By Tommy Goudge
OHSWEKEN, Ont. (July 22, 2019) – The first night of action at Ohsweken Speedway’s Northern Summer Nationals presented by Burger Barn, Arrow Express, Nitro 54 Variety and Bradshaw Brothers did not disappoint. 143 drivers signed in for action across four divisions, including a star-studded Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car roster which featured Tony Stewart, Christopher Bell, Rico Abreu, and a host of regional racing standouts.
Mack DeMan and Dylan Westbrook started on the front row for the 30-lap Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car A-Feature, but Christopher Bell stole the lead exiting turn two after the green flag dropped. Bell’s move was negated, however, when Josh Hansen flipped hard in turn three; Hansen was uninjured, but his car was heavily damaged.
Westbrook took the lead when the race restarted but the sideboard on his top wing began to come apart, which drastically affected the handling on his car. Both DeMan and Bell took advantage and were followed by Rico Abreu, Mark Smith, and Jason Barney, while Westbrook fought valiantly but eventually brought out a yellow flag on lap six. Mark Smith then flipped in turn three to bring out a red flag before the next lap was completed; Smith was uninjured but done for the night.
DeMan held the lead when the race restarted again with Bell following closely behind, while Steve Poirier worked his way into the top five. As DeMan and Bell approached traffic on lap 12, DeMan dove to the bottom groove in turn one in search of racing room. Bell seized the opportunity and drove around the outside to take the lead, and immediately opened a gap on the rest of the field. Bell’s lead was short-lived, however, as he brought out a yellow flag with a flat right rear tire on lap 18. Abreu had just passed Mack DeMan before the yellow flag and inherited the lead for the restart, while Bell restarted at the rear of the field with a new tire and eventually charged back to finish 11th.
Abreu opened a lead when the race restarted, while Poirier got past DeMan and into second. Poirier began to close in on Abreu as the race wound down, but Abreu made a daring three wide move in traffic which essentially sealed the victory. Abreu took the feature win and the guaranteed starting spot in September’s Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature which went with it. Poirier settled for the runner-up spot followed by DeMan in third, while Tony Stewart made a late charge to finish fourth, and Mitch Brown rounded out the top five.
Holly Porter, Christopher Bell, Mark Smith, Mack DeMan, and Mitch Brown won qualifying heat races for the 50 car field, while Davie Franek, Scott Kreutter, and Denny Peebles won B-Features.
Ohsweken Speedway returns to action for a second straight night on Tuesday, July 23 as Tony Stewart, Christopher Bell and Rico Abreu return to battle the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars in another $5,000 USD-to-win event. The Race of Champions Sportsman Modified Tour, Action Sprint Tour Crate Sprint Cars, and Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks will also hit the track. Race time is 7:30 p.m. and adult admission is $30. Advanced reserved tickets and additional schedule information are available at www.ohswekenspeedway.ca.
Ohsweken Speedway
Ohsweken, ONT
Monday July 22, 2019
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Race #1:
1. 1-Holly Porter
2. 77x-Alex Hill
3. 27h-Tom Huppunen
4. 88h-Josh Hansen
5. 121-Steve Glover
6. 3-Denny Peebles
7. 46c-Ryan Coniam
8. 8-Hannah Ferrell
9. 84-Tyler Rand
DNF. 9b-Scott Burk
Heat Race #2:
1. 67x-Christopher Bell
2. 28FM-Steve Poirier
3. 0j-Lynton Jeffrey
4. 5jd-Jacob Dykstra
5. 49k-Scott Kreutter
6. 26f-Davie Franek
7. 11-Jamie Turner
8. 87x-Shone Evans
9. 18-Josh Shantz
10. 46-Kevin Pauls
Heat Race #3:
1. 55s-Mark Smith
2. 47x-Dylan Westbrook
3. 91-Ryan Turner
4. 24-Rico Abreu
5. 17m-Max Stambaugh
6. 15-Dan Nanticoke
7. 9-Steve Lyons
8. 1-Kyle Fraser
DNF. 28-Jordan Poirier
DNF. 13-Cory Turner
Heat Race #4:
1. 17x-Mack DeMan
2. 0-Jim Huppunen
3. 35-Jared Zimbardi
4. 14-Tony Stewart
5. 55-Mike Thorne
6. 98-Joe Trenca
7. 16l-Roger Levesque
8. 68-Aaron Turkey
9. 0c-Cole Macdonald
Heat Race #5:
1. 10-Mitch Brown
2. 79-Jordan Thomas
3. 87-Jason Barney
4. 1-10-Jake Brown
5. 5d-Shane Ross
6. 18s-Michael Summers
7. 3g-Dale Gosselin
8. 67-Pete Richardson
9. 79k-Clyde Knipp
10. 7-Caleb Wood
B-Main #1:
1. 28f-Davie Franek
2. 5d-Shane Ross
3. 79k-Clyde Knipp
4. 15-Dan Nanticoke
5. 18s-Michael Summers
6. 46c-Ryan Coniam
7. 68-Aaron Turkey
8. 67-Pete Richardson
9. 84-Tyler Rand
10. 9b-Scott Burk
B-Main #2:
1. 49k-Scott Kreutter
2. 98-Joe Trenca
3. 55-Mike Thorne
4. 9-Steve Lyons
5. 46-Kevin Pauls
6. 8-Hannah Ferrell
7. 1-Kyle Fraser
B-Main #3:
1. 3-Denny Peebles
2. 17m-Max Stambaugh
3. 18-Josh Shantz
4. 11-Jamie Turner
5. 87x-Shone Evans
6. 16l-Roger Levesque
7. 121-Steve Glover
Feature:
1. 24-Rico Abreu
2. 28FM-Steve Poirier
3. 17x-Mack DeMan
4. 14-Tony Stewart
5. 10-Mitch Brown
6. 87-Jason Barney
7. 0-Jim Huppunen
8. 17m-Max Stambaugh
9. 49k-Scott Kreutter
10. 28f-Davie Franek
11. 67x-Christopher Bell
12. 35-Jared Zimbardi
13. 5jd-Jacob Dykstra
14. 1-Holly Porter
15. 5d-Shane Ross
16. 98-Joe Trenca
17. 1-10-Jake Brown
18. 77x-Alex Hill
19. 3-Denny Peebles
20. 0j-Lynton Jeffrey
21. 55m-Mark Smith
22. 47x-Dylan Westbrook
23. 27h-Tom Huppunen
24. 79-Jordan Thomas