Story By: BRENT OTCHERE / OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY – OHSWEKEN, ONT – Insta-Panels presented Memorial Night At Ohsweken Speedway on Friday; Mike Bowman, Ryan Beagle, Alex Riley took the prestigious A-Main wins.
Strickland’s Crate Sprint Cars
The inaugural running of the Noelle Teal Memorial Twin 14’s featured Ken Hamilton and Sheldon Bender on the front row of the grid. The 28 lap Crate Sprint Car A-Main was split into two 14 lap segments. Mack DeMan had a blistering start, quickly gaining the lead on the first lap. Polesitter Hamilton had a rough go as he spun out on lap five and six, bringing out the caution on both occasions. The final caution of the race’s first segment came out due to Tyler Podwinski spinning out. DeMan was able to hold off the pack on the restart to lead every lap of the first segment.
The second segment began exactly where everyone finished in the first segment. DeMan led to the field to green, however Podwinski’s troubled race got worse as he was caught off guard due to a stack up and flipped into the front stretch wall. The fire and safety crew came to his aid immediately as the red flag was drawn, and Podwinski climbed out of the wreckage suffering no major injuries.
The race resumed once more with DeMan again putting a commanding lead over the field. With nine laps to go DeMan began to encounter traffic, and Mike Bowman used this as an advantage to catch up and overtake DeMan for the lead. Bowman had saved his gear for the end of the race and allowed no one to challenge him for the win, securing his second Crate Sprint win this season at Ohsweken Speedway. Next to cross the finish line were DeMan in second, Steve Murdock third, Brett Stratford forth, and Dale Curran fifth. DeMan leads over Jesse Costa by 4 points in the overall standings.
Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks
The 10th running of the Brock Leonard Memorial 50 began with Mike Klazinga starting on pole with Kyle Pelrine next to him for the 50 lap Thunder Stock A-Main. Pelrine quicky attained first position and the early race lead. Dave Bailey took only four laps to assert himself in the top three, while Logan Shwedyk became the new race leader on lap five.
Shwedyk’s lead was extinguished as Bailey took the top spot away from him, while Ryan Beagle worked himself into second place by lap ten. The two leaders began to encounter traffic by lap 13, allowing Beagle to assume the lead a few laps later. Meanwhile, Kyle Wert was running in the top five with 16 laps complete after starting in the 21st position. The first caution of the race emerged after 30 laps of green flag racing due to Steve Shaw Sr. spinning out and coming to a stop. Two more cautions followed on lap 36 and 38.
The remaining 12 laps were simply stunning as the top three drivers in the championship standings found themselves all fighting for the win as the laps ticked down. Bailey, Beagle, and Wert were in the thick of it, racing three-wide down the back stretch and swapping the lead position among each other. It was a truly amazing way to end such a special race as the fans were cheering their heroes on!
Beagle proved to be the victor, picking up his second Brock Leonard Memorial 50 victory. Bailey crossed the finish line next, yet again missing out on the crown jewel race victory. Rounding out the top five were Wert in third, Justin Ramsay fourth, and Christopher Hale fifth. Bailey retained the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock championship lead over Beagle, but the gap is now just seven points.
HRW Automotive Mini Stocks
The 21st running of the Art Hill Memorial 42 had Jeff Elsliger and Tim DeBoer bring the 26 car field to the green flag to start the 42 lap Mini Stock A-Main. Ashton Dickie grabbed the lead early, only to have Elsliger to retake it on lap two. Wayde Thorne got in on the action and became the leader on the next lap. The first caution came out due to Tristan DaSilva colliding with a spinning Elsliger. The next caution of the race came out on lap ten, this time for Tyler Lafantaisie coming to a stop.
Alex Riley used the restarts to move up in positions, eventually finding himself running second place. Riley chased down the leader and overtook for the lead on lap 23. Out of nowhere came a driver in a little VW storming past the leader; that driver being Austyn Werstroh, who looked unstoppable until a caution came out due to fluid on the track. A red flag came out two laps later as Steve Conway’s car erupted in flames. Conway was able to pull himself from his burning car unharmed as the fire crew worked to put out the fire.
