By Tommy Goudge (September 19, 2009) – One of the main questions heading into the Fifth Annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend centred around the mystery driver of Tim Norman and Joe Gaerte’s #3g entry. When the final checkered flag flew on Saturday night, everyone knew who was behind the wheel of the “1.0” chassis built by Norman and Gaerte, as Shane Stewart captured the $9,000 winner’s cheque. Stewart took the lead from Tim Kelly on lap seven of the thirty lap A-Feature, and raced through slower traffic to seal the victory over hard-charging Chuck Hebing and ’08 Nationals winner Wayne Johnson.
CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
Jessica Zemken and Tim Kelly made it an all-New York front row for the fifth running of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Feature, and when the green flag dropped, Kelly got the early advantage and began to stretch his lead. Sixth starting Shane Stewart wasted no time making his way forward, and was in the fight for the runner-up spot with Zemken and Dustin Daggett by lap three.
The next lap saw Stewart make his way past Zemken and into second, while Wayne Johnson and Steve Poirier were also into the top five. By the sixth lap Stewart had run Kelly down, and made his move for the lead in turn one on lap seven. Stewart immediately began to open his lead, while Kelly fell into the clutches of Johnson, who quickly took over second.
With a third of the thirty lap distance in the books, Stewart began to encounter slower traffic at the back of the twenty-nine car field, allowing Johnson to close in. Just as Johnson appeared ready to challenge for the lead, Jamie Collard lost his left rear wheel at the exit of turn two and crashed, resulting in a red flag. Collard emerged uninjured but disappointed. After starting twentieth, Collard was battling to get into the top ten at the time of the incident.
Once the cars had been pushed off again, Jessica Zemken’s right rear tire showed a slow leak, necessitating a pit stop for the driver who was running third at the time. On the restart, Stewart was able to keep Johnson at bay while the action heated up behind them. With half the race done, eleventh starter Chuck Hebing was on the move and into the top five. Six laps later, Hebing drove to third and began to track down Johnson, while the leaders were again in heavy traffic.
With seven laps to go, Kyle Drum got sideways in turn two right in front of the leaders. Stewart was able to get by cleanly, but Johnson had to make an evasive move and lost time, allowing Hebing to close in. Only five laps remained when Hebing was finally able to get by Johnson and into the runner-up spot.
Hebing closed in over the last five laps, but ran out of time to catch Stewart before the checkered flag fell. Stewart claimed the win followed by Hebing, Johnson, Paul McMahan, and Poirier. Rounding out the top ten were Jason Barney, Tim Kelly, Darren Long, Dain Naida, and Lance Yonge.
“They came to me in August at the Knoxville Nationals and asked me to drive this car. They gave me an awesome car and ever since I stepped foot in it this weekend, it’s been so fast every time it touched the race track,” said Stewart in victory lane.
“When the track gets slick like that, you get a little nervous and you’re not sure where to go,” said Stewart of the tricky track conditions. “I was trying to lap Jessica (Zemken) and I just couldn’t do it.”
“When I go to a new place, I want to make sure they remember me. That’s one of my goals,” said Stewart, a former regular on the World of Outlaws tour racing at Ohsweken for the first time this weekend. “I think we did that tonight.”
“I’ve gotta thank all the fans,” said Stewart, “It was cold out tonight.”
Hebing was philosophical about his runner-up finish.
“I wish it was a thirty-five or forty lap race, but they give us thirty laps to get it done and I ran out of time,” said Hebing. “This Rousch/Yates motor runs strong though.”
Stewart’s victory marked the second year in a row that an Oklahoma-born driver claimed the Canadian Nationals victory, following Wayne Johnson’s 2008 triumph.
Ryan Hunsinger was taken to hospital to be checked over after a hard crash in his heat race, but returned to the track before the feature started.
