OHSWEKEN, Ont. (July 6, 2018) – An exciting night at Ohsweken Speedway had 115 cars sign in across four divisions for Frankie Turkey Memorial Night and Friday Night Excitement presented by O’Neil’s Farm Equipment and Case IH Agriculture on Friday, July 6. The night was run in honour of the late Frankie Turkey, uncle to track owner Glenn Styres, who passed away following a car accident at just 27 years of age. Frankie introduced Glenn to auto racing at a young age, and remains an inspiration for many parts of Glenn’s business and Ohsweken Speedway – including the track’s trademark orange colour.
When the action on the track was completed, it was Dylan Westbrook claiming the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car Feature win for the fifth time this season and Lucas Smith who scored his first career Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car win. For the stock cars, Ken Sargent won the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock Feature and Nick Masi collected the checkered flag in the HRW Automotive Mini Stock main event.
KOOL KIDZ-CORR/PAK 360 SPRINT CARS
Jim Huppunen and Dylan Westbrook lined-up on the front row for the 20-lap A-Main Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car Feature. Huppunen threw a pair of slide jobs at Westbrook on the opening lap, but still Westbrook gained control of the point and quickly worked to open a sizeable advantage that grew to a full straightaway by lap five. On lap four, Tyler Hendricks got past both Huppunen and Mack DeMan to take second, but DeMan fought back to retake the runner-up spot with a strong run off turn four on lap nine.
With eight laps to go, Westbrook slowed his pace as he dealt with what appeared to be a big clump of clay lodged in the right rear-wheel, causing severe vibrations. Westbrook nursed the car around the bottom of the track as he tried to hold off DeMan, who worked meticulously to close the gap. DeMan reeled in Westbrook until he made a pass for the lead just after taking the white flag. Unfortunately for DeMan, the caution flag waved before the checkers when Scott Burke slowed in turn three and setup a one-lap dash with DeMan lining up second.
On the final restart, DeMan followed Westbrook on the bottom of turn one to prevent a slide job from Mikey Kruchka in third. In turns three and four, Westbrook made his car just wide enough to hold off DeMan at the finish by just 0.152 seconds for his fifth win of the season. DeMan, Kruchka, Chris Steele and Hendricks rounded out the top-five. Steele and DeMan were heat race winners earlier in the night.
STRICKLAND’S GMC CRATE SPRINT CARS
Shone Evans and Aaron Turkey lined up out front of the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars 20-lap Feature event. Fifth-starting Lucas Smith quickly raced into third while Evans led Turkey for the opening three laps until the first caution when Dereck Lemyre spun in turn three. On the restart, Turkey tagged the inside wall in turn one and spun before tipping on his side to being out a red flag.
After another pairs of restarts, Evans was able to maintain the lead over Smith while Ryan Hunsinger got past Hannah Ferrell for third before the yellow flag waved again on lap six for a slowed Josh Hansen. The restart on lap six proved to be the final one where Evans remained up front but Smith stayed in tow.
At the halfway point, Evans’ lead was less than a second and was eliminated entirely once he worked into slower traffic on lap 13. The following lap, Smith used the slower cars to gain a big run off turn four while Evans was stuck low and took the lead with six laps remaining. Smith checked out over the remaining distance, leaving Evans to battle for second with Ryan Hunsinger and Jesse Costa. At the finish, it was Costa who prevailed in that battle ahead of Evans and Hunsinger. Jacob Dykstra rounded out the top-five after starting 19th, which earned him the hard-charger award.
Earlier in the night, Turkey, Costa, Smith and A
J Lewis won qualifying heat races while Rob Neely claimed a win in the B-Main.
MIDDLEPORT MECHANICAL THUNDER STOCKS
Donny Lampman and Kacey Huffman started on the front row for the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock Feature. It was Jay Liverance who jumped forward from the fourth spot to lead the opening four laps until Ryan Dinning took over the top spot on lap five.
On lap 7, an uncharacteristic solo spin for Dave Bailey didn’t bring out the yellow flag, but Liverance spinning in turn two on the following lap was the cause of the first of three cautions. On the ensuing restart, Ken Sargent took the lead from his teammate Dinning in what proved to be the winning pass. Over the final 12 laps, Sargent had to hold off a Christopher Hale and the night’s hard charger Ryan Beagle to claim the win while Logan Shwedyk and Dinning rounded out the top-five. The win was the 135th of Sargent’s career, he announced to the crowd in victory lane.
