OHSWEKEN: Sportsman Racers Return Friday Night

By Tommy Goudge (June 25, 2008) – Some familiar faces will be in the pits this Friday night at Ohsweken Speedway when the Sportsman Modifieds return for a special open $1,000 to win event. Joining the Sportsman for Friday Night Thunder will be the ESSO Thunder Stocks, ESSO Mini-Stocks, and Friday Night Fun Stocks, while the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car division takes the evening off after 6 weeks of intense weekly racing.

Many present day Corr/Pak Sprint Car competitors at Ohsweken used the Sportsman division as a stepping stone to sprint cars, including drivers like Nick Cupolo, who won 2 Sportsman features last season on his way to the Ohsweken track championship, and Dave Dykstra who also won 2 Sportsman features at Ohsweken last season. 2006 track champion Rob Pratt of Batavia, NY has already announced his intentions to shoot for the $1,000 winner’s cheque this Friday, along with former Southern Ontario Sprints competitor Joe Middlemiss of St. Catharines, Ontario, who currently sits 2nd in Merrittville Speedway Sportsman division points, just 8 markers out of the lead. Local favourites such as Caledonia residents Robbie Rounce and Lee Winger are also expected to be on hand.

The ESSO Thunder Stocks division has been dominated so far this season by young Cody McPherson. The St. Catharines resident has won 4 out of the 5 features run this season, but a pack of hungry drivers is eager to knock McPherson off his perch. The consistency of Ryan Dinning has him in 2nd place in the points, 52 back of McPherson, as Dinning has 3 top 5 finishes this season, and has finished no worse than 7th. Terry Osmond interrupted McPherson’s win streak during week 3, and charged all the way from 15th on the grid to finish 7th last Friday.

Osmond’s result on Friday moved him into a 3rd place tie in the points standings with Glenn Leinen, who came home 11th on Friday and out of the top 10 for the first time all season. Both Leinen and Osmond are just 2 points behind Dinning for 2nd. After some hard luck to start the season, 2007 Thunder Stock track champ Brad Bacher finally had things go his way last week as he came home with a solid 2nd place finish, and looks to keep the momentum going this Friday.

Bacher is currently 5th in the standings, but is just 17 points away from 2nd place Dinning. Dave Bailey and newcomer Russ Davidson showed they will be contenders as the season moves along by taking home solid 3rd and 4th place finishes on Friday. Bailey’s run all the way from 18th on the grid was his best performance of the season.

The unpredictable ESSO Mini-Stock division saw yet another new face in victory lane last week as Ohsweken’s own Brent Hill took home the feature win. In the points standings however, consistent finishes – not wins – are the key to success. Points leader Abel Castelein is the only driver currently ranked in the top 5 who has a feature win to his credit this season, which he accomplished in week #1. Consistent top 10 finishes for Castelein are the reasons he has remained at the top of the standings since then. Mark Thorne and Rick Emberson have both been consistent front-runners this season as well, and find themselves tied for 2nd in points, just 14 points behind Castelein.

The #88 shared by the team of Kelly and Marc Hallett is ranked 4th, 19 points behind Thorne and Emberson, while Dan Stewart rounds out the top 5, just 10 points behind the Halletts. A hard crash in heat race #1 involving the #40 of Jim Swing and the #77x of Ethan Martin on Friday night unfortunately heavily damaged both cars, and dropped Swing from the top 5 to 7th in the standings. Thankfully neither driver was hurt in the incident.

The Friday Night Fun Stock division also had another new winner last week as Steven Hils took home a well-deserved win, followed by week 2 feature winner Lee Hils, and new entry Kacey Huffman. A season high 8 cars took the green flag for 25 laps of Fun on the infield oval on Friday night, and the division continues to grow as the weeks go by, a process which is sure to accelerate on July 5th when a special race for the Fun Stocks will pay $250 to the winner!

Week 4 feature winner Chris Hils leads the Fun Stock points over Lee Hils heading into this Friday. Coming up in 2 weeks is another doubleheader weekend at Ohsweken Speedway, this time featuring the American Sprint Car Series. Mark July 4th and 5th on your calendar as all the stars from the ASCS Sprints on Dirt series and ASCS Patriot region converge on Ohsweken to battle the local favourites from Ohsweken’s Corr/Pak Merchandising sprint car division in the “ASCS Northern Summer Nationals”.

With two nights of racing on tap, and a $3,000 prize awaiting the winner on July 5, the pits are sure to be jammed with Sprint Cars. Joining the Sprint Cars on Friday, July 4 will be all of Ohsweken’s regular divisions, including the ESSO Thunder Stocks, ESSO Mini Stocks, and Friday Night Fun Stocks, while Saturday, July 5 will offer the Sprint Cars, plus a $250 to win Friday Night Fun Stock race, and “Box Car” Races for kids ages 6-12 (log on to www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for details). On top of all the racing action, Dick Mahoney will be bringing Jack Hewitt’s 2-seater sprint car back to Ohsweken for more laps on the fast 3/8’s mile clay oval with passengers along for the ride!

Coming up on Tuesday, July 22 and Wednesday, July 23 are 2 more dates that fans all over the province have circled on their calendars, as all the stars of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series return to Ohsweken for 2 separate full points-paying race nights, culminating in the 2nd Annual 6 Nations Showdown on Wednesday, July 23. The broadcast crew from Speed Channel will be on hand each night to record every lap for broadcast on the following 2 weekends. Advanced reserved seat tickets for each night remain available. Visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com and call 1-888-720-RACE to reserve your seat!

Friday Night Thunder at Ohsweken Speedway offers affordable family entertainment just a short drive away from most mid-western Ontario locations. Adult General Admission is $10, Seniors & Students 13 - 17 are $8, and Kids 12 and under are FREE! Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information. Gates open at 6:00p.m. with the first race taking the green flag at 7:45p.m. this Friday, June 27th!