Seventy-seven drivers from five Canadian provinces and eight American states attempted to qualify for the 2009 edition of the Nationals. The father-son team of Lou Kennedy Jr. and Thomas Kennedy became the first drivers from Manitoba to compete in the Nationals, while Travis Rutz and the Pat Beck Motorsports team made the longest journey of any team at this year’s event, travelling over four thousand kilometers from Langley, British Columbia. Three teams made trips over thirty hours from Alberta to Ohsweken to represent the ASCS CanWest series in the Nationals, including Gord Kynoch who became the first Albertan to race at Ohsweken last season. Jessica Lavallee also made the trip from Alberta, as did the Richard Saumere team with Tennessee driver Paul McMahan.
Glenn Styres became the first Canadian driver to claim the fastest overall lap in time trials, giving him both the Kear’s Speed Shop Top Qualifier award, and the Bicknell Racing Products Top Canadian Qualifier award. Shane Stewart, Wayne Johnson, Steve Poirier, Dustin Daggett, Tim Kelly, and Jessica Zemken won the six heat races, while Bubba Broderick, Jamie Collard, and Gregg Dalman took the three B-Mains, and seventh starter Bryan Howland ran down Trevor Lewis for the win in the Little Feature.
J.R. Stewart and his #6s crew were awarded with Corr/Pak Merchandising “Roadkill Bill Peer Memorial” Best Appearing Car honours. With his fifth place finish, Steve Poirier claimed the first Inside Track Motorsport News Top Canadian A-Main Finisher award.
Ohsweken Speedway wishes to thank all of the sponsors responsible for making this weekend’s events a success, including Arrow Express, Corr/Pak Merchandising, Village Pizza, Sit n’ Bull Construction, Village Café, Kear’s Speed Shop, Wiseco Piston, BS&B Radiator, Zemco Racing Products, Manton Pushrods, KSE Racing Products, Diversified Machine, Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel, Awesome Racewear, Outhouse Imaging and Design, Bicknell Racing Products, Inside Track Motorsport News, HRP Wings, J&J Chassis, Comp Cams, Grisdale Racing Products, Winters Racing Products, Seals-It, Hoosier Tire, Motorstate Distributing, Kinser Air Filters, Rocket Headers, Saldana Racing Products, Quaker State, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, and ICS Racer’s Tape.
MOD-LITE STARS CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR NORTH
The Mod-Lites ran two features on Saturday night, which were swept by Paul Klager.
Klager dominated the first feature while the battle waged for second between Jason Corless, Jamie Gilbert, and Adam Leslie.
The second feature was much more closely contested, as Kory Howe and Adam Leslie made strong bids for the lead. Leslie in fact led briefly mid-race before Klager prevailed in the end.
Heat races for the twenty-three Mod-Lites in attendance were claimed by Paul Klager, Kory Howe, and Josh Sliter.
OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY RACE REPORT
OHSWEKEN, ONTARIO, CANADA
SEPTEMBER 19, 2009
EVENT SPONSOR – ARROW EXPRESS
FIFTH ANNUAL ARROW EXPRESS CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
KEAR’S SPEED SHOP TIME TRIALS
(2 laps, Top 36 Inverted For Heat Race Starting Positions)
Position. Number Name (Hometown) – Best Lap
1. 0 Glenn Styres (Ohsweken) 14.288
2. 35 Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY) 14.326
3. 28fm Steve Poirier (Saint-Matheiu-de-Beloeil, QC) 14.355
4. 39c Paul McMahan (Nashville, TN) 14.371