Riley was able to snag the lead on the restart but once again a caution was deployed, this time because of debris on the racing surface. Dickie had the better restart and got the lead, however the final caution of the race came out when Mike Sarantakos went for a spin. This caution set up the very first overtime finish in the race’s history, which saw Riley reclaim the lead and ultimately win the race. Werstroh finished in second, Dickie third, Fabio Olivieri fourth, and Matt Nuell rounded out the top five. Ryan Hillar leads over Sarantakos by 46 points in the overall HRW Automotive Mini Stock standings.
Noah’s Dash
The inaugural Noah’s Dash race capped off a poignant night at Ohsweken. The race was run in memory of Noah Thomas, an Ohsweken Speedway employee who lost his life to a road accident in 2015. The race was an Ohsweken Speedway first which featured Mini Stocks (six laps), Thunder Stocks (seven laps), and Crate Sprint Cars (eight laps) competing against each other on the track at the same time. The race proved to be an instant classic which saw Wayde Thorne’s Mini Stock cross the finish line first. Brett Stratford tried his best, but couldn’t quite make up the two lap deficit to Thorne in time. Stratford was best in the Crate Sprint Cars though, while Kyle Wert was the first Thunder Stock across the finish line.
Up Next at Ohsweken Speedway
Jibs Action Sports presents the Sportsman Shootout on Friday, August 11, featuring the Race of Champions Sportsman Modified Series, plus the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars, Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks, and HRW Automotive Mini Stocks. The August 11 event kicks off “Speed Week” at Ohsweken with five straight nights of racing action culminating in two NASCAR Pinty’s Series events.information.
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Ohsweken Speedway Statistical Report
Friday, August 4, 2023
Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
Insta-Panels presents Memorial Night At Ohsweken Speedway
Total Entries: 108
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Strickland’s Crate Sprint Cars (33 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 28 laps – NT
1. 71-Mike Bowman[2]; 2. 4-Mack DeMan[1]; 3. 2M-Steve Murdock[5]; 4. BS39-Brett Stratford[9]; 5. 31-Dale Curran[4]; 6. 74-Rob Neely[10]; 7. 52-Jesse Costa[8]; 8. 45-Curtis Gartly[7]; 9. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[11]; 10. 87-Andrew Hennessy[12]; 11. 97-Sheldon Bender[3]; 12. 20-Johnny Miller[13]; 13. 28T-Cameron Thomson[18]; 14. 2-Josh Shantz[21]; 15. 3S-Austin Roes[19]; 16. 00-Greg Smulders[15]; 17. 14-Larry Gledhill[22]; 18. 29W-Tyler Ward[20]; 19. 16X-Keegan Baker[26]; 20. 9C-Brian Nanticoke[16]; 21. 69K-Ken Hamilton[14]; 22. 99-Joshua Hill[27]; 23. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[25]; 24. 50LS-Adrian Stahle[23]; 25. (DNF) 94-Ryan Fraser[17]; 26. (DNF) 71C-John Cadman[6]; 27. (DNF) 72-Tanner Podwinski[24]; 28. (DNS) 88-Lance Erskine
Hard Charger – Josh Shantz +12
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – 1:59.747
