 by
Tommy Goudge (September 17, 2009) – The
Empire Super Sprints tour visited Ohsweken
Speedway on Thursday night for a rescheduled
event postponed from May. Adding another day
onto Canadian Sprint Car Nationals weekend,
the ESS event presented by Best Western Cairn
Croft Hotel drew a stellar field of fifty cars
from five Canadian provinces and seven
American states to the track. When the
twenty-five lap feature was over it was ESS
regular Jeff Cook in victory lane, topping the
invading stars. Meanwhile, Lee Winger took the
feature win in the ESSO Thunder Stocks, Steve
Hess took ESSO Mini-Stock honours, and Lee
Hils won the Bomber feature.
EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS
Wayne Johnson and Bubba Broderick started on
the front row of the twenty-five lap ESS
feature on Thursday night, but before the
green flag even waved trouble struck on
Broderick’s machine. During the pace laps,
Broderick’s front wing had come loose and
stuck at an odd angle. When the green flag
dropped, Broderick began to fall back while
Johnson jumped out to the early lead. Johnson
would lead only the first lap, as Dustin
Daggett charged quickly from his fourth
starting spot to take the lead from Johnson
after a brief side-by-side battle. Daggett led
the next three laps with Johnson in tow before
Jeff Cook really began to make his presence
known by overtaking Johnson for second.
Meanwhile at the back of the field,
twenty-fourth starter Shane Stewart was making
his way rapidly through the field, and had
already gained ten positions by lap five, and
Steve Poirier was also making his way through
the field from twenty-fifth. Cook made his
move for the lead around Daggett on lap eight,
while Johnson got around Daggett for the
second spot a lap later, but Daggett fought
back to retake it again on lap ten.
With the battle for the runner-up spot
ongoing, Cook was out front slicing through
slower traffic and pulling away. Lap thirteen
saw Johnson finally getting clear of Daggett,
while Lance Yonge and Justin Barger rounded
out the top five. Ryan Grubaugh began to make
some moves on laps seventeen and eighteen,
passing Yonge and Barger, while Stewart also
got by Barger into sixth and then to fifth on
lap nineteen, just before a caution came out
for a Scott Bonnell spin in turn two.
Bonnell’s wing had come apart early in the
race and he took the #3b pit side. When the
green flag came out again, Cook had the lapped
machine of Michael Parent between he and
Johnson and used that to his advantage,
opening up a lead on the restart.
The red flag made its only appearance of the
night on lap twenty-one when Dave Dykstra
flipped wildly entering turn one for the
second time in three weeks. Dykstra emerged
from his badly damaged machine shaken up, but
otherwise fine. The green flag came out once
again for a four lap dash to the finish, and
this time there were no lapped cars between
Cook and Johnson. Cook was strong out front
however, and kept Johnson at bay while
Grubaugh got around Daggett for third.
The handling on Cook’s car began to go away
over the last few laps, while Johnson was
making gains on the top side. Cook slipped and
slid in turn four on the last lap, but Johnson
had to lift to avoid an accident and Cook held
on for the win with Johnson settling for
second. Grubaugh, Stewart, and Daggett rounded
out the top five. Heat races for the fifty
cars in attendance were claimed by Broderick,
Johnson, Yonge, and Daggett, while Daggett
also claimed the Dash for Cash, and Alain
Bergeron and Trevor Lewis claimed the Conci
events.
ESSO THUNDER STOCKS
Dave Bailey and Rodney Rutherford started on
the front row for the twenty lap feature, with
Bailey getting the early lead and driving
away. Lee Winger and Ryan Dinning were on the
move through the pack and were on Bailey’s
tail after a caution flag bunched the field.
Both drivers would make their way around
Bailey when the race restarted, and battled
side by side for much of the last half of the
race. Dinning tried different grooves to get
around his friend for the lead, but couldn’t
quite get the job done. Winger took the win,
followed by Dinning, Bailey, Shayne Pierce,
and Nick Cupolo.
Heat races were claimed by Billy Bleich, Jr.
and Winger.
ESSO MINI STOCKS
Glen Leinen and Mike Giberson started on the
front row of the fifteen lap Mini-Stock
feature, but they wouldn’t stay at the front
long as Steve Hess, Kevin Hilborn, Abel
Castelein, and Mitchell Brown quickly made
their way from the back to the front. Hess got
there first and held off Brown for the win,
followed by Hilborn, Castelein, and Paul
Goodale.
Heat races went to Brown and Castelein.
BOMBERS
Lee Hils and Karl Sault battled through heavy
traffic through much of the twenty lap Bomber
feature, with Sault leading the way until the
very last lap when Hils made a banzai move in
turn two and got through the traffic to take
the win. Sault settled for second followed by
Adam Riedel, Kacey Huffman, and Shawn Ireland.
OHSWEKEN
SPEEDWAY RACE REPORT
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
OHSWEKEN, ONTARIO
EVENT SPONSOR – BEST WESTERN CAIRN CROFT
HOTEL
Race Start: 7:45 P.M.
