Story By: JONATHON HOWE / HUMBERSTONE SPEEDWAY – PORT COLBORNE, ONT – The All-Canadian Championships from Humberstone Speedway rolled ahead and completed all but 6 laps o scheduled action on the lineup. Niagara On The Lake, Ontario resident James Friesen won the rain shortened Sterling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman.
David Pangrazio of Elba, New York won the Blast All Equipment Late Model feature. Dave Bailey of Hagersville, ON won the GR Enviro Rail Thunder Stocks event while Tyler Winger of Ridgeway, ON won the Tender Cuts Meats Modified Lites feature. The Vintage Car class was won by Doug Gordon from St. Catharines, ON and Tyler Lafantaise of Thorold, ON won the Bosch Car Services Mini Stocks.
With the threat of rain any moment, the Sterling Lubricants DIRTcar Sportsman went out to Humberstone Speedway with a frantic pace early. Adam Leslie and Brad Rouse lead the field to green with Rouse getting the early lead. The first caution came at lap 8 when Billy Bleich Jr. slowed. Rouse continued to lead with the front seven cars running nose to tail over the green flag run. On lap 16, Bill Gill stopped at the pit entrance and the caution came out again. Front runners tangled on lap 18 when Adam Leslie get turned running third after having to lift to avoid contact. 5 cars in total were involved. On the Restart, James Friesen powered around the outside to take control of the race. Another caution came with 10 laps to go when Bleich spun in turns 3 and 4. Friesen would hold off Rouse on the final restart and with 6 laps to go the skies opened. The rain ended the feature short of its 35-lap distance. Rouse finished second, Nelson Mason third, Cody McPherson fourth and Taylor Vanderzanden rounding out the top 5.
The Blastall Equipment Late Models got off to a rocky start with 3 cautions in the opening 2 laps. Pole sitter David Pangrazio was unphased by the early cautions, controlling each restart including the third where directors elected to go single file. Pangrazio was dominant leading every lap and was unchallenged for the races entire distance. Kyle Sopaz finished second, with Rob Ledingham, Zack Carley and Austin King completing the front five.
Jonah Mutton and Dave Bailey lead the Street Stock field to green for the 25-lap feature. Bailey wrestled the lead away in the opening laps and went on to lead the rest of the way. He had amassed a 2 second advantage until encountering lap traffic. Dave Barrett refused to adhere to a blue and yellow flag while Bailey was trying to lap him, and Mutton closed right to bailey’s bumper but could not make a move. Mutton got another shot in a green-white-checkered finish after Donny Lampman had a suspension failure. Mutton gave a few taps to Bailey’s back bumper but couldn’t get alongside and Bailey hung on to win. Pete Reid finished third with Tyler French fourth and Ryan Beagle fifth.
The Tender Cuts Meats Mod Lites took the green with Justin Williams on pole, but a multi car incident brought the race to halt early. In corner two of the opening lap, Dave Cornish spun from the outside of the front row in front of the field collecting Leroy Buscumb, Cohen Corbett, Sam Iftody and Craig Martin. Williams would lead the race again on the restart and control much of it until lap 17 where Jon Isabell spun for a second time. On the restart, Tyler Winger was able to steal away the win in the final laps. Williams would settle for a disappointing second while Joe Isabell, Brent Begolo and Randy Giroux rounding the top 5.
Conrad Baker and Mark Shadwell took the green from the front row of the Vintage Car feature. Andy Imbeault rocketed to the lead early from 4th starting spot. However, while being pursued by Doug Gordon, the Flying Frenchman overcooked the exit of the corner tagging the front stretch wall. Gordon grabbed the lead on the restart and took the checkered flag. Feature winner from earlier in the season Dave Small came home second, while Shadwell ended up third. Tim Natalino and Tim Harris finished fourth and fifth.
The Bosch Car Services Mini Stocks began with Dylan Llord and Mason Anderson on the front row. The track was slippery for the first several laps but as it wore in, veteran drivers began to their strength. Tyler Lafantaise who had a mini stock season for the ages in 2022, backed up his success by taking the lead and holding off the field on a single file restart with five laps to go. Shawn Keus finished second, while Olivier Larocque was third, Dylan Llord fourth and Rick Beales completing the top five finishers.
