by Tommy Goudge – Ohsweken, Ontario – September 17, 2011 – Sam Hafertepe, Jr. added his name, and the state of Texas, to the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals win list on Saturday night with a dominating performance at Ohsweken Speedway. Hafertepe started 6th in the 35 lap A-Feature, and led the final 24 laps of that race to claim the $11,000 win. 2008 Nationals winner Wayne Johnson started 24th after trouble in his heat race, and beat teammate Jamie Collard by inches at the finish line for the runner-up spot.
Alain Bergeron and Jamie Collard started the 35 lap feature on the front row, and Bergeron got an early lead and took off. Defending Nationals winner Shane Stewart took the third spot briefly, but Hafertepe gaining two spots in the first lap, then passed Stewart on lap 2. Steve Poirier relegated Stewart to fifth on lap 3, and the running order at the front remained Bergeron, Collard, Hafertepe, Poirier, and Stewart for the next 7 laps.
Bergeron slipped over the banking on lap 6, allowing Collard to close the gap, but it took another 4 laps for Collard to move ahead. Hafertepe and Poirier caught the leaders on lap 11, and raced three-wide with Collard through slower traffic. Hafertepe used the top side of the track to take the lead on lap 12, and wasn’t seriously challenged for the rest of the race, while Bergeron eventually fell to finish 14th.
Wayne Johnson started 24th on the grid, and passed half the field by the time the halfway signal was shown. The race went caution-free until lap 28, when Scott Kreutter went off track in turn 1. Hafertepe had 3 lapped cars between he and 2nd place Collard when the race went green again, and Collard stayed with him until Hafertepe chose a different groove around the track and pulled away for the win.
“The car was actually a dream to drive,” said Hafertepe after the race. “I was just playing around there on the last restart. I’d been running the top the whole time in (turns) three and four, and it felt decent there when I tried the middle there. I just took my time there at the end. I knew we were pretty good and we came out with the win. This is awesome.”
Hafertepe and his Canadian crew chief Daryl Turford were spectators for the Thursday and Friday events during the Nationals weekend, a decision they made in order to be at the top of their game when the money was on the line.
“Everybody kept asking us why we were sitting in the truck Thursday and Friday, and watching from the stands,” said Hafertepe. “It’s because we had one thing in mind and that was tonight, and I didn’t want to use all my stuff up on Thursday or Friday. We’ve had a little bit of time here to figure some things out earlier in the year, so you know it all paid off tonight.”
Johnson had just moved around Stewart for the fourth position when the caution flag flew with 7 laps left. He moved around Poirier for 3rd on lap 31, and edged out Collard at the line for 2nd by 0.01 seconds, while Poirier and Stewart finished 4th and 5th. Justin Barger, Randy Hannagan, Kevin Ward, Jr., Dustin Daggett, and Jim Huppunen finished 6th-10th.
Positions changed hands throughout the field, and 2011 ASCS Sprints on Dirt champion Dustin Daggett was one of the drivers on the move early, driving from the 15th to 6th in the first 4 laps. That was as far as Daggett got though. Justin Barger slipped by for that position on lap 6, and Daggett eventually fell to 9th at the finish.
2011 Ohsweken Speedway champion Jim Huppunen fell back as far as 27th early in the race before climbing steadily through the field to reach 10th at the end.
Row 14 starters Jessica Zemken and Kyle Sauder were both into the top 20 before a third of the race was completed, but could advance no further. They settled for 16th and 17th place finishes.
66 drivers from 2 Canadian provinces and 8 American states attempted to qualify for the 2011 edition of the Nationals on Saturday night. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. ran the fastest time overall in group time trials, collecting the Lane Automotive Top Qualifier Award, while Steve Poirier was third overall and claimed the Bicknell Racing Products Top Canadian Qualifier award. Patrick Vigneault and his crew were awarded with the Corr/Pak Merchandising “Bill Peer Memorial” Best Appearing Car honours.
Heat races went to Hafertepe, Jared Zimbardi, Jamie Collard, Chuck Hebing, and Shane Stewart, while the B-Mains were claimed by Bryan Howland, Todd Hoddick, and Gregg Dalman, and Dain Naida got $1,000 and the final A-Feature starting position by winning the Sicard R.V. “Little Feature”.
