OHSWEKEN,
ON. – In an absolute thriller
of an A-Main finish, Jeff VanDusen and
Justin Barger swapped the lead twice on the
final lap Friday night during the Lucas Oil
Canadian Invasion Series event for the
Empire Super Sprints at the Ohsweken
Speedway.
With the big crowd on edge, it was
VanDusen’s wild dive underneath in turn
three while coming down for the checkered
flag proving to be the winning move to
collect his third feature victory in a row.
Even
though he took the bridesmaid spot in the
overall point standings the past two
seasons, the second-generation VanDusen is
out in force to improve that one spot on the
tour brought to you by Jacobs Motorsports.
Taking the lead from pole starting
Barger on lap 15, his Maxim #56D appeared to
be destined for that third consecutive
victory until lapped cars came into play and
Barger was able to close in to make it a
finish for the history books.
“My
car could only run way down on the bottom,
if I moved up it would be way too loose.
So when I came up to lap some cars I
knew I might be in trouble.” VanDusen
reflected on the closing stages.
“I had to go up a lane to get by
one car and Justin went under me in turn one
to get by.
I just tried to hit my line, drive
hard down the backstretch and was able to do
the same to him in turn three.
It was tight down there but it worked
and we are able to get three wins in a
row.”
For
VanDusen, who led the overall points coming
into the event at the Glenn Styres promoted
facility, it seems to be a season where
there is a mission.
“Of course your goal is the
championship, especially since we were
second two years in a row.
But, we are out to do the best we car
at every race, we have a good team right now
where its all clicking.”
said VanDusen.
“Carl (Schultz, his owner) is
giving me good equipment and having my dad
come along this year has been a big help
too. He
just knows what will happen with the track,
telling me where I should race or what to
look for in changes.
I think that little bit is helping me
this year.”
By virtue of the nightly pill draw a
full inversion of the field found Barger and
VanDusen in the front row.
When the green lights came on it was
Barger taking control as he took to the high
side of the fast 3/8ths mile oval.
The high line wasn’t as good for
VanDusen however as Steve Poirier swept by
to the runner up slot on lap two.
With his car not reacting, VanDusen
took to the extreme inside and found a
groove where his Gabriel’s IGA Market
mount would be strong.
He got back by Poirier on lap 11 and
the challenge was on.
As the laps clicked on, VanDusen
started to close in on the Barger and when
lap 15 was going in the books he came out of
four inching ahead for the lead.
After that it was a classic chase,
VanDusen down low, Barger up on he cushion
slinging his mount in the corners.
When the leading duo approached the
slower cars the drama hit its peek on lap
24. With
the white flag waving high in the air,
Barger slipped under in turn one to grab the
lead but it was VanDusen’s move in turn
three that brought him to career win #11 on
the ESS tour.
At
the finish it was VanDusen by a narrow
margin over Barger.
Chuck Hebing came from his 12th
place starting spot to third to collect the
Lane’s Yamaha Hard Charger bonus with
Lance Yonge nipping Poirier for fourth.
Rouding out the top ten were Michael
Parent, Jeff Cook, Alain Bergeron, Mike
Stelter with the Bliss Bros. #6 and Bubby
Kerrick.
Just
two cautions slowed the 25 lap A-Main:
Stelter looped his sprinter on lap
one collecting Fred Cade with only Stelter
able to continue.
On lap nine Jared Zimbardi also spun
around but he too continued.
Taking
the Car Mate Custom Built Trailers heats
were Kerrick, Bergeron and Poirier, Poirier
also won the Arrow Express/Walt’s Hobby
Dash with Tom Huppunen winning the KSE
Racing Products B-Main .
OHSWEKEN/ESS
NOTES: A total of 24 sprints in the pits
on a picture perfect night…Great support
from the Southern Ontario Sprints and from
Western Ontario with Huppunen, Cade, Kevin
Job, Rob Pietz, Daryl Turford, Brad Malloy,
Stan Zanchin and Derek Jonathan all making
their first ESS starts of 2007…Jamie
Collard made hard contact with the turn four
wall and flipped over in heat three for the
only red flag of the night…With the
victory, VanDusen is a guaranteed starter in
the Pro-Syn Oil Scramble held on August 25th
at the Genesee Speedway.
