On the same Sunday last year that Dave reached the milestone of 100 career victories with a win in Pro Stock, Courtney and Alex finished first and second in the Sportsman feature.“We played in the pits with the jacks,” Alex says. “We’d stand on them and somebody would jack us up.”
When Courtney was 11, her father drove to North Carolina and bought her a Bandolero and trailered it home. Their dad gave them driving lessons and they competed in a race for the first time the following year. Courtney fared okay, but Alex crashed shortly after the start. She was behind two cars that avoided another Bandolero stalled in the middle of the track and she ran into it head-on.Dave O'Blenis shows off some trophies at his home in Boundary Creek, N.B.She escaped with only bruises from the seat belt harness, the first of many accidents in her career.
“One of the big lessons I have learned is that you have to be patient,” she says. “You get into a race and something happens that gets you upset and you drive harder and are more likely to make a mistake. You can’t force your way through.”