thunder Stock Nationals championship race. He followed that win with another this year, remaining the only racer to capture the trophy.
“That was a really rewarding feeling, those races bring out the best guys from around the province. The first one was special because it capped off the great year we had. This year almost felt better because of the circumstances. We had to use the car we originally built in 2010 after the car we had been using got wrecked with a few weeks left in the season. I felt like it wasn’t as good of a car, but I was wrong.”
And he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
“Racing is definitely in the plan for next year, I don’t really have any goals, I just hope we can continue to run up front and maybe win another championship.”
First, however, there’s an offseason of work ahead. Mr. Beagle said that between seasons, “we usually install a new body, replace parts that need to be replaced. Just make sure everything is ready to go.”
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Originally published November 26, 2025