5. 49t Gregg Dalman (Lyons, MI) 14.393
6. 17j Lance Yonge (Penn Yan, NY) 14.491
7. 00 Ryan Grubaugh (St. Johns, MI) 14.502
8. 12c Tom Huppunen (Fenwick) 14.524
9. 21 Trevor Lewis (Upper Black Eddy, PA) 14.609
10. 15k Gord Kynoch (Spruce Grove, AB) 14.611
11. 45 Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY) 14.643
12. 3b Scott Bonnell (Fairlawn, PA) 14.715
13. 3g Shane Stewart (Pittsboro, IN) 14.785
14. 10 Jeff Cook (Antwerp, NY) 14.846
15. 6n Dain Naida (Belleville, MI) 14.851
16. 151kb Brian McDonald (Cornwall) 14.899
17. 8 Blake Breen (Savannah, NY) 14.913
18. 42w Rick Wilson (Joyceville) 14.921
19. 84 Tyler Rand (Consecon) 14.923
20. 5b Bubba Broederick (Brookfield, CT) 14.927
21. 33 Doug Emery (South Onondaga, NY) 14.932
22. 2m Dustin Daggett (Grand Ledge, MI) 14.941
23. 3t Kyle Drum (Wayland, NY) 14.942
24. 21a Don Adamczyk (Williamsville, NY) 14.968
25. 21k Lou Kennedy, Jr. (Winnipeg, MB) 14.977
26. 07x Wayne Johnson (Knoxville, IA) 15.008
27. 87 Jason Barney (Constantia, NY) 15.032
28. 9 Bobby Breen (Savannah, NY) 15.067
29. 51L Lee Ladouceur (Alexandria) 15.085
30. 32 Justin Barger (Montrose, NY) 15.089
31. 7L Darren Long (Elida, OH) 15.108
32. 21x Kevin Job (Campbellville) 15.125
33. 7 Kyle Moffit (South Dayton, NY) 15.131
34. 5d Dave Dykstra (Port Colborne) 15.157
35. 12 Tim Kelly (Rock Stream, NY) 15.172
36. 1z Jessica Zemken (Sprakers, NY) 15.175
37. 51 Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY) 15.207
38. 1a John Riegling (Chatham) 15.259
39. 75 Tommy Wickham (Constantia, NY) 15.277
40. 27 Jamie Collard (Burford) 15.278
41. 5 Keith Dempster (Alton) 15.297
42. 38 Brad Knab (Arcade, NY) 15.348
43. 7m Justin Martin (Shedden) 15.353
44. 3 Wayne Ashton (Kitchener) 15.354
45. 8r Travis Rutz (Langley, B.C.) 15.367
46. 90 James Evans (Beamsville) 15.367
47. 11 Tim Allison (Cridersville, OH) 15.368
48. 52L Daniel Lampron (Saint-Valere, QC) 15.376
49. 94 Stan Zanchin (Fort Erie) 15.414
50. 79 Brett Mann (Goshen, IN) 15.434
51. 18 Kevin Loveys (Hamilton) 15.453
52. 57 Doug Bowman (London) 15.480
53. 5m Brad Malloy (Niagara Falls) 15.532
54. 71 Travis Cunningham (Grimsby) 15.581
55. f36 Mike Stelter (Ontario, NY) 15.596
56. 15aw April Wilson (Joyceville) 15.626
57. 25 Michael Parent (Granby, QC) 15.635
58. 14h Jim Huppunen (Fenwick) 15.735
59. 71jr Jason Pietz (Welland) 15.744
60. 21j John Burbridge, Sr. (Simcoe) 15.763
61. 24k Devin Caron (Cornwall) 15.804
62. 97 Jessica Lavallee (Onoway, AB) 15.809
63. 11j Chris Jones (Demorestville) 15.830
64. 8b Alain Bergeron (Saint-Pie, QC) 15.869
65. 6s J.R. Stewart (Bellefontaine, OH) 15.894
66. 9jr Tim Zack (Dain City) 15.980
67. 4z Joel Lehman (Elora) 16.114
68. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (Brantford) 16.114
69. 67 Chris Durand (Port Stanley) 16.208
70. f37 Jim Porter (Grand Island, NY) 16.266
71. 19jr Rob Ledingham (Port Colborne) 16.311
72. 20k Thomas Kennedy (Winnipeg, MB) 16.463
73. 47x Louie Carufel (Port Huron, MI) 16.510
74. 01m Jason Martin (Shedden) 16.882
75. 01 Kyle Fraser (White Lake) 16.883
76. 14 Doug Banks (Kingston) 19.080
77. 81 Derek Jonathan (Lewiston, NY) 22.745
HEAT RACES (Top 3 Transfer To A-Feature):
WISECO PISTON Heat Race #1
1. 3g Shane Stewart, 2. 7L Darren Long, 3. 00 Ryan Grubaugh, 4. 21k Lou Kennedy, Jr., 5. 0 Glenn Styres, 6. 47x Louie Carufel, 7. 94 Stan Zanchin, 8. 84 Tyler Rand, 9. 7m Justin Martin, 10. 24k Devin Caron, 11. f36 Mike Stelter, 12. 4z Joel Lehman, 13. 51 Bryan Howland.
