WESTBROOK, BEGOLO, BAILEY, AND SCHRODER TAKE A-MAIN WINS ON CHAMPIONSHIP FRIDAY AT OHSWEKEN
Photo Credit: Dale Calnan (www.imagefactormedia.com)
Article Credit: Brent Otchere
OHSWEKEN, Ont. (September 6, 2024) – Bradshaw Fuels and Epic Racewear presented Championship Friday at Ohsweken Speedway; Dylan Westbrook, Brent Begolo, Dave Bailey, and Martin Schroder took A-Main wins, while Westbrook, Brett Stratford, Ryan Beagle, and Gillian Hils clinched season championships.
Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars
D.J. Christie and Shone Evans brought the 25 car field to the green flag for the 360 Sprint Car A-Main. Christie had a successful start, leading the first lap. Two caution flags came out after the first lap was completed. Christie defended his lead on each restart, however Mike Bowman was able to overtake for the lead on lap three. Dylan Westbrook snagged the lead right before the third caution flag came out on lap six.
Even though Bowman had a blazing fast car, it still wasn’t enough to match Westbrook’s pace. Westbrook went on to put a five second gap over Bowman by the time he crossed under the checkered flag. Bowman had to settle for second, with Christie taking third, Ryan Turner fourth, and Eric Gledhill fifth. Three drivers broke the track record in timed hot laps earlier in the night; the fastest of them was Shone Evans, whose lap of 12.946 seconds will be the new mark to beat.
Westbrook claimed his fourth Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car Championship with an historically dominant season; he won 11 of the 12 A-Mains and finished fifth in the other. Westbrook and his weekly competitors will defend home turf against a host of invaders on Saturday, September 14 in the 20th Running of the Northern Sprint Car Nationals.
Strickland’s Crate Sprint Cars
Johnny Miller started on pole with Jesse Costa next to him for the 20 lap Crate Sprint Car A-Main. Costa got the better of Miller and led the opening lap, however a red flag was thrown due to Larry Gledhill and Tom Pellezari flipping after making contact. Both drivers were unharmed in the wreck. The red flag bred a caution flag after the restart as John Verney, Melissa Miller, and Niko Hansen got tangled up.
Once racing resumed, Brent Begolo got in front and led the race. Begolo went on to claim the win after surviving two more restarts and traffic down to the checkered flag. Following Begolo were Costa second, Johnny Miller third, Logan Shwedyk fourth, and Lance Erskine fifth. Brett Stratford finished in seventh to seal the Strickland’s Crate Sprint Car Championship, and also set a new track record with a lap of 14.165 seconds in hot laps.
Stratford’s championship win is his first at Ohsweken, and he became the ninth different champion in the nine seasons of weekly Crate Sprint Car racing. Stratford and a number of drivers from across Ontario, Quebec, and New York will contest the third running of the Northern Crate Nationals on Friday, September 13.
Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks
Logan Ferguson started on pole alongside Mike Thorne to take the green flag for the 20 lap Thunder Stock A-Main. Gofast Teeple led the opening laps with Thorne in hot pursuit. Brock Gregory spun on lap six and brought out the caution, nullifying Teeple’s gap over the field. The restart saw Teeple, Thorne and Ron Loggie take turns in the lead. The latter half of the race had multiple caution flags; Dave Bailey took full advantage of the restarts, gaining spots on each one and eventually leading the race.
The track conditions were in Bailey’s favour as he took a commanding victory. Rounding out the top five were Ron Loggie in second, Trevor DeBoer in third, Steve Shaw Sr. fourth, and Spencer Smolders fifth. Ryan Beagle had a quiet night due to mechanical problems, but salvaged a 13th place finish and secured the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock Championship. Beagle’s first championship win broke a streak of seven Ohsweken titles in a row for Bailey.
Bailey set a new Thunder Stock track record in hot laps with a mark of 18.535 seconds. Bailey and Beagle will be two of the many contenders trying to claim the inaugural edition of the Northern Thunder Stock Nationals on Thursday, September 12.
HRW Automotive Mini Stocks
The front row of the grid featured Shawn Taylor and Martin Schroder to begin the 15 lap Mini Stock A-Main. Schroder beat Taylor off the start and led the first lap. Points leader Gillian Hils made her presence known, as she had raced herself up to fifth place by lap eight after starting in row seven. An epic battle for second ensued among six drivers in the closing laps.