1. BS39-Brett Stratford[2]; 2. 88-Lance Erskine[4]; 3. 4-Mack DeMan[7]; 4. 52-Jesse Costa[3]; 5. 72-Tanner Podwinski[1]; 6. 87-Andrew Hennessy[6]; 7. 2-Josh Shantz[5]; 8. 14W-Greg Wilson[8]; 9. 11W-Brennen Hagar[9]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 2:04.517
1. 97-Sheldon Bender[1]; 2. 31-Dale Curran[4]; 3. 9C-Brian Nanticoke[2]; 4. 71C-John Cadman[7]; 5. 2M-Steve Murdock[8]; 6. 29W-Tyler Ward[5]; 7. 99-Joshua Hill[6]; 8. MK8-Matt Hill[3]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 71-Mike Bowman[2]; 2. 50LS-Adrian Stahle[3]; 3. 74-Rob Neely[1]; 4. 94-Ryan Fraser[5]; 5. 3S-Austin Roes[6]; 6. 16X-Keegan Baker[4]; 7. 14-Larry Gledhill[7]; 8. (DNS) 5C-Conor Mahoney
Heat Race 4 [Started] 8 laps – 2:07.577
1. 45-Curtis Gartly[2]; 2. 69K-Ken Hamilton[5]; 3. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[3]; 4. 20-Johnny Miller[4]; 5. 00-Greg Smulders[7]; 6. 28T-Cameron Thomson[6]; 7. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[1]; 8. 24K-Kiana Teal[8]
B-Main [Started] 12 laps – NT
1. 14-Larry Gledhill[3]; 2. 2-Josh Shantz[1]; 3. 99-Joshua Hill[2]; 4. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[4]; 5. 14W-Greg Wilson[5]; 6. 11W-Brennen Hagar[9]; 7. 24K-Kiana Teal[8]; 8. (DNF) MK8-Matt Hill[6]; 9. (DNS) 5C-Conor Mahoney
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Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks (35 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 50 laps – NT
1. 84RK-Ryan Beagle[10]; 2. 49-Dave Bailey[11]; 3. 19-Kyle Wert[21]; 4. 03J-Justin Ramsay[12]; 5. 79-Christopher Hale[9]; 6. 05-Pete Reid[18]; 7. 53-Logan Shwedyk[6]; 8. 93K-Mike Klazinga[1]; 9. 32-Mark Fawcett[3]; 10. 23-Trevor DeBoer[5]; 11. 97-Ron Loggie[4]; 12. 11-Gofast Teeple[15]; 13. 28D-Donny Lampman[23]; 14. 26-Jonah Mutton[20]; 15. 55-Mike Thorne[13]; 16. 96-Steve Shaw Sr[24]; 17. 427-Tim Phalen[19]; 18. 47X-Kyle Pelrine[2]; 19. 0-Tyler French[7]; 20. 28-Jim Lampman[16]; 21. (DNF) 8-Ryan Dinning[22]; 22. (DNF) 41-Adam Plazek[8]; 23. (DNF) 25-Ken Sargent[14]; 24. (DNF) 9-Josh Black[17]; 25. (DNF) 196-Zach Bleich[25]; 26. (DNS) 17-Robert Disher
Hard Charger – Kyle Wert +18
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – 2:41.197
1. 97-Ron Loggie[4]; 2. 23-Trevor DeBoer[5]; 3. 47X-Kyle Pelrine[8]; 4. 55-Mike Thorne[9]; 5. 9-Josh Black[2]; 6. 196G-Gino Duguay[3]; 7. (DNF) 28D-Donny Lampman[1]; 8. (DNS) 196-Zach Bleich; 9. (DNS) 96-Steve Shaw Sr
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 49-Dave Bailey[1]; 2. 32-Mark Fawcett[6]; 3. 93K-Mike Klazinga[3]; 4. 25-Ken Sargent[9]; 5. 05-Pete Reid[8]; 6. 17-Robert Disher[2]; 7. 13-Kacey Huffman[4]; 8. 135-Ryan Berry[7]; 9. (DNF) 19-Kyle Wert[5]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 2:38.883
1. 03J-Justin Ramsay[1]; 2. 53-Logan Shwedyk[3]; 3. 0-Tyler French[6]; 4. 11-Gofast Teeple[2]; 5. 427-Tim Phalen[5]; 6. 93-Melissa Miller[8]; 7. 17W-Travis Whittal[7]; 8. 43-Kyle Andress[4]; 9. 76-Jamie Goudge[9]
Heat Race 4 [Started] 8 laps – 2:38.149
1. 84RK-Ryan Beagle[8]; 2. 79-Christopher Hale[2]; 3. 41-Adam Plazek[3]; 4. 28-Jim Lampman[5]; 5. 26-Jonah Mutton[1]; 6. 03-George Grosul[6]; 7. 28J-Jordan Hill[7]; 8. (DNF) 8-Ryan Dinning[4]
