Bob Buffenbarger photo
By T.J. Buffenbarger
Ohsweken, ON – (September 19, 2015) – Bryan Howland did not let having to transfer from the B-Main keep him from winning Canada’s biggest sprint car race. Howland led the final lap after crossing the finish line three wide with Steve Poirier and Parker Price-Miller to win the 11th Annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals by inches. The win was Howland’s first Canadian Nationals victory in one of the most thrilling finishes in Canadian Nationals history to take home the $12,000 winner’s prize.
Howland, who started 20th in the main event, made the middle of the track work on his charge to victory at Ohsweken.
“I saw a lot of cars that started in front of me,” Howland remarked in victory lane when asked what he saw in front of him. “We put the super tight setup and had a game plan of rolling through the middle and it worked. I started going on the bottom there, cars were in the way, so I had to see if I could get around them without wasting any time. I just kept digging and things just worked out to get this win. This is awesome.”
Poirier took the loss of what would have been his fourth Canadian Nationals victory in stride.
“Lapped traffic was pretty tough. I thought it helped me at times, but I started to get lose 15 laps in. I thought it played good for me because I saw cars sneak inside me. Saw Bryan coming, changed my line, pushed my wing back, but came half a lap short of our fourth win.”
Price-Miller did not even realize he finished third until after the feature, not knowing that Howland was also in contention.
“I didn’t even know I ran third until 10 seconds ago. I thought (Poirier) and I were out there, but (Howland) came out of nowhere,” said Price-Miller. “I’m sure it was fun to watch, but I didn’t want to run third. I have to thank the Hills Racing Team for everything they do.”
Steve Poirier and Jason Barney started on the front row for the 35-Lap main event. Poirier led the opening lap with Daggett sliding into second. With Barney and Price-Miller behind them. Only one lap was completed before Yan Bilodeau slowed to a stop to bring out the caution flag.
Poirier pulled away during the restart while Barney got a run under Daggett for second on lap two. Daggett then had to contend with Price-Miller for third.
Barney closed in on Poirier for the lead off turn two. Barney pulled alongside of Poirier using the middle of the track on lap six, but Poirier changed his line and maintained the top spot. During that exchange Price-Miller and Paul Kinney moved past Daggett and started to close on the leaders.
Poirier started to overtake slower cars and allowed Barney to close in again. The traffic did hold up Price-Miller and allowed the lead duo to pull away with 13 laps in.
Price-Miller began to close in on Barney through traffic as Barney was hung up on traffic with 15 laps in. Price Miller was able to close in on Barney on lap 19. Price Miller was able to slide by Barney for second on lap 20. Behind them Kinney and Bryan Howland raced for fourth.
Price-Miller then began to close in on Poirier for the lead. Behind them Howland started to make a charge. Howland caught Barney and Price-Miller on traffic to make for a three car race for second. This allowed Poirier to pull away to a .797 second advantage.
With eight laps to go Price-Miller, Barney, and Howland started to catch Poirier again for the lead. Howland and Barney raced three wide through traffic for third while Price-Miller and Poirier pulled away with six laps to go.
Over the final five laps though is when the race for the lead really heated up.
On lap 30 Price-Miller pulled a slide job through turns one and two to try and take the lead from Poirier, but could not make the pass. This also allowed Howland to close for a three car race for the lead. On lap 32 Price-Miller go another run on Poriier and pulled a side job off turn two, but Poirier took the lead back Meanwhile Howland closed make a three wide battle for the lead. Over the final two laps Poirier, Price-Miller, and Howland diced for position. Off the final corner Howland got a run off the bottom and was able to slide by both Price-Mililer and Poirier for the victory, making slight contact with Poirier just as his crossed the finish line in first by just .112 seconds over Poirier. Price-Miller, Mark Smith, and Kinney rounded out the top five.
Daggett, Poirier, Rob Dietrick, Jason Barney, and Paul Kinney won heat race events. Bryan Howland, Jared Horstman, and Chuck Hebing won B-Main events. Steve Poirier won the dash. Parker Price-Miller was the fastest qualifier 14.136 second lap around the 3/8-mile oval. Dylan Westbrook picked up the honor of being the Fastest Canadian qualifier and fastest in the third flight of group qualifying. Jordan Thomas picked up the best appearing car.
2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals
Ohsweken Speedway
Ohsweken, ON
Saturday September 19, 2015
Qualifying Flight 1: 97 – Parker Price-Miller, 14, 136; 2. 49 – Todd Hoddick, 14. 343; 3. 49D – Shawn Dancer, 14.425; 4. 67 – Sam Haferepe, Jr., 5. 16 – Ryan Ruhl, 14.550; 6. 79 – Jordan Thomas, 14.552; 7. 05 – Brad Loyet, 14.600; 8. 28FM – Steve Poirier, 4.618; 9. 81 – Derek Jonathan, 14.666; 10. 35 – Jared Zimbardi, 14.687; 11. 2M – Dustin Daggett, 14.668; 12. 22H – Randy Hannagan, 14.701; 13. 51 – Bryan Howland, 14.705; 14. 53 – Shawn Donath, 14.771; 15. 25P – Michael Parent, 14.783; 16. 90 – Matt Tanner, 15.121; 17. 38 – Tyler Hendricks, 15.255; 18. 48J – Darryl Ruggles, 15.809; 19. 121 – Steve Globver, 16.356; 20. 15A – April Wilson, 16.495.
