By Tommy Goudge (September 12, 2013) – The much-anticipated 9th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals take centre stage at Ohsweken Speedway this weekend, with close to eighty 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 8 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:
CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS – BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Drivers who’ve qualified for all 8 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Features (Dustin Daggett).
1 – Number of Canadian drivers who have won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Steve Poirier)
2 – Number of drivers who have won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals without winning a heat race on the same night (Kenny Jacobs 2005, Steve Poirier 2006).
2 – Number of 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)
5 – Number of different feature winners in 8 Nationals events. (Kenny Jacobs, Steve Poirier, Wayne Johnson, Shane Stewart, and Sam Hafertepe, Jr.)
5 – Drivers who have competed in all 8 editions of the Nationals (Dustin Daggett, Keith Dempster, Tom Huppunen, Rick Wilson, and Jared Zimbardi)
6 – Top 5 finishes at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals for Steve Poirier, the leader in that category.
7 – Drivers with multiple top 5 finishes at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Steve Poirier, Dustin Daggett, Chuck Hebing, Shane Stewart, Wayne Johnson, Jason Barney, and Dale Blaney)
8 – Drivers who have been quickest in time trials in the first 8 editions of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Chuck Hebing, Bryan Howland, Kenny Jacobs, Ken Mackey, Chris Steele, Glenn Styres, and Jessica Zemken)
11 – Drivers who have led feature race laps at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. (Steve Poirier, Shane Stewart, Dustin Daggett, Jeff Van Dusen, Sam Hafertpe, Jr., Alain Bergeron, Wayne Johnson, Tim Kelly, Justin Barger, Kenny Jacobs, and Jamie Collard)
13.308 – The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals time trial record (in seconds), set in 2012 by Chris Steele.
19 – First-time competitors in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals in 2012.
20 – Number of American states (14) and Canadian provinces (5) represented at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals since 2005, plus New Zealand (1).
21 – Drivers who have recorded Top 5 finishes in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
26 – Cars running at the finish of the 2011 A-Main, a Nationals record.
27 – Drivers who have won heat races at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
34 – Possible number of cars starting Saturday night’s A-Feature, if all provisionals are needed.
35 – Number of Canadian drivers who attempted to qualify for the 2012 event.
35 – Feature lap in which Wayne Johnson ran his fastest lap time of the race in 2011.
40 – Drivers who have recorded Top 10 finishes in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
51 – Number of drivers who have already filed entries for the 2013 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
70.9 – Average number of entries for the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals over the first 8 years.
81 – Number of Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature laps led by Steve Poirier, who tops that category.
90 – Drivers who have qualified for at least one Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature.
204 – Total number of drivers who have competed in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
$12,000 – The winner’s share of Saturday night’s Canadian Sprint Car Nationals purse.
2013 CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend will kick off with a Test & Tune session on Thursday, September 12, while racing will commence Friday, September 13 with the “Night Before the Nationals” presented by Burger Barn, and the 9th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals presented by Arrow Express on Saturday, September 14.
This year’s “Night Before the Nationals” includes Twin 15 lap features for the Sprint Cars, plus the TJSlideways.com Ohsweken Shootout, Dave McLeod Memorial “Mr. Sprint Car Challenge” 1 on 1 match races, and the HRW Automotive Mini Stock division with a 20 lap feature. Each Twin 15 winner will be guaranteed starting spot in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature. The TJSlideways.com Ohsweken Shootout features drivers who have qualified from the Empire Super Sprints, Patriot Sprint Tour, and Southern Ontario Sprints challenge events held at Ohsweken in 2013, the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car feature from August 9, plus the top drivers from Sprints on Dirt and the National Racing Alliance.
The 9th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals will include group time trials, 6 heat races, 3 B-Main races, a Dash race for the 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 Sprint Cars on Saturday, September 14.
AFFILIATE SANCTIONS
Official affiliate sanctions for the 2013 edition of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals include Ohsweken’s weekly Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car division, along with the Southern Ontario Sprints (SOS) tour, the Michigan-based Sprints On Dirt (SOD) series, the Ohio-based National Racing Alliance (NRA), and the New York-based Empire Super Sprints (ESS) series, and Patriot Sprint Tour (PST).
HISTORY
The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals has been the annual season-closing event at Ohsweken Speedway since 2005, and brings together 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 71 entries for the 8 previous editions, with a total of 204 different drivers taking part from 14 American states, 5 Canadian provinces, and New Zealand.
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, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. from Sunnyvale, Texas in 2011, while Steve Poirier became the first 3-time winner in 2012.
51 drivers have already filed entries for the 2013 edition of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals, including former winners Wayne Johnson, Shane Stewart, and Steve Poirier. First-time entrants include Australian champ Brooke Tatnell, and American Sprint Car Series National Tour driver Brad Loyet from Missouri.
TICKETS PLEASE!
Advanced reserved seat tickets are now on sale for the 9th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals on Friday, September 13, and Saturday, September 14.
“Night Before the Nationals” presented by Burger Barn general admission tickets for Adults are just $12, while general admission for seniors and students is $10, and kids age 12 and under are admitted FREE! Spectator gates open @ 6:00pm, with hot laps scheduled for 6:50pm, and the first race taking the green flag at 7:30pm this Friday, September 13!
Reserved seat tickets are available in the top 6 rows of all sections in the main grandstands for the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals presented by Arrow Express on Saturday, September 14, along with all of sections F and G. Saturday reserved seat tickets for Adults, Students, and Seniors are $41.50, while Saturday reserved seat tickets for Kids age 12 and under are $6.50. General admission tickets for Saturday are $25 for Adults, Students, and Seniors, while general admission tickets for Kids age 12 and under on Saturday are just $5! Spectator gates open @ 3:00pm, with Time Trials scheduled for 6:05pm, and the first heat race taking the green flag at 7:30pm this Saturday, September 14!
Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com and check out our new system for online ticket sales, call 1-855-448-3478, or purchase your tickets at the track on race nights with your Visa, Mastercard, or Debit card!
STAY WITH US!
Plenty of unserviced camping space is once again available at the speedway all weekend for a nominal one-time fee of twenty dollars. The pit area washrooms and concession stand will also be open twenty-four hours a day during the Nationals, and the concession will feature breakfast and lunch menus.
TIRES & FUEL
The Brown Auto Service trailer will be at Ohsweken for all 3 days of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend to supply Sprint Car teams with tires, fuel, and parts. Call them at 519-752-9531.
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 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.
Visit the official Ohsweken Speedway website at www.OhswekenSpeedway.com, like us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OHSWEKENSPEEDWAY, follow us on Twitter @OhswekenSpdway, and subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/user/OhswekenSpdway
Ohsweken Speedway thanks the following sponsors for their support of the 2013 season: Arrow Express, Corr/Pak Merchandising Inc., Renway Fuels & Lubricants Heating & Cooling, O’Neil’s Farm Equipment, McDonald’s Restaurants of Paris & Brantford, Nathan Ackland State Farm Insurance, Klotz Canada Synthentic Lubricants, Burger Barn, Affordable Towing & Recovery, HRW Automotive, and Gale’s Auto Aftermarket.