It was Schroder’s night though, as he led every lap to claim his first Ohsweken win and set a new 15 lap track record for the Mini Stock division. Hils made an impressive pass at the end to come in second. Following Hils across the line next were Tristan DaSilva in third, Mason Anderson fourth, and Nick Erskine fifth.
Despite Hils not winning an A-Main this season, it was her consistency that proved to be the winning ingredient in becoming the HRW Automotive Mini Stock Champion. Hils is the fourth female driver to claim a track championship at Ohsweken, and first in the Mini Stocks. The Mini Stock drivers will compete in a non-points event on Friday, September 13 to finish their season at Ohsweken.
Up Next at Ohsweken Speedway
Nitro 54 Variety, Arrow Express, Sit’n Bull Tire, and Middleport Mechanical present Nationals Weekend at Ohsweken Speedway September 12-14. The action will include the Northern Thunder Stock Nationals on Thursday, Northern Crate Nationals on Friday, and Northern Sprint Car Nationals on Saturday. Visit www.ohswekenspeedway.ca for more information.
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Ohsweken Speedway Statistical Report
Friday, September 6, 2024
Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
Sponsors: Bradshaw Fuels and Epic Racewear
Total Entries: 111
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Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars (25 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 25 laps – NT
1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[3]; 2. 71-Mike Bowman[4]; 3. 5-DJ Christie[1]; 4. 15-Ryan Turner[6]; 5. 7-Eric Gledhill[10]; 6. 45-Nick Sheridan[8]; 7. 19D-Allan Downey[9]; 8. 9-Liam Martin[13]; 9. 12DD-Darren Dryden[17]; 10. 17X-Cory Turner[5]; 11. 88H-Josh Hansen[11]; 12. 94-Todd Hoddick[7]; 13. 87X-Shone Evans[2]; 14. 77T-Tyeller Powless[20]; 15. 68-Aaron Turkey[18]; 16. 0-Glenn Styres[15]; 17. 46C-Ryan Coniam[19]; 18. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[16]; 19. 84L-Mike Lichty[21]; 20. 46-Kevin Pauls[24]; 21. 11-Jamie Turner[23]; 22. (DNF) 20I-Kelsey Ivy[14]; 23. (DNF) 7NY-Matt Farnham[12]; 24. (DNF) 21-John Burbridge Jr[25]; 25. (DNF) 49L-Lucas Smith[22]
Hard Charger – Darren Dryden +8
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[1]; 2. 5-DJ Christie[6]; 3. 7-Eric Gledhill[2]; 4. 7NY-Matt Farnham[4]; 5. 12DD-Darren Dryden[3]; 6. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[8]; 7. 46C-Ryan Coniam[5]; 8. 11-Jamie Turner[7]; 9. 21-John Burbridge Jr[9]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 1:53.277
1. 71-Mike Bowman[4]; 2. 94-Todd Hoddick[2]; 3. 15-Ryan Turner[3]; 4. 88H-Josh Hansen[5]; 5. 9-Liam Martin[6]; 6. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[7]; 7. 46-Kevin Pauls[1]; 8. (DNF) 84L-Mike Lichty[8]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 1:53.580
1. 45-Nick Sheridan[2]; 2. 87X-Shone Evans[4]; 3. 19D-Allan Downey[3]; 4. 17X-Cory Turner[6]; 5. 68-Aaron Turkey[1]; 6. 0-Glenn Styres[8]; 7. 77T-Tyeller Powless[5]; 8. (DNF) 49L-Lucas Smith[7]
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Strickland’s Crate Sprint Cars (28 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 20 laps – NT