B-Main [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 19-Kyle Wert[14]; 2. 8-Ryan Dinning[12]; 3. 28D-Donny Lampman[5]; 4. 96-Steve Shaw Sr[13]; 5. 28J-Jordan Hill[8]; 6. 135-Ryan Berry[10]; 7. 03-George Grosul[4]; 8. 17W-Travis Whittal[7]; 9. 76-Jamie Goudge[15]; 10. (DNF) 17-Robert Disher[2]; 11. (DNF) 13-Kacey Huffman[6]; 12. (DNF) 196G-Gino Duguay[1]; 13. (DNF) 93-Melissa Miller[3]; 14. (DNS) 43-Kyle Andress; 15. (DNS) 196-Zach Bleich
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HRW Automotive Mini Stocks (40 Entries)
A-Main [Started] 42 laps – NT
1. 17-Alex Riley[5]; 2. 71W-Austyn Werstroh[3]; 3. 1A-Ashton Dickie[4]; 4. 16-Fabio Olivieri[16]; 5. 2-Matt Nuell[21]; 6. 21H-Ryan Hillar[12]; 7. X-Cole Hardy[25]; 8. 9-Tim DeBoer[2]; 9. 14L-John Lubeck[9]; 10. 34-Randy Alway[22]; 11. 96-Tyler Lafantaisie[13]; 12. 11E-Jeff Elsliger[1]; 13. 6X-Mike Sarantakos[7]; 14. 01-Tristan DaSilva[8]; 15. 27-Niko Hansen[24]; 16. 66-Martin Schroder[14]; 17. (DNF) 4A-Mason Anderson[20]; 18. (DNF) 09-Clinton Barrick[10]; 19. (DNF) 4-Wayde Thorne[6]; 20. (DNF) 88-Steve Conway[11]; 21. (DNF) 38S-Sam Iftody[23]; 22. (DNF) 5K-Ken Hair[17]; 23. (DNF) 265-Mike Evers[15]; 24. (DNF) 7B-Shawn Keus[26]; 25. (DNF) 32L-Grayden Lyons[19]; 26. (DNF) 84-Gillian Hils[18]
Hard Charger – Cole Hardy +18
Heat Race 1 [Started] 6 laps – 2:10.187
1. 11E-Jeff Elsliger[6]; 2. 09-Clinton Barrick[4]; 3. 88-Steve Conway[8]; 4. 96-Tyler Lafantaisie[7]; 5. 5K-Ken Hair[10]; 6. 2-Matt Nuell[5]; 7. 76-Shawn Taylor[1]; 8. X-Cole Hardy[9]; 9. 27-Niko Hansen[3]; 10. 79-Steve Miller[2]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 6 laps – NT
1. 4-Wayde Thorne[2]; 2. 14L-John Lubeck[3]; 3. 21H-Ryan Hillar[9]; 4. 66-Martin Schroder[6]; 5. 84-Gillian Hils[4]; 6. 34-Randy Alway[10]; 7. 2EZ-Vincent Pagnotta[7]; 8. 1-Jason Tolton[5]; 9. (DNF) 52-Rick VanKleef[8]; 10. (DNF) 114-Kyle Rothwell[1]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 6 laps – 2:08.356
1. 17-Alex Riley[1]; 2. 1A-Ashton Dickie[4]; 3. 6X-Mike Sarantakos[2]; 4. 265-Mike Evers[10]; 5. 32L-Grayden Lyons[7]; 6. 11-Mike Giberson[9]; 7. 9K-Kylie Dixon[5]; 8. 18-Carter Rhodes[6]; 9. (DNF) 54-Christopher French[8]; 10. (DQ) 7B-Shawn Keus[3]
Heat Race 4 [Started] 6 laps – 2:07.056
1. 71W-Austyn Werstroh[2]; 2. 01-Tristan DaSilva[4]; 3. 9-Tim DeBoer[3]; 4. 16-Fabio Olivieri[5]; 5. 4A-Mason Anderson[10]; 6. 38S-Sam Iftody[6]; 7. 22-Brandon Gregory[9]; 8. 17R-Blair Rousselle[1]; 9. 14DD-Dustin Duga[8]; 10. 81D-Crystal Soules[7]
B-Main [Started] 6 laps – NT
1. 2-Matt Nuell[1]; 2. 34-Randy Alway[2]; 3. 38S-Sam Iftody[4]; 4. 27-Niko Hansen[13]; 5. 76-Shawn Taylor[5]; 6. 7B-Shawn Keus[19]; 7. 54-Christopher French[15]; 8. 22-Brandon Gregory[8]; 9. 17R-Blair Rousselle[12]; 10. 2EZ-Vincent Pagnotta[6]; 11. 14DD-Dustin Duga[16]; 12. 79-Steve Miller[17]; 13. 11-Mike Giberson[3]; 14. 9K-Kylie Dixon[7]; 15. 81D-Crystal Soules[20]; 16. 18-Carter Rhodes[11]; 17. (DNF) X-Cole Hardy[9]; 18. (DNS) 1-Jason Tolton; 19. (DNS) 52-Rick VanKleef; 20. (DNS) 114-Kyle Rothwell