By Clayton Johns
OHSWEKEN, Ont. (July 12, 2019) – A busy night at Ohsweken Speedway saw 135 cars sign in for competition across five divisions of action on Strickland’s Brantford Chevrolet Kids Bike Night. Several young fans took home new bikes to enjoy this summer that were donated by Strickland’s Brantford Chevrolet and several Ohsweken race teams.
On the track, Dylan Westbrook claimed victory with the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars for the fourth time this year and Jesse Costa won the main event with the Stickland’s Brantford Chevrolet Crate Sprint Cars. For the stock cars, Trevor DeBoer took the checkered flag with the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks. In the HRW Automotive Mini Stock division, Kyle Wert won the postponed July 5 feature and Tim Nuell claimed a win in the regularly scheduled event. Then, in their only appearance of the season Mark Shadwell won the Vintage Car race.
Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars
Aaron Turkey and Cory Turner started on the front row for the 20-lap Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car A-Feature. Turkey led the opening lap before Turner got past him on lap two with a pass in turns three and four.
By lap six, Turner worked into lapped traffic with Mack DeMan moving past Turkey for second. DeMan caught Turner amongst the slower cars and the two dueled up front for the top spot, swapping the position briefly before the yellow flag waved with nine laps complete when Mike Thorne and Curtis Gartly spun in turn three.
On the restart, Turner brought the field back to speed and led lap 10, but DeMan drove to the point on lap 11 and claimed the top spot. Two laps later, Turner was under pressure from Dylan Westbrook and used a slide job to take the second spot. Turner tried to use the same move to take the spot back in turns one and two, but Westbrook used every inch of the racetrack to power past Turner on the outside.
Then with five laps to go, DeMan was in heavy lapped traffic and Westbrook closed the gap quickly. With two laps to go, Westbrook got past DeMan in turn three when the latter was forced to slow while entering the corner to avoid contact with a slower car.
Westbrook pulled away by at least five car lengths over the next two laps and as Westbrook drove into the final corner, Caleb Wood spun in turn four to bring out the yellow. That setup a one-lap dash to the finish where DeMan gave everything he had on the final two corners, but came up just short as Westbrook scored his fourth win of the season. Turner, Mitch Brown and Jim Huppunen completed the top-five. Jamie Turner, Turkey and DeMan won their qualifying heat races to start the night.
Strickland’s Brantford Chevrolet Crate Sprint Cars
Liam Martin and DJ Christie paced the field to the green flag for the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars season opening feature. Martin claimed an early advanatage while Jesse Costa got past Christie for second as the leaders all ran in the bottom groove.
Martin ran smooth, consistent laps as Costa tried to run him down, but was simultaneously being chased by Christie. A slide job on lap nine allowed Christie to take the lead from Costa in turn four and then set out to track down Martin. He did just that on lap 11 when he got past Martin for the lead in turn two and a lap later Costa shuffled Martin back to third.
Martin’s night went sour on lap 13 when he tagged the inside wall in turn four and suffered damage to the wheels. Christie led following the restart until the final caution on lap 16 for a spun Travis Hofstetter in turn two. The second restart didn’t prove as favourable for Christie as Costa returned the favour from earlier with a slide job in turns three and four to take the lead. Costa was flawless over the final three laps to claim his second win of the season while Christie settled for second. Nick Sheridan, Brad Herron and Jordan Hill rounded out the top-five.
Herron, Sheridan, Lucas Smith and Hill won their qualifying heats to begin the nights while Hannah Ferrell and Hofstetter won the B-Mains.
Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks
Mark Fawcett and Aaron Rewutzsky brought the 28-car field of Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks to the line for the green flag. Fawcett jumped out front, but on lap four was battling with Rewutzsky again for the lead. A lap later, Rewutzsky’s car found it’s groove and took the lead, but was briefly embroiled in a three-wide battle for the top spot with Fawcett and Ryan Dinning with Ryan Beagle then jumping in the mix a lap later too.