1. 71-Brent Begolo[3]; 2. 52-Jesse Costa[2]; 3. 20-Johnny Miller[1]; 4. 53-Logan Shwedyk[4]; 5. 88-Lance Erskine[5]; 6. 16X-Keegan Baker[13]; 7. BS39-Brett Stratford[8]; 8. 94-Ryan Fraser[9]; 9. 9C-Brian Nanticoke[6]; 10. 72-Tanner Podwinski[22]; 11. 87-Andrew Hennessy[16]; 12. 28T-Cameron Thomson[18]; 13. 777-Cameron Olm[15]; 14. 14B-Broden Weiler[24]; 15. 74-Rob Neely[14]; 16. 51-Trevor Young[21]; 17. 2-Travis Hofstetter[17]; 18. 69K-Ken Hamilton[25]; 19. 3-Devon Bacher[27]; 20. 11W-Jeremy May[23]; 21. (DNF) 24K-Kiana Teal[19]; 22. (DNF) 29W-Tyler Ward[20]; 23. (DNF) 26-John Verney[11]; 24. (DNF) 38-Melissa Miller[7]; 25. (DNF) 27-Niko Hansen[26]; 26. (DNF) 5-Tom Pellezari[10]; 27. (DNF) 14-Larry Gledhill[12]; 28. (DNS) 85C-Cam MacKinnon
Hard Charger – Tanner Podwinski +12
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – 1:57.911
1. 9C-Brian Nanticoke[1]; 2. 52-Jesse Costa[6]; 3. 94-Ryan Fraser[2]; 4. 777-Cameron Olm[3]; 5. 87-Andrew Hennessy[5]; 6. 16X-Keegan Baker[9]; 7. 24K-Kiana Teal[8]; 8. 29W-Tyler Ward[10]; 9. 69K-Ken Hamilton[4]; 10. 27-Niko Hansen[7]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 1:57.012 NTR
1. 71-Brent Begolo[2]; 2. 53-Logan Shwedyk[4]; 3. 5-Tom Pellezari[1]; 4. 38-Melissa Miller[6]; 5. 14-Larry Gledhill[7]; 6. 28T-Cameron Thomson[5]; 7. (DNF) 72-Tanner Podwinski[3]; 8. (DNS) 3-Devon Bacher; 9. (DNS) 85C-Cam MacKinnon
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 1:58.939
1. BS39-Brett Stratford[2]; 2. 20-Johnny Miller[6]; 3. 26-John Verney[1]; 4. 88-Lance Erskine[8]; 5. 2-Travis Hofstetter[3]; 6. 74-Rob Neely[9]; 7. 51-Trevor Young[7]; 8. 11W-Jeremy May[4]; 9. 14B-Broden Weiler[5]
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Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks (27 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 20 laps – NT
1. 49-Dave Bailey[18]; 2. 97-Ron Loggie[11]; 3. 23-Trevor DeBoer[14]; 4. 96-Steve Shaw Sr[9]; 5. 21-Spencer Smolders[16]; 6. 108-Zach Bleich[10]; 7. 28D-Donny Lampman[21]; 8. 55-Mike Thorne[2]; 9. 427-Tim Phalen[13]; 10. 26G-Brock Gregory[20]; 11. 88L-Logan Ferguson[1]; 12. 13-Kacey Huffman[8]; 13. 84RK-Ryan Beagle[17]; 14. 93F-Calvin Fox[19]; 15. 222-Nick Masi[27]; 16. 28-Jim Lampman[6]; 17. 43-Kyle Andress[22]; 18. 61-Steve Johnson[26]; 19. 77-Mitch Petta[24]; 20. 81-Brando Greene Styres[25]; 21. (DNF) 41-Adam Plazek[12]; 22. (DNF) 11-Gofast Teeple[3]; 23. (DNF) 8-Ryan Dinning[5]; 24. (DNF) 93K-Mike Klazinga[7]; 25. (DNF) 24R-Rodney Rutherford[15]; 26. (DNF) 37-Robert Hoskins[4]; 27. (DNF) 88-Aidan Nigh[23]
Hard Charger – Dave Bailey +17
Heat Race 1 [Started] 10 laps – NT
1. 49-Dave Bailey[13]; 2. 97-Ron Loggie[8]; 3. 93K-Mike Klazinga[6]; 4. 26G-Brock Gregory[14]; 5. 23-Trevor DeBoer[10]; 6. 8-Ryan Dinning[5]; 7. 21-Spencer Smolders[12]; 8. 11-Gofast Teeple[4]; 9. 88L-Logan Ferguson[2]; 10. 96-Steve Shaw Sr[7]; 11. 28D-Donny Lampman[3]; 12. 88-Aidan Nigh[1]; 13. 81-Brando Greene Styres[11]; 14. 222-Nick Masi[9]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 10 laps – 3:16.536
1. 37-Robert Hoskins[4]; 2. 55-Mike Thorne[3]; 3. 41-Adam Plazek[8]; 4. 108-Zach Bleich[7]; 5. 427-Tim Phalen[9]; 6. 28-Jim Lampman[5]; 7. 13-Kacey Huffman[6]; 8. 84RK-Ryan Beagle[12]; 9. 93F-Calvin Fox[13]; 10. 24R-Rodney Rutherford[10]; 11. 43-Kyle Andress[1]; 12. 77-Mitch Petta[11]; 13. 61-Steve Johnson[2]
