By Tommy Goudge – Ohsweken, Ontario – September 16, 2011 – Shane Stewart and Dustin Daggett gained guaranteed starting spots in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals by winning Friday’s “Night Before the Nationals” Twin 15’s at Ohsweken Speedway. Jamie Collard became the first driver from Ontario to win the Ohsweken Shootout, Wayne Johnson won the Dave McLeod Memorial Mr. Sprint Car Challenge, and Rick Wilson won the Vintage Car feature.
“NIGHT BEFORE THE NATIONALS” SPRINT CARS
Mitch Brown and Jessica Zemken made up the original front row for the first Twin 15 feature, but they were penalized on a false start, moving Shane Stewart and Jamie Collard to the front. Stewart took off on the start, while Collard and Zemken raced for second. Following an early caution for a Ron Blair spin, Stewart took off again, while Wayne Johnson got by Zemken and went after Collard.
Johnson cleared Collard after a few slide jobs, and hard-charging Chuck Hebing began to put pressure on Collard. The two drivers made contact, and Collard slid to a stop at the end of the backstretch. Hebing’s car suffered wing damage but he stayed on the track, while Collard’s car was too damaged to continue.
Stewart led Zemken and Johnson for the restart, and opened his lead again. Zemken and Johnson made contact in turn three on lap ten which flattened Johnson’s left rear tire, and brought out another caution flag.
Hebing took over the third spot when Johnson went to the pits, but lost the power steering on his car and spun in turn two, collecting Ron Blair in the process. Stewart cruised to the win when the green flag flew again, followed by Zemken, Alain Bergeron, Keith Dempster, and Brown.
“(This car) is always fast here, and it’s proven itself here for sure,” said Stewart afterwards. “Anytime I get behind the wheel it’s just a dream to drive. We’re going to do a bit more homework and see if we can’t get three in a row tomorrow.”
Kyle Sauder and Robbie Stillwaggon made up the front row for the second feature, and Stillwaggon opened an early lead while Dustin Daggett caught the back end of Sauder’s machine in turn two.
A caution for April Wilson brought Daggett to within striking distance of Stillwaggon, and Daggett began pressuring the New Jersey driver who was running the top side of the track. Stillwaggon continued to pound the outside groove, but went over the edge in turn two and brought out a caution flag.
Daggett opened a lead on the restart, while Sauder was in second with Shawn Donath and Dain Naida on his tail. Naida split the others in turn two and took over the second spot, but ran out of time to catch Daggett, who cruised to his tenth career feature win at Ohsweken. Naida settled for second, followed by Sauder, Michael Parent, and Donath.
“At the beginning of the night we had to change the steering gear,” said Daggett. “The rest of the night went pretty smooth. We finally ran a few races and didn’t have to work on the car! We got it dialed in, and the car was really good. We’ve won a lot of these ‘The Night Befores’, and hopefully we can get the big night tomorrow.”
Heat races for the 66 car field were claimed by Jamie Collard, Shane Stewart, Wayne Johnson, Kyle Sauder, Robbie Stillwaggon, and Dustin Daggett.
NEXT UP AT OHSWEKEN
Arrow Express presents the 7th annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals on Saturday, September 17. Spectator Gates open at 5:00 p.m., with racing starting at 7:45! Check www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for all the information, and Feel The Excitement!
“NIGHT BEFORE THE NATIONALS”
RACE REPORT – SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY
OHSWEKEN, ONTARIO
“NIGHT BEFORE THE NATIONALS” SPRINT CARS
OHSWEKEN SHOOTOUT (10 laps)
Position. # Name
1. 7x Jamie Collard (6)
2. 14h Jim Huppunen (2)
3. 35 Ron Blair (3)
4. 2m Dustin Daggett (8)
5. 22h Randy Hannagan (10)
6. 7 Kyle Moffit (9)
7. 71 Travis Cunningham (5)
8. 17 Jared Horstman (13)
9. 51L Lee Ladouceur (4)
10. 35 Jared Zimbardi (11)
11. 49 Todd Hoddick (14)
12. 14 Kyle Sauder (18)
13. 52x Scott Kreutter (12)
14. 33 Shawn Donath (20)
15. 10c Bob Crawford (19)
16. 31 Andy Teunessen (17)
17. 28fm Steve Poirier (1) DNF
18. 45 Chuck Hebing (7) DNF
Time – 2:22.679.
