TREVOR LEWIS WINS IN ASCS PATRIOT COMPETITION

by Tommy Goudge (August 14, 2009) – Trevor Lewis made his first ever visit to Ohsweken Speedway a good one on Friday night, winning his heat race and the twenty-five lap feature in dominant fashion during Trailers By Jim Bray night at the Speedway. In ESSO Thunder Stock action, Jamie Cox once again held the hot hand, keeping Shayne Pierce at bay and claiming his third feature win in a row. Steve Hess claimed his first points-paying feature win of the year in the ESSO Mini Stocks, while Rodney Rutherford drove from last to first to win the Bomber feature. Fans expecting to get the autograph of their favourite driver were also treated to a special appearance by Santa Claus, as Ohsweken Speedway celebrated “Christmas in August” on Friday night.

ASCS PATRIOTS
Gordy Button and Blake Breen started the twenty-five lap Village Pizza Ohsweken Shootout qualifier on the front row and it was Breen grabbing the early lead while Button settled into second. Behind them, Trevor Lewis was going to work and already passed two cars by the time Doug Bowman rolled in turn three to bring out a red flag with one lap in the books. Back under green, Dain Naida got by Chris Muhleisen for the third spot on lap three, while Lewis dispatched Muhleisen to fifth a lap later, and Bobby Breen moved his way into the top five on lap five. The order up front would remain much the same until Lewis made his way up to second just before a caution flag for ASCS Patriots series points leader Jared Zimbardi, who came to a stop in turn two with damaged suspension and retired.

When the green flag flew once again, Lewis attacked and made his way around Breen into the lead on lap eleven, after Breen switched lanes to the bottom in turn one and two. Once out front, Lewis quickly stretched his lead and made his way through lapped traffic while Breen was dealing with Button, Naida, and others. Just past halfway, Naida began to falter while Bryan Howland and Jamie Collard were making their presence known in the top five. The race went green until lap twenty, when Naida came to a stop in turn two to bring out a caution. Naida would restart, while a red flag period ensued when Howland and Button got together in turn two, sending Button upside down. Howland would make repairs, but Button was done for the night.

On the restart, Lewis had six lap cars between himself and second place running Breen and was able to cruise to the win without a serious challenge. Breen fought off the challenges of Naida, Jamie Collard, and Howland to claim the runner-up spot, while Collard took the third place finish after starting eighteenth. Naida took fourth, while Howland rounded out the top five. Heat races for the twenty-nine ASCS Patriots in attendance were claimed by Ryan Hunsinger, Trevor Lewis, and Chris Muhleisen, while Bobby Breen completed the four lap dash race in track record time, and Kevin Job won the Consi.

ESSO THUNDER STOCKS
Rob Disher led much of the early portion of the ESSO Thunder Stocks event on Friday, while behind him Shayne Pierce and Jamie Cox worked to break free of the snarling pack. Disher held off Pierce and Cox for most of the first half of the race, but the two dominant drivers of the last few weeks eventually relegated Disher to third and battled it out for the feature win. Cox made his way past Pierce and into the lead just before Kyle Magrin came to a stop in turn two with steering problems to bring out a caution with six laps to go. Pierce tried valiantly to get around the Cox machine, but would settle for the runner-up spot once again as Cox claimed his fourth win of the season and third in a row. Billy Bleich, Jr. finished third, followed by Brad Herron and Mike Thorne. Heat races for the twenty ESSO Thunder Stocks in competition were claimed by Jeremy Bean, Shayne Pierce, and Kyle Magrin

ESSO MINI STOCKS
Ethan Martin and Dave Goodacre started the fifteen lap ESSO Mini Stock feature on the front row, but it wasn’t long before Mitchell Brown was up front and bidding for his tenth win of the season. After an early restart, Brown made it three wide to take the lead, but Steve Hess was also hungry for a win and kept pace with Brown as the two pulled away from the rest of the field. Hess challenged Brown on the bottom a few times before making the pass in turn one just before the halfway mark. Hess would hold on from there for the feature win, while Brown settled for second, followed by Kevin Hilborn, Abel Castelein, and Rob Goulding. The win was Hess’ first points-paying feature victory of the season and second feature win overall. The Ohsweken resident previously scored a win on Wednesday, July 29 during a non-points event supporting the World of Outlaws “Six Nations Showdown”. Heat races for the seventeen ESSO Mini Stocks on hand were claimed by Paul Goodale and Steve Hess.

BOMBERS
Rodney Rutherford started at the back of the Bomber field on Friday night, but he didn’t stay there for long. Rutherford was into the lead before the halfway mark, and was never seriously challenged while a great battle ensued between Karl Sault and Jesse McDonald for the runner-up spot. Rutherford claimed his third Bomber feature win of the year, while Sault kept McDonald behind him to claim second. Adam Reidel and Kacey Huffman rounded out the top five.

NEXT WEEK AT OHSWEKEN
Friday Night Thunder resumes on Friday, August 21 when Gales Auto Aftermarket and ESSO Speedway Variety present the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars, ESSO Thunder Stocks, ESSO Mini Stocks, Bombers and a Flag Pole Race!

Friday Night Thunder at Ohsweken Speedway offers affordable family entertainment just a short drive away from most mid-western Ontario locations. Friday Night Thunder Adult General Admission is just $10, while Seniors and Students are $8, and kids 12 and under are FREE! Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information. On Friday night, gates open at 6:00p.m., with the first race at 7:45p.m.