Race End: 10:50 P.M.
EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS
HEAT RACES (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer To
A-Feature):
Heat Race #1
1. 5b Bubba Broderick (Brookfield, CT), 2. f37
Jim Porter (Grand Island, NY), 3. 21k Lou
Kennedy, Jr. (Winnipeg, MB), 4. 5d Dave
Dykstra (Port Colborne), 5. 27 Jamie Collard (Burford),
6. 3b Scott Bonnell (Fairlawn, PA), 7. 8
Travis Rutz (Langley, B.C.), 8. 51 Lee
Ladouceur (Alexandria), 9. 49t Gregg Dalman
(Lyons, MI), 10. 84 Tyler Rand (Consecon), 11.
21j John Burbridge, Jr. (Simcoe), 12. 151kb
Brian McDonald (Cornwall) DNF, 13. 20k Thomas
Kennedy (Winnipeg, MB) DNS. No Time
Heat Race #2
1. 07x Wayne Johnson (Knoxville, IA), 2. 10
Jeff Cook (Antwerp, NY), 3. 64 Jessica Zemken
(Sprakers, NY), 4. 39c Paul McMahan
(Nashville, TN), 5. 90 James Evans (Beamsville),
6. 8b Alain Bergeron (Saint-Pie, QC), 7. 25
Michael Parent (Granby, QC), 8. 12 Tim Kelly
(Rock Stream, NY), 9. 42w Rick Wilson (Joyceville),
10. 7a Al Blanchard (Welland), 11. 45 Chuck
Hebing (Ontario, NY), 12. 47x Louie Carufel
(Port Huron, MI), 13. 01 Kyle Fraser (White
Lake). Time – 2:22.939
Heat Race #3
1. 17j Lance Yonge (Penn Yan, NY), 2. 32
Justin Barger (Montrose, NY), 3. 6n Dain Naida
(Bellville, MI), 4. 21x Kevin Job (Campbellville),
5. 79 Brett Mann (Goshen, IN), 6. 3g Shane
Stewart (Pittsboro, IN), 7. 18 Kevin Loveys
(Hamilton), 8. 5 Keith Dempster (Alton), 9.
28fm Steve Poirier (Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil,
QC), 10. 11 Chris Jones (Demorestville), 11.
15k Gord Kynoch (Spruce Grove, AB), 12. 77x
Ryan Hunsinger (Brantford). Time – 2:22.935
Heat Race #4
1. 2m Dustin Daggett (Grand Ledge, MI), 2. 00
Ryan Grubaugh (St. Johns, MI), 3. 75 Tommy
Wickham (Constantia, NY), 4. 71 Travis
Cunningham (Grimsby), 5. 33 Doug Emery (South
Onondaga, NY), 6. 0 Glenn Styres (Ohsweken),
7. 7 Kyle Moffit (South Dayton, NY), 8. 35
Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY), 9. 52L Daniel
Lampron (Saint-Valere, QC), 10. 15aw April
Wilson (Joyceville), 11. Jessica Lavallee (Onoway,
AB), 12. 14 Doug Banks (Kingston). No Time
DASH FOR CASH
(4 Laps)
1. 2m Dustin Daggett, 2. 07x Wayne Johnson, 3.
5b Bubba Broderick, 4. 17j Lance Yonge. Time
– 0:56.463
CONSI #1
(10 Laps - Top 2 Transfer To A-Feature)
1. 8b Alain Bergeron, 2. 3b Scott Bonnell, 3.
8 Travis Rutz, 4. 45 Chuck Hebing, 5. 25
Michael Parent, 6. 12 Tim Kelly, 7. 51 Lee
Ladouceur, 8. 47x Louie Carufel, 9. 84 Tyler
Rand, 10. 42w Rick Wilson, 11. 7a Al
Blanchard, 12. 49t Gregg Dalman, 13. 01 Kyle
Fraser, 14. 20k Thomas Kennedy DNF, 15. 21j
John Burbridge, Jr. DNF. No Time
CONSI #2
(10 Laps - Top 2 Transfer To A-Feature)
1. 21L Trevor Lewis, 2. 3g Shane Stewart, 3.
28fm Steve Poirier, 4. 35 Jared Zimbardi, 5.