On lap seven, the race was slowed for its first caution when Mark Bazuin spun in turn two. Rewutzsky and Dinning battled hard side-by-side on the restart before Dinning emerged with the lead on lap nine. As quickly as Dinning had the lead, he was under siege equally as fast from Trevor DeBoer. On lap 13, DeBoer had taken the lead from Dinning and paced the field to a caution on lap 16. DeBoer dominated on the restart and again following the final caution on lap 18 to score his third win of the season. Rewutzsky held off Dinning on the final corner to claim a runner-up finish while Ryan Beagle bested Dave Bailey for fourth. Derek Liverance, Dinning and Beagle scored victories in the qualifying heats earlier in the night.
HRW Automotive Mini Stocks
Trevor Want and Jeremy May started the night on the front row of the HRW Automotive Mini Stock 15-lap Feature for their rescheduled race from July 5. The opening lap did not go well for May, who got loose in turn one and made contact with Brian Crosgrove’s No.96 before sliding into the turn two wall with the driver’s door. He was uninjured.
On the restart, Want was quickly under pressure from Crosgrove and Sean Iftody among others. Crosgrove took over the lead on lap two and paced the next three laps before Iftody took over up front on lap five.
On lap seven, 20th starting Kyle Wert, the division’s point leader entering the night, had made his way into a battle for the lead and wrestled the point position away from Iftody. Fabio Olivieri worked his way to second and kept pace with Wert in front of the field until a lap 11 caution after Want spun in turn three after he and Kevin Thorne made contact. On the ensuing restart, Wert and Olivieri broke away from the rest of the field and engaged in a four-lap chess match to decide the winner. On the final lap, Olivieri gave a tap to Wert’s back bumper in turn three, but couldn’t move him enough to make a pass and Wert held on for his fourth win of the season with Tim DeBoer, Iftody and Kvein Thorne rounding out the top-five behind Olivieri.
In the second feature of the night for the Mini Stocks, Aidan Nigh and Tim Nuell started on the front row with Nuell grabbing the early lead. Paul Longboat quickly jumped into the early battle up front before Ryan Hillar joined the mix prior to a lap five caution for a stopped Mike Taylor in turn two. Another caution came before a lap could be completed when point leader Kyle Wert had issues to bring out the yellow flag.
The second restart with 10 laps to go saw Nuell and Longboat side-by-side for a lap before Nuell capitalized to take the lead on the outside. Behind the two leaders, a three-wide battle for third emerged with Hillar sandwiched between Tristan Da Silva and Wayde Thorne. Hillar eventually emerged with the third spot, but could not lose Thorne.
With five laps to go, Nuell continued to lead with momentum in the top lane despite Longoboat and Hillar giving chase as best they could. The top three held their spots over the remaining laps despite Hillar trying his best to take second on the final corner. The win was the first of Nuell’s career.
Nuell, Rob Twitchett, Kevin Thorne and Tim DeBoer raced to heat race victories, meanwhile Jason Tolton and Tim Jamieson scored checkered flags in a pair of B-Mains.
Vintage Cars
Andy Imbeault and David Charczuk were on the front row for the Vintage Cars 15-lap Feature. Imbeault and third-starting Mark Shadwell jumped out front. Imbeault quickly opened a considerable advantage over the rest of the field. At the halfway mark, Imbeault’s lead over Shadwell was a half lap before Imbeault spun in turn two to bring out the yellow, handing the lead to Shadwell. Over the final five laps, Shadwell held off a charge from Rick St. Pierre and then a hard-charging Imbeault, who was charging back to the front, to score the win. Imbeault and Charczuk raced to heat race victories earlier in the night.
Up Next at Ohsweken Speedway
Ohsweken Speedway’s busiest week of action is up next. The track will return to action for Autograph Night on July 19 presented by Jibs Action Sports. All four Ohsweken weekly divisions will be in action and fans will get a chance to meet their favourite drivers on the track for autographs, photos and treats. Pit gates open at 5:30pm and spectator gates open at 6:00pm. Race time is 7:30pm and adult admission is just $14 and children 12 and under are $3 or less.