BS&B RADIATOR Heat Race #2
1. 07x Wayne Johnson, 2. 12c Tom Huppunen, 3. 35 Jared Zimbardi, 4. 21x Kevin job, 5. 10 Jeff Cook, 6. 79 Brett Mann, 7. 5b Bubba Broderick, 8. 1a John Riegling, 9. 3 Wayne Ashton, 10. 97 Jessica Lavallee, 11. 15aw April Wilson, 12. 01m Jason Martin, 13. 77x Ryan Hunsinger.
ZEMCO SPEED EQUIPMENT Heat Race #3
1. 28fm Steve Poirier, 2. 7 Kyle Moffit, 3. 6n Dain Naida, 4. 8r Travis Rutz, 5. 87 Jason Barney, 6. 75 Tommy Wickham, 7. 25 Michael Parent, 8. 21 Trevor Lewis, 9. 11j Chris Jones, 10. 18 Kevin Loveys, 11. 33 Doug Emery, 12. 01 Kyle Fraser, 13. 67 Chris Durand.
MANTON PUSHRODS Heat Race #4
1. 2m Dustin Daggett, 2. 39c Paul McMahan, 3. 9 Bobby Breen, 4. 27 Jamie Collard, 5. 151kb Brian McDonald, 6. 5d Dave Dykstra, 7. 8b Alain Bergeron, 8. 14h Jim Huppunen, 9. 15k Gord Kynoch, 10. 90 James Evans, 11. 57 Doug Bowman, 12. f37 Jim Porter, 13. 14 Doug Banks.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS Heat Race #5
1. 12 Tim Kelly, 2. 45 Chuck Hebing, 3. 3t Kyle Drum, 4. 49t Gregg Dalman, 5. 51L Lee Ladouceur, 6. 5m Brad Malloy, 7. 6s J.R. Stewart, 8. 8 Blake Breen, 9. 19jr Stan Zanchin, 10. 5 Keith Dempster, 11. 11 Tim Allison, 12. 71jr Jason Pietz, 13. 81 Derek Jonathan.
DIVERSIFIED MACHINE Heat Race #6
1. 1z Jessica Zemken, 2. 42w Rick Wilson, 3. 17j Lance Yonge, 4. 32 Justin Barger, 5. 21a Don Adamczyk, 6. 3b Scott Bonnell, 7. 71 Travis Cunningham, 8. 21j John Burbridge, Sr., 9. 52L Daniel Lampron, 10. 38 Brad Knab, 11. 9jr Tim Zack, 12. 20k Thomas Kennedy.
B-MAINS
(12 Laps each, Top 2 Transfer to A-Feature)
BEST WESTERN CAIRN CROFT HOTEL B-MAIN #1
1. 5b Bubba Broderick, 2. 10 Jeff Cook, 3. 51 Bryan Howland, 4. 7m Justin Martin, 5. 84 Tyler Rand, 6. 79 Brett Mann, 7. 94 Stan Zanchin, 8. 47x Louie Carufel, 9. 24k Devon Caron, 10. 21x Kevin Job, 11. 0 Glenn Stryes, 12. 4z Joel Lehman, 13. 01m Jason Martin, 14. 15aw April Wilson, 15. 3 Wayne Ashton, 16. 21k Lou Kennedy, Jr., 17. 97 Jessica Lavallee. DNS: 1a John Riegling, f36 Mike Stelter, 77x Ryan Hunsinger.
