Shane Stewart Wins Canadian Nationals Thriller!

By T.J. Buffenbarger

Ohsweken, ONT — (Saturday September 18th, 2010) — Shane Stewart captured his second straight Canadian Sprint Car Nationals feature event Saturday night at Ohsweken Speedway in Ohsweken, Ontario. Stewart had a furousous battle with two time Canadian Nationals champion Steve Poirier before pulling away during the larger stages of the event. Stewart collected $10,000 for the victory.

“Races like that sometimes not good to be leading because I had no idea where to go and the lap cars are just a huge nemesis, and we were in lapped cars every four or five laps after the restart,” said Stewart. “I needed long runs, and I didn’t get one of those until the end.”

Stewart and Dain Naida started on the front row with Stewart leading the first lap. Poirier quickly battling Naida for second on lap one when Lou Kennedy, Jr. tried to slide between Poirier and Naida through the middle down the front stretch, made contact, and broke something in the front end of the car. Kennedy was unable to make the restart.

Stewart led during the restart as Poirier moved into second around Naida and set off to catch Stewart. Naida’s car then suffered damage to the front wing and dropped back as Justin Barger and Lance Yonge battled for third.

Then on lap five Jason Solwold’s Canadian Nationals ended when his car slowed to a halt in turn two. The problem was terminal and Solwold retired from the event.

While Stewart and Poirier continued their battle early event favorites Dustin Daggett and Jessica Zemken were overcoming earlier adversity that caused them to start near the back of the pack. Zemken went from 19th to 9th in the first 10 laps while Daggett was up from 23rd to 16th.

With 10 laps in Stewart and Poirier approached lapped traffic when Caleb Griffith spun in turn four to bring out the caution flag. Griffith restarted at the tail of the field. Two laps later Naida came to a stop in turn two to bring out another caution flag.

After the restart for Naida the battle of the lead hit overdrive as Stewart and Poirier exchanged wild slide jobs corner for corner trading the lead back and forth bringing the large crowd to its feet. Poirier led one lap at the line on lap 13, but Stewart took the lead back.

The battle was interrupted on lap 16 when Brian McDonald went off the track and stopped off turn three and Michael Parent drove into the infield with a broken front end. Parent was able to make repairs in the work area to join McDonald for the restart.

During the restart Daggett had made it up to the top five while Zemken was in the top 10. Stewart, Poirier, Hebing, Younge, and Daggett all were nose to tail with no lapped cars between them. Stewart and Poirier continued their lead battle while Hebing pressured Poirier for second. Daggett disposed of Younge for fourth while Zemken made a run up into the fifth spot.

In the later stages of the race Stewart’s handling improved on the long run and pulled away from Poirier, who battled Hebing for second. Zemken’s car also came in late in the event and took fourth away from Daggett.

At the finish Stewart motored through traffic for the victory while Hebing wrestled away second from Poirier on the last lap. Zemken and Daggett rounded out the top five.

2010 Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals
Ohsweken Speedway – Ohsweken, Ontario
Saturday September 18th, 2010

Group Qualifications (best of four laps counts as the driver’s official qualifying laps

Time Trial Group #1: 1. 12 – Tom Huppunen, 14.057; 2. 17J – Lance Younge, 14.112; 3. 25 – Michael Parent, 14.223; 4. 5 – Keith Dempster, 14.255; 5. 14H – Jim Huppunen, 14.448; 6. 38 – Brad Knabb, 14.602; 7. 49 – Todd Hoddick, 14.630; 8. 187 – Gavin Hunyady, 14.656; 9. 5m – Brad Malloy, 14.785; 10. 94 – Stan Zachin, 14.981; 11. 7P – Jim Price, 15.375

Time Trial Group #2: 1. 14 – Jessic Zemken, 13.995; 2. 7 – Kyle Moffitt 14.301; 3. 45 – Chuck Hebing 14.343; 4. 6n – Dain Naida 14.380; 5. 5D – Dave Dykstra 14.392; 6. 12M – Caleb Griffith 14.418; 7. 21x – Kevin Job 14.448; 8. 30G – Steven Goldner 15.053; 9. 21J – John Burbridge Sr. 15.117; 10. 9jr – Tim Zach 16.032; 11. 45x – Doug Banks: NT