Ohsweken Speedway wishes to thank all of the sponsors responsible for making this weekend’s events a big success, including RNB Restorations, Sicard R.V., BMRS, Slade Shock Technology, Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel, BS&B Radiator, Wiseco Piston, Diversified Machine Incorporated, King Racing, Rod End Supply, Pancho’s Racing Products, XYZ Machining Inc., Rocket Headers, Butlerbuilt, Manton Pushrods, ISC Racer’s Tape, J&J Auto Racing, Hoosier Tire, Kinser Air Filters, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, KSE Racing Products, Awesome Racewear, Hepfner Racing Products, Saldana Racing, Zemco Speed Equipment, Winters Performance, and Seals-It.
MOD-LITE STARS CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR NORTH
The Mod-Lite tour was also in action at Ohsweken on Saturday night, and Shawn Sliter led all but 2 of the 20 laps in the A-Feature. Unfortunately for him they were the last 2 laps, and Paul Klager led those to claim his second feature win in a row at Ohsweken. Sliter settled for the runner-up spot in the non-stop race, followed by Derek Wagner, Josh Sliter, and Jason Corless.
Heat races for the Mod-Lites went to Derek Wagner and Shawn Sliter.
NEXT UP AT OHSWEKEN
The annual Ohsweken Speedway awards banquet will be held on Saturday, November 12 at the Marritt Hall in Ancaster, Ontario. Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information.
OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY RACE REPORT
OHSWEKEN, ONTARIO, CANADA
SEPTEMBER 17, 2011
EVENT SPONSOR – ARROW EXPRESS
7TH ANNUAL CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
GROUP TIME TRIALS
(4 laps – Fastest qualifier in each group drew heat race inversion pill)
GROUP #1:
Position. Number Name (Hometown) – Best Lap (Overall Rank)
1. 15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr (Sunnyvale, TX) – 13.682 (1)
2. 51 Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY) – 14.024 (2)
3. 28fm Steve Poirier (Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, QC) – 14.025 (3)
4. 14h Jim Huppunen (Fenwick) – 14.241 (6)
5. 17 Jared Horstman (Cloverdale, OH) – 14.402 (11)
6. 52x Scott Kreutter (Alden, NY) – 14.408 (13)
7. 67 Chris Durand (Port Stanley) – 14.804 (32)
8. 5 Keith Dempster (Alton) – 15.145 (47)
9. 3 Wayne Ashton (Kitchener) – 15.199 (50)
10. 21 Matt Lumbert (Hastings, MI) – No Time (62)
11. 10 Jake Brown (Brantford) – No Time (63).
GROUP #2:
Position. Number Name (Hometown) – Best Lap (Overall Rank)
1. 13 Kevin Ward, Jr. (Port Leyden, NY) – 14.118 (4)
2. 0 Dave Dykstra (Port Colborne) – 14.254 (7)
3. 35 Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY) – 14.634 (24)
4. 30g Steve Goldner (Aylmer) – 14.768 (30)
5. 30 Adam West (Ridgetown) – 14.868 (37)
6. 51L Lee Ladouceur (Alexandria) – 14.906 (41)
7. 31 Andy Teunessen (Hastings, MI) – 14.961 (44)
8. 15aw April Wilson (Joyceville) – 15.178 (48)
9. 36 Mike Stelter (Webster, NY) – 15.215 (51)
10. 99 Jeff Frasier (Montour Falls, NY) 15.358 (53)
11. 9jr Tim Zack (Dain City) 15.552 (56).
GROUP #3:
Position. Number Name (Hometown) – Best Lap (Overall Rank)
1. 32 Justin Barger (Montrose, NY) – 14.321 (8)
2. 7x Jamie Collard (Burford) – 14.336 (9)
3. 2m Dustin Daggett (Grand Ledge, MI) – 14.501 (16)
4. 49 Todd Hoddick (Cheektowaga, NY) – 14.665 (25)
5. 42w Rick Wilson (Joyceville) – 14.771 (31)
6. 11 Jamie Turner (Caistor Centre) – 14.812 (33)
7. 10x Jeff Cook (Antwerp, NY) – 14.825 (35)
8. 81 Derek Jonathan (Lewiston, NY) 14.865 (36)
9. 24k Devin Caron (Cornwall) 14.885 (39)
10. 38 Brad Knab (Arcade, NY) 15.011 (45)
11. 52 Jesse Costa (St. Thomas) 15.421 (55).
