BROCKVILLE, Ontario — When Jessica Power recently sat down with her team and sponsors to plan for the 2023 season, she didn’t anticipate that one of her dreams was about to come true.
She spoke honestly and told them she’d like to race a big block modified for the first time. With their support, the sportsman modified driver, from Kingston, Ontario, will see that become a reality during the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Feb. 15-18, when she joins the field of Super DIRTcar Series competitors.
“I know it’s the best of the best in the big blocks, so I have no illusions that I’m going to be a top-10 or a top-15 or anything and realistically, we’re just excited to race,” Power said. “We recognize that there are no unrealistic expectations that I may even make the show. Obviously, I am trying and that is the goal at the end of the day, but we just want to have fun and turn some laps.”
Power enters her 15th year of racing in 2023, also planning to continue her run in the DIRTcar Northeast’s Sportsman Modified division. She finished fifth in DIRTcar Sportsman Series points last year, hampered late in the season by some mechanical problems.
“We started off really strong, but I felt at the end when it kind of really mattered in the points battles, we had a couple of unfortunate timing issues,” Power said. “We were in the hunt for a local series championship at home and going into the last night leading the points, I had an engine failure. Oswego went well for me, but some of the satellite shows were not quite as strong as I had hoped. [It was] just a perfect storm of unfortunate incidents.”
But with last season in the rear-view mirror and a new opportunity ahead, Power hopes running a big block modified will also help her sportsman season.
“I’m hoping that this big block experience will improve driver confidence and car confidence and all the things that can really have an impact,” Power said. “Somebody once told me driver confidence is worth 10 horse-power and I completely agree.”
Before making the 21-hour trek south to Barberville, Fla., Power is spending every free minute she has working on her car, she said, not missing a day in the shop the past month. With the support of her team and sponsors, she’s making sure nothing gets in her way of seeing dream become reality.
And as far as that dream growing into a future full-time run in a big block modified?
“You never know,” she said.