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| OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY'S "TOP 10"...WITH 2009 CORR/PAK SPRINT CAR CHAMP TOM HUPPUNEN |
 By
Tommy Goudge (March 18, 2010) - The first official
day of spring is coming this weekend, which means
it's time to start thinking about the 2010 racing
season at Ohsweken Speedway! Opening day is
now less than two months away and all of
Ohsweken’s racers are busy getting ready for
action. "The Fenwick Flyer" Tom
Huppunen and car owner Fred Cade are among those
getting ready, and they're determined to repeat as
champions of the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car
division. This week in Ohsweken Speedway's
"Top Ten", we sat down with the Fenwick
Flyer to look back at 2009, and look ahead to the
2010 season and beyond.
Tom Huppunen began racing at an early age like many
of his competitors. His first racing events
came in karts when he was just seven years old, and
he had won two hundred features by the time he moved
to full size race cars in 1992 at age sixteen.
Tom spent the next four seasons competing
successfully in Merrittville Speedway’s Sportsman
and Modified divisions before moving into his most
desired division - Sprint Cars.
Huppunen was the first winner of the SOS
Championship race at Ohsweken in 1999, an event that
became the Canadian Sprint Car Championship.
The team was parked after that season due to lack of
funding, and Tom took a break from racing to live
and work in
Finland
, his father’s homeland. In 2004 while still
in Helsinki Tom began racing again in the 120cc
Fossil karting series. When Tom returned home
to
Ontario
he did some more road racing, this time in a F1200
car at Mosport. He got back to Sprint Cars
again in 2005 and has run the local tracks including
Ohsweken since that time.
Tom took over behind the wheel of Fred Cade’s #12c
last season and the combination provided instant
success with a feature win on opening night.
Finishes of seventh or better in each of the twelve
Corr/Pak events, including six total feature wins
and nine “top 5’s” propelled the team to the
2009 Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car division
championship. Huppunen and Cade remain
together for the 2010 season and will try to become
the first repeat champions of the Corr/Pak division.
"TOP
10"...WITH TOM HUPPUNEN:
Q: "You
were one of the first local drivers to go Sprint Car
racing. Obviously much has changed since those days
- What memories do you have of the early days at
Ohsweken, and Sprint Cars elsewhere in the
area?"
TH:
"I remember the excitement around the Empire
Super Sprints coming to Merrittville Speedway and
the standing room only in the grandstands. The
parking lot overflowed and cars were parked along
the roadsides. Hopefully Ohsweken can bring back
that atmosphere this season with Sprints every
week.”
“As I was already racing a couple years in Sprints
before attending a race at Ohsweken, it was a lot
like racing at Ransomville Speedway or Eriez
Speedway with the long straight-aways and high speed
corners. Back then, the current bottom groove was
the infield."
Q: "It
costs a lot of money to go racing, especially in
Sprint Cars. Do you think there are ways to cut
costs for local short track racers and keep the
Sprint Car division sustainable long term?"
TH:
"If you compare to the 358 Modified or Big
Block Modified divisions, initial costs (in 360
Sprint Cars) are equal if not lower. The big plus is
that you get much more bang for the buck racing a
Sprint Car with the high horsepower to weight ratio.
Yes, the initial costs are high, but people have to
understand that the 360 class is an economy sprint
car class. A ‘real’ Sprint Car has a 410 cubic
inch engine and aluminum block. A 360 cubic inch
American Sprint Car Series legal motor uses an iron
block which lasts three to four times longer before
needing a rebuild, and has spec heads. In my
opinion, both the 410 and 360 engines have plateaued.
The horsepower and torque ratings between the top
engine builders in the
USA
are within a couple percent, if not tighter.”
“This being said, I believe the key to keeping
this sport sustainable is regulation. There are
several ‘cheaper’ sprint car divisions being
developed with smaller engines, but without tight
regulations - i.e. weekly tear downs and random
checks with knowledgeable tech officials - the top
runners in these divisions will be spending more and
more cash to cheat and go around the rules.
Unfortunately, this is very common in all of
motorsports, from go-karts to NASCAR and Formula
1.”
“Just look at karting these days - parents are
spending five thousand dollars on five horsepower
Briggs & Stratton engines just for their
son/daughter to be able to be ‘competitive’. Now
that’s the division that needs to cut costs. Maybe
then they could afford a 360 sprint when the time
comes."
Q: "You
were one of the underdogs for a long time. What’s
it like changing roles and being viewed as one of
the guys to beat now?"
TH:
"No difference. I just love to race and don’t
pay any attention to how people perceive me on or
off the track. "
Q: "Do
you have any race day rituals or
superstitions?"
TH:
"Two bottles of red Gatorade purchased from the
same gas bar on the way to the track - secret
location. I always wear the pit admission
wrist band on my left wrist. (I have a) secret
lucky urinal in pit washroom."
