By Tommy Goudge (Ohsweken, Ontario) | 65 360 Sprint Cars returned to Ohsweken Speedway on Sunday, September 18 to compete in the 12th annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. 30 of those drivers qualified for the 35 lap A-Feature, and Kokomo, Indiana’s Parker Price-Miller was the driver standing in Mobil 1 Victory Lane after another thrilling CSCN race garnered him a $12,000 payday.
Parker Price-Miller and 2014 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals winner Jessica Friesen began the 35 lap A-Feature on the front row. The teammates for the night traded the lead on several occasions, while three-time CSCN winner Steve Poirier made it a three-way race for the $12,000 winner’s prize. Price-Miller generally stuck to the high groove, while Friesen was down low or in the middle, and Poirier entered the fray at the halfway mark.
The race was slowed by a yellow flag on lap 9 when Alex Vigneault hit the outside wall on the frontstretch, just as the leaders were about to take on heavy traffic. The yellow quickly turned to red when Brandon Wimmer rolled over on the backstretch. Another yellow flag slowed the action 10 laps later when Chris Steele hit the inside wall, which resulted in a bent wheel and flat tire.
The last 16 laps of the race went by quickly, and Friesen saw both Price-Miller and Poirier get past her. Poirier threw repeated slide job attempts at the 19 year old driver, but Price-Miller withstood the barrage and pulled away to take the win. Poirier settled for the runner-up spot, followed by Friesen. 24th starter Chuck Hebing’s late charge almost resulted in a podium finish, but he settled for 4th after stealing that position from Dustin Daggett at the last minute.
2011 CSCN winner Sam Hafertepe Jr. charged from 19th to finish 6th, followed by 13th starter Coleman Gulick, Ryan Susice, Mitch Brown, and 27th starter and 2015 CSCN winner Bryan Howland.
The win brought some redemption for Price-Miller, who saw the 2015 CSCN win slip through his fingers in one of the closest finishes in Ohsweken Speedway history.
“I don’t know how I didn’t mess up those last five laps,” said the relieved driver in victory lane. “I was nervous the whole race. Jessica and Steve are obviously pretty good here. I was just doing everything I could to hold them off.
“We thought we had brake issues at the shop today, but we figured they were fine…then without about five laps to go they got really squishy, and I was having to use my wing and get the car sideways to slow me down. I saw Steve there a few times, but I was driving the crap out of it. I didn’t care what I had to do to win – Parked It for BC!”
Poirier was philosophical about his third runner-up finish at CSCN in the last four years.
“That was a fun race,” said the three-time CSCN winner. “At the beginning of the race I didn’t think I would have anything for Jessica or Parker, but in the middle of the race Parker went out of the track a little bit, and Jessica was starting to leave the bottom open, and my car was coming and I might have something for them. (Parker) raced me clean last year, so I was on the inside just leaving enough room for him to maneuver on the outside, but it was a pretty fun battle.”
Friesen led the most laps in the race, but settled for third place at the end. Though disappointed in the result, she was happy to be so competitive despite very limited time racing this season.
“Third is obviously not really where we want to be, but we’ll take it,” said the 2014 CSCN winner. “I just need to run some more laps. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a car. This was the fourth race out this year. We just got a little bit too free there at the end, and I needed to be able to move around, and just really couldn’t.”
NOTES:
-65 teams were able to return for the rescheduled Sunday night event which followed Saturday’s postponement.
-Drivers from 3 Canadian provinces and 7 American states attempted to qualify for the 12th edition of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
-11 drivers competed in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals for the first time, including Coleman Gulick who earned the inaugural Fine Touch Collision Rookie of the Nationals Award.
–Jordan Thomas collected the Corr/Pak Merchandising Fastest Qualifier Award, while Steve Poirier claimed the Corr/Pak Merchandising Fastest Canadian Qualifier award.
–Chuck Hebing drove from 24th to finish 4th in the A-Feature to claim the Tammy Ten Media Hard Charger Award.
–Shawn Sliter and his team were given Corr/Pak Merchandising “Bill Peer Memorial” Best Appearing Car Award honours.
-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. and his team from the Dallas suburb of Sunnyvale, Texas were honoured with the inaugural Travis Rutz Long Tow Award presented by Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel.
–Steve Poirier earned $200 from Mike Emhof Motorