By Tommy Goudge
(November 12, 2011) – The 2011 Ohsweken Speedway season was capped off in fine fashion on Saturday night with the annual awards banquet at the Marritt Hall in Ancaster. Jim Huppunen was honoured as the fourth champion of the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car division, while Mike Thorne was crowned Lighthouse Tattoos Thunder Stock champion, Karl Sault received HRW Automotive Mini Stock accolades, and Rodney Rutherford was awarded his trophy as champion of the Pierced Parts Bomber division.
Special sponsor presentations were made to:
Arrow Express, Corr/Pak Merchandising, O’Neil’s Farm Equipment, Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel, Awesome Racewear, Engine Pro Racing, Grisdale Racing Products, BS&B Radiator, Rochester Knighthawks, Engler Machine and Tool, HRW Automotive, Lighthouse Tattoos, Pierced Parts, Jones Brown Insurance, RNB Restorations, Outhouse Image and Design, Hoosier Tire Canada, Inside Track Motorsport News, Melling Select Performance, Butlerbuilt, HB Motorsports, Ferrea Valves, Wiseco Piston, Hepfner Racing Products, Trailers by Jim Bray, Lone Wolf Pit Stop, Gale’s Auto Aftermarket, Esso Speedway Variety, The Evers Financial Group Inc., Cafe 54, Kinser Air Filters, Canton Racing Products, Saldana Racing Products, Diversified Machine Inc., Zemco Headers, Pancho’s Racing Products, Brake Man, Metal Works Powder Coating, Winters Performance Products, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, XYZ Machining Inc., Rocket Headers, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Simpson, Triple XXX Race Co., Kenetic Photos, SST, Rod End Supply, Manton Pushrods, ISC Racer’s Tape, VRP Shocks, BMRS, and Weld Racing.
CORR/PAK MERCHANDISING SPRINT CARS – AWARDS:
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
Mitch Brown, Jamie Collard, Jesse Costa, Travis Cunningham, Keith Dempster, Dave Dykstra, Todd Hoddick, Jim Huppunen, Kyle Moffit, Dain Naida, and Kyle Patrick.
HARD CHARGER
Jim Huppunen (passed 61 cars in feature race action)
“HARD LUCK”
Kyle Patrick
DEDICATION AND DETERMINATION
Chris Durand
BEST APPEARING CAR
Todd Hoddick
MECHANIC OF THE YEAR
Eric Moffit
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER
Mitch Brown
SPORTSMANSHIP
Travis Cunningham
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Jesse Costa
DRIVER OF THE YEAR
(Voted on by fans)
Mikey Kruchka
CORR/PAK MERCHANDISING SPRINT CAR
POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Jim Huppunen
The Top 10 in the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars were:
1st – Jim Huppunen, Fenwick. $5,000
2nd – Jamie Collard, Burford. $3,500
3rd – Kyle Patrick, Tilbury. $3,200
4th – Kyle Moffit, South Dayton, NY. $2,900
5th – Mitch Brown, Brantford. $2,600
6th – Travis Cunningham, Grimsby. $2,350
Tie 7th – Todd Hoddick, Cheektowaga, NY. $2,000
Tie 7th – Chris Steele, Fenwick. $2,000
9th – Dave Dykstra, Port Colborne. $1,600
10th – Dain Naida, Tecumseh, MI. $1,350
LIGHTHOUSE TATTOOS THUNDER STOCKS – AWARDS:
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
Gord Bates, Chris Dickie, Rob Disher, Robbie General, Devin Habiuk, Kacey Huffman, Jim Lampman, Terry Martin, Mike Miller, Murray Nicholls, Mike Thorne, Cory Turner, Wyatt Van Wart, and Lee Winger.
