OHSWEKEN, ONT. � The talented driver that won the 2008 360 Sprint Car Nationals at the famed Knoxville Raceway who hails from Mustang, Ok. has never seen the beautiful Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Canada. OK, heck, he�s never been in Canada! It didn�t matter as Wayne Johnson won a hard fought battle with Dustin Daggett to claim the fourth annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
The win in the quickly run 30 lap event netted Johnson some $8,000 plus for his efforts. Johnson was piloting a team car to track owner Glenn Styres and the driver of the ASCS National Tour showed why he�s one of the best in 360 sprint car racing.
�I just have to thank Glenn, his brother Curt, the entire family and crew for giving me the opportunity. The car wasn�t quite right under the hood after last night and they went right to work (a motor change) to make sure they gave me the best car possible.� said Johnson who currently sits third in the national standings. �Today we had a good combination and this is pretty incredible, to sit in victory lane. I have heard nothing but great things about this race and I�ll tell you, I�m glad I made the trip.�
Johnson swapped the lead on lap 25 with race long leader Daggett before taking control for good. The Arrow Express sponsored #94J won in front of a good sized crowd that braved fog and mist during just about the entire night.
THE START
Daggett, a two time Sprints on Dirt (SoD) champion, took advantage of his pole starting position and got the jump on Jason Barney to take a quick lead. The Portland, MI driver quickly opened up distance on Barney and the rest of the field early. �I knew with the cars that were starting behind me I had to go as fast as I could right from the start.� said Daggett.
LAP CARS AND FIRST CAUTION
It didn�t take long for Daggett and his Mott Motorsports entry to enter lapped traffic with a 28 car starting field. That lapped traffic got in the way of his first challenger as Barney had to check up in turns three and four which saw his Jeff Walton owned #87 loop around bringing out the first caution. At that time the sixth place starting Johnson was now restarting in second.
THE CHASE
This set up the stage for a wild 21 lap, two car battle for the lead between the duo. �I saw on the scoreboard that the #94 (Johnson) was now in second and I knew it was going to be tough to hold him off.� noted Daggett. �The plan didn�t change, just run as hard as I could and hope to get through the slower cars better than he does.�
�It�s always an advantage to be in second when it comes to the slower traffic. With that early yellow though you didn�t know if there was going to be a few more or if it was going to stay green for a while� said Johnson. �You bet I was hoping for none as he (Daggett) was fast on an open track.
GREEN LAPS AND LAP TRAFFIC
Indeed the next 21 laps were running under the green lights, it proved to be some of the most exciting racing that the four year run of the Nationals has seen. It was a cat and mouse chase, a real �nail bitter�. Daggett did have the advantage at first but once the lapped cars figured into the fray it was a different story as Johnson closed in and began to stalk.
THE BATTLE FOR THER LEAD � LAP 25
With just six to go, the move of the race was made. Johnson�s Maxim dipped under Daggett in turn one, but Daggett got the advantage back coming off of two. When the two entered turns three and four Daggett got held up behind a slower car and that was what the doctor ordered for Johnson to led the scoring on lap 25.
�I knew with the line he entered into three he was going to get held up. I just went where they weren�t.� Johnson mentioned on the $8,000 move. �When I made the pass I had a good run off of four and they told me after that I opened up some distance. It was just a matter of me getting the right breaks.�
A LAST LAP CAUTION
With the double checkers in the hands of head starter Dale Shunamon, Barney again looped his mount and just in front of the leaders causing for a tense moment. The front of the pack did miss the spun car and it was a one lap dash to the finish. With two lapped cars between Johnson and Daggett there was no challenge for the win.
A TOUGH SECOND
For Daggett it was easily his best Nationals effort but a dejected second none the less. �Even though we missed the set up just a bit, I had a real good car. I guess I was faster in the open but what can you do, lapped cars is part of the deal.� noted the driver who now has three top five finishes in the four National events. �He�s (Johnson) good. He travels all over the country and made the right moves and deserves the win. We will be happy, second here is something to be proud of.�
A SOLID THIRD
While Bryan Howland was �right there� hoping for a few mistakes by the leaders, a third from his seventh place starting spot was indeed note worthy. �I missed a little on the set up. I tightened up the car thinking it was going to slick over but it didn�t.� said the driver from Auburn, NY. �That and with me having just about no brakes I couldn�t make a charge in lapped traffic, we will take this third. It was a good run.�
THE CHARGE OF THE NIGHT
That is what Hartford, Ohio�s Dale Blaney did. Coming from his 25th place starting position, the newly crowned All Star Circuit of Champions champion used the very low side of the 3/8ths mile oval to pick off cars at a rapid rate for a fine fourth place finish. Blaney took fifth in this event two years ago.
