From – Ken Pelkie
With the emphasis focused directly on solidifying Sprint Car racing in Southwestern Ontario, Ohsweken Speedway near Brantford, ON and South Buxton Raceway near Chatham, ON have assembled a four race miniseries for 2011 that will be sure to provide dirt Sprint Car fans an exciting option for midsummer racing entertainment. With a commitment to action packed racing, Ohsweken Speedway has been the scene of a solid field of cars with fast paced, non-stop excitement for the growing legion of fans the past couple of seasons and remains the only weekly dirt track in Canada offering Sprint Car racing as their headline division. On the other hand, South Buxton Raceway which offers UMP sanctioned Late Models and Modifieds as their feature classes has struggled to lure a full field of Sprint Cars to their venue when they offer them as a special event. With Mike Strevel of ASCS Sprints On Dirt, Mike Emhof of the Patriot Sprint Tour, and Mike Ferrell of the Southern Ontario Sprints agreeing to co-host these events as affiliate sanctioning bodies, and a strong regular field of CORR/Pak Sprints that support Ohsweken, a major step has been made to insuring a stellar field of cars fill the pit areas of both facilities as Ohsweken’s Northern Summer Nationals expands to the miniseries format. Invitations to participate have also been sent out to The Empire Super Sprints and the National Racing Alliance.
“This is a very positive step for Sprint Car fans in Southwestern Ontario” states Ken Pelkie, Ohsweken Director of Racing Operations. “Since 9-11 it has been increasingly difficult for race teams to cross the border and the economy, particularly in the U.S. has also affected the car counts supporting the traveling series. This miniseries will offer an opportunity for the sanctioning bodies to maintain a presence in Southwestern Ontario and provide entertainment and car counts the fans expect to see for special events” Pelkie concluded.
The four race miniseries will be promoted with the cooperation of Ohsweken Speedway’s Glenn Styres and Anne / Blake Outhouse of South Buxton Raceway. Ken Pelkie will act as series director with two events being staged at each of the facilities. Canadian Sprint Car Nationals technical rules will apply, however the racing format will be slightly different. Pill draw for heat race starting positions will take place and “passing points” will be used to determine how cars qualify for the “B” and “A” Main events. Points will be accumulated over the four race series with the top 10 point earners sharing in bonus money. In addition, the point champion of the four race series will be guaranteed a starting position in the 7th Annual CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS scheduled to take place at Ohsweken Speedway Saturday, September 17th, 2011.
Ohsweken Speedway will kick off the miniseries June 24th with South Buxton Raceway running the following night, June 25th. The final two stages will take place August 19th at Ohsweken and August 20th at South Buxton where the miniseries champion will be crowned. Plenty of free (primitive) overnight camping is available at both venues.
The miniseries is an open competition event. All sprint car teams which abide by the administrative, technical, and procedural rules as set forth by series officials are welcome. Northern Summer Nationals officials reserve the right to reject any pre-entry / entry for any reason. No entry fee is required however an entry form must be completed before any track time is allowed. Driver changes are allowed as per event rules. All decisions made by Northern Summer Nationals managing officials are final.
Further information along with rules and procedures may be obtained by calling 1-888-720-7223 or emailing Ken Pelkie at pelkiekj@ebtech.net .
Please visit the official website of Ohsweken Speedway at www.ohswekenspeedway.com and South Buxton Raceway at www.southbuxtonraceway.com for all the latest news as preparations for the 2011 season continues.
Information will also be available as Ohsweken Speedway participates in several off season shows including the Canadian Motorsports Expo, January 21, 22, & 23 and Performance World, March 11, 12, &13 in Toronto at the International Centre. The New Speed and Custom Car Show, March 25, 26, & 27 in London at the Western Fair Grounds combining the former CPT Racing Experience with the annual London Autorama is also on the schedule plus a return visit to the Brantford Lynden Park Mall on April 13 to 16.
South Buxton will also be in attendance at the Speed and Custom Car Show in London as well as the Chatham Downtown Center Mall later in the spring where information on the miniseries will be available.