Earlier in the night, Lee Winger, Dinning and Bailey claimed heat race wins.
HRW AUTOMOTIVE MINI STOCKS
Mike Giberson and Tim Jamieson brought the HRW Automotive Mini Stock field to the green flag for the 15-lap A-Main, but it was sixth-starting Mike Taylor who led the opening lap. Taylor didn’t hold the point for long as Brian Crosgrove raced forward to lead lap two before a caution on the following lap for a spun Jeremy May in turn two.
The first and only restart of the race saw Tristan Da Silva race forward to the lead, only to have 20th-starting Nick Masi take it away at the other end of the racetrack and lead lap three. One lap later, it was Kyle Wert and Time DeBoer jumping forward to second and third behind the leader.
Over the next six laps, Masi raced ahead to a 10 car-length lead while the top three had broken away from the rest of the field by nearly a straightaway. Masi had to deal with some lapped traffic in the closing laps that saw his lead erode away, but held on for his third win of the season by just 0.174 seconds over top-five finishers Tim DeBoer, Kyle Wert, Gillian Hils and Dale Millard.
Earlier in the night, Christopher French, Mike Taylor Paul Longboat and Matt Nuell won qualifying heats while Jonathan Ayrton and Sean Iftody won B-Mains.
UP NEXT AT OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY
Ohsweken Speedway returns to action on Friday, July 13 for Sponsor and Bicycle night presented by Strickland’s GMC of Brantford. Kids in attendance will have plenty of chances to win a new bike. On the track, all four weekly divisions are in action, including the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars, Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars, Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks and HRW Automotive Mini Stocks. Race time is 7:30pm and adult admission is just $14 and children 12 and under are $3 or less. For additional event information, visit www.ohswekenspeedway.ca.
Ohsweken Speedway Live Stream
Can’t make it to the track or don’t live within driving distance? No problem! Check out all of Ohsweken’s weekly Friday Night Excitement action live online for free via the Ohsweken Speedway Live Stream. The stream goes live at 7:30pm EST each race night at www.OhswekenSpeedway.ca.
About O’Neil’s Farm Equipment Case IH: O’Neil’s is the official track maintenance equipment provider of Ohsweken Speedway, and takes pride in being a family-owned business serving their community since 1918. A lot of things have changed over the years, but the principles of their dealership have stayed the same – They believe in serving their customers with honesty and integrity. Their roots were founded in the agriculture business, selling and servicing IH, Case IH, and Case equipment. As their dealership has grown, they have expanded by taking on quality lawn and garden products, and offering a hardware store. Visit the Case IH/O’Neil’s Farm Equipment website at www.ONeils.ca or visit the O’Neil’s Lawn & Garden store at 2461 Hwy 56 in Binbrook, just 20 miles from Ohsweken Speedway.
2018 SEASON
Ohsweken Speedway’s 23rd season of weekly Friday Night Excitement features four divisions of racing, including the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars, Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars, Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks and HRW Automotive Mini Stocks. Visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com to view the schedule or call (519) 717-0023 for more information.
About Ohsweken Speedway: Founded in 1996, Ohsweken Speedway is a motorsports complex which includes a 3/8 (0.375) mile clay oval track. The facility is owned by the Styres family, and located in the village of Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada. Ohsweken’s weekly Friday night racing program runs from May to September each year, featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Crate Sprint Cars, Thunder Stocks and Mini Stocks. The season finishes each year with the track’ annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. Ohsweken Speedway also hosts weekly Micro Sprint racing on Thursday nights.
OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY MEDIA
Phone: (519) 717-0023
Email: media@ohswekenspeedway.com
Website: www.OhswekenSpeedway.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/OHSWEKENSPEEDWAY
Twitter: @OhswekenSpdway
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/OhswekenSpeedway
YouTube: www.YouTube.com/user/OhswekenSpdway
Ohsweken Speedway thanks the following partners for their support in 2018: Arrow Express, Kool Kidz Ice & Water, Corr/Pak Merchandising Inc., Renway Energy, Case IH O’Neil’s Farm Equipment, Hoosier Tire Canada, EPIC Racewear, McDonald’s Restaurants of Paris & Brantford, Ackland Insurance, Strickland’s GMC, Lucas Oil Products, Burger Barn, Pinty’s Delicious Foods, Creative Edge Signs & Graphics, Insta-Insulation, Middleport Mechanical, HRW Automotive, and Gale’s Auto Aftermarket.
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