Racing action will return to Humberstone Speedway on August 20th for the Pete Cosco Memorial featuring the return of the Modifieds in Port Colborne. Big Block Modifieds will compete against the local 358’s. In addition, The ROC Sportsman, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks and Mod Lites will be on the card. If you are interested in sponsoring a lap, contact Linda Cosco at 905-651-2764 or via email pcoscohaulage@cogeco.net. Pit Gates open at 4:30pm, grandstand gates open at 5:00pm with racing starting at 6:30pm.
For results, point standings, and more, check out www.humberstonespeedway.ca
RACE RESULTS –August 6th, 2023
Sterling Lubricants Sportsman – JAMES FRIESEN, Brad Rouse, Nelson Mason, Cody McPherson, Taylor Vanderzanden, Rob Pietz, Noah Mamo, Matt Sharpe, Todd Gordon, Jay Mallory, Curtis Friesen, Daniel McKay, Matteo Panunte, Jordan Denobriga, Geneva Sheffield, Billy Bleich Jr., Adam Leslie, Chad Chevalier, Jeff Panunte, Bill Gill, Terry Smith
Qualifying Heats – Billy Bleich Jr., James Friesen, Cody McPherson
Blastall Equipment Late Models – DAVID PANGRAZIO, Kyle Sopaz, Rob Ledingham, Zack Carley, Austin King, Steve Baldwin, Brett Hope, Anthony Rinaldi, Rich Sanders, David Stolzenberg, Nathan Rinaldi, Charlie Sandercock, Jeff Dayman, John McIntyre, Tim Gillespie, Stan Zanchin
Qualifying Heats – David Pangrazio, Zack Carley
GR Enviro & Rail Thunder Stocks – DAVE BAILEY, Jonah Mutton, Pete Reid, Tyler French, Ryan Beagle, Kyle Pelrine, Jim Lampman, Mike Thorne, Ken Sargent, Zach Bleich, Dave Barrett, Todd Shaw, Dion Riley, Adam Plazek, Ryan Dinning, Donny Lampman, Jeff Bean, Jason Fontaine, Gofast Teeple, John Overholt, Terry Larmet, Dylan Riley
Qualifying Heats – Dave Bailey, Ryan Dinning, Tyler French
Tender Cuts Meats Modified Lites – TYLER WINGER, Justin Williams, Joe Isabell, Brent Begolo, Randy Giroux, Leroy Buscumb, Tucker Halliday, Ryan Anderson, Sean Iftody, R.J. Pietz, Greg Zack, Dave Cornish, Chance Kotar, Roger Pardis, Ryleigh Sliter, Jon Isabell, Chris Watson, Josh Sliter, Ashton Anderson, Sam Iftody, Cohen Corbett, Craig Martin
Qualifying Heats: Justin Williams, Leroy Buscumb, R.J. Pietz
Bosch Car Services Mini Stocks – TYLER LAFANTAISE, Shawn Keus, Olivier Larocque, Dylan Llord, Rick Beales, Clinton Barrick, Kyle Rothwell, Ken Hair, Mason Anderson, Brian Aube, John Lubeck, Cole Abrams, Randy Always, Chris Tufford, Alex Riley, Don Whiteside, Blair Rousselle, Roger Winfield, Nick Bowman, Jacob McIntyre, Cole Hardy, Hana Rothwell, Sam Iftody, Ray Cerenzia, Steven Ellis, Rob Goulding
Qualifying Heats – Rick Beales, Tyler Lafantaise, Kyle Rothwell
NRVRS Vintage Cars – DOUG GORDON, Dave Small, Mark Shadwell, Tim Natalino, Tim Harris, Jeff Larmet, Conrad Baker, Bill Montreuil, Jens Mortensen, Bill Profata, Andy Imbeault, Mark Loveland
Qualifying Heats – Mark Shadwell, Doug Gordon