OHSWEKEN, Ont. – July 7, 2017 – A total of 128 cars packed the pit area for Frankie Turkey Memorial and Media Appreciation night presented by O’Neil’s Farm Equipment and Case IH to start the month of July at Ohsweken Speedway. When the final checkered flag waved, it was Dylan Westbrook, Holly Porter, Ryan Dinning, Jon Janssens, Bobby Tolton and Dustin Longboat who stood in Lucas Oil Victory Lane.
KOOL KIDZ/CORR-PAK 360 SPRINT CARS
Front row starter Jake Brown raced to an early lead on the outside in the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car Feature while third-starting Dylan Westbrook quickly jumped into second ahead of polesitter Jim Huppunen. Scott Kreutter worked his way into the top-three on lap three and made it a three-car battle up front.
The race was slowed for its only caution on lap six when Curtis Gartly’s No.6 slowed in turn three. On the following restart, Westbrook got past Brown for the point and Kreutter followed suit into second. Westbrook pulled out to a lead, but Kreutter reeled him in on lap 12. Westbrook played defense over the next five laps to maintain an advantage of 0.3 seconds.
When the two drivers caught slower traffic with three laps to go, Westbrook found another gear and drove away from Kreutter by 2.4 seconds to secure his fourth win of the season at Ohsweken. The victory moved Westbrook into a tie for sixth with Steve Poirier for the most all-time wins at Ohsweken with eight. Jake Brown and Cory Turner were heat race winners.
STRICKLAND’S GMC CRATE SPRINT CARS
Holly Porter brought the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car field to the green flag from the pole position and was simply dominant the rest of the way. The Delhi, ON driver paced the field through a flurry of early cautions on laps two and four despite the efforts of Jerry Hill and teammate Jesse McDonald.
Porter was perfect on a number of restarts including on the green-white-checkered finish. The battle to watch was for second as teammates Jesse McDonald and Aaron Turkey battled Mack DeMan and Jerry Hill for second and third. It was following the final restart that Turkey was able to get by Hill for third and bring DeMan with him as Hill settled for fifth. The Porter, McDonald and Turkey top-three made it a podium sweep for Styres racing.
Eric McGlone, Ryan Hunsinger, Jesse Costa and McDonald were heat race winners. Hannah Ferrell and Cody Day won the pair of B-Mains, but Day was later disqualified for having the nose wing too far forward.
MIDDLEPORT MECHANICAL THUNDER STOCKS
Nick Liverance and Chris Hale brought the field to the green flag for the Middleport Mechanical 20-lap Feature. Liverance grabbed an early advantage while the man on the move was the 14th starter Dereck Lemyre, who was into the top-five by lap three. On lap five, Lemyre’s momentum in the outside lane allowed him to take the lead from Liverance, however he had hard chargers Ryan Dinning, Ken Sargent and Dave Bailey knocking on his rear bumper by the time of the first caution on lap seven for a spin that involved Jim Lampman, Ryan Beagle and Frankie Turkey Jr.
Lemyre and Dinning fought tooth and nail for the lead over the next three laps before Dinning cleared the No.56 for sole possession of the top spot on lap 10. The caution flag waved again on lap 12 to give Lemyre another shot at Dinning up front. However, Bailey took the bottom lane on the restart and grabbed second from Lemyre, but could not track down Dinning over the final eight circuits.
The victory was Dinning’s second of the season while Bailey, Lemyre, Jason Lungaro and Rob Hoskins rounded out the top-five. Hale, Chris Dickie and Trevor DeBoer were qualifying heat winners.
HRW AUTOMOTIVE MINI STOCKS
The HRW Automotive Mini Stock drivers had a pair of Features on tap as they completed the final 12 laps of their June 30 Feature that was cut short by rain. Bobby Tolton restarted that race at the front of the field and completely checked out from the drop of the green flag. He paced all 12 remaining laps to secure his first career victory at Ohsweken. His teammate Brandon Crumbie drove all the way from the rear of the field to a second-place finish.
In the regularly scheduled Feature that was the nightcap, Chris French jumped out to an early advantage after starting on the pole as Brandon Janssens and Wayde Thorne battled for second. The first of two yellow flags came on lap seven and saw Thorne take the lead, but just three laps later it was Jon Janssens making a bid for the lead past the No.4w.
Jon Janssens took the lead on lap 12 and then held off Thorne and rookie Nick Masi on a restart with three laps to go in order to secure the victory. Masi edged past Thorne on the final lap to claim the runner-up spot and Mark Bazuin and Fabio Olivieri rounded out the top-five. Thorne, Tim Nuell and Tolton were heat race winners while Jacob Bazuin won the B-Main.
GALE’S AUTO AFTERMARKET BOMBERS
A thrilling and chaotic Gale’s Auto Aftermarket Bomber Feature had Eric Maas and Cody Sommerville on the front row. Sommerville, who was debuting a new ride, raced out to an early lead and paced the field until lap three. At that point third-starting Dustin Longboat was on the move and assumed the lead. Longboat continued to lead following a lap six restart and appeared to have a win in the bag.
However, Longboat’s advantage was eliminated by a caution on lap 11 that setup a green-white-checkered finish to extend the race to 13 laps. Sommerville retook the lead on the restart with a slick inside move in turn one, but overshot the exit of turn four and suffered a flat right-front tire, allowing Longboat to retake the lead. Longboat didn’t make the same mistake twice as he led the final lap to secure the victory ahead of Jerry Burnham and Enya Robinson. Longboat and Gillian Hils were qualifying heat winners.
UP NEXT AT OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY
Friday Night Excitement returns to Ohsweken Speedway on Friday, July 14 as Strickland’s GMC presents Sponsor and Emergency Services Ride Safe, Race Safe Bicycle Night. Race teams will welcome a number of their sponsors to the race track and any Emergency Services personnel, including EMS, Firefighters, Police and more, will be admitted free with ID. Kids in attendance will have the chance to win a bicycle as several race teams have donated a bike for the giveaway.
The Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars, Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars, Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks, HRW Automotive Mini Stocks and Gale’s Auto Aftermarket Bombers are all on the schedule. Race time is 7:30pm. Spectator gates open at 6:30pm.
Tickets Available Now!
Advanced reserved seating tickets are on sale now for all of Ohsweken Speedway’s 2017 major events, including the Northern Summer Nationals featuring Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu on July 24, the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Six Nations Showdown on July 25, the Triple Crown Showdown featuring Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds on August 24, and the 13th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals September 15-16 are on sale now! Visit www.ohswekenspeedway.ticketforce.com or call 519-717-0023 to order and for more information. For the full 2017 schedule of events, click here.
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.
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, Mini Stocks, and Bombers, while the season finishes each year with the annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. Ohsweken Speedway also hosts weekly Micro Sprint racing on Thursday nights, and has been a yearly stop on the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series schedule since 2007.
OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY MEDIA
Website: www.OhswekenSpeedway.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/OHSWEKENSPEEDWAY
Twitter: @OhswekenSpdway
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/OhswekenSpeedway
YouTube: www.YouTube.com/user/OhswekenSpdway
OHSWEKEN PARTNERS
Ohsweken Speedway thanks the following partners for their support in 2017: 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, 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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