OHSWEKEN, Ont. (July 28, 2018) – A busy evening at Ohsweken Speedway saw 117 cars sign in across four divisions for Pinty’s Delicious Foods Hot Rod Night on Friday, July 27. Several fans drove their classic cars to the track to take part in Hot Rod night and received two-for-one adult admission for a great night of dirt track action.
With rain in the forecast, Ohsweken Speedway officials decided to postpone the intermission and autograph session for the second week in a row and push through the remaining program as quickly as possible. After the final checkered flag had waved, it was Holly Porter who grabbed the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car win. For the stock cars, Trevor DeBoer won the rescheduled Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock Feature from July 20 while Dave Bailey won the regularly scheduled race and Mike Sarantakos collected the checkered flag in the HRW Automotive Mini Stock main event. Unfortunately, rain late in the program meant the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car Feature could not be completed and the race was postponed to a later date.
Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars
With inclement weather looming ahead of the the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car main event, it was Hannah Ferrell and Aaron Turkey leading the field to full speed. A caution in the first lap saw DJ Christie and Liam Martin spin in turn three and four. The restart saw Ferrell bobble on the bottom enabling Turkey to take the lead with Jacob Dykstra, Holly Porter and Shone Evans giving chase in the top five spots. Two separate lap three cautions saw Josh Hill and Lucas Smith get turned around.
Turkey quickly went outside to maintain the lead on the restart with Dykstra giving chase while Evans, Ferrell and Porter battled for the remaining top 5 positions. Dykstra stayed inside of Turkey just as Turkey got too high on the top side and opened the door for Dykstra to overtake the lead when a caution came out for Trevor Young on lap 11.
The restart saw Turkey maintain the first position with Dykstra hard on his heels and Porter coming on the inside. With seven laps to go, Dykstra got too high over the berm allowing Porter to get through on the bottom and challenge Turkey for the lead. Shortly after, Porter stayed low on the inside and grabbed the first spot as they raced hard through the turns. As Turkey appeared to experience handling issues, Porter opened the gap and wieved her way through lapped traffic to take the win ahead of Shone Evans, Turkey, Dykstra and Dereck Lemyre.
Baily Heard claimed the hard charger award for the race, driving forward eight positions from 18th to 10th. Brad Herron, Caleb Wood and Porter collected heat race wins to begin the evening while Paul Klager won the B-Main and claimed the 19th starting spot for the Feature. Porter was the Ackland Insurance Top Gun as the night’s top heat race qualifier.
Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks
The ultra-competitive Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock division was in action for two features and started the night with the postponed 20-lap race from Jibs Action Sports night on July 20. That Feature saw Jay Liverance and Mike Klazinga led the field to the green flag for the 20-lap main event. One lap in, two back-to-back yellow flag cautions came out with several competitors caught up in a turn one melee that allowed Chris Dickie to squeeze past and into the first position, but left Ryan Dinning with considerable damage sitting on the infield. The restart saw Dickie lead the way with Blake Bomberry Jr. leading the charge from behind over Trevor DeBoer, Chase Hess and Bill Bleich. Dickie and DeBoer raced side by side for several laps with Bleich charging hard from behind.
The action was fast and furious as Dickie closed the door on Bleich who was trying to overtake the No. 1 on the top and DeBoer who was challenging on the bottom. A late caution on lap 16 for debris saw a single file restart with Dickie, DeBoer, Bleich, Chris Hale and Dave Bailey in the top five. A quick green flag saw DeBoer go outside Dickie to take the lead with Bleich on the inside for third and Bailey charging hard on the top for fourth.
DeBoer held off his competitors to take his first career victory in the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock division followed by Bailey and Dickie for the top three. Bleich and Hale rounded out the top-five. An excited first time winner, DeBoer climbed the fence with checkered flag in hand as his family cheered him on from the grandstand side. The three DeBoer brothers have now all claimed their first this season in the Thunder Stock and Mini Stock divisions.
In the second feature that saw some light rain, Kevin Pauls and Jay Liverance led the Thunder Stocks in their 20-lap event. Liverance quickly jumped out to the lead with a competitive field of drivers racing to gain position behind him. Blake Bomberry, Bill Bleich, Ryan Beagle and Ken Sargent exchanged positions for several laps as Liverance continued to hold the lead. The rain continued to come down but the Thunder Stock drivers managed to keep racing caution-free. With eight laps to go, Bleich found his way around the top side to take the lead from Liverance with Beagle and Sargent coming fast behind them.