DAVE MCLEOD MEMORIAL MR. SPRINT CAR CHALLENGE (1 on 1 Match Races):
FIRST ROUND (1 lap each):
14 Kyle Sauder def. 33 Shawn Donath,
14h Jim Huppunen def. 45 Chuck Hebing DQ,
7x Jamie Collard def. 3g Shane Stewart,
71 Travis Cunningham def. 22h Randy Hannagan DNS,
35 Jared Zimbardi def. 32 Justin Barger
17 Jared Horstman def. 38 Brad Knab,
2m Dustin Daggett def. 51L Lee Ladouceur,
77x Wayne Johnson def. 51 Bryan Howland
QUARTER FINALS (1 lap each):
7x Jamie Collard def. 14 Kyle Sauder DQ,
14h Jim Huppunen def. 71 Travis Cunningham,
35 Jared Zimbardi def. 2m Dustin Daggett DQ,
77x Wayne Johnson def. 17 Jared Horstman
SEMI-FINALS (1 lap each):
7x Jamie Collard def. 35 Jared Zimbardi,
77x Wayne Johnson def. 14h Jim Huppunen
DAVE MCLEOD MEMORIAL MR. SPRINT CAR CHALLENGE
FINAL (2 laps):
77x Wayne Johnson def. 7x Jamie Collard
HEAT RACES (8 laps each – Top 2 finishers in each redraw for feature starting spots, top 5 transfer to A-Feature)
HEAT RACE #1:
1. 7x Jamie Collard (Burford), 2. 1z Jessica Zemken (Sprakers, NY), 3. 22h Randy Hannagan (Pittsboro, IN), 4. 5 Keith Dempster (Alton), 6. 71 Travis Cunningham (Grimsby), 7. 42w Rick Wilson (Joyceville), 8. 10x Jeff Cook (Antwerp, NY), 9. 31 Andy Teunessen (Hastings, MI), 10. 25x Cory Sparks (Edinburg, NY), 11. 81 Derek Jonathan (Lewiston, NY), DNS. 32 Justin Barger (Montrose, NY). Time – 1:54.652.
HEAT RACE #2
1. 3g Shane Stewart (Brownsburg, IN), 2. 10 Mitch Brown (Brantford), 3. 6s Ben Rutan (Jerome, MI), 4. 8b Alain Bergeron (Saint-Pie, QC), 5. 45 Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY), 6. 51 Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY), 7. 52k Scott Kreutter (Alden, NY), 8. 9jr Tim Zack (Dain City), 9. 7 Kyle Moffit (South Dayton, NY) DNF, DNS. 90 James Evans (Beamsville), DNS. 30g Steve Goldner (Aylmer). Time – 1:56.454.
HEAT RACE #3
1. 77x Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 2. 35r Ron Blair (Troy, OH), 3. 0 Dave Dykstra (Port Colborne), 4. 11 Jamie Turner (Caistor Centre), 5. 51L Lee Ladouceur (Alexandria), 26. 5h Paul Habeck (Fairport, NY), 7. 24k Devin Caron (Cornwall), 8. 3 Wayne Ashton (Kitchener), 9. 80 Chris Steele (Fenwick) DNF, 10. 33k Kyle Patrick (Tilbury) DNF, DNS. 49t Gregg Dalman (Bellvue, MI). No Time.