Qualifying Flight 2: 1. 17 – Jared Horstman, 14.505; 2. 00 – Dane Lorenc, 14.683; 3. 17H – Max Stambaugh, 14.757; 4. 55 – Mark Smith, 14.816; 5. 0 – Glenn Styres, 14.891; 6. 10B – Mitch Brown, 14.290; 7. 49K – Scott Kruetter, 15.008; 8. 77X – Alex Hill, 15.234; 9. 10K – Rob Detrick, 15.295; 10. 75 – Tommy Wickham, 15.544; 11. 38W – Dennis Wagner, 15.571; 12. 123 – Yan Bilodeau, 15.707; 13. 61 – Parker Evans, 15.974; 14. 19 – Cory Turner, 16.078; 15. 36 – Mike Stelter, 16.212; 16. 3R – Shane Ross, 16.391; 17. 91 – Ryan Turner, 16.442; 18. 14H – Jim Huppunen, 16.523; 19. 6 – Curtis Gartly, 16.707; 20. 13 – Keith Granholm, 16.736; 21. 43 – Scott Sherk, 17.082; 22. 10J – C.J. Jones, 17.538.
Qualifying Flight 3: 1. 47X – Dylan Westbrook, 14.599; 2. 83 – Kyle Sauder, 14.992; 3. 422 – Etienne Girard, 14.997; 4. 89 – Robbie Stillwaggon, 15.026; 5. 77 – Dain Naida, 15.311; 6. 5B – Justin Barger, 15.401; 7. 42W – Rick Wilson, 15.414; 8. 10C – Paulie Colagiovanni, 15.499; 9. 87 – Jason Barney, 15.530; 10. 19K – Paul Kinney, 15.561; 11. 7C – Dylan Swiernik, 15.562; 12. 2A – Dave Axton, 15.740; 13. 11 – Jamie Turner, 15.832; 14. 10 – Jeff Cook, 16.047; 15. 69 – Kris Root, 16.146; 16. 5 – Keith Dempster, 16.428; 17. 18 – Ryan Susice, 16.440; 18. 48A – Alysha Ruggles, 16.475; 19. 94Z – Stan Zanchin, 17.061; 20. 7M – Justin Martin, 21. 45 – Chuck Hebing, NT.
Heat Race #1 (10 Laps): 1. 2M – Dustin Daggett, 2. 97 – Parker Price-Miller, 3. 05 – Brad Loyet, 4. 16 – Ryan Ruhl, 5. 51 – Bryan Howland, 6. 81 – Derek Jonathan, 7. 25P – Michael Parent, 8. 49 – Shawn Dancer, 9. 2W – Lee Winger, 10. 38 – Tyler Hendricks, 11. 121 – Steve Glover. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)
Heat Race #2 (10 Laps): 1. 26FM – Steve Poirier, 2.35 – Jared Zimbardi, 3. 67 – Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 4. 53 – Shawn Donath, 5. 79 – Jordan Thomas, 6. 48J – Darryl Ruggles, 7. 90 – Matt Tanner, 8. 49 – Todd Hoddick, 9. 01 – Kyle Fraiser, 10. 15A – April Wilson, 11. 22H –Randy Hannagan. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)
Heat Race #3 (10 Laps): 1. 10K – Rob Dietrick, 2. 17H – Max Stambaugh, 3. 49K – Scott Kruetter, 4. 6 – Curtis Gartley, 5. 0 – Glenn Styers, 6. 17 – Jared Horstman, 7. 91 – Ryan Turner, 8. 61 – Parker Evans, 9. 38W – Dennis Wagner, 10. 36 – Mike Stelter, 11. 43 – Scott Sherk. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)
Heat Race #4 (10 Laps): 1. 55 – Mark Smith, 2. 123 – Yan Bilodeau, 3. 10B – Mitch Brown, 4. 3R – Shane Ross, 5. 19 – Cory Turner, 6. 77X – Alex Hill, 7. 00 – Dane Lorenc, 8. 14H – Jim Huppunen, 9. 10J – C.J. Jones, 10. 75 – Tommy Wickham, 11. 13 – Keith Granholm. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)
Heat Race #5 (10 Laps): 1. 87 – Jason Barney, 2. 77 – Dain Naida, 3. 47X – Dylan Westbrook, 4. 7C – Dylan Swiernik, 5. 42W – Rick Wilson, 6. 422 – Etienne Girard, 7. 18 – Ryan Susice, 8. 45 – Chuck Hebing, 9. 94Z – Stan Zachhin, 10. 11 – Jamie Turner, 11. 69 – Kris Turner. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)