A SOLID TOP FIVE
Chuck Hebing was in a battle all race with the Bud Burlew XXX chassis machine. Dicing it out with Howland, Blaney, Dalman and others all race, the Ontario, NY driver came from 13th to place fifth.
DEFENDING CHAMP TROUBLES
Quebec�s Steve Poirier came into the Nationals arguably the favorite to three-peat. After a solid night before, the now two-time Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints (ESS) champ did little to change that thought. But, it was a struggle from the start for Poirier as he stripped his gears during time trials. After a quick fix, he missed winning his heat which caused him to start 10th in the A-Main. A car that was too tight saw him just advance up to seventh in the final run down. �We just missed a little, the track stayed tacky all race and we were hoping it got slicker. We�ll be back next year to try it again.� said Poirier.
TOP TEN
SoD�s Gregg Dalman had a fine run for sixth with Ohsweken�s own Kevin Job in eighth followed by ESS� Mike Stelter and Doug Emery.
CANADIAN NATIONALS PIT NOTES: Despite the rain date, a very solid field of 61 cars entered the event�Eight drivers were different from Friday nights events which drew 55 cars, two drivers, Brett Mann (Engine) and Jared Fink (Damaged Frame) didn�t return�Daggett�s night almost ended early as he went off turn four during time trials and hit the turn four wall hard. The crew repaired the rear end and he made it back to take one lap of time�Chris Muhleisen, John Burbridge Jr., Tom Huppunen and Rob Pietz found their machines on their wings during the night, no injuries�Rick Wilson purchased a J&J frame after destroying his in the Fink accident on Friday. He won the �last chance� race (ironically sponsored by Riverside Bar and Grill, a Wilson owned business) to start in 28th and he moved up to 15th in final order�ESS had 8 teams in the A-Main followed by 7 from the Ohsweken/SOS area and circuit, 5 from SoD, 4 from the ASCS Patriot region and 4 drivers that listed as �other� (Johnson, Blaney, Wilson, Barney) made up the 28 car starting field�Daggett and Bobby Breen are now the only drivers to qualify for all four Nationals, Jeff Cook missed the rain date as he was tending to the open house of his new hardware store�Long tow award to Gord Knyock who came from Spruce Grove, Alberta�Troubles during the night saw top stars such as Justin Barger, Ryan Grubaugh, Jessica Zemken, Jared Zimbardi, Kyle Wilson, Bubba Broderick, Dave Dykstra and others to miss the A-Main�No sanctions needed provisonals so Blaney, Blake Breen and Mikey Kruchka were added on virtue of their times�.The dates will be announced shortly, but next years Nationals will continue to grow with $9,000 going to the winner and a cool $650 just to take the green.
OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY RACE REPORT
OHSWEKEN, ONTARIO, CANADA
SEPTEMBER 27, 2008
EVENT SPONSOR – ARROW EXPRESS
4TH ANNUAL CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS PRESENTED BY ARROW EXPRESS
TIME TRIALS (top 36 inverted for Heat Race starting positions)
Position. # Name (Hometown) Best Lap
1. 45 Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY) 13.613
2. 0 Glenn Styres (Ohsweken, ON) 13.704
3. 94J Wayne Johnson (Mustang, OK) 13.711
4. 28FM Steve Poirier (Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, QC) 13.823
5. 8B Alain Bergeron (Saint-Pie, QC) 13.845
6. 6N Dain Naida (Belleville, MI) 13.987
7. 51H Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY) 14.049
8. 25P Michael Parent (Granby, QC) 14.049