GROUP #4:
Position. Number Name (Hometown) – Best Lap (Overall Rank)
1. 8b Alain Bergeron (Saint-Pie, QC) – 14.127 (5)
2. 17j Lance Yonge (Penn Yan, NY) – 14.379 (10)
3. 71 Travis Cunningham (Grimsby) – 14.420 (14)
4. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon (Burlington, NJ) – 14.514 (18)
5. 3w Brett Mann (Goshen, IN) – 14.723 (27)
6. 98 Paul Pekkonen (Brockville) – 14.821 (34)
7. 7 Kyle Moffit (South Dayton, NY) – 14.920 (42)
8. 67c Steve Collins (Belfast, NY) – 15.103 (46)
9. 80 Chris Steele (Vineland) – 15.420 (54)
10. 45x Doug Banks (Inverary) – 15.798 (58)
11. 84 Tyler Rand (Consecon) – No Time (64).
GROUP #5:
Position. Number Name (Hometown) – Best Lap (Overall Rank)
1. 1z Jessica Zemken (Sprakers, NY) – 14.488 (15)
2. 45 Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY) – 14.515 (19)
3. 22h Randy Hannagan (San Jose, CA) – 14.540 (20)
4. 33 Shawn Donath (South Onondaga, NY) – 14.569 (22)
5. 07x Dain Naida (Tecumseh, MI) – 14.741 (29)
6. 25 Michael Parent (Granby, QC) – 14.874 (38)
7. 5c Conor Mahoney (Waterdown) – 15.197 (49)
8. 27h Tom Huppunen (Fenwick) – 15.305 (52)
9. 25h Paul Habeck (Fairport, NY) – 15.628 (57)
10. 5m Brad Malloy (Niagara Falls) – 16.034 (60)
11. 90 James Evans (Beamsville) – No Time (65).
GROUP #5:
Position. Number Name (Hometown) – Best Lap (Overall Rank)
1. 21a Don Adamczyk (Williamsville, NY) – 14.403 (12)
2. 14 Kyle Sauder (Archbold, OH) – 14.512 (17)
3. 3g Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) – 14.557 (21)
4. 77x Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) – 14.613 (23)
5. 87 Jason Barney (Constantia, NY) – 14.690 (26)
6. 55v Patrick Vigneault (Trois-Rivieres, QC) – 14.732 (28)
7. 49t Gregg Dalman (Bellvue, MI) – 14.902 (40)
8. 52L Daniel Lampron (Saint-Valere, QC) – 14.944 (43)
9. 55x Kirk Cheney (Hastings, MI) – 15.931 (59)
10. 10c Bob Crawford (Sutton) – No Time (61).
HEAT RACES
(10 laps each – Top 3 finishers in each transferred to A-Feature, Winner of each drew for feature starting position):
XYZ MACHINING HEAT RACE #1
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (6), 2. 28fm Steve Poirier (4), 3. 52x Scott Kreutter (1), 4. 51 Bryan Howland (5), 5. 14H Jim Huppunen (3), 6. 17 Jared Horstman (2), 7. 67 Chris Durand (7), 8. 3 Wayne Ashton (9), 9. 10 Jake Brown (10) DNF, 10. 5 Keith Dempster (8) DNF, 11. 21 Matt Lumbert (11) DNF. Time – 2:28.638.
SLADE SHOCK TECHNOLOGY HEAT RACE #2
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 35 Jared Zimbardi (4), 2. 13 Kevin Ward, Jr. (6), 3. 0 Dave Dykstra (5), 4. 30 Adam West (2), 5. 51L Lee Ladouceur (1), 6. 36 Mike Stelter (9), 7. 15aw April Wilson (8), 8. 99 Jeff Fraiser (10), 9. 30g Steve Goldner DNF (3), 10. 31 Andy Teunessen (7) DNF, DNS. 9jr Tim Zack (11). No Time.
O’NEILL’S FARM EQUIPMENT HEAT RACE #3
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 7x Jamie Collard (2), 2. 32 Justin Barger (1), 3. 2m Dustin Daggett (3), 4. 49 Todd Hoddick (4), 5. 10x Jeff Cook (7), 6. 42w Rick Wilson (5), 7. 11 Jamie Turner (6), 8. 24k Devin Caron (9), 9. 81 Derek Jonathan (8), 10. 52 Jesse Costa (11), 11. 38 Brad Knab (10). Time – 2:30.843.