18 Kevin Loveys, 6. 7 Kyle Moffit, 7. 0 Glenn
Styres, 8. 5 Keith Dempster, 9. 15k Gord
Kynoch, 10. 77x Ryan Hunsinger, 11. 52L Daniel
Lampron, 12. 11 Chris Jones, 13. 15aw April
Wilson, 14. 14 Doug Banks, 15. 97 Jessica
Lavallee DNF. No Time
EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS
SPRINT CAR FEATURE (25 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 10 Jeff Cook (6)
2. 07x Wayne Johnson (1)
3. 00 Ryan Grubaugh (8)
4. 3g Shane Stewart (24)
5. 2m Dustin Daggett (4)
6. 28fm Steve Poirier (25)
7. 32 Justin Barger (7)
8. 39c Paul McMahan (14)
9. 64 Jessica Zemken (10)
10. 21L Trevor Lewis (22)
11. 17j Lance Yonge (3)
12. 8b Alain Bergeron (21)
13. 6n Dain Naida (11)
14. 27 Jamie Collard (17)
15. 75 Tommy Wickham (12)
16. 21k Lou Kennedy, Jr. (9)
17. 5b Bubba Broderick (2)
18. 25 Michael Parent (26)
19. 90 James Evans (18)
20. 71 Travis Cunningham (16)
21. 5d Dave Dykstra (13) DNF
22. 21x Kevin Job (19) DNF
23. f37 Jim Porter (5) DNF
24. 3b Scott Bonnell (23) DNF
25. 79 Brett Mann (15) DNF
26. 33 Doug Emery (20) DNF
No Time
* Note - Steve Poirier and Michael Parent used
ESS provisionals to start the feature.
ESSO THUNDER STOCKS
HEAT RACES (8 Laps):
Heat Race #1
1. 108jr Billy Bleich, Jr. (Port Robinson), 2.
88 Shayne Pierce (Welland), 3. 40 Terry Osmond
(Cambridge), 4. 12 Brad Herron (Brantford), 5.
17 Rob Disher (Grimsby), 6. 24k Kyle Magrin
(Hamilton), 7. 13 Mark Thorne (Waterford), 8.
31 Dave Bailey (Hagersville) DNF
Heat Race #2
1. 83 Lee Winger (Caledonia), 2. 8 Ryan
Dinning (Caledonia), 3. 48h Nick Cupolo
(Thorold), 4. 62 Brian Pescetti (Stoney
Creek), 5. 13x Mike Miller, 6. 7 Remington
Price (Wainfleet), 7. 37 Jeremy Bean (Stoney
Creek), 8. 32 Rodney Rutherford (Waterdown)
DNF
ESSO THUNDER STOCKS A-FEATURE (20 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 83 Lee Winger (12)
2. 8 Ryan Dinning (10)
3. 31 Dave Bailey (1)
4. 88 Shayne Pierce (13)
5. 48h Nick Cupolo (8)
6. 108jr Billy Bleich, Jr. (15)
7. 7 Remington Price (16)
8. 62 Brian Pescetti (6)
9. 37 Jeremy Bean (14)
10. 17 Rob Disher (7)
11. 13 Mark Thorne (3)
12. 13x Mike Miller (4)
13. 24k Kyle Magrin (5) DNF
14. 32 Rodney Rutherford (2) DNF
15. 40 Terry Osmond (11) DNF
16. 12 Brad Herron (9) DNS
ESSO MINI-STOCKS
HEAT RACES:
Heat Race #1
1. 10 Mitchell Brown (Brantford), 2. 777x
Steve Hess (Ohsweken), 3. 72 Kevin Hilborn
(Brantford), 4. 37 Rob Hoskins (Harley), 5. 79
Steve Miller, 6. 55 Rob Slater (Dundas), 7. 9
Glen Leinen (Hannon)
Heat Race #2
1. 28 Abel Castelein (Cayuga), 2. 14 Paul
Goodale, 3. 77x Ethan Martin (Ohsweken), 4. 05
Dave Goodacre (Brantford), 5. 02 Mike Taylor
(Burlington), 6. 11 Mike Giberson (Caledonia)
ESSO MINI-STOCKS A-FEATURE (15 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 777x Steve Hess (11)
2. 10 Mitchell Brown (13)
3. 72 Kevin Hilborn (9)
4. 28 Abel Castelein (12)
5. 14 Paul Goodale (10)
6. 02 Mike Taylor (4)
7. 79 Steve Miller (5)
8. 55 Rob Slater (3)
9. 05 Dave Goodacre (6)
10. 9 Glen Leinen (1)
11. 11 Mike Giberson (2) DNF
12. 77x Ethan Martin (3) DNF
13. 37 Rob Hoskins (7) DNF
BOMBERS A-FEATURE (20 laps)
Position. # Name (Hometown)
1. 181 Lee Hils (Dundas)
2. 81 Karl Sault (Dundas)
3. 00 Adam Reidel
4. 13 Kacey Huffman (Hamilton)
5. 113 Shawn Ireland
6. 17 Brittany Gyorkery
7. 88j Jesse McDonald (Caledonia)
8. 13c Corrie Cowell (Delhi)
9. 03 Bill Rutherford (Waterdown)
UP NEXT @ OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
VILLAGE PIZZA WITH SIT ‘N BULL CONSTRUCTION
AND VILLAGE CAFÉ PRESENT:
“THE NIGHT BEFORE THE NATIONALS”
SPRINT CARS
PLUS ESSO THUNDER STOCKS, ESSO MINI STOCKS,
AND BOMBERS
ADULT RESERVED SEATS $15, ADULT GENERAL
ADMISSION $10
KIDS AGES 6-12 $5, KIDS AGE 5 AND UNDER FREE
SPECTATOR GATES OPEN @ 5:00 P.M., RACING @
7:45 P.M. |