HARD CHARGER
Mike Thorne (passed 155 cars in feature race action)
“HARD LUCK”
Rob Disher
DEDICATION AND DETERMINATION
Mike Thorne
BEST APPEARING CAR
Chris Dickie
MECHANIC OF THE YEAR
Cory Turner
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER
Wyatt Van Wart
SPORTSMANSHIP
Gord Bates
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cory Turner
DRIVER OF THE YEAR
(Voted on by fans)
Cory Turner
LIGHTHOUSE TATTOOS THUNDER STOCKS
POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Mike Thorne
The Top 10 in the Lighthouse Tattoos Thunder Stocks were:
1st – Mike Thorne, Caledonia.
2nd – Cory Turner, Caistor Centre.
3rd – Devin Habiuk, Port Robinson.
4th – Wyatt Van Wart, Cambridge.
5th – Chris Dickie, Brantford.
6th – Mike Miller, Caledonia.
7th – Lee Winger, Caledonia.
8th – Rob Disher, Grimsby.
9th – Jim Lampman, Caistor Centre.
10th – Ryan Dinning, Caledonia.
HRW AUTOMOTIVE MINI STOCKS – AWARDS:
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
Jake Brown, Abel Castelein, Dale Cooke, Dan Erskine, Mike Evers, Mike Giberson, Dave Goodacre, Steve Hess, Jeremy Hughes, Jason Lungaro, Steve Miller, Brittani Myers, Karl Sault, Rob Slater, and Rob Twitchett.
HARD CHARGER
Karl Sault (passed 126 cars in feature race action)
“HARD LUCK”
Abel Castelein
DEDICATION AND DETERMINATION
Mike Evers
BEST APPEARING CAR
Steve Hess
MECHANIC OF THE YEAR
Glen Hils
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER
Jake Brown
SPORTSMANSHIP
Dale Cooke
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Karl Sault
ART HILL MEMORIAL AWARD
FOR DRIVER OF THE YEAR
(Voted on by fans)
Mike Giberson
HRW AUTOMOTIVE MINI STOCKS
POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Karl Sault
The Top 10 in the HRW Automotive Mini Stocks were:
1st – Karl Sault, Dundas.
2nd – Mike Evers, Caledonia.
3rd – Jake Brown, Brantford.
4th – Abel Castelein, Cayuga.
5th – Steve Hess, Ohsweken.
6th – Dale Cooke, Hamilton.
7th – Jeremy Hughes, Burlington.
8th – Steve Miller, Paris.
9th – Jason Lungaro, Hamilton.
10th – Dan Erskine, Caistor Centre.
PIERCED PARTS BOMBERS – AWARDS:
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
Tylor Brock, Max Chechalk, Kathi Dickie, Dale Gyokery, Brady Longboat, Jeremy May, Jesse McDonald, Rodney Rutherford, Sarah Rutherford, and Aaron Turkey.
HARD CHARGER
Rodney Rutherford (passed 86 cars in feature race action)
“HARD LUCK”
Kathi Dickie
DEDICATION AND DETERMINATION
Jesse McDonald
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER
Jeremy May
SPORTSMANSHIP
Sarah Rutherford
DRIVER OF THE YEAR
(Voted on by fans)
Jesse McDonald
PIERCED PARTS BOMBERS
POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Rodney Rutherford
The Top 10 in the Pierced Parts Bombers were:
1st – Rodney Rutherford, Waterdown.
2nd – Jesse McDonald, Caledonia.
3rd – Jeremy May, Hamilton.
4th – Sarah Rutherford, Dundas.
5th – Dusty DeBoer, Hagersville.
6th – Kathi Dickie, Brantford.
7th – Tylor Brock, Dunnville.
8th – Brady Longboat, Ohsweken.
9th – Craig Dowd, Caledonia.
10th – Dale Gyokery, Jarvis.
Ohsweken Speedway would like to thank all the racers, fans, staff, sponsors, and everyone else who made 2011 the best season yet!
Weekly Friday Night Thunder action is again on tap for Ohsweken’s 17th season in 2012. Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information.