Q: "The
track conditions for the Canadian Sprint Car
Nationals last year were completely different than
we are used to seeing at Ohsweken. What did you
learn from that experience?"
TH: "We
learned that we need to find something for this type
of track. We were good most of the season on various
race surfaces, but I knew from our trip to
Quebec
that we were weak on a really slippery track, which
showed up again in the A-main at the Nationals. This
is the other part of racing that I enjoy immensely -
the continuous learning! I still consider myself a
rookie in a sprint car so I know more seat time will
also help me drive better."
Q: “Which
driver(s) past or present do/did you most enjoy
racing against, and why?"
TH:
"I have always enjoyed racing against Glenn
(Styres) and his teammates. It’s a top-of-the-line
team with great equipment and great drivers. They
race clean too, so we have something in common - the
ability to race wheel-to-wheel and enjoy the battle
no matter the outcome."
Q: "There
will be at least six rookies in the Corr/Pak Sprint
Car division this year. What’s the biggest piece
of advice you got or wish you’d gotten when you
were a rookie?"
TH:
"I was lucky enough to get great advice
(during) my rookie season in Sprint Cars. I was the
young gun - only twenty years old and racing with
the Empire Super Sprints. The officials took me
aside to be sure I stayed to the bottom and they
made it clear that they would be watching that I
could 'hold my line', meaning not switching top to
bottom groves. At driver’s meetings they made sure
that everyone knew who I was and explained my racing
experience. I also had my mentor Phil Mott and his
son Shawn giving advice, along with my father being
sure I brought the car back to the trailer with all
four tires. Before long, I made friends with several
drivers such as Mike Woodring and Craig Keel. I had
gained other drivers’ respect by my actions on the
track."
Q: "Your
brother Jim was a rookie last year and started to
get pretty fast by the end of the season. What do
you think it’ll be like if you two find yourselves
battling for a feature win?”
TH:
"I think the fans would be in for quite the
spectacle if this were to occur. Neither of us would
lift off the throttle, (and) there’d be sparks and
parts flying everywhere. He did it right, kept his
nose clean all season and gained a lot of respect.
He even beat me fair and square for his first heat
win at the end of the season!"
Q: "You
went to
Drummondville
last season for the first annual
Quebec
Sprint Car Nationals. What is it like racing in
Quebec
in front of those large crowds of dedicated dirt
track fans, and what do you think the atmosphere
will be like there when the World of Outlaws are
there for the first time ever in July, a few days
before they visit Ohsweken?"
TH: "The
fans in
Quebec
are great. We had a great time there even if we
didn’t perform as well as we’d liked to on the
track. It’d be worth a road trip for sure - camp
in the parking lot if possible. Just don’t have
too much fun so that you miss the show at the Big
O!!"
Q: "A
well used cliché in sports says that getting to the
top is hard, but staying there is even harder. What
do you think it will take to repeat as Corr/Pak
champion this season?"
TH: "I
got this covered already…I bolted a horseshoe to
the bottom of my seat!"
**More information about Tom Huppunen can be found
on his official website: www.FenwickFlyer.com
NEXT AT OHSWEKEN
Ohsweken Speedway’s fifteenth anniversary season
is coming up faster than you think! Less than
sixty days remain until the engines fire for the
first time at the
Speedway
for Test and Tune on Saturday, May 8. Make
sure to visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com
and make your plans to attend Friday Night Thunder
each week starting May 14
and
“Feel the Excitement”!
Don’t forget the World of
Outlaws Sprint Series events on July 30th and 31st,
and the Sixth Annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals
September 16th to 18th!
ABOUT
Ohsweken Speedway is located in the village of
Ohsweken, Ontario approximately twenty-five minutes
Southeast of Brantford, forty minutes Southwest of
Hamilton, one hour and twenty minutes West of
Niagara Falls, one hour and twenty minutes East of
London, and one hour and twenty minutes Southwest of
Toronto.
Ohsweken Speedway is a state-of-the-art Styres
family-owned three/eighths mile clay oval racing
facility featuring Musco lighting and seating for
8,000.
Friday Night Thunder provides weekly racing at the
track, featuring Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars,
ESSO Thunder Stocks, ESSO Mini Stocks, and Bombers,
along with touring series visits by the World of
Outlaws Sprint Series, Empire Super Sprints, ASCS
Patriots, and Mod-Lite Stars Championship Tour
North.
The track’s signature event is the Canadian Sprint
Car Nationals held in September each season.
Up to eighty or more of the best 360 sprint car
drivers and teams from across
Canada
, the
United States
, and beyond will converge on Ohsweken to contest
the Sixth Annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals
September 16th-18th, 2010.
Regular Friday Night Thunder admission is just $10,
while students and seniors are $8, and Kids age 12
and under get in free. Advance reserved seat
tickets for the World of Outlaws Sprint Series and
Canadian Sprint Car Nationals went on sale March 8.
Please visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com
for more information, or call 1-888-720-RACE!
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