The $30,000-to-win Northern Sprint Car Nationals headlines a busy weekend at Ohsweken Speedway, the prestigious Targa Newfoundland rally gets underway, a championship battle continues for the Canadian Vintage Modifieds, and IndyCar concludes its season on an oval in Nashville; here’s what you need to know for this weekend in racing.
Ohsweken Speedway
Following Thursday night’s inaugural Northern Thunder Stock Nationals, the prestigious Ohsweken Speedway nationals weekend continues with the third Northern Crate Nationals on Friday night and the 20th Northern Sprint Car Nationals on Saturday night. The 360 sprint cars will race on Friday, in addition to Saturday’s main event, with the features also being part of the Southern Ontario Sprints and Great Lakes Super Sprints seasons.
Despite a tough contingent of drivers from south of the border, Scotland, ON’s Dylan Westbrook enters as arguably the driver to beat. Westbrook took home his fourth Ohsweken 360 sprint car track championship last weekend, with 11 wins in 12 A Mains this season. He’s also the Southern Ontario Sprints points leader, with five wins in eight features so far this year. But he’ll be looking for a career first, as Westbrook has yet to win the Northern Sprint Car Nationals.
The Northern Crate Nationals is $5,000-to-win, while the Northern Sprint Car Nationals is $30,000-to-win. Racing starts at 7:30 p.m. both nights.
Targa Newfoundland
Targa Newfoundland gets underway this weekend, with the ceremonial start to the renowned tarmac rally scheduled for 9 a.m. local time on Saturday at St. John’s city hall. Leg 1 will see teams head to the Southern Shore, racing in Witless Bay and Bay Bulls. The six-day Duemila also includes legs at Placentia Bay on Sunday, Notre Dame Bay on Monday, Bonavista Bay on Tuesday, Random Island on Wednesday, and Conception Bay on Thursday.
For more information about Targa Newfoundland and teams participating in this year’s Duemila and two-day Bambina events, click here.
Canadian Series News & Notes
There will be a few other Canadian series to watch this weekend:
- The Canadian Vintage Modifieds will race at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night. Jake Gilbert and T.J. Marshall recorded feature victories in the last event, on Labour Day weekend. Ricky Willigar leads the standings by 14 points over Rodney Rutherford and 16 markers over Marshall, with four races/two race days remaining.
- The Hot Rod Classics will visit Petty International Raceway on Saturday for the penultimate race of the year. Dan Duke recorded the victory at Speedway 660 on Labour Day weekend, becoming the sixth different winner in seven races this season.
- The Maritime League of Legends will compete at Petty International Raceway on Saturday. Josh Langille and Ayden Christensen claimed victories during a double-header weekend at Speedway 660 two weeks ago. Christensen leads Langille by 39 points in the standings, with three races remaining.
International Series News & Notes
There will be some notable international series in action this weekend:
- The IndyCar Series will conclude its season at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Defending champion Alex Palou enters with a 33-point lead over two-time champion Will Power. Palou only needs to finish 9th or better to clinch his third title in four years, though Power could capitalize on any issues for the Spaniard with a win and maximum points. To read what the drivers’ strategists have to say entering the finale, click here.
- The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will visit Watkins Glen International, with Xfinity on Saturday and Cup on Sunday. Joey Logano clinched his spot in the next round of the Cup playoffs with his win at Atlanta; Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Briscoe currently sit below the cut-line. In the Xfinity Series, Sammy Smith holds a 44-point advantage over Ryan Sieg on the bubble, with two races before the postseason.
- The NASCAR Truck Series will race at Bristol Motor Speedway next Thursday night. Ben Rhodes and Rajah Caruth are currently below the cut-line in the playoff standings following the first of three races in the Round of 10.
- Formula One will compete at Baku City Circuit on Sunday for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Max Verstappen enters with a 62-point lead over Lando Norris in the standings, with eight races remaining. Canadian Lance Stroll sits 10th in points; he has one podium and four top-tens in six starts at Baku. To read more about the last race, won by Charles Leclerc at Monza, click here.
- The CARS Late Model Tour will visit South Boston Speedway, in South Boston, VA, on Saturday. Canadian Treyten Lapcevich is sixth in the standings, with one win, five top-fives and 11 top-tens in 14 races so far this season.
- The ASA STARS National Tour will race at Toledo Speedway, in Toledo, OH, on Saturday. Canadian Cole Butcher is second in the standings, 76 points back of leader Casey Roderick, while fellow Canadian Kyle Steckly is fifth in points.
- The DIRTcar Sportsman Series championship season will continue at Land of Legends Raceway on Saturday. Canadian Cody McPherson leads Gavin Eisele by 13 points in the standings, following five of ten races in the national portion of the schedule. McPherson finished sixth in the most recent event, last weekend at Weedsport Speedway.
