If Nathan Blok’s racing career was a movie, the past few weeks would have been its most intense scenes yet. The 30-year-old from Beachburg, Ontario, had his emotions put through the wringer during Rounds three and four of the Super Production Challenge (SPC), with moments of pure joy, frustration, and a little Hollywood-worthy drama thrown in for good measure.
Blok, piloting the #88 Futec Motorsports Nissan 370z, rolled into the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières sitting 4th in the standings, just 50 points off the championship lead. It looked like his rear-wheel-drive beast would dominate, especially with clear skies ahead. But as if the racing gods wanted to spice things up, Hurricane Debby decided to make an appearance and shake up the weekend.
Friday’s race turned into a soggy disaster for Blok, when his windshield fogged up so badly it was more of a submarine mission than a race. Forced to pit and clean up the mess, Blok dropped from 4th to last. But proving he’s not one to throw in the towel, Blok made an epic comeback in the next race. Starting dead last, he sliced through the field like a hot knife through butter, reaching 2nd by lap 8. With a final-lap dash after a caution, Blok snatched the lead from Trois-Rivières local Marc Geroux and crossed the finish line first! But wait… post-race drama! A penalty for jumping out of line during the restart meant his win was snatched away as quickly as he’d earned it. Ouch.
Undeterred, Blok lined up 4th for the final race of the weekend, but the racing gods weren’t done with him yet. On lap 3, another car made contact, sending Blok crashing into a concrete wall at 160 km/h. Luckily, the only thing bruised was the car, but with two weeks to the next race, the team faced a mountain of repairs.
Cue the montage music! Blok’s crew worked tirelessly for nine straight days, putting in over 160 hours of elbow grease to resurrect the #88 just in time for the next race at Mirabel, Quebec. The hard work paid off as Blok qualified 2nd, and after passing Gabriel Lacombe in the opening laps, he held onto the lead for the entire race, claiming his first official win of the season! But Blok wasn’t done yet—he moved up to the front again in the final race, cruising toward a clean sweep until, in classic movie-style, disaster struck. A radiator cap broke, spraying water all over the track and ending his race.
“In the last three weeks, I’ve gone from euphoria to rage to relief,” Blok said, summing up his rollercoaster of emotions. “The crash, losing the team’s first win, and then pulling off a miracle repair to win again—it’s straight out of a Hollywood script. We’re still fighting for a podium finish at Calabogie, and I’m not going down without a fight!”
Blok is currently 4th in the standings, with the SPC season wrapping up at Calabogie Motorsports Park on September 28-29. It’s the final showdown, and knowing Blok, there’s bound to be more thrills before the credits roll!
(Written by: Emma Butler)