HEAT RACE #4
1. 14 Kyle Sauder (Archbold, OH), 2. 13 Kevin Ward, Jr. (Port Leyden, NY), 3. 14h Jim Huppunen (Fenwick), 4. 35 Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY), 5. 15aw April WIlson (Joyceville), 6. 52L Daniel Lampron (Saint-Hubert, QC), 7. 98 Paul Pekkonen (Brockville), 8. 5c Conor Mahoney (Waterdown), 9. 45x Doug Banks (Inverary), 10. 21 Matt Lumbert (Hastings, MI) DNF, DNS. 28fm Steve Poirier (Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, QC). No Time.
HEAT RACE #5
1. 89 Robbie Stillwagon (Burlington, NJ), 2. 33 Shawn Donath (South Onondaga, NY), 3. 07x Dain Naida (Tecumseh, MI), 4. 30 Adam West (Ridgetown), 5. 25 Michael Parent (Granby, QC), 6. 67c Steve Collins (Belfast, NY), 7. 38 Brad Knab (Arcade, NY), 8. 5m Brad Malloy (Niagara Falls), 9. 55x Kirk Cheney (Hastings, MI), 10. 52 Jesse Costa (St. Thomas), DNS. 17j Lance Yonge (Penn Yan, NY). Time – 2:00.336.
HEAT RACE #6
1. 2m Dustin Daggett (Grand Ledge, MI), 2. 17 Jared Horstman (Cloverdale, OH), 3. 87 Jason Barney (Constantia, NY), 4. 27h Tom Huppunen (Fenwick), 5. 49 Todd Hoddick (Cheektowaga, NY), 6. 67 Chris Durand (Port Stanley), 7. 10c Bob Crawford (Sutton), 8. 7a Al Blanchard (Welland), 9. 36 Mike Stelter (Webster, NY), 10. 55v Patrick Vigneault (Trois-Rivieres, QC). No Time.
SPRINT CAR FEATURE #1 (15 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 3g Shane Stewart (4)
2. 1z Jessica Zemken (2)
3. 8b Alain Bergeron (11)
4. 5 Keith Dempster (10)
5. 10 Mitch Brown (1)
6. 0 Dave Dykstra (9)
7. 6s Ben Rutan (8)
8. 71 Travis Cunningham (13)
9. 45 Chuck Hebing (14) DNF
10. 35r Ron Blair (6) DNF
11. 51L Lee Ladouceur (15) DNF
12. 77x Wayne Johnson (5) DNF
13. 11 Jamie Turner (12) DNF
14. 7x Jamie Collard (3) DNF
15. 22h Randy Hannagan (7) DNF.
No Time.
SPRINT CAR FEATURE #2 (15 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 2m Dustin Daggett (3)
2. 07x Dain Naida (8)
3. 14 Kyle Sauder (1)
4. 25 Michael Parent (14)
5. 33 Shawn Donath (4)
6. 14h Jim Huppunen (7)
7. 87 Jason Barney (9)
8. 49 Todd Hoddick (15)
9. 17 Jared Horstman (5)
10. 13 Kevin Ward, Jr. (6)
11. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon (2)
12. 27h Tom Huppunen (12)
13. 30 Adam West (11)
14. 15aw April Wilson (13) DNF
15. 35 Jared Zimbardi (10) DNF.
No Time.
VINTAGE CARS
A-FEATURE (10 laps)
1. 112 Rick Wilson
2. 27 Doug Fralick
3. 62 Al Harju
4. 16 Daryl Bray
5. 6 Lowry Siemens
6. 87 Pat Sonnenburg
7. 24 Harold Sonnenburg
8. 13 Mark Saul
9. 00 Bill Harju
10. 2 Glen Leinen
11. 72 Gord Wilson
12. 4 Chic Voit
13. 3 Tom Curran.
UP NEXT @ OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY:
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2011
ARROW EXPRESS PRESENTS:
7TH ANNUAL CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS,
PLUS MOD-LITE STARS CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR NORTH
ADULTS $35, KIDS AGE 6-12 $5, KIDS AGE 5 AND UNDER FREE!
SPECTATOR GATES OPEN @ 5:00 P.M., RACING @ 7:45 P.M.