Time Trial Group #3: 1. 3gx – Shane Stewart, 14.065; 2. 10c – Jeff Cook 14.381; 3. 80 – Chris Steele, 14.787; 4. 11x – Tim Allison, 14.849; 5. 84 – Tyler Rand, 14.952; 6. 31 – John Burbridge, Jr., 15.130; 7. 36 – Mike Stelter, 15.190; 8. 3 – Wayne Ashton, 15.373; 9. 67 – Chris Durand, 15.433; 10. 10B – Bob Crawford, 15.528; 11. F37 – Jim Porter, 17.498

Time Trial Group #4: 1. 3g – Darren Long, 14.154; 2. 2m – Dustin Daggett, 14.158; 3. 71 – Travis Cunningham, 14.535; 4. 39c – Jason Solwold, 14.576; 5. 21K – Lou Kennedy, Jr. 14.770; 6. 151 – Brian McDonald, 14.806; 7. 87 – Jason Barney, 14.861; 8. 24 – Devon Caron, 14.862; 9. 30 – Adam West, 14.888; 10. 2 – Ross Vleck, 15.099; 11. 7c – Tyler Swiernik, 15.125

Time Trial Group #5: 1. 28 – Steve Poirier, 14.211; 2. 3w – Ryan Grubaugh 14.461; 3. 12 – Tim Kelly, 14.613; 4. 7x – Mike Ling, 14.625; 5. 42w – Rick Wilson, 14.683; 6. 11 – Jamie Turner, 14.770; 7. 10 – Mitchell Brown, 15.008; 8. 15aw – April Wilson, 15.275; 9. 51 – Lee Ladouceur, 15.298; 10. 7a – Alan Blanchard, 15.334

Time Trial Group #6: 1. 6 – Kyle Patrick, 14.390; 2. 0 – Glenn Styres, 14.575; 3. 77x – Randy Hannagan, 14.589; 4. 32 – Justin Barger, 14.743; 5. 13 – Kevin Ward, Jr, 14.764; 6. 22d – Dennis Yoakam, 14.767; 7. 35 – Jared Zimbardi, 14.820; 8. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 14.849; 9. 20K – Thomas Kennedy, 14.941; 10 81 – Derek Jonathan, 14.965

Heat Race #1 (10 Laps): 1. 17J – Lance Younge, 2. 25 – Michael Parent, 3. 5 – Keith Dempster, 4. 38 – Brad Knabb. 5. 14 – Jim Huppunen, 6. 49 – Todd Hoddock. 7. 5m – Brad Malloy, 8. 187 – Gavin Hunyady, 9. 94 – Stan Zachin, 10. 7P – Jim Price, 11. 12C – Tom Huppunen. (First three cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

Heat Race #2 (10 Laps): 1. 6n – Dain Naida, 2. 45 – Chuck Hebing, 3. 12m – Caleb Griffith, 4. 5D – Dave Dykstra, 5. 14 – Jessica Zemken, 6. 7 – Kyle Moffit, 7. 21x – Kevin Job, 8. John Burbridge, Sr., 9. 30g – Steve Goldner, 10. 9Jr – Tim Zack, 11. 45x – Doug Banks. (First three cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

Heat Race #3 (10 Laps): 1. 3gx – Stewart, 2. 11x – Tim Allison, 3. 10c – Jeff Cook, 4. 84 – Tyler Rand, 5. 80 – Chris Steele, 6. 36 – Mike Stelter, 7. 10B – Bob Crawford, 8. 67 – Chris Durand, 9. 31 – John Bubridge, Jr., 10. 3 – Wayne Ashton, 11. F37 – Jim Porter. (First three cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

Heat Race #4 (10 Laps): 1. 21K – Lou Kennedy, Jr., 2. 151 – Brian McDonald, 3. 39c – Jason Solwold, 4. 87 – Jason Barney, 5. Travis Cunningham, 6. 24 – Devon Caron, 7. Adam West, 8. 2- Ross Vleck, 9. 2m – Dustin Daggett, 10. 3g – Darren Long, 11. 7c – Dylan Swiernik (First three cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

