From Rich Vleck
TULSA, Okla. (June 28, 2010)- For the third straight year, the ASCS Patriots and ASCS Sprints on Dirt will meet at Ohsweken Speedway, the midway point of the two regions, at the midway point of the season; this year the competition is likely to be the toughest ever for this event.
The New York and Michigan Based ASCS Regions, along with the Southern Ontario Sprints, will add their sanctioning to the weekly Corr/Pak Sprint action at Ohsweken for a $3,000-to-win event.
The third running of this mid-season Holiday Weekend event will feature the same qualifying format as it did last year. All competitors will once again be competing in a heat race, as well as a qualifier to set the field for the A and B features. This format was positively accepted by competitors last year and should attract many top names again this season.
The Patriots will use the “Patriots Point” format for this event towards the championship total. Only competitors that have already competed in a Patriot race this season will be tallied in the final running order. Five competitors currently are in hot pursuit of the 2010 Championship and will all be looking to continue their success at the “Big O”.
Jared Zimbardi is second in Patriot Points after scoring three straight runner-up finishes. The Little Valley, NY driver has run three of the events at Ohsweken this year, with a pair of top-five finishes. He has to be regarded as a favorite this weekend.
Bryan Howland has a pair of wins in his career at Ohsweken, including the Inaugural Northern Summer Nationals. Howland would have had a third win at the high-banked 3/8-mile had his nose wing not obstructed his view with three laps left to go in last year’s Northern Summer Nationals.
Tim Kelly led the first seven laps of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals last year and could be a major factor this time around. Don Adamzcyk and Bubba Broderick have also had highlights of their career come at Ohsweken during the Canadian Nationals.
The Sprints on Dirt will also have some favorites in the mix entering the pristine 3/8-mile track on Friday. Dain Naida, who currently leads the SOD points, notched the win this past Friday night at Ohsweken in Corr/Pak competition. Naida holds just a three point advantage over Ryan Grubaugh, who has a driving style that is well suited for the high-banked oval in Southern Ontario.
Naida and Grubaugh have both finished in the top-five in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals and will look to claim the first Northern Summer Nationals Championship for SOD.
Gregg Dalman and Ben Rutan are currently third and fourth in SOD points, respectively, and have each put together plenty of elite runs at Ohsweken as well.
Dustin Daggett is strong at many tracks, but is perhaps best at Ohsweken, where he has six wins over the years. Daggett has finished second in the prior two Northern Summer Nationals, and also won the preliminary event held in 2008.
The Ohsweken contingent should be very strong, including Dave Dykstra, who currently has two wins thus far in 2010 and leads the point standings. Defending Track Champion Tom Huppunen is also a consummate front runner and is the defending winner of the Northern Summer Nationals.
Keith Dempster, the 2008 Track Champion is second in points, followed by Kyle Moffit, who has made the weekly trips from New York to Canada this season.
Racing action will get underway at 7:45 p.m. For more information, visit www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com, www.SprintsonDirt.com, or www.ASCSracing.com.
ASCS Patriot History at Ohsweken:
Races: 5
9/25/2004- Rick Wilson
5/6/2005- Kyle Wilson
7/14/2006- Bryan Howland
7/6/2007- Bobby Breen
8/14/2009- Trevor Lewis
Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP History at Ohsweken:
Races: 7
6/20/2003- Darren Long
9/27/2003- Keith Dempster
6/18/2004- Dustin Daggett
8/27/2004- Dustin Daggett
8/26/2005- Dustin Daggett
8/25/2006- Dustin Daggett
6/12/2009- Glenn Styres
ASCS Patriot History at Ohsweken with Multiple Sanction:
Races: 8
9/17/2005- Kenny Jacobs (Canadian Sprint Car Nationals)
9/16/2006- Steve Poirier (Canadian Sprint Car Nationals)
9/15/2007- Steve Poirier (Canadian Sprint Car Nationals)
7/3/2008- Dustin Daggett (ASCS Northern Summer Nationals)
7/4/2008- Bryan Howland (ASCS Northern Summer Nationals)
9/27/2008- Wayne Johnson (Canadian Sprint Car Nationals)
7/3/2009- Tom Huppunen (Northern Summer Nationals)
9/19/2009- Shane Stewart (Canadian Sprint Car Nationals)