Heat Race #6 (10 Laps): 1. 19K – Paul Kinney, 2. 83 – Kyle Sauder, 3. 5B – Justin Barner, 4. 2A – Dave Axton, 5. 89 – Robbie Stillwaggon, 6. 48A – Alysha Ruggles, 7. 10C – Paulie Colagiovanni, 8. 10 – Jeff Cook, 9. 5- Keith Dempster. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)
B-Main #1 (10 Laps): 1. 51 – Bryan Howland, 2. 53 – Shawn Donath, 3. 49D – Shawn Dancer, 4. 79 – Jordan Thomas, 5. 90 – Matt Tanner, 6. 25P – Michael Parent, 7. 48J – Darryl Ruggles, 8. 16 – Ryan Ruhl, 9. 121 – Steve Glover, 10. 22H – Randy Hannagan, 11. 01 – Kyle Fraser, 12. 2W – Lee Winger, 13. 38 – Tyler Hendricks, 14. 81 – Derek Jonathan, 15. 15AW – April Wilson, 16. 49 – Todd Hoddick. (First two finishers transferred to the A-Main)
B-Main #2 (10 Laps): 1. 17 – Jared Horsman, 2. 00 – Dane Lorenc, 3. 19 – Cory Turner, 4. 0 – Glenn Styers, 5. 3R – Shane Ross, 6. 14H – Jim Hppunen, 7. 38W – Dennis Wagner, 8. 6 – Curtis Gartly, 9. 91 – Ryan Turner, 10. 61 – Parker Evans, 11. 36 – Mike Stelter, 12. 75 – TommY Wickham, 13. 43 – Scott Sherk, 14. 77X – Alex Hill, 15. 10J – C.J. Jones, 16. 13 – Keith Granholm. (First two finishers transferred to the A-Main)
B-Main #3 (10 Laps): 1. 45 – Chuck Hebing, 2. 42W – Rick Wilson, 3. 89 – Robbie Stillwaggon, 4. 422 – Etienne Girard,5. 94Z – Stan zanchin, 6. 7C – Dylan Swiernik, 7. 10 – Jeff Cook, 8. 48A – Alysha Ruggles, 9. 10C – Paulie Colagiovanni, 10. 2A – Dave Axton, 11. 5 – Keith Dempter, 12. 11 – Jamie Turner, 13. 69 – Chris Root, 14. 18 – Ryan Susice, 15. 7M – Justin Martin. (First two finishers transferred to the A-Main)
Dash (4 Laps): 1. 1. 28FM – Steve Poirier, 2. 87 – Jason Barney, 3. 2M – Dustin Daggett, 4. 19K – Paul Kinney, 5. 55 – Mark Smith, 6. 10K – Rob Dietrick. (Finish determined the first six starting positions in the A-Main)
Little Feature (15 Laps): 1. 19 – Cory Turner, 2. 49D – Shawn Dancer, 3. 79 – Jordan Thomas, 4. 90 – Matt Tanner, 5. 422 – Etienne Girard, 6. 3R – Shane Ross, 7. 25P – Michael Parent, 8. 94Z – Stan Zanchin, 9. 10 – Jeff Cook, 10. 7C – Dylan Swiernik, 11. 48J – Darryl Ruggles, 12. 14H – Jim Huppunen, 13. 38W – Denni Wagner, 14. 89 – Robbie Stillwaggon. (First five finishers transferred to the A-Main)
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 51 – Bryan Howland, 2. 28FM – Steve Poirier, 3. 97 – Parker Price-Miller, 4. 55 – Mark Smith, 5. 19K – Paul Kinney, 6. 45 – Chuck Hebing, 7. 87 – Jason Barney, 8. 67 – Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 9. 17 – Jared Horstman, 10. 10K – Rob Dietrick, 11. 5B – Justin Barner, 12. 05 – Brad Loyet, 13. 10B – Mitch Brown, 14. 83 – Kyle Sauder, 15. 49D – Shawn Dancer, 16. 19 – Cory Turner, 17. 77 – Dain Naida, 18. 17H – Max Stambaugh, 19. 53 – Shawn Donath, 20. 00 – Dane Lorenc, 21. 47X – Dylan Westbrook, 22. 90 – Matt Tanner, 23. 35 – Jared Zimbardi, 24. 2M – Dustin Daggett, 25. 42W – Rick Wilson, 26. 123 – Yan Bilodeau, 27. 0 – Glenn Styres, 28. 49K – Scott Kreutter, 29. 422 – Eitenne Girard, 30. 79 – Jordan Thomas.