by Tommy Goudge
(August 18, 2012) – Dustin Daggett swept the final weekend of the Northern Summer Nationals Sprint Car series by winning Friday night at Ohsweken Speedway, and again on Saturday night at South Buxton Raceway. His efforts weren’t enough to keep Justin Barger from claiming the overall Northern Summer Nationals championship though, and the guaranteed starting spot in September’s Canadian Sprint Car Nationals that comes with it.
The pole position went to Daggett in the outlaw-style redraw on Saturday night, but he didn’t run away with the race as some may have predicted. Justin Barger needed only to keep Daggett in sight to win the championship, but he was not content to just ride behind the #2m, and briefly took the lead in the early laps as the two raced through traffic.
Daggett got back to the lead and stayed there for the rest of the race, but not before Shane Stewart put the outcome in doubt by moving up from row three to shadow Daggett through traffic. Barger made a comeback and fell into a fight for the runner-up spot with Stewart, while Daggett started to open a lead. A caution flag flew for a tangle between Adam West and Jim Lingar just before the halfway mark, but it played to Daggett’s advantage as he had a brief respite from the heavy traffic.
Daggett took his fifth career win at South Buxton, with Shane Stewart finishing in the runner-up spot in his first career visit to the Chatham, Ontario-area track. Barger got the third spot, followed by Scott Kreutter, and Glenn Styres.
“I love these tracks over here in Canada – these are fun,” said Daggett after the race. “This car was just hooked up on a rail tonight. Justin got a good challenge there at the beginning, and I caught a break in lapped traffic to get him back. I was pretty sure Shane Stewart was going to be there, so I had to drive the wheels off this thing.”
Barger came up short in his bid to sweep the South Buxton portion of the Northern Summer Nationals series, but was more than happy to take home the championship, and a third place finish. The driver from Montrose, New York won the title by finishing fourth at Ohsweken on June 22, winning at South Buxton on June 23, finishing second at Ohsweken on August 17, and third at South Buxton on August 18.
“It was a lot of work out there tonight,” Barger said afterwards. “The lapped traffic made it really interesting. It feels good to be locked into the Nationals. That’s a pretty tough weekend, so at least we know we’re guaranteed to start now.”
Heat races for the 28 car field were claimed by Scott Kreutter, Glenn Styres, and Justin Barger, while Shane Ross won the B-Main.
A total of 56 drivers competed in at least one round of the 2012 Northern Summer Nationals Sprint Car series, which was co-sanctioned this year by Ohsweken Speedway’s Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car division, the Southern Ontario Sprints, and Patriot Sprint Tour. Many of those drivers plus a lot more are expected to race in the 8th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals presented by Arrow Express coming up on Friday, September 14, and Saturday, September 15 at Ohsweken Speedway. Advance reserved seat tickets are on sale now for the big event. Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com and call 1-888-720-RACE to order yours today!
NORTHERN SUMMER NATIONALS
SPRINT CAR SERIES 2012
ROUND 4 RACE REPORT – AUGUST 18
SOUTH BUXTON RACEWAY
MERLIN, ONTARIO
TOTAL ENTRIES – 28
HEAT RACES (10 laps each – Top 18 in passing points transferred to A-Feature):
Finish. [Starting Position] Number Name (Hometown)
HEAT RACE #1
1. [1] 52 Scott Kreutter (Alden, NY), 2. [3] 07x Dain Naida (Tecumseh, MI), 3. [2] 67 Chris Durand (Port Stanley), 4. [4] 5c Conor Mahoney (Waterdown), 5. [7] 10 Mitch Brown (Brantford), 6. [8] 33k Kyle Patrick (Tilbury), 7. [9] 30 Adam West (Ridgetown), 8. [6] 9 Jim Munsie (Pickering), 9. [5] 79 Dick Mahoney (Newmarket).
HEAT RACE #2
1. [2] 0 Glenn Styres (Ohsweken), 2. [7] 2m Dustin Daggett (Grand Ledge, MI), 3. [3] 11j Chris Jones (Demorestville), 4. [8] 8b Alain Bergeron (Saint-Pie, QC), 5. [1] 01 Mikey Kruchka (Hamilton), 6. [4] 3r Shane Ross (Thedford), 7. [9] 5 Keith Dempster (Alton), 8. [6] 15 Mike Ferrell (London), 9. [5] 66 Frank Baranowski (Mount Hope).
HEAT RACE #3
1. [3] 5b Justin Barger (Montrose, NY), 2. [8] 3g Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK), 3. [2] 57 Charlie Sandercock (Carrying Place), 4. [5] 7x Jamie Collard (Burford), 5. [9] 71 Travis Cunningham (Grimsby), 6. [1] 51L Lee Ladouceur (Alexandria), 7. [4] 70 Jim Lingar (South Bend, IN), 8. [6] 25 Warren Mahoney (Lefroy), 9. [7] 2 Brad Lodge (Stouffville), 10. [10] 4 Eric Jamieson (Chatham).
B-MAIN (10 laps – Top 6 finishers transferred to A-Feature)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 3r Shane Ross (1), 2. 51L Lee Ladouceur (2), 3. 70 Jim Lingar (3), 4. 9 Jim Munsie (4), 5. 66 Frank Baranowski (7), 6. 25 Warren Mahoney (6), 7. 15 Mike Ferrell (5), 8. 4 Eric Jamieson (10), DNS. 79 Dick Mahoney (8), DNS. 2 Brad Lodge (9).
NORTHERN SUMMER NATIONALS
SPRINT CAR FEATURE (25 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 2m Dustin Daggett (1)
2. 3g Shane Stewart (5)
3. 5b Justin Barger (4)
4. 52 Scott Kreutter (7)
5. 0 Glenn Styres (2)
6. 07x Dain Naida (3)
7. 8b Alain Bergeron (10)
8. 11j Chris Jones (6)
9. 71 Travis Cunningham (9)
10. 7x Jamie Collard (12)
11. 67 Chris Durand (8)
12. 10 Mitch Brown (13)
13. 51L Lee Ladouceur (20)
14. 33k Kyle Patrick (15)
15. 5c Conor Mahoney (14)
16. 01 Mikey Kruchka (18)
17. 5 Keith Dempster (17)
18. 3r Shane Ross (19)
19. 25 Warren Mahoney (24)
20. 57 Charlie Sandercock (11)
21. 9 Jim Munsie (22)
22. 30 Adam West (16)
23. 70 Jim Lingar (21)
24. 66 Frank Baranowski (23)
2012 NORTHERN SUMMER NATIONALS SPRINT CAR SERIES
FINAL POINTS STANDINGS (TOP 10)
1. 5b Justin Barger* 411
2. 2m Dustin Daggett ** 402
3. 71 Travis Cunningham 344
4. 0 Glenn Styres 342
5. 07x Dain Naida 340
6. 8b Alain Bergeron 331
t7. 10 Mitch Brown 327
t7. 52 Scott Kreutter 327
9. 7x Jamie Collard 325
10. 5 Keith Dempster 320