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HRW Automotive Mini Stocks (31 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 15 laps – 5:15.090 NTR
1. 66X-Martin Schroder[2]; 2. 32-Gillian Hils[14]; 3. 01-Tristan DaSilva[6]; 4. 4A-Mason Anderson[7]; 5. 64-Nick Erskine[11]; 6. 17-Alex Riley[17]; 7. 2-Matt Nuell[4]; 8. 9-Tim DeBoer[12]; 9. 11J-Jeff Elsliger[16]; 10. 5K-Ken Hair[13]; 11. 21X-Mark Bazuin[15]; 12. 1A-Ashton Dickie[5]; 13. 4-Wayde Thorne[19]; 14. 32L-Grayden Lyons[21]; 15. 1-Jason Tolton[10]; 16. 16-Fabio Olivieri[8]; 17. 46-Spencer Riddell[22]; 18. 76-Shawn Taylor[1]; 19. 15-Mark Thorne[24]; 20. 60-Richard Hadler[27]; 21. 14L-John Lubeck[20]; 22. 265-Mike Evers[23]; 23. 38C-John Cote[25]; 24. (DNF) 19-Hana Rothwell[18]; 25. (DNF) 11-Mike Giberson[26]; 26. (DNF) X-Jeremy Cooper[9]; 27. (DNS) 54-Christopher French; 28. (DNS) 79-Steve Miller
Hard Charger – Gillian Hils +12
B-Main [Started] 6 laps – 2:08.105
1. 4-Wayde Thorne[1]; 2. 14L-John Lubeck[2]; 3. 32L-Grayden Lyons[4]; 4. 46-Spencer Riddell[6]; 5. 265-Mike Evers[5]; 6. 15-Mark Thorne[3]; 7. 38C-John Cote[8]; 8. 11-Mike Giberson[9]; 9. 60-Richard Hadler[7]; 10. 79-Steve Miller[10]; 11. 6X-Dusty DeBoer[12]; 12. (DNS) 22-Al Wright
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – 2:52.401
1. 16-Fabio Olivieri[6]; 2. 6X-Dusty DeBoer[8]; 3. 9-Tim DeBoer[9]; 4. 66X-Martin Schroder[3]; 5. 76-Shawn Taylor[2]; 6. 01-Tristan DaSilva[5]; 7. 2-Matt Nuell[4]; 8. 21X-Mark Bazuin[12]; 9. 17-Alex Riley[14]; 10. X-Jeremy Cooper[7]; 11. 4-Wayde Thorne[13]; 12. 15-Mark Thorne[11]; 13. 265-Mike Evers[10]; 14. 60-Richard Hadler[16]; 15. 11-Mike Giberson[1]; 16. 22-Al Wright[15]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 2:50.524
1. 11J-Jeff Elsliger[13]; 2. 6XX-Mike Sarantakos[6]; 3. 4A-Mason Anderson[5]; 4. 64-Nick Erskine[8]; 5. 19-Hana Rothwell[15]; 6. 1A-Ashton Dickie[4]; 7. 5K-Ken Hair[9]; 8. 1-Jason Tolton[7]; 9. 32-Gillian Hils[11]; 10. 54-Christopher French[3]; 11. 14L-John Lubeck[12]; 12. 32L-Grayden Lyons[2]; 13. 46-Spencer Riddell[10]; 14. 38C-John Cote[14]; 15. 79-Steve Miller[1]
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Ohsweken Speedway on GForceTV
Can’t make it to the track or don’t live within driving distance? No problem! Check out all of Ohsweken’s weekly Friday Night Excitement action live online for FREE on GForceTV. Just search for GForceTV on YouTube, OHSWEKENSPEEDWAY on Facebook, or visit www.ohswekenspeedway.ca to watch.
About Ohsweken Speedway: Opened in 1996, Ohsweken Speedway is a motorsports complex and event centre featuring a 3/8 mile clay oval auto racing track and 1/6 mile clay oval Micro Sprint and Karting track. The facility is owned by the Styres family, and located in the village of Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada. Ohsweken’s weekly Friday Night Excitement racing program runs from May to September each year, featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Crate Sprint Cars, Thunder Stocks, and Mini Stocks, while the facility also hosts weekly Micro Sprint and Kart racing on Thursday nights.
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