From Ohsweken Speedway
Ohsweken, ONT – (May 20, 2014) – Ohsweken Speedway’s 19th season of racing will take the green flag this Friday, May 23 at 7:30pm, and large fields are expected in all of the regular Friday night divisions. The event is presented by Woodstock Ford, and will include the Corr/Pak Merchandising 360 Sprint Cars, Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars, Affordable Towing & Recovery Thunder Stocks, HRW Automotive Mini Stocks, and Gale’s Auto Aftermarket Bombers.
GET WELL SOON, JAMIE
Everyone from Ohsweken Speedway wishes to send well wishes to Jamie Collard and his family. Jamie has been a regular racer at Ohsweken for many years, and suffered serious injuries in a crash in an Empire Super Sprints event at Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania last weekend. We wish Jamie the best as he begins the recovery process, and hope to see his trademark smile back at the track soon.
TEST & TUNE RESCHEDULED
The Test & Tune session that has twice been cancelled due to inclement weather has been rescheduled for Thursday, May 22. Due to the cancellations, the discounted early bird pit membership fees have been extended to Thursday, May 22 as well. Contact Mary Wilkinson, Director of Customer Relations, by phone at 519 717-0023, or by e-mail at mary@ohswekenspeedway.com to purchase your pit membership.
CORR/PAK MERCHANDISING 360 SPRINT CARS
Jim Huppunen enters the 360 Sprint Car season opener with a target on his back, as he claimed the 2013 track championship. Huppunen, who also won the 2011 title, became the first driver in the history of the division to win two championships. Past champions Keith Dempster, Tom Huppunen, Dave Dykstra, and Chris Steele are just a few of the others capable of challenging for this year’s title, along with 2013 feature winners Glenn Styres, Kyle Patrick, Mitch Brown, and Mikey Kruchka, plus many more. Brown and Kruchka both have feature wins this season, after they claimed Southern Ontario Sprints victories at Brighton Speedway and Humberstone Speedway last weekend.
The Rookie of the Year award will also be hotly contested, with multiple Thunder Stock feature winner Cory Turner, former Mod-Lite champ Shawn Sliter, and Wonderland Speedway graduate Curtis Gartly set to join the Sprint Car ranks.
STRICKLAND’S GMC CRATE SPRINT CARS
Ryan Hunsinger has four 360 Sprint Car feature wins at Ohsweken on his resume, and will be a favourite to win the inaugural Crate Sprint Car division championship. He’ll have challenges from several talented open wheel rookies from the Ohsweken stock car ranks, including 2011 and 2012 Thunder Stock champion Mike Thorne, 2013 Mini Stock champion Davey Boughton, 2012 Brock Leonard Memorial 50 winner Brad Herron, former Thunder Stock racers Jake Brown, Robbie General, and Aaron Turkey, and former Mini Stock racer Mark Czuba.
The new division, which utilizes the GM 602 crate engine, has also attracted attention from former Mosport Modified champ and asphalt Late Model veteran Tyler Hendricks, Hurricane Midget series racer K.J. Durnin, Flamboro Speedway Mini Stock driver Josh Shantz, and Mike Westwood, a veteran of several different asphalt divisions.
AFFORDABLE TOWING & RECOVERY THUNDER STOCKS
Lee Winger will return to the Thunder Stock division to defend his 2013 championship, but he’s sure to have lots of competition for the title. Wyatt Van Wart, Karl Sault, and Dave Silverthorn, Jr. all claimed Thunder Stock feature wins last season and plan to be back this year. Bryce Richardson, Jim Lampman, and Chris Dickie all finished in the top 6 in the championship standings last year in what was the most competitive season in the division’s history.
The quest for the Rookie of the Year award will also be competitive. As many as 9 drivers could be going after that honour, including Laura Hughes and Chase Hess, who both claimed Mini Stock feature wins last year, plus former Mini Stock racers Brittani Myers and John Cote.
HRW AUTOMOTIVE MINI STOCKS
Davey Boughton won the 2013 Mini Stock championship, but has moved to Crate Sprint Cars this year, leaving the door open for a new champ. Alex Schuts and Jason Lungaro finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in last year’s Mini Stock standings, and will be favourites to win the title this year, but more than 30 drivers have already pre-registered to race in the Mini Stock division in 2014. Steve Miller, Jonathan Ayrton, Dave Goodacre, Jeremy May, and Jon Janssens all finished in the top 10 in the Mini Stock standings last season, and are among those drivers who have already registered.
The chase for the Rookie of the Year award will include at least 7 drivers, including Bomber graduates Tim DeBoer, Wayde Thorne, Adam Hallett, and Mark Bazuin.
GALE’S AUTO AFTERMARKET BOMBERS
Dusty DeBoer will be back to defend his 2013 Bomber championship, and he’ll certainly have lots of competition from the always unpredictable division. Max Chechalk is one driver who will give DeBoer a good challenge, as he has been in the title hunt on multiple occasions, and won several features too. Clinton Nicholls, Gillian Hils, and Dakota Potts finished in the top 10 in last year’s standings and plan to be back this year as well.
TICKETS PLEASE!
Advanced reserved seat tickets are now on sale for the Burger Barn Northern Summer Nationals on Monday, July 28, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series Arrow Express Six Nations Showdown on Tuesday, July 29, and the 10th annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend on Friday, September 12, and Saturday, September 13. Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information, or contact Mary Wilkinson, Director of Customer Relations, by phone at 519 717-0023, or by e-mail at mary@ohswekenspeedway.com
THURSDAY NIGHT MICRO SPRINT RACING AT OHSWEKEN
Thursday Night Micro Sprint Racing takes place on the Warm Up Track in the Ohsweken Speedway pit area each week from July 3rd to September 13th, and spectator admission is just $5! Visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information.