by Tommy Goudge (May 17, 2016) – Ohsweken Speedway’s 20th racing season saw record car counts and close competition. An average of 118 drivers signed in for each of the 18 events that made up the season, combining for 226 heat races, 56 B-Mains, 83 A-Features, 43 different A-Feature winners…and 5 champions.
2015 CHAMPIONSHIPS
-Corr/Pak Merchandising 360 Sprint Cars Champion – Glenn Styres (Ohsweken ON) – A 5 race win streak between June 30 and July 24 powered Styres to his second consecutive 360 Sprint Car championship. Todd Hoddick and Mitch Brown were still within striking distance on Season Championship night, but Styres was able to salvage a 9th place finish and clinch the championship.
-Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars Champion – Dylan Westbrook (Scotland ON) – Westbrook matched car owner Glenn Styres by scoring 5 feature wins and an Ohsweken track championship. Jake Brown and 2014 champ Ryan Hunsinger stayed close in the standings with consistent top five finishes, but Westbrook’s wins made the difference.
-Affordable Towing & Recovery Thunder Stocks Champion – Dave Bailey (Hagersville ON) – Another very competitive Thunder Stock season ended with Bailey taking his first Ohsweken championship. Bailey’s 2 feature wins helped keep challengers such as Wyatt Van Wart and Billy Bleich, Jr. behind him, but the biggest determing factor was his consistency, as he scored 10 podium finishes.
-HRW Automotive Mini Stocks Champion – Brandon Janssens (Woodstock ON) – Janssens prevailed to win his first Ohsweken title over Jason Lungaro in a chase which came down to the last lap on Season Championship night. The final margin was just 7 points over Lungaro, and 16 points over Chris Ryckman.
-Gale’s Auto Aftermarket Bombers Champion – Dusty DeBoer (Hagersville ON) – Patrick Abrahamsson matched DeBoer’s totals in feature wins (5), podium finishes (8), and top 10 finishes (13), but DeBoer claimed his third straight championship by finishing in the top five in all but one race. Jerry Burnham was also in the title fight for much of the season, but settled for third.
SPECIAL EVENTS
-Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend – Friday, September 18, and Saturday, September 19: The Ohsweken season finished with the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals for the 11th consecutive season. Saturday night’s 35 lap A-Feature became an instant classic when Bryan Howland started 20th and drove through the field to win the $12,000 prize. The race finished in spectacular fashion, as Howland and Steve Poirier nearly crashed at the finish line with Parker Price-Miller and Mark Smith close behind. Friday’s Night Before the Nationals found Brad Loyet and Bryan Howland winning the Twin 15 lap features, while Mitch Brown won the Dave McLeod Memorial Shootout, and Max Stambaugh won the Kevin Ward, Jr. Young Stars Challenge.
-World of Outlaws Six Nations Showdown – Tuesday, July 28: The World of Outlaws series brought some of the world’s best Sprint Car drivers to Ohsweken for the 9th year in a row. The A-Feature was a thriller, as Stewart Friesen drove from 7th to 1st and kept 7-time World of Outlaws champion behind him to claim the win. Friesen is only the second Canadian to win a WoO feature, and the first to do it on Canadian soil.
-Northern Summer Nationals – Monday, July 27: The Corr/Pak Merchandising 360 Sprint Cars headlined the Northern Summer Nationals, along with the only visit of the season for the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds. Indiana teenager Parker Price-Miller claimed the $3,000 prize for the 360 Sprint Car feature winner over Pennsylvania’s Mark Smith. Mat Williamson used his talent and a bit of luck to take the Modified win, after falling as far back as 6th earlier in the feature race, which featured 5 lead changes in 30 laps.
-Triple Crown Showdown – Tuesday, June 30: The first ever Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified series event at Ohsweken produced the first career Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified series feature win for Chad Brachmann, who drove from 11th on the grid to take the win. The Go Nuclear! Late Model series also visited Ohsweken for the first time, and saw 12th starter Darren Peters take the feature win over 13th starter and 2014 series champ Charlie Sandercock. The Corr/Pak Merchandising 360 Sprint Car portion of the program was almost a major upset, as Dylan Westbrook came close to stealing the victory from car owner and eventual feature winner Glenn Styres.
WALL OF FAME
-The Ohsweken Speedway Wall of Fame was created in 2015 to celebrate the achievements and contributions of those who have helped Ohsweken Speedway to become a premiere racing facility, and inspired generations to come. The Styres family, the Southern Ontario Sprints club, and Mike “Pinball” Giberson were honoured as the inaugural class of Wall of Fame inductees in a special ceremony at the track on July 3.