AWESOME RACEWEAR B-MAIN #2
1. 27 Jamie Collard, 2. 87 Jason Barney, 3. 25 Michael Parent, 4. 8r Travis Rutz, 5. 75 Tommy Wickham, 6. 21L Trevor Lewis, 7. 8b Alain Bergeron, 8. 5d Dave Dykstra, 9. 14h Jim Huppunen, 10. 11j Chris Jones, 11. 15k Gord Kynoch, 12. 90 James Evans, 13. 151kb Brian McDonald, 14. 33 Doug Emery, 15. 57 Doug Bowman, 16. 01 Kyle Fraser, 17. 14 Doug Banks, 18. 18 Kevin Loveys. DNS: f37 Jim Porter, 67 Chris Durand.
OUTHOUSE IMAGING AND DESIGN B-MAIN #3
1. 49t Gregg Dalman, 2. 51L Lee Ladouceur, 3. 32 Justin Barger, 4. 5 Keith Dempster, 5. 8 Blake Breen, 6. 6s J.R. Stewart, 7. 3b Scott Bonnell, 8. 38 Brad Knab, 9. 21j John Burbridge, Sr., 10. 21a Don Adamczyk, 11. 71 Travis Cunningham, 12. 71jr Jason Pietz, 13. 9jr Tim Zack, 14. 5m Brad Malloy, 15. 11 Tim Allison, 16. 19jr Rob Ledingham, 17. 52L Daniel Lampron. DNS: 20k Thomas Kennedy, 81 Derek Jonathan.
CORR/PAK MERCHANDISING “LITTLE FEATURE”
(15 Laps, Winner Transfers to A-Feature)
1. 51 Bryan Howland, 2. 21L Trevor Lewis, 3. 21x Kevin Job, 4. 5d Dave Dykstra, 5. 0 Glenn Styres, 6. 8b Alain Bergeron, 7. 5 Keith Dempster, 8. 8 Blake Breen, 9. 75 Tommy Wickham, 10. 14h Jim Huppunen, 11. 18 Kevin Loveys, 12. 21j John Burbridge, Sr., 13. 47x Louie Carufel, 14. 15aw April Wilson, 15. 9jr Tim Zack, 16. 38 Brad Knab, 17. 8r Travis Rutz, 18. 01 Kyle Fraser, 19. 14 Doug Banks, 20. 71jr Jason Pietz, 21. 3b Scott Bonnell, 22. 94 Stan Zachin, 23. 7m Justin Martin, 24. 3 Wayne Ashton, 25. 19jr Rob Ledingham, 26. 01m Jason Martin.
CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
ARROW EXPRESS A-FEATURE (30 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 3g Shane Stewart (6)
2. 45 Chuck Hebing (11)
3. 07x Wayne Johnson (5)
4. 39c Paul McMahan (10)
5. 28fm Steve Poirier (4)
6. 87 Jason Barney (23)
7. 12 Tim Kelly (2)
8. 7L Darren Long (7)
9. 6n Dain Naida (15)
10. 17j Lance Yonge (18)
11. 51h Bryan Howland (28)
12. 49t Gregg Dalman (21)
13. 51L Lee Ladouceur (24)
14. 5b Bubba Broderick (19)
15. 10 Jeff Cook (22)
16. 1z Jessica Zemken (1)
17. 12c Tom Huppunen (8)
18. 00 Ryan Grubaugh (13)
19. 42w Rick Wilson (12)
20. 35 Jared Zimbardi (14)
21. 3t Kyle Drum (17)
22. 2m Dustin Daggett (3)
23. 7 Kyle Moffit (9)
24. 9 Bobby Breen (16)
25. 151kb Brian McDonald (27)
26. 15k Gord Kynoch (25)
27. 6s J.R. Stewart (29)
28. 27 Jamie Collard (20)
29. 84 Tyler Rand (26)
Lap Leaders: Kelly (1-6), Stewart (7-30)
AWARDS:
Inside Track Motorsport News Top Canadian A-Main Finisher – 28fm Steve Poirier
Kear’s Speed Shop Top Qualifier Award – 0 Glenn Styres (14.288 seconds – 94.484 MPH, 152.057 KPH)