Then, the action continues with the two-day Summer Nationals on Monday, July 22 and Tuesday, July 23 featuring Tony Stewart, Christopher Bell and Rico Abreu presented by Burger Barn, Arrow Express, Bradshaw Brothers and Nitro 54 Variety. The Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars will be in action both nights with $5,000 USD on the line each night. Monday night’s event will also feature the annual Late Model Open, Canadian/UMP Modified challenge and HRW Automotive Mini Stocks. Then, on Tuesday night, the Race of Champions Sportsman Tour, Action Sprint Tour and Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks join the card. Race time each night is 7:30pm with hot laps at 7:00pm. This is a reserved seating event. Advanced reserved tickets are available online for $30 per adult. Tickets and camping are available here. For additional event information and a full schedule of events, visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.ca.
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Ohsweken Speedway Race Report
July 12, 2019
Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
Friday Night Excitement presented by Strickland’s Brantford Chevrolet
Total Entries – 135
Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars (26 Entries)
A-Feature (20 laps – No Time)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [5]; 2. 17X-Mack DeMan, [3]; 3. 13-Cory Turner, [2]; 4. 68-Aaron Turkey, [1]; 5. 0-Jim Huppunen, [7]; 6. 10-Mitch Brown, [6]; 7. 91-Ryan Turner, [8]; 8. 5D-Shane Ross, [9]; 9. 49-Scott Kreuter, [11]; 10. 9-Steve Lyons, [15]; 11. 1-10-Jake Brown, [17]; 12. 1-Holly Porter, [12]; 13. 7-Caleb Wood, [10]; 14. 21-John Burbridge Jr, [16]; 15. 71S-Shawn Sliter, [14]; 16. 87X-Shone Evans, [19]; 17. 67-Pete Richardson, [21]; 18. 45-Curtis Gartly, [22]; 19. 55-Mike Thorne, [18]; 20. 81-Derek Jonathan, [13]; 21. 15-Dan Nanticoke, [24]; 22. 9B-Scott Burk, [20]; 23. 46-Kevin Pauls, [23]; 24. 11-Jamie Turner, [4]; 25. 88H-Josh Hansen, [25]
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Aaron Turkey 1; Cory Turner 2-10; Mack DeMan 11-17; Dylan Westbrook 18-20
Hard Charger – Jake Brown +6 (17th to 11th)
Heat Race No.1 (8 laps – All Transfer – No Time)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 11-Jamie Turner, [1]; 2. 10-Mitch Brown, [6]; 3. 7-Caleb Wood, [3]; 4. 81-Derek Jonathan, [2]; 5. 71S-Shawn Sliter, [5]; 6. 1-10-Jake Brown, [4]; 7. 9B-Scott Burk, [8]; 8. 21J-John Burbridge Sr, [7]; 9. 88H-Josh Hansen, [9]
Heat Race No.2 (8 laps – All Transfer – 2:04.844)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 68-Aaron Turkey, [1]; 2. 91-Ryan Turner, [2]; 3. 13-Cory Turner, [4]; 4. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [6]; 5. 9-Steve Lyons, [3]; 6. 21-John Burbridge Jr, [5]; 7. 87X-Shone Evans, [9]; 8. 45-Curtis Gartly, [8]; 9. 15-Dan Nanticoke, [7]
Heat Race No.3 (8 laps – All Transfer – 2:09.391)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 17X-Mack DeMan, [1]; 2. 0-Jim Huppunen, [2]; 3. 5D-Shane Ross, [3]; 4. 49-Scott Kreuter, [5]; 5. 1-Holly Porter, [6]; 6. 55-Mike Thorne, [4]; 7. 67-Pete Richardson, [7]; 8. 46-Kevin Pauls, [8]
