By Tommy Goudge (September 17, 2015) – The 11th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals take centre stage at Ohsweken Speedway this weekend, with approximately 70 Sprint Car drivers from all over North America expected to compete for the top prize of $12,000.
This is the first of 2 special features to help you get ready for one of the biggest racing events in the country. The first 10 editions of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals have produced great competition for drivers, great entertainment for fans, and some interesting numbers too. Here are a few facts and figures to keep in mind this weekend:
2015 CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS – BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Canadian drivers who have won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature. (Steve Poirier)
1 – Drivers who have qualified for all 10 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Features. (Dustin Daggett)
2 – Drivers who have set fast time in qualifying and won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature on the same night. (Kenny Jacobs 2005 and Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2011)
2:17.933 – The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 10 lap heat race track record, set in 2013 by Robbie Stillwaggon.
2:59.646 – The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 12 lap B-Main track record, set in 2014 by Steve Collins.
3 – Drivers who have won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature without winning a heat race on the same night (Kenny Jacobs 2005, Steve Poirier 2006, Jessica Zemken 2014)
3 – Female drivers who have filed official entries for the 2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (April Wilson, Alysha Ruggles, and Alex Hill)
4 – Female drivers who have competed in at least 1 previous Canadian Sprint Car Nationals event. (Stephanie Christiano, Jessica Lavallee, Paige Polyak, and Jessica Zemken)
5 – Drivers who have competed in all 10 editions of the Nationals (Dustin Daggett, Keith Dempster, Tom Huppunen, Rick Wilson, and Jared Zimbardi)
6 – Number of different feature winners in the 10 Nationals events. (Kenny Jacobs, Steve Poirier, Wayne Johnson, Shane Stewart, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., and Jessica Zemken)
8 – Top 5 finishes at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals for Steve Poirier, the leader in that category.
8 – Number of times Steve Poirier has been the highest finishing Canadian driver in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
9 – Drivers with multiple top 5 finishes at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Steve Poirier, Dustin Daggett, Shane Stewart, Chuck Hebing, Wayne Johnson, Jason Barney, Dale Blaney, Bryan Howland, and Jessica Zemken)
9 – Drivers who have been quickest in time trials in the first 10 editions of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Chuck Hebing twice; Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Randy Hannagan, Bryan Howland, Kenny Jacobs, Ken Mackey, Chris Steele, Glenn Styres, and Jessica Zemken once each)
10 – Drivers under 20 years of age who have filed official entries for the 2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Paul Colagiovanni, Jr., Alex Hill, Dane Lorenc, Chase Ridenour, Dylan Westbrook, Parker Price-Miller, Jordan Thomas, Joe Trenca, Yan Bilodeau, and Max Stambaugh)
12 – Drivers who have led at least 1 A-Feature race lap at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Shane Stewart, Steve Poirier, Dustin Daggett, Jeff Van Dusen, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Jessica Zemken, Alain Bergeron, Wayne Johnson, Tim Kelly, Justin Barger, Kenny Jacobs, and Jamie Collard)
13.308 – The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals time trial record, set in 2012 by Chris Steele.
14 – Age of Paul Colagiovanni, Jr., the youngest driver officially entered in the 2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
15 – First-time Canadian Sprint Car Nationals competitors who have officially registered for the 2015 event. (Lee Winger, Paul Colagiovanni, Jr., Keith Granholm, Ryan Susice, Mike Mahaney, Tyler Hendricks, Dennis Wagner, Dylan Westbrook, Alysha Ruggles, Parker Evans, Kris Root, Alex Hill, Ryan Turner, Parker Price-Miller, and Steve Glover)
16 – First-time competitors in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals in 2014. (Dave Axton, Curtis Gartly, Tyler Graves, Hud Horton, Jeremy Hughes, C.J. Jones, Brad Lamberson, Ryan Linder, Dane Lorenc, Paige Polyak, Chase Ridenour, Darryl Ruggles, Mark Smith, Max Stambaugh, Jordan Thomas, and Cory Turner).
16 – Drivers who have recorded a Podium finish in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
23 – Number of American states (16), Canadian provinces (5), and Australian states (1) represented at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals since 2005, plus New Zealand (1).
23 – Drivers who have recorded Top 5 finishes in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
26 – Cars running at the finish of the 2011 CSCN A-Feature, a Nationals record.
27 – Canadian drivers who attempted the 2014 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
34 – Number of drivers who have won heat races at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
35 – Feature lap in which Wayne Johnson ran his fastest lap time of the race in 2011.
47 – Drivers who have recorded Top 10 finishes in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
58.162 – The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 4 lap dash race record, set in 2013 by Steve Poirier.
64 – Number of drivers who have already filed entries for the 2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals as of September 16.
69 – Age of Jim Lingar, the oldest driver officially entered in the 2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
70 – Average number of entries for the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals over the first 10 years.
