| By Clayton Johns
OHSWEKEN, Ont. (June 11, 2019) – Three weeks into the 2019 season, Ohsweken Speedway has seen plenty of fantastic racing with more than 120 cars signing into the pits each night. This Friday, the track is eager to combine its current high-octane excitement while celebrating part of its storied history on Core-Mark Wall of Fame and Kids Race night on Friday, June 14. The Ohsweken Speedway Wall of Fame will welcome its five new inductees including, John and Wendy Brush, Ryan Hunsinger, Rob Pietz and Zeger Van Thuyl for their storied contributions to the race track. To learn more about the involvement of each of our Wall of Fame inductees, click here.
It’s also Kids Race night. The Kids Race organization was formed in 2010 to help raise autism awareness and research to benefit the Canadian National Autism Foundation (CNAF) through the racing community.
All four Ohsweken weekly divisions will be in action, including the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars, Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars, Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks and HRW Automotive Mini Stocks.
Race time for Core-Mark Wall of Fame and Kids Race night is 7:30pm. The pit gates open at 5:00pm before the main grandstand opens at 6:00pm. For the full schedule of Ohsweken Speedway events, visitwww.ohswekenspeedway.ca.
Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars
So far in 2019, the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car division has been the Dylan Westbrook show. The Scotland, Ont. pilot is undefeated in three Ohsweken starts this year. Even when it looked like he had run out of time last Friday night, Westbrook stormed past Mack DeMan in the final corner to steal the win. Entering week four action, Westbrook’s advantage over second-place DeMan is just 18 points with the latter finishing on the podium each night this year. In third, just nine points back of DeMan, is Jim Huppunen. The Fenwick, Ont. native has had a strong start and is the only other driver to finish all three races in the top-five so far this season. Rounding out the top-five are Caistor Centre, Ont. brothers Cory and Ryan Turner. Cory has two top-fives and a sixth-place finish to his credit while Ryan sits fifth three consecutive top-10s to begin the campaign. Scott Kreutter, Mitch Brown and rookie-of-the-year contender Josh Hansen hold positions six through eight while Holly Porter and Shane Ross round out the top-10.
Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars
Unlike the 360 Sprint Cars, the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars have seen three different winners in as many weeks so far this year. The division’s current point leader, Liam Martin, scored the opening night win before a second-place finish and then earned a seventh-place result last week. He leads Fonthill, Ont. driver Steven Beckett and Beamsville’s Paul Klager by 28 points as they sit tied for second. Beckett’s substantial improvement to start the year has been nothing short of impressive while Klager has been remarkably consistent to start his second season of Sprint Car action. Tied for fourth are Port Colborne’s Jacob Dykstra and Brantford’s Lucas Smith. Dykstra has a pair of top-fives to his credit while Smith has managed two top-10s despite battling motor issues. Seventh-place Jesse Costa and 13th-place Jordan Hill also have wins this season.
Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks
The Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock division has proved to be as competitive as its ever been this year with three different drivers stopping in Mister Transmission Victory Lane so far this year. Defending champion Dave Bailey anchors the top spot again this week with a 15-point lead over Trevor DeBoer. Both drivers have a win, but Bailey’s three top-fives to DeBoer’s one are the difference so far. Jerseyville’s Logan Shwedyk is third, just eight points back of DeBoer while Caistor Centre pilot Jim Lampman is only five notches pack of third. Rounding out the top-five is Guelph driver Chris Hale who has three top-10s, including a top-five, to his name this year. Eighth-place Ryan Beagle is the most recent winner. He trails Ken Sargent and Ryan Dinning to get into the top-five in the championship standings. Rob Hoskins and Mark Fawcett round out the current top-10.
HRW Automotive Mini Stocks
The HRW Automotive Mini Stocks have also seen three winners thus far. The triple-deuce of Nick Masi sits at the top of the pile right now on the strength of a win, two top-fives and three top-10s. Tim DeBoer has been Mr. Consistent thus far and has a pair of top-fives to put him just 11 points back of the lead. Jonathan Ayrton of Dundas, Ont. is currently third while Kyle Wert, who has a win this season, and Tristan Da Silva sit knotted for the fourth spot to round out the top-five. Opening night winner ‘Cheeseburger’ Sean Iftody sits sixth and just 10 points back of fourth. Jeremy May, Dusty DeBoer, Mike Sarantakos and Ryan Hillar round out the current top-10.
|