TRACK RECORDS (New records set during 2015 season)
-360 Sprint Car 12 laps – Mitch Brown (September 18) – 2:47.351
-360 Sprint Car 15 laps – Brad Loyet (September 18) – 3:33.107
-Crate Sprint Car 6 laps – Dylan Westbrook (July 17) – 1:28.311
-Crate Sprint Car 15 laps – Alex Hill (May 15) – 3:51.440
-Big Block Modified 1 lap – Larry Wight (June 30) – 15.460
-Big Block Modified 8 laps – Billy Decker (June 30) – 2:06.628
-Big Block Modified 10 laps – Tommy Flannigan (June 30) – 2:44.540
-Crate Late Model 1 lap: Charlie Sandercock (June 30) – 16.504
-Crate Late Model 8 laps – Dustin Waters (June 30) – 2:15.313
-Sportsman Modified 8 laps – Gary Lindberg (June 26) – 2:16.555
-Mini Stock 6 laps – Mark Bazuin (June 19) – 2:06.617
-Mini Stock 7 laps – Robin Elliott (May 22) – 2:39.891
-Mini Stock 15 laps – Chris Ryckman (August 7) – 5:28.662
-Mini Stock 20 laps – Mark Bazuin (September 18) – 7:07.147
AWARD WINNERS
-Noah Thomas Memorial Employee of the Year Award:
Sue Bell
-Driver of the Year Award:
Todd Hoddick (360 Sprint Cars), Dylan Westbrook (Crate Sprint Cars), Ryan Dinning (Thunder Stocks), Mark Bazuin (Mini Stocks – Art Hill Memorial Award), Patrick Abrahamsson (Bombers)
-Rookie of the Year Award:
Ryan Turner (360 Sprint Cars), Alex Hill (Crate Sprint Cars), Alex Schuts (Thunder Stocks), Shone Evans (Mini Stocks), Alex Maas (Bombers)
-Sportsmanship Award:
Todd Hoddick (360 Sprint Cars), Ryan Hunsinger (Crate Sprint Cars), Wyatt Van Wart (Thunder Stocks), Robin Elliott (Mini Stocks), Joe Deboer (Bombers)
-Dedication to Racing Award:
Team Turner Racing (360 Sprint Cars), Mark Czuba (Crate Sprint Cars), Jim Lampman (Thunder Stocks), Rob Twitchett (Mini Stocks), Team Nelson (Bombers)
-ImageFactor.ca Best Appearing Car Award:
Tyler Hendricks (360 Sprint Cars), Steve Lyons (Crate Sprint Cars), Bryce Richardson (Thunder Stocks), Andy Ryckman (Mini Stocks), Mark Thorne (Bombers)
-Crew of the Year Award:
Styres (360 Sprint Cars), Brown (Crate Sprint Cars), Van Wart/Liverance (Thunder Stocks), Janssens/Schroeder (Mini Stocks), Nelson/Myers (Bombers)
-Hard Charger Award:
Jim Huppunen (360 Sprint Cars), Dylan Westbrook (Crate Sprint Cars), Dave Bailey (Thunder Stocks), Chris Ryckman (Mini Stocks), Dusty DeBoer (Bombers)
-Most Improved Driver Award:
Cory Turner (360 Sprint Cars), Jake Brown (Crate Sprint Cars), Dale Gyokery (Thunder Stocks), Chris Ryckman (Mini Stocks), Paul Longboat (Bombers)
-Hard Luck Award:
Mitch Brown (360 Sprint Cars), Aaron Turkey (Crate Sprint Cars), Chris Dickie (Thunder Stocks), Jason Lungaro (Mini Stocks), Jerry Burnham (Bombers)
2015 FEATURE WINNERS
-360 Sprint Cars
Glenn Styres – 5
Mitch Brown – 2
Bryan Howland – 2
Derek Jonathan – 2
Parker Price-Miller – 2
Todd Hoddick – 1
Brad Loyet – 1
Jamie Turner – 1
Jared Zimbardi – 1
-Crate Sprint Cars
Dylan Westbrook – 5
Josh Shantz – 3
Alex Hill – 2
Holly Porter – 2
Jake Brown – 1
Mack DeMan – 1
Aaron Turkey – 1
-Thunder Stocks
Ryan Dinning – 6
Karl Sault – 2
Dave Bailey – 2
Wyatt Van Wart – 2
Billy Bleich, Jr. – 1
Chris Dickie – 1
Chase Hess – 1
Mikey Kruchka – 1
Dave Silverthorn, Jr. – 1
-Mini Stocks
Mark Bazuin – 6
Jason Lungaro – 3
Jake Bazuin – 1
Robin Elliott – 1
Gillian Hils – 1
Brandon Janssens – 1
Chris Ryckman – 1
Trevor Young – 1
-Bombers
Patrick Abrahamsson – 5
Dusty Deboer – 5
Paul Longboat – 2
Jerry Burnham – 1
Joe Deboer – 1
-410 Sprint Cars
Stewart Friesen – 1
-Big Block Modifieds
Chad Brachmann – 1
-358 Modifieds
Mat Williamson – 1
-Sportsman Modifieds
Jay Mallory – 1
-Crate Late Models
Darren Peters – 1