98 – Number of all-time Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature laps led by Shane Stewart, who tops that category.
101 – Drivers who have qualified for at least one Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature.
224 – Drivers who have competed in at least one Canadian Sprint Car Nationals event.
$850 – The last place finisher’s share of Saturday night’s Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature purse.
$12,000 – The winner’s share of Saturday night’s Canadian Sprint Car Nationals purse.
2015 CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
The 2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend will kick off with a Test & Tune session on Thursday, September 17, while racing will commence Friday, September 18 with the Burger Barn Night Before the Nationals, and finish with the 11th annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals on Saturday, September 19.
#CSCN HISTORY
The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals has been the annual season-closing event at Ohsweken Speedway since 2005, and brings together drivers and teams from several affiliated sanctioning organizations in the area, plus teams and drivers from all over North America. The event has drawn an average of 70 entries for the 10 previous editions, with a total of 224 different drivers from 16 American states, 5 Canadian provinces, Australia, and New Zealand taking part.
Kenny Jacobs of Holmesville, Ohio won the first Canadian Sprint Car Nationals feature in 2005, followed by Steve Poirier from Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec in 2006 and 2007, Mustang, Oklahoma’s Wayne Johnson in 2008, Shane Stewart of Bixby, Oklahoma in 2009 and 2010, and Sam Hafertepe, Jr. from Sunnyvale, Texas in 2011, while Poirier became the first 3-time winner in 2012, Stewart also became a 3-time winner in 2013, and Jessica Zemken went to victory lane in 2014.
#CSCN2015 FORMAT
The 11th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals will include group time trials for the 360 Sprint Cars, plus 6 heat races, 3 B-Feature races, a dash race for heat race winners to determine the top 6 starting positions in the A-Feature, the 15 lap “Little Feature”, and the 35 lap A-Feature which will pay the winner $12,000 from the lucrative purse. The Affordable Towing & Recovery Thunder Stocks will be the support division for the 360 Sprint Cars on Saturday, September 19.
While the Saturday night 360 Sprint Car format remains largely the same as in recent years, one small change has been made, as the field will be split into 3 flights for the group time trials as opposed to 6. Each of the 3 flights will then be divided evenly into 2 heat races based on their time trial results.
This year’s Night Before the Nationals again includes Twin 15 lap features for the 360 Sprint Cars, plus the Dave McLeod Memorial Shootout, Kevin Ward, Jr. Young Stars Challenge, and the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car and HRW Automotive Mini Stock divisions. Each Twin 15 winner will be guaranteed a starting spot in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature.
The Dave McLeod Memorial Shootout features qualified drivers from the Empire Super Sprints, Patriot Sprint Tour, and Southern Ontario Sprints challenge events held at Ohsweken in 2015, the Corr/Pak Merchandising 360 Sprint Car division feature on August 28, plus top drivers from Sprints on Dirt and the National Racing Alliance, and two “Wild Card” entries drawn from all remaining 360 Sprint Car A-Feature winners at Ohsweken over the past 20 seasons.
The youngest drivers signed in for competition on the Night Before the Nationals will make up the 13 car starting field for the 13 lap Kevin Ward, Jr. “Young Stars Challenge”.
TICKETS PLEASE!
Advanced reserved seat tickets are on sale now for the 11th annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend on Friday, September 18, and Saturday, September 19. Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information.
PRE-ENTRIES
Entries can be filed by contacting Office Administrator Lorraine Pedersen by phone at 519 750-4866 or e-mail at lorraine@ohswekenspeedway.com. Click on the “Competitors Info” link on www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information, to print the entry form, and to view the rules, format, and more.
BORDER CROSSING
Teams and fans traveling to Ohsweken from outside Canada are encouraged to click on the “Competitors Info” link on www.OhswekenSpeedway.com (direct link – https://ohswekenspeedway.ca/?page_id=1493 ), to view and print documents which will help you in the international border crossing process.
CAMPING
Campsites are available at Ohsweken Speedway during Canadian Sprint Car Nationals week. Contact Office Administrator Lorraine Pedersen by phone at 519 750-4866 or e-mail at lorraine@ohswekenspeedway.com 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, 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.
Website: www.OhswekenSpeedway.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/OHSWEKENSPEEDWAY
Twitter: @OhswekenSpdway
YouTube: www.YouTube.com/user/OhswekenSpdway
Ohsweken Speedway thanks the following partners for their support: Arrow Express, Corr/Pak Merchandising Inc., Renway Energy, O’Neil’s Farm Equipment, Hoosier Tire Canada, EPIC Racewear, McDonald’s Restaurants of Paris & Brantford, Nathan Ackland State Farm Insurance, Strickland’s GMC, Mobil 1, Burger Barn, Affordable Towing & Recovery, HRW Automotive, and Gale’s Auto Aftermarket.