Bicknell Racing Products Fastest Canadian Qualifier Award – 0 Glenn Styres (14.288 seconds – 94.484 MPH, 152.057 KPH)
Corr/Pak Merchandising “Roadkill Bill Peer Memorial” Best Appearing Car Award – 6s J.R. Stewart
A-Main Contingency Sponsors:
Comp Cams, Grisdale Racing Products, Winters Racing Products, Seals-It, Hoosier Tire, Manton Pushrods, HRP Wings, Motorstate Distributing, Kinser Air Filters, Diversified Machine, Rocket Headers, Saldana Racing Products, Quaker State, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, ICS Racer’s Tape, Corr/Pak Merchandising, Awesome Racewear, Inside Track Motorsport News
MOD-LITE STARS CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR NORTH
MAKEUP A-FEATURE PRESENTED BY CONTOUR DRILLING (20 laps)
Position. # Name
1. 1 Paul Klager
2. 19 Jason Corless
3. 53 Jamie Gilbert
4. 15 Adam Leslie
5. 8m Joey Mastroianni
6. 71 Shawn Sliter
7. 33 Kory Howe
8. 17 Josh Sliter
9. 18 Andy Tallman
10. 14 Kellie Mason
11. 67 Rick Brubacher
12. 76 Dan Kviring
13. 27 Ray Sliter, Jr.
14. 37 Wally Billing
15. 2ez Blair Young
16. 31 Scott Billing
17. 80 Chris Steele
18. 116 Bob Bredin
19. 4 Greg Mills
HEAT RACES (8 Laps):
Heat Race #1
1. 1 Paul Klager (Beamsville), 2. 8m Joey Mastroianni (Welland), 3. 18 Andy Tallman (Niagara Falls), 4. 28 Adam Murphy (Niagara Falls), 5. 76 Dan Kviring (Brantford), 6. 71 Shawn Sliter (Port Colborne), 7. 67 Rick Brubacher (St. Clements), 8. 37 Wally Billing (Elmira).
Heat Race #2
1. 33 Kory Howe (St. Catharines), 2. 80 Chris Steele (Fenwick), 3. 19 Jason Corless (Bolton), 4. 53 Jamie Gilbert (Welland), 5. 15 Adam Leslie (Port Colborne), 6. 5c Jordan Curran (Welland), 7. 116 Bob Bredin (Niagara Falls), 8. 27 Ray Sliter, Jr. (Ridgeway).
Heat Race #3
1. 17 Josh Sliter (Ridgeway), 2. 14 Kellie Mason (Virgil), 3. 2ez Blair Young (Niagara Falls), 4. 117 Derek Bredin (Niagara Falls), 5. 31 Scott Billing (Waterloo), 6. 88 Dave Russell (Boston, NY), 7. 4 Greg Mills(Niagara Falls).
MOD-LITE STARS CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR NORTH
A-FEATURE (20 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 1 Paul Klager
2. 15 Adam Leslie
3. 33 Kory Howe
4. 28 Adam Murphy
5. 8m Joey Mastroianni
6. 19 Jason Corless
7. 67 Rick Brubacher
8. 17 Josh Sliter
9. 80 Chris Steele
10. 27 Ray Sliter, Jr.
11. 14 Kellie Mason
12. 5c Jordan Curran
13. 71 Shawn Sliter
14. 76 Dan Kviring
15. 53 Jamie Gilbert
16. 37 Wally Billing
17. 2ez Blair Young
18. 117 Derek Bredin
19. 31 Scott Billing
20. 88 Dave Russell
21. 116 Bob Bredin
22. 4 Greg Mills
23. 18 Andy Tallman
UP NEXT @ OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY:
OPENING DAY MAY 14, 2010