9. 6B Dale Blaney (Hartford, OH) 14.065
10. 27H Tom Huppunen (Fenwick, ON) 14.065
11. 5M Brad Malloy (Niagara Falls, ON) 14.073
12. 9B Bobby Breen (Savannah, NY) 14.075
13. 8 Blake Breen (Savannah, NY) 14.113
14. 1Z Jessica Zemken (Sprakers, NY) 14.129
15. 51 Lee Ladouceur (Alexandria, ON) 14.154
16. 49T Gregg Dalman (Grand Ledge, MI) 14.158
17. 01 Mikey Kruchka (Hamilton, ON) 14.164
18. 151KB Brian McDonald (Cornwall, ON) 14.186
19. 47x Louie Carufel (Port Huron, MI) 14.194
20. 87 Jason Barney (Constantia, NY) 14.199
21. 42W Rick Wilson (Joyceville, ON) 14.205
22. 33 Doug Emery (Nedrow, NY) 14.239
23. 23 Ben Rutan (Jerome, MI) 14.256
24. 5 Keith Dempster (Alton, ON) 14.256
25. 2M Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI) 14.281
26. 21X Kevin Job (Campbellville, ON) 14.294
27. 36 Mike Stelter (Ontario, NY) 14.306
28. 01W Kyle Wilson (Joyceville, ON) 14.320
29. 1A John Riegling (Chatham, ON) 14.331
30. 77X Ryan Hunsinger (Brantford, ON) 14.341
31. 52 Scott Kreutter (Alden, NY) 14.350
32. 35 Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY) 14.400
33. 00 Ryan Grubaugh (St. Johns, MI) 14.425
34. 31 John Burbridge, Jr. (Simcoe, ON) 14.428
35. 7X Kyle Moffit (South Dayton, NY) 14.431
36. 7M Justin Martin (St. Thomas, ON) 14.437
37. 32 Justin Barger (Montrose, NY) 14.463
38. 7 Jim Price (Wainfleet, ON) 14.474
39. 10M Chris Muhleisen (Arkport, NY) 14.488
40. 94 Stan Zanchin (Fort Erie, ON) 14.491
41. 69 Rob Pietz (Port Colborne, ON) 14.593
42. 10 Bob Crawford (Sutton, ON) 14.604
43. 25 Warren Mahoney (Lefroy, ON) 14.647
44. 4 Bubby Kerrick (Stanley, NY) 14.659
45. 50 Normand Beaudreault (Saint-Ours, QC) 14.677
46. 5B Bubba Broderick (Brookfield, CT) 14.714
47. 38 Brad Knab (Delevan, NY) 14.752
48. 90 James Evans (Beamsville, ON) 14.836
49. 5D Dave Dykstra (Port Colborne, ON) 14.852
50. F37 Jamie Collard (Princeton, ON) 14.852
51. 30 Adam West (Ridgetown, ON) 14.925
52. 81 Derek Jonathan (Lewiston, NY) 14.990
53. 19Jr. Rob Ledingham (Port Colborne, ON) 14.998
54. 71 Craig Downie (Burlington, ON) 15.001
55. 22 Jim Porter (Grand Island, NY) 15.104
56. 83W James Whittaker (Lynden, ON) 15.148
57. 79 Dick Mahoney (Newmarket, ON) 15.313
58. 9Jr. Tim Zack (Dain City, ON) 15.435
59. 15AW April Wilson (Joyceville, ON) 15.436
60. 15K Gord Kynoch (Spruce Grove, ALTA) 15.544
61. 31T Andy Teunessen (Hastings, MI) 17.840
HEAT RACES
(Top 3 Transfer to Feature, Winners enter inversion for first 6 feature starting spots)
WISECO PISTON Heat Race #1
1. 2m Dustin Daggett, 2. 51h Bryan Howland, 3. 45 Chuck Hebing, 4. 8 Bobby Breen, 5. 47x Louie Carufel, 6. 52 Scott Kreutter, 7. 5d Dave Dykstra, 8. 32 Justin Barger, 9. 25 Warren Mahoney, 10. 22 Jim Porter, 11. 31t Andy Teunessen
BS&B RADIATOR Heat Race #2
1. 87 Jason Barney, 2. 21x Kevin Job, 3. 0 Glenn Styres, 4. 25p Michael Parent, 5. 1z Jessica Zemken, 6. 7 Jim Price, 7. f37 Jamie Collard, 8. 4 Bubby Kerrick, 9. 83w James Whittaker, 10. 35 Jared Zimbardi
ZEMCO SPEED EQUIPMENT Heat Race #3
1. 94j Wayne Johnson, 2. 36 Mike Stelter, 3. 00 Ryan Grubaugh, 4. 51 Lee Ladouceur, 5. 42w Rick Wilson, 6. 6b Dale Blaney, 7. 10m Chris Muhlheisen, 8. 50 Normand Beaudreault, 9. 30 Adam West, 10. 79 Dick Mahoney
MANTON PUSHRODS Heat Race #4
1. 49t Gregg Dalman, 2. 28fm Steve Poirier, 3. 33 Doug Emery, 4. 5b Bubba Broderick, 5. 94 Stan Zanchin, 6. 31 John Burbridge, Jr. 7. 81 Derek Jonathan, 8. 9jr Tim Zack, 9. 01w Kyle Wilson, 10. 27h Tom Huppunen
KSE RACING PRODUCTS Heat Race #5
1. 5m Brad Malloy, 2. 23 Ben Rutan, 3. 1a John Riegling, 4. 69 Rob Pietz, 5. 8b Alain Bergeron, 6. 7x Kyle Moffit, 7. 01 Mikey Kruchka, 8. 38 Brad Knab, 9. 19jr Rob Ledingham, 10. 15aw April Wilson