Beagle overtook second position on lap 13 when a yellow flag was called as Zach Bleich lost a tire in turn four. During the caution Bill Bleich had an issue with his right-front tire not being able to turn but indicated he was going to stay out for the restart. Immediately on the restart, Bleich pulled into the infield leaving Beagle in the first position with Bomberry, Liverance, Chris Hale, Logan Shwedyk and Sargent fanning out four wide behind him. With six laps to go, Shwedyk and Hale made contact leaving Dave Bailey the opportunity to get into the fourth position. As the track started to get slicker from the rain, Beagle held off Bailey in the middle until two laps to go when he drifted too high and Bailey took the lead. Bailey then held off Beagle, Hale, Shwedyk and Sargent to take the victory.
Mike Ferguson, Billy Bleich Jr., and Dave Bailey took heat race victories to begin the night while Jason Lungaro won the B-Main.
HRW Automotive Mini Stocks
For the HRW Automotive Mini Stocks, it was Daniel McKay and Jeff Elsliger who paced the field to the green flag. Elsliger took the lead on the high side over McKay with five wide battles ensuing behind them. A quick yellow for debris saw Elsliger, McKay, Paul Longboat, Wayde Thorne and Jason Tolton in the top five on the restart but a rollover on turn two when Kyle Wert caught a rut brought out a red flag. The safety crew quickly removed the No. 19 and lined up the drivers for a double-file restart. McKay took the lead over Elsliger but another caution came out when Jason Tolton made contact with Elsliger causing a chain reaction of collisions that saw several drivers removed from the track on the hook, including Nick Masi who went into the night tied for first place with Gillian Hils.
McKay held the lead on the restart but Hils stayed on the bottom to race her way to the first position with Tristan Da Silva in the middle. Hils was in a battle holding the middle with Da Silva on the top and Dave Crumbie coming up on the inside. A quick yellow flag slowed the pack and showed Hils, Da Silva, Crumbie, Matt Nuell, Andy Ryckman and Mike Sarantakos in the top 3 rows. Da Silva held the lead over Hils and Crumbie but a hard charging Sarantakos found a line on the top of the track and quickly found himself in the third position. With two laps to go, Sarantakos continued to gain momentum and found himself in a three-wide battle with Da Silva and Hils as they raced into the final lap. In an exciting race into turn four, Sarantakos and Da Silva ran wheel to wheel with Sarantakos taking his first ever win by 0.09 seconds in his “Purple People Eater” No.6x with Da Silva, Hils, Mark Bazuin and James Martin rounding out the top-five.
Earlier in the night, Paul Longboat, Dave Crumbie, Gillian Hils and Matt Nuell picked up heat race wins while Kyle Wert and Jonathan Ayrton collected checkered flags in a pair of B-Mains to qualify into the 28-car Feature.
Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars
Cory Turner and Mikey Kruchka started the night with heat race wins for the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars. Kruchka earned the Ackland Insurance ‘Top Gun’ as the night’s top qualifier after earning the most passing points in heat race competition. Jim Huppunen and Kruchka were set to start on the front row and bring the field to green, but rain came just prior to the start of the Feature and washed out the remainder of the night. The race will be made up at a later date.
Up Next at Ohsweken Speedway
Ohsweken Speedway returns to action on Friday, August 3 as Bradshaw Brothers presents Emergency Services Night featuring the Late Model Open. The night will see the top Late Model drivers from around Ontario and western New York converge on Ohsweken for the only Late Model event of the season. The Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars will have the week off to allow teams to attend the Knoxville 360 Nationals in Knoxville, Iowa. The other three weekly divisions will be in action, including the 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.
About Pinty’s Delicious Foods: The tradition of premium poultry products with the Pinty’s name attached goes back over 70 years to when Ed Pintwala first opened Pinty’s Poultry Limited in 1943. Now based in Burlington, Ontario, Pinty’s produces a full line of products available at many of your favourite retailers, and at Ohsweken Speedway’s Pit Stop concession stands! Call them at 1 800-263-7223, or visit www.Pintys.com for more information.
Canadian Sprint Car Nationals Tickets and Camping Available Now!
Advanced reserved seating tickets are on sale now for the 14th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals on September 14-15 are on sale now! The event features two full nights of Sprint Car action, including Saturday’s $10,000-to-win Feature Event. Visit www.ohswekenspeedway.ticketforce.com or call 519-717-0023 to order and for more information. For the full 2018 schedule of events, click here.
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 and on our official Facebook page.
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
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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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