Biography

Almost immediately following college graduation he moved to Northwestern Ontario to take employment with one of Canada’s largest telecommunications company. Working in Marathon for a brief period, he then moved to Manitouwadge, where he planted his roots for the last 13 years. 

For the next five years, Joel volunteered his time and electronics expertise with the Manitouwadge Community Television Organization. He served as technical advisor at first and later was elected President of the organization. During his tenure, a state of the art television studio was implemented. 

It was also during this time that Joel became a race fan. In 1994, Joel decided that he wanted to experience racing up close and personal. He took two months vacation to tour the U.S. and see some races in person. Every weekend, he was in a different State, at a different track, for a different type of autoracing. He witnessed IndyCar (CART today), Nascar, Busch and NHRA. Along the way he met some wonderful people who are still his friends today. During the last week of his vacation, Joel was visiting some friends in Toronto when he heard on the radio that there would be some autoracing at Mosport. 

As student in Toronto, Joel had always wanted to go to Mosport but had never had the opportunity. This was the famous May 2-4 race weekend. There were all types of cars and all ages of drivers. The pro races in the U.S. had all been equally impressive but none had been as impressive to Joel as the amateur racing that he witnessed at Mosport. It was on that weekend that Joel decided that being a fan was no longer enough. Racecar drivers weren’t gods after all. They were mere mortals just like him, and they came in all ages, sizes and gender. And if they could be racecar drivers, so could he. 

How does one go about becoming a racecar driver? It took almost all of 1995 for Joel to find a suitable answer. 
In early 1996, Joel attended and graduated from the Skip Barber Racing School at Road Atlanta, Georgia. These were Formula 1600 cars with 2L engines. 

That same year he became a volunteer official with CART. As a technical observer, he traveled to many American and Canadian cities. Joel remained with CART until 1999. Also in 1996, Joel realized that there was a void in the area’s marketplace for a specific service. Having previously resigned from Manitouwadge Community Television, Joel founded Fox Security & Surveillance Systems. The company provides security solutions to its customers, and is the only one between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste Marie. 

During the summer of 1998, Joel completed some additional race training with the Bridgestone Racing School and then competed in the 12 race Bridgestone F2000 Racing Series at Shanonville International Raceway. This was an “arrive-and-drive” series where the driver rents the racecar from the series. Emphasis is placed on driver development, as Bridgestone Racing prepares all the cars equally. 

Having earned his Pro License during the summer of ‘98 and feeling confident that he could go about racing on his own, Joel spent most of ’99 shopping for a racecar. There could only be one choice. It would be a CASC legal Formula 2000 on slicks. Only this car could provide the level of excitement he required. At the amateur level, only the fastest of the GT1 cars are faster. In the fall of ’99, he found the car he was looking for: a Van-Diemen F2000, which had once been the Pro U.S. F2000 season champion. 

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