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September 12 / 13, 2008 is already on the mind of Steve Poirier as the popular Canadian driver from St-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec has his sights set on defending his title at the 4th Annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
Set to run again at the Styres family owned Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Poirier became the first to file entry as CSCN event coordinator Ken Pelkie announced today that pre entries are now being accepted a reduced rate until August 15th. The Canadian Nationals is once again expected to be one of the most competitive weekends on the 2008, 360 sprint car calendar. “I am extremely pleased be able to confirm that Arrow Express has renewed their commitment to the Saturday, September 13th showcase event allowing us to continue building this show. Arrow Express will once again carry the title sponsorship for the weekend at the fast 3/8th’s mile clay oval located on the Six Nations Reserve just outside of Brantford, Ontario” Pelkie stated in making the announcement.
After falling to the weatherman in 2007, “Village Pizza; Village Café; and Sit-N-Bull Construction” will return to host “The Night Before the Nationals” on Friday, September 12, 2008.
The Friday portion of the weekend will once again feature the “Village Pizza – Ohsweken Shootout” for the fourth year along with a pair of 15 lap “A” Main’s that will guarantee the winners a position in the Saturday feature starting grid. Also on the Friday night card will be the second annual, Dave MacLeod Memorial – Mr. Sprint Car Challenge” which proved to be a popular addition to the 2007 program honoring the man who was a fixture on the sprint car circuit for many years. “And joining us this year will be Riverside Bar and Grill from Gananoque, Ontario. They have stepped in to sponsor our “Little Feature” on Saturday night which will give all non-qualified cars one last chance at making the A Main” Pelkie concluded.
Seventy six of the finest 360 sprints in the entire north-east representing affiliate sanctioning Empire Super Sprints, ASCS Sprints On Dirt, ASCS Patriot Region, National Racing Alliance, and the Southern Ontario Sprints assembled in 2007 for the third running of the maturing event making it one of the largest gatherings anywhere for the 360 sprints. With the CSCN quickly becoming one of the premier races on the north-east sprint car calendar, Empire Super Sprint sophomore standout Steve Poirier etched his name in the record book becoming the first two time winner of the event. Veteran sprint standout Kenny Jacobs is the only other to claim bragging rights as a winner of the prestigious event.
“The Nationals continues to be our flagship event” stated track promoter Glenn Styres. “The support that the regional sprint series from our area who sign on as affiliate sanctioning bodies continue to give Ken and his Nationals staff a tremendous amount of cooperation and support. The crowd continues to grow each year and are treated to one of the best shows that you will find anywhere. I still find it unbelievable that this program can be showcased in our backyard. The reception by both racers and fans alike gives us the incentive to continue to grow the Nationals into the annual premier event at Ohsweken” Styres went on. “And now with the success of our weekly Corr/Pak sponsored sprint car division and the regional sanctioning bodies signed to return, we can see the whole program strengthening and continuing to grow” Styres concluded.
After the Friday night portion of the program is completed, the fourth annual “Arrow Express - Canadian Sprint Car Nationals” will retain a one day format and will follow the same basic program as was redefined in 2007. As in the past, time trials will once again set the starting line-ups for the heat races with six cars being inverted in each heat. There will be one adjustment for the heat race winners in 2008. As in 2007, the winners of the heats will transfer directly to the “A” Main but in 2008 they will be inverted and lined up according to their time trial results. Thus, the fastest of the six heat race winners can start no better than sixth in the “A” Main.
“We will continue to massage the format until we get it a good as we can” stated Pelkie. “Our goal is to provide the most competitive racing possible for our paying fans and small, calculated moves will continue to be made to what we now feel is overall a pretty good program. With the track that we have to work with, we feel that the fast guys will always have enough time to get to the front under the format that we are using. We just need to try to find the proper formula to make for the best race. After all, it is racing that the fans are paying to see”.
In keeping with the initial goal of adding to the purse each year and building the event into the premier sprint car race in the north-east, the “A” Main winner will collect $8,000 for their efforts, up from $7,000 in 2007. Two additional positions have been added to the “A” Main starting line up making a total of 28 starters with the final position collecting $600. Both the Friday and Saturday shows will be a “Sprint Only” event with no support class.
Make your plans now to join us at Ohsweken Speedway on September 12 & 13, 2008 for the “Arrow Express - Canadian Sprint Car Nationals” weekend. Plenty of free camping is allowed on the speedway grounds as always.
Advanced Reserved Seating is available by calling 1-888-720-7223 daily until September 8th. Friday Adult Reserved seats are $15 while Kids Reserved seats 6 through 12 are $5. Friday General admission will be available on race day for $10 per adult while kids 12 and under are free. On Saturday, September 13th, Adult Reserved seating will be $35 while Kids Reserved 6 through 12 is $5. Saturday General admission is also available on race day for $20 per adult while Kids 6 through 12 will once again be $5. Kids under 5 are free on Saturday. As a special bonus, if you purchase Saturday Reserved tickets in advance you will receive your Friday tickets at no cost.
Be sure to check the official website of Ohsweken Speedway at HYPERLINK "http://www.ohswekenspeedway.com" www.ohswekenspeedway.com as more information will be released in the coming weeks leading up to race weekend.
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