OHSWEKEN, ONT. � Steve Poirier had two things that helped him feel comfortable on Friday night. First, he was at Ohsweken Speedway, a three-eighths mile dirt track, where he�s won the last two Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. Secondly, he went back to the Eagle Chassis that he used to win the big race last September.
�I don�t know what it is but I feel comfortable here (Ohsweken),� said Poirier after his third win of the season with the 25th Anniversary Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint tour. �I�ve been running well with my other car (J&J Auto Racing) but I know this car (Eagle) is good here.�
The decision worked out well for Poirier as he pocketed $2,000 for the win courtesy of Arrow Express. It also helped him increase his overall lead in the tour point standings as well as giving him the lead in the SMAC Magazine Canadian Invasion series.
Michael Parent, of Granby, Que., took the lead at the green flag from his starting spot on the outside of the front row.
He paced the field for nine circuits until Jeff Cook was able to secure the race lead by taking his North County Welding sponsored No.10 to his outside in turns one and two.
Cook, of Antwerp, N.Y., used the top lane as he raced through heavy traffic with Poirier closing in from his 14th starting position by utilizing the bottom lane of the speedway.
At the halfway point it was Cook holding the advantage with Poirier moving by Justin Barger into the runner-up position.
The pair continued to race in traffic with Poirier gaining the advantage in turn four on the bottom of the speedway on lap 15.
�After watching the Late Model race I set the car up to run the top of the speedway,� said Poirier. �I never thought that the bottom was going to be as quick as it was. I went down there to get through some traffic and the car stuck.�
In the closing laps Poirier worked flawlessly through traffic while Lance Yonge was busy coming forward on the bottom of the racing surface.
At the checkered flag it was Poirier gaining the win with Yonge coming from the outside of the sixth row to score another second place finish with his Castner Performance powered Maxim.
�He (Poirier) got by me on the outside early in the race,� commented Yonge. �Once I found the bottom I was able to pick cars off pretty quick. I just didn�t have enough time to catch Steve (Poirier).�
Barger, out of Montrose, N.Y., was able to get up as far as second but in the end he was unable to hold of Poirier and Yonge, forcing him to settle for third.
�We were close on the setup in the car,� said Barger about his Ryder powered Maxim. �I didn�t think the bottom was going to be as good as it was and it we missed it a little bit.�
Cook, who led some of the event in his Maxim ride, fell back to finish in fourth while Jared Zimbardi of Little Valley, N.Y. came from the sixth row to finish in fifth.
ESS/Ohsweken Notes: A near record field of cars as 42 jammed the pit area as ESS shared the card with the World of Outlaw Late Models which were rained out the night before�A tremendous amount of support from the Ohsweken weekly Corr-Pak sprint car series and also from the Southern Ontario Sprints�.Good to have Dain Naida and Louie Carufel from the Sprints on Dirt circuit as both made the A-Main�The 25 lap A-Main was the second in row that went non-stop, Mike Stelter was the only driver of the 25 starters that didn�t see the checkered flag. Stelter by the way was running Jay Pietz�s #71Jr as he is still awaiting motor parts for his own mount and if it was for the Kris Root team loaning a rear end, he wouldn�t have made the event�Lee Ladouceur took full advantage of his provisional as he started 25th, finished 6th and took home an extra $50 from Lane�s Yamaha�The stars and cars from the Lucas Oil Sponsored Series will be back at Ohsweken on Sept. 12 and 13 as a part of the Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals�42 cars entered the event.
RACE RESULTS (6/20/08)
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Arrow Espress A-Main (25 laps): Steve Poirier, Lance Yonge, Justin Barger, Jeff Cook, Jared Zimbardi, Lee Ladouceur, Dain Naida, Kevin Job, Michael Parent, Brian McDonald, Dave Dykstra, Louie Carufel, Glenn Styres, Bobby Breen, Tom Huppunen, Blake Breen, Craig Downie, Jim Price, Alain Bergeron, Tim Kelly, Kyle Patrick, Chris Jones, Fred Cade, Ryan Hunsinger, Mike Stelter.
Lap Leaders � Parent 1-9, Cook 10-14, Poirier 15-25.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 1 (10 laps): Michael Parent, Tim Kelly, Ryan Hunsinger, Kevin Job, Kyle Patrick.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 2 (10 laps): Bobby Breen, Dain Naida, Craig Downie, Steve Poirier, Tim Huppunen.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 3 (10 laps): Jeff Cook, Brian McDonald, Jared Zimbardi, Jim Price, Louie Carufel.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 4 (10 laps): Justin Barger, Dave Dykstra, Lance Yonge, Chris Jones, Fred Cade.
Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel/Walt�s Hobby Dash (4 laps): Barger.
KSE Racing Products B-Main 1 (10 laps): Blake Breen, Glenn Styres.
KSE Racing Products B-Main 2 (10 laps): Alain Bergeron, Mike Stelter.
Provisional Starter: Lee Ladouceur.
Did Not Qualify � Mikey Kruchka, Justin Harris, Bubby Kerrick, Keith Dempster, Brad Malloy, Tim Zack, Rob Ledingham, Jeff Daniels, Jim Porter, John Burbridge Jr., Normand Beaudreault, Daniel Lampron, Kris Root, James Whittaker, Nick Cupulo, James Evans, Doug Bowman.
Cash Bonuses:
Arrow Express A-Main: Poirier $400
Ohsweken Speedway Winner�s Bonus: Poirier $100
National Parts Peddler Halfway: Cook $100
Les Constructions Ultra Blue Collar: Yonge $100
Lane�s Yamaha Hard Charger: Ladouceur (19 pos.) $50
Cook�s Contracting Bridesmaid Bonus: Yonge $50
AMB Moteurs Fast Time Award: Parent (16.010) $50
HG Associates Pole Award: Bobby Breen $50
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heats: Parent, Bobby Breen, Cook, Barger $25
Winner�s Bonuses:
Lucas Oil $115, Griffin Thermal Products $100, Penske Shocks $100, Design 500 $100, Saldana Racing Products $50, GME Steering $50, Hank�s Performance Products $50, Kreitz Oval Track Products $50, Racing Optics $30, Rod End Supply $30, Area Auto Racing News $25, Brake Man $25, MRE Productions $10, Ultra Shield $10, Pepsi Cola $5.
Other Contingencies:
Weld Racing Hard Luck � Stelter $100
ATL � Barger $100
M&W Aluminum Products � Yonge $75
Leaf Racewear � Cook $75
Design 500 � Zimbardi $50, Bobby Breen $50
Keizer Wheels � Styres $50
KSE Racing Products � Blake Breen, Bergeron $50
Zemco Headers � Cook $50
Joe Hunt Magnetos � Hunsinger $50
Rod End Supply � Yonge $30
VMAC Racing � Naida $25
DMI � Stelter $25
Luther�s Way Out Grafix � McDonald $25
ISC Racers Tape � McDonald $10
Ultra Shield � Yonge $10
Pepsi Cola � Barger $10, Parent ,Bobby Breen, Cook, Blake Breen, Bergeron $5