ROCKET HEADERS HEAT RACE #4
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 8b Alain Bergeron (4), 2. 71 Travis Cunningham (2), 3. 3w Brett Mann (5), 4. 67c Steve Collins (8), 5. 17j Lance Yonge (3), 6. 80 Chris Steele (9), 7. 45x Doug Banks (10), 8. 98 Paul Pekkonen (6) DNF, 9. 7 Kyle Moffit (7) DNF, 10. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon (1) DNF, DNS. 84 Tyler Rand (11). No Time.
ENGLER MACHINE AND TOOL HEAT RACE #5
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 45 Chuck Hebing (3), 2. 22h Randy Hannagan (2), 3. 33 Shawn Donath (1), 4. 07x Dain Naida (5), 5. 1z Jessica Zemken (4), 6. 27h Tom Huppunen (8), 7. 25 Michael Parent (6), 8. 25h Paul Habeck (10), 9. 5m Brad Malloy (9), 10. 5c Conor Mahoney (7), DNS. 90 James Evans (11). Time – 2.32.195.
BS&B RADIATOR HEAT RACE #6
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 3g Shane Stewart (3), 2. 21a Don Adamczyk (1), 3. 87 Jason Barney (5), 4. 55v Patrick Vigneault (6), 5. 49t Gregg Dalman (7), 6. 52L Daniel Lampron (8), 7. 55x Kirk Cheney (9), 8. 14 Kyle Sauder (2) DNF, 9. 77x Wayne Johnson (4) DNF, DNS. 10c Bob Crawford (10). No Time.
B-MAINS
(12 Laps each, Top 2 finishers transferred to A-Feature)
GRISDALE RACING PRODUCTS B-MAIN #1
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 51 Bryan Howland (1), 2. 14h Jim Huppunen (3), 3. 52L Lee Ladouceur (4), 4. 36 Mike Stelter (6), 5. 17 Jared Horstman (5), 6. 30 Adam West (2), 7. 30g Steve Goldner (12), 8. 67 Chris Durand (7), 9. 15aw April Wilson (8), 10. 3 Wayne Ashton (9), 11. 99 Jeff Frasier (10), 12. 9jr Tim Zack (16) DNF, 13. 5 Keith Dempster (13) DNF, 14. 10 Jake Brown (11) DNF, 15. 21 Matt Lumbert (15) DNF, DNS. 31 Andy Teunessen (14). No Time.
WISECO PISTON B-MAIN #2
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 49 Todd Hoddick (1), 2. 10x Jeff Cook (3), 3. 17j Lance Yonge (4), 4. 42w Rick Wilson (5), 5. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon (12), 6. 24k Devin Caron (9), 7. 7 Kyle Moffit (10), 8. 67c Steve Collins (2), 9. 38 Brad Knab (14), 10. 81 Derek Jonathan (11), 11. 52 Jesse Costa (13), 12. 80 Chris Steele (6), 13. 11 Jamie Turner (7), 14. 45x Doug Banks (8) DNF, DNS. 98 Paul Pekkonen (15), DNS. 84 Tyler Rand (16). No Time.
BEST WESTERN CAIRN CROFT HOTEL B-MAIN #3
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 49t Gregg Dalman (4), 2. 77x Wayne Johnson (12), 3. 07x Dain Naida (1), 4. 1z Jessica Zemken (3), 5. 25 Michael Parent (7), 6. 27h Tom Huppunen (5), 7. 14 Kyle Sauder (10), 8. 52L Daniel Lampron (6), 9. 25h Paul Habeck (9), 10. 5m Brad Malloy (11), 11. 10c Bob Crawford (14), 12. 5c Conor Mahoney (13), 13. 55x Kirk Cheney (8) DNF, 14. 55v Patrick Vigneault (2) DNF. No Time.