Along with him, Barger and Hebing
will be a part of the Ohsweken Shootout held
during the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals…ESS
will be back at Ohsweken as a part of the
very successful Nationals sponsored by Arrow
Express on Sept. 14 & 15 where ESS star
Steve Poirier is defending Nationals
champion.
RESULTS:
Heat
1 – Bubby Kerrick, Jeff VanDusen, Tommy
Wickham, Glenn Styres, Jared Zimbardi, Rob
Pietz.
Heat
2 – Alain Bergeron, Lance Yonge, Justin
Barger, Mike Stelter, Fred Cade, Daryl
Turford.
Heat
3 – Steve Poirier, Chuck Hebing, Jeff
Cook, Michael Parent, Kevin Job, Brad
Malloy.
Arrow
Express/Walt’s Hobby Dash – Poirier.
B-Main
– Tom Huppunen, Cory Sparks, Stan Zanchin,
Keith Dempster.
Did
Not Qualify – Derek Jonathan, Jamie
Collard.
A-MAIN
– Jeff VanDusen, Justin Barger, Chuck
Hebing, Lance Yonge, Steve Poirier, Michael
Parent, Jeff Cook, Alain Bergeron, Mike
Stelter, Bubby Kerrick, Rob Pietz, Jared
Zimbardi, Tommy Wickham, Brad Malloy, Glenn
Styres, Kevin Job, Keith Demspter, Tom
Huppunen, Stan Zanchin, Cory Sparks, Daryl
Turford, Fred Cade.
Gater
News Lap Leaders – Barger 1-15, VanDusen
16-25.
Canadian
Sprint Car Nationals A-Main Bonus –
VanDusen $100
National
Parts Peddler Halfway – Barger $100
Les
Constructions Ultra Blue Collar Award –
VanDusen $100
Lane’s
Yamaha Hard Charger Bonus – Hebing (9
pos.) $50
Cook’s
Contracting Bridesmaid Bonus – Barger $50
HG
Associates Pole Award – Barger $50
Car
Mate Custom Built Trailers Heats – Kerrick,
Bergeron, Poirier $25
Ohsweken
Winner’s Contingencies:
Sway-A-Way
$105, Finish Line Racewear $100, Griffin
Thermal Products $100, Hank’s
Performance Products $50, Kreitz Oval
Track Products $50, Saldana Racing
Products $50, Intense Fabrication and
Design $50, Racing Optics $30, Rod End
Supply $30, Brake Man $25, Behrent’s
Performance Warehouse $20, Area Auto
Racing News $20, Earl’s Indy $20, Ultra
Shield $10, Pepsi Cola $5.
Other
Contingencies:
Weld
Racing Hard Luck – Collard $100
Penske
Shocks – Poirier $100
Mangus
Pumps – Barger $100
Finish
Line Racewear – Barger $75, Hebing $50
Design
500 – Poirier $200, Zimbardi $200
ATL
– Hebing $100
M&W
Aluminum Products – Yonge $75
Leaf
Racewear – Yonge $75
Zemco
Headers – Poirier $50
Joe
Hunt Magnetos – Turford $50
Racing
Optics – Barger $30
Wings
Unlimited – Cook $25
DMI
– Cade $25
Pancho’s
Racing Products – Cook $25
Gater
Racing News – Hebing $20
Ultra
Shield – Barger $10
Pepsi
Cola – Poirier $10, Kerrick, Bergeron,
Huppunen $5.
The
Empire Super Sprints made their only stop a
the Ohsweken Speedway on Friday night and put
on a great show. Jeff VanDusen made an
outstanding pass on Justin Barger to take the
win. The victory was his third straight in ESS
competition. The evening also featured the
Lucas Oil Shootout DIRT Sportsman 50 lap tour
event. Mike Bowman grabbed the win and was
followed across the line by Rob Pratt and Mark
D'Ilario. The Thunder Stock win went to Brad
Bacher while Abel Castelein increased his
points lead in the Mini Stock division with a
feature win.