Ackland Insurance Top Gun: Mitch Brown
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Strickland’s Brantford Chevrolet Crate Sprint Cars (34 Entries)
A-Feature (20 laps – No Time)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 52-Jesse Costa, [3]; 2. 5-D.J. Christie, [2]; 3. 45-Nick Sheridan, [6]; 4. 12-Brad Herron, [4]; 5. 28-Jordan Hill, [5]; 6. 5D-Jacob Dykstra, [16]; 7. 74-Rob Neely, [11]; 8. 08-Steven Beckett, [14]; 9. 56-Dereck Lemyre, [7]; 10. 70-Baily Heard, [18]; 11. 1EH-Paul Klager, [13]; 12. 49L-Lucas Smith, [8]; 13. 19D-Allan Downey, [19]; 14. 49H-Jerry Hill, [17]; 15. 19-Brandon Murrell, [23]; 16. 4-Hannah Ferrell, [21]; 17. 88-Jesse McDonald, [15]; 18. 43-Darren Dryden, [10]; 19. 14T-Noelle Teal, [20]; 20. 14-Eric Gledhill, [9]; 21. 38-Derek Miller, [24]; 22. 2-Travis Hofstetter, [22]; 23. 83-Spencer Davis, [12]; 24. 29-Liam Martin, [1]
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Liam Martin 1-10; DJ Christie 11-16; Jesse Costa 17-20
Hard Charger – Jacob Dykstra +10 (16th to 6th)
Heat Race No.1 (8 laps – Top 5 Transfer – 2:18.159)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 12-Brad Herron, [2]; 2. 52-Jesse Costa, [4]; 3. 1EH-Paul Klager, [3]; 4. 49H-Jerry Hill, [1]; 5. 70-Baily Heard, [5]; 6. 4-Hannah Ferrell, [6]; 7. MK8-Matthew Hill, [7]; 8. 3B-Blaine Barrow, [9]; 9. 69-Joshua Hill, [8]
Heat Race No.2 (8 laps – Top 5 Transfer – No Time)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 45-Nick Sheridan, [2]; 2. 74-Rob Neely, [1]; 3. 5-D.J. Christie, [5]; 4. 29-Liam Martin, [8]; 5. 88-Jesse McDonald, [7]; 6. 26X-Terry Baker, [4]; 7. 51-Trevor Young, [6]; 8. 20-Johnny Miller, [3]; 9. 69K-Jason Dixon, [9]
Heat Race No.3 (8 laps – Top 5 Transfer – No Time)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 49L-Lucas Smith, [4]; 2. 43-Darren Dryden, [2]; 3. 14-Eric Gledhill, [5]; 4. 83-Spencer Davis, [6]; 5. 14T-Noelle Teal, [3]; 6. 19-Brandon Murrell, [8]; 7. 22JR-Allan Gilleta, [1]; 8. 9C-Brian Nanticoke, [7]
Heat Race No.4 (8 laps – Top 5 Transfer – No Time)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 28-Jordan Hill, [1]; 2. 56-Dereck Lemyre, [4]; 3. 08-Steven Beckett, [2]; 4. 5D-Jacob Dykstra, [3]; 5. 19D-Allan Downey, [5]; 6. 2-Travis Hofstetter, [7]; 7. 38-Derek Miller, [8]; 8. 29W-Tyler Ward, [6]
B-Feature 1 (10 laps – Top 2 Transfer – 2:42.624)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 4-Hannah Ferrell, [2]; 2. 19-Brandon Murrell, [1]; 3. 26X-Terry Baker, [3]; 4. 51-Trevor Young, [4]; 5. 29W-Tyler Ward, [6]; 6. 9C-Brian Nanticoke, [5]; 7. 69-Joshua Hill, [7]
B-Feature 2 (10 laps – Top 2 Transfer – 2:40.498)
Finish. #-Name, [Starting Position]
1. 2-Travis Hofstetter, [1]; 2. 38-Derek Miller, [2]; 3. 3B-Blaine Barrow, [4]; 4. 20-Johnny Miller, [6]; 5. 22JR-Allan Gilleta, [5]; 6. MK8-Matthew Hill, [3]; 7. 69K-Jason Dixon, [7]
Ackland Insurance Top Gun: Lucas Smith