SICARD R.V. “LITTLE FEATURE”
(15 Laps, Winner transferred to A-Feature)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 07x Dain Naida (1), 2. 25 Michael Parent (8), 3. 42w Rick Wilson (3), 4. 24k Devin Caron (9) 5. 27h Tom Huppunen (20), 6. 25h Paul Habeck (24), 7. 52L Daniel Lampron (12), 8. 10c Bob Crawford (26), 9. 5 Keith Dempster (28), 10. 51L Lee Ladouceur (10), 11. 30g Steve Goldner (2) DNF, 12. 5m Brad Malloy (25) DNF, 13. 38 Brad Knab (14), 14. 5c Conor Mahoney (17), 15. 15aw April Wilson (16) DNF, 16. 67 Chris Durand (4) DNF, 17. 36 Mike Stelter (19) DNF, 18. 55 Kirk Cheney (31) DNF, 19. 11 Jamie Turner (5) DNF, 20. 9jr Tim Zack (29) DNF, 21. 99 Jeff Frasier (21) DNF, 22. 81 Derek Jonathan (6) DNF, 23. 30 Adam West (7) DNF, 24. 7 Kyle Moffit (11) DNF, 25. 67c Steve Collins (15) DNF, 26. 3 Wayne Ashton (18) DNF, 27. 52 Jesse Costa (23) DNF, 28. 55 Patrick Vigneault (27) DNF, DNS. 10 Jake Brown (33), DNS. 21 Matt Lumbert (32), DNS 31 Andy Teunessen (13), DNS. 45x Doug Banks (30), DNS. 80 Chris Steele (22), DNS. 84 Tyler Rand (36), DNS. 90 James Evans (35), DNS. 98 Paul Pekkonen (34). No Time.
CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
ARROW EXPRESS A-FEATURE (35 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (6)
2. 77x Wayne Johnson (24)
3. 7x Jamie Collard (2)
4. 28fm Steve Poirier (7)
5. 3g Shane Stewart (4)
6. 32 Justin Barger (9)
7. 22h Randy Hannagan (11)
8. 13 Kevin Ward, Jr. (8)
9. 2m Dustin Daggett (15)
10. 14h Jim Huppunen (22)
11. 51 Bryan Howland (19)
12. 49t Gregg Dalman (21)
13. 45 Chuck Hebing (5)
14. 8 Alain Bergeron (1)
15. 33 Shawn Donath (17)
16. 1z Jessica Zemken (27)
17. 14 Kyle Sauder (28)
18. 35 Jared Zimbardi (3)
19. 17 Jared Horstman (26)
20. 71 Travis Cunningham (10)
21. 21a Don Adamcyzk (12)
22. 49 Todd Hoddick (20)
23. 17j Lance Yonge (25)
24. 3w Brett Mann (16)
25. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon (29)
26. 10x Jeff Cook (23)
27. 87 Jason Barney (18) DNF
28. 52x Scott Kreutter (13) DNF
29. 07x Dain Naida (30) DNF
30. 0 Dave Dykstra (14) DNF.
No Time.
Lap Leaders: Bergeron (1-9), Collard (10), Hafertepe (11-35)
AWARDS:
Inside Track Motorsport News Top Canadian A-Feature Finisher – 7x Jamie Collard
Lane Automotive Top Qualifier Award – 15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (13.682 seconds)
Bicknell Racing Products Fastest Canadian Qualifier Award – 28fm Steve Poirier (14.025 seconds)
Corr/Pak Merchandising “Bill Peer Memorial” Best Appearing Car Award – 55v Patrick Vigneault
HEAT RACE #1
Position. # Name (Hometown)
1. 61 Derek Wagner (Middleport, NY), 2. 17 Josh Sliter (Ridgeway), 3. 77 Randy Hollingshead (Stoney Creek), 4. 33 Korey Howe (St. Catharines), 5. 67 Rick Brubacher (St. Clements), 6. 54 Rob Goulding (Port Colborne), 7. 118 Dylan Sliter. Time – 2:33.649.
HEAT RACE #2
Position. # Name (Hometown)
1. 27s Shawn Sliter (Port Colborne), 2. 1 Paul Klager (Beamsville), 3. 19 Jason Corless (Bolton), 4. 23 Jeff May (Mount Hope), 5. 26 Ray Sliter, Jr. (Ridgeway), 6. 37 Wally Billing (Elmira), 7. 4 Greg Mills (Niagara Falls). Time – 2:34.040.
MOD-LITE STARS CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR NORTH
A-FEATURE (20 LAPS)
Position. # Name
1. 1 Paul Klager
2. 27s Shawn Sliter
3. 61 Derek Wagner
4. 17 Josh Sliter
5. 19 Jason Corless
6. 67 Rick Brubacher
7. 33 Korey Howe
8. 23 Jeff May
9. 77 Randy Hollingshead
10. 54 Rob Goulding
11. 118 Dylan Sliter
12. 26 Ray Sliter, Jr.
13. 4 Greg Mills
14. 37 Wally Billing.
Time – 6:22.853.
NEXT UP @ OHSWEKEN:
Ohsweken Speedway Annual Awards Banquet
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Marritt Hall – Ancaster, Ontario
Visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for details