Heat Race #5 (10 Laps): 1. 28fm – Steve Poirier, 2. 12 – Tim Kelly, 3. 3w – Ryan Grubaugh, 4. 42w – Rick Wilson, 5. 7x – Mike Ling, 6. 11 – Jamie Turner, 7. 51 – Lee Ladouceur, 8. 10 – Mitchell Brown, 9. 7a – Alan Blanchard, 10. 15aw – April Wilson (First three cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

Heat Race #6 (10 Laps): 1. 32 – Justin Barger, 2. – Glenn Styres, 3. 35 – Jared Zimbardi, 4. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 5. 6 – Kyle Patrick, 6. 77x – Randy Hannagan, 7. 13 – Kevin Ward, Jr., 8. 22d – Dennis Yoakam, 9. 81 – Derek Jonathan, 10. 20K – Thomas Kennedy. (First three cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

B-Main #1 (12 Laps): Zemken, MOffitt, J.Huppunen, Job, Knabb, Hunyady, Malloy, HOddick, Zanchin, Price, Dykstra, Price, Burbridge Sr., GOldner, Zach, Huppunen, Banks. (First two cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

B-Main #2 (12 Laps): 1. 87 – Jason Barney, 2. 2m – Dustin Daggett, 3. 71 – Travis Cunningham, 4. 84 – Tyler Rand, 5. 24 – Devin Caron, 5. 36 – Mike Stelter, 6. 80 – Chris Steele, 7. 30 – Adam West, 8. 2 – Ross Vleck, 9. 10B – Bob Crawford, 10. 67 – Chris Durand, 7. 7C – Dylan Swiernik, 8. 3 – Wayne Ashton, 9. 31 – John Burbridg, Jr., 10. 3g – Darren Long, 11. F37 – Jim Porter. (First two cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

B-Main #3 (12 Laps): 1. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 2. 13 – Kevin Ward, Jr., 3. 77x – Randy Hannagan, 4. 6 – Kyle Patrick, 5. 7x – Mike Ling, 7. 42w – Rick WIlson, 8. 151 – Brian McDonald, 9. 10 – Mitchell Brown, 10. 22d – Dennis Yoakam, 11. 20K – Thomas Kennedy, 12. 7a – Alan Blanchard, 13. 11 – Jamie Turner, 12. 84 – Derek Jonathan, 13. 15aw – AprilWilson. (First two cars transferred to the “A” Feature)

Little Feature (15 Laps): 1. 77x – Randy Hannagan, 2. 49 – Todd Hoddick, 3. 20K – Thomas Kennedy, 4. 187 – Gavin Hunyady, 5. 36 – Mike Stelter, 6. 5d – Dave Dykstra, 7. 30 – Adam West, 8. 10 – Mitchell Brown, 11. 51 – Lee Ladouceur, 12. 15aw – April Wilson, 13. 10B – Bob Crawford, 14. 7a – Al Blanchard, 15. 67 – Chris Durand, 16. 38 – Brad Knabb, 17. 84 – Tyler Rand, 18. 21J – John Burbridge, Sr., 19. 9jr – Tim Zack, 20. F37 – Jim Porter. (Winner transferred to the “A” Feature)

“A” Feature (35 Laps): 1. 3gx – Shane Stewart, 2. 45 – Chuck Hebing, 3. 28fm – Steve Poirier, 4. 14 – Jessica Zemken, 5. 2m – Dustin Daggett, 6. 17j – Lance Yonge, 7. 49t – Gregg Dalman, 8. 0 – Glen Styres, 9. 32 – Justin Barger, 10. 42w – Rick Wilson, 11. 7 – Kyle Moffitt, 12. 6 – Kyle Patrick, 13. 77x – Randy Hannagan, 14. 13 – Kevin Ward, 15. 25 – Michael Parent, 16. 21x – Kevin Job, 17. 71 – Travis Cunningham, 18. 5 – Keith Dempster, 19. 35 – Jared Zimbardi, 20. 14h – Jim Huppunen, 21. 12 – Tim Kelly, 22. 12m – Caleb Griffith, 23. 3w – Ryan Grubaugh, 24. 10c – Jeff Cook, 25. 151 – Brian McDonald, 26. 6n – Dain Naida, 27. 11x – Tim Allison, 28. 87 – Jason Barney, 29. 39c – Jason Solwold, 30. 21K – Lou Kennedy, Jr.