DIVERSIFIED MACHINE Heat Race #6
1. 6n Dain Naida, 2. 77x Ryan Hunsinger, 3. 7m Justin Martin, 4. 151kb Brian McDonald, 5. 10 Bob Crawford, 6. 5 Keith Dempster, 7. 9b Bobby Breen, 8. 90 James Evans, 9. 15k Gord Kynoch, 10. 71 Craig Downie
B-MAINS (top 2 transfer to Feature)
BEST WESTERN CAIRN CROFT HOTEL B-MAIN #1
1. 8 Bobby Breen, 2. 25p Michael Parent, 3. 5d Dave Dykstra, 4. 47x Louie Carufel, 5. 25 Warren Mahoney, 6. 7 Jim Price, 7. 4 Bubby Kerrick, 8. 52 Scott Kreutter, DNS: 1z Jessica Zemken, f37 Jamie Collard, 32 Justin Barger, 83w James Whittaker, 22 Jim Porter, 35 Jared Zimbardi, 31t Andy Teunessen
AWESOME RACEWEAR B-MAIN #2
1. 5b Bubba Broderick, 2. 51 Lee Ladouceur, 3. 42w Rick Wilson, 4. 6b Dale Blaney, 5. 81 Derek Jonathan, 6. 30 Adam West, 7. 9jr Tim Zack, 8. 50 Normand Beaudreault, 9. 79 Dick Mahoney, 10. 94 Stan Zanchin, 11. 10m Chris Muhleisen, 12. 31 John Burbridge, Jr., DNS: 01w Kyle Wilson, 27h Tom Huppunen
OUTHOUSE IMAGING AND DESIGN B-MAIN #3
1. 8b Alain Bergeron, 2. 151kb Brian McDonald, 3. 69 Rob Pietz, 4. 9b Bobby Breen, 5. 5 Keith Dempster, 6. 01 Mikey Kruchka, 7. 90 James Evans, 8. 15k Gord Kynoch, 9. 38 Brad Knab, 10. 42w Rick Wilson, 11. 10 Bob Crawford, 12. 7x Kyle Moffit, 13. 19jr Rob Ledingham
DNS: 71 Craig Downie
FIRST ANNUAL RIVERSIDE BAR AND GRILL NON-QUALIFIERS 2ND CHANCE “LITTLE FEATURE”:
(Non-Qualified Drivers who completed a B-Main – Winner transfers to 28th starting spot in A-Feature)
1. 42w Rick Wilson, 2. 5 Keith Dempster, 3. 25 Warren Mahoney, 4. 4 Bubby Kerrick, 5. 7 Jim Price, 6. 47x Louie Carufel, 7. 50 Normand Beaudreault, 8. 15k Gord Kynoch, 9. 30 Adam West, 10. 90 James Evans, 11. 81 Derek Jonathan, 12. 15aw April Wilson, 13. 38 Brad Knab, 14. 69 Rob Pietz, 15. 5d Dave Dykstra, 16. 9jr Tim Zack
CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS A-FEATURE (30 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 94j Wayne Johnson (6)
2. 2m Dustin Daggett (1)
3. 51h Bryan Howland (7)
4. 6b Dale Blaney (25)
5. 45 Chuck Hebing (13)
6. 49t Gregg Dalman (3)
7. 28fm Steve Poirier (10)
8. 21x Kevin Job (8)
9. 36 Mike Stelter (9)
10. 33 Doug Emery (16)
11. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (12)
12. 6n Dain Naida (5)
13. 23 Ben Rutan (11)
14. 7m Justin Martin (18)
15. 42w Rick Wilson (28)
16. 151kb Brian McDonald (24)
17. 5m Brad Malloy (4)
18. 51 Lee Ladouceur (23)
19. 8 Blake Breen (26)
20. 5b Bubba Broderick (20)
21. 87 Jason Barney (2)
22. 00 Ryan Grubaugh (15)
23. 8b Alain Bergeron (21)
24. 0 Glenn Styres (14)
25. 25p Michael Parent (22)
26. 01 Mikey Kruchka (27)
27. 1a John Riegling (17)
28. 9b Bobby Breen (26)
Lap Leaders: Daggett (1-24), Johnson (25-30)
Caution Flags: 2 (lap 8, lap 30)
AWARDS:
Corr/Pak Merchandising Best Appearing Car Award – #87 Jason Barney
KSE Racing Products A-Main Hard Charger Award – #6b Dale Blaney (passed 21 cars)
Kear’s Speed Shop Top Qualifier Award ($500) – #45 Chuck Hebing (13.613 seconds – 99.039 MPH, 159.387 KPH)
Bicknell Racing Products Fastest Canadian Qualifier Award ($500) – #0 Glenn Styres (13.704 seconds – 98.511 MPH, 158.538 KPH)
A-Main Contingency Sponsors:
Simpson Racing, Comp Cams, Grisdale Racing Products, Winters Racing Products, Seals-It, Hoosier Tire, Manton Pushrods, HRP Wings, Motorstate Distributing, Kinser Air Filters, Diversified Machine, Rocket Headers, Saldana Racing Products, Quaker State, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, ICS Racer’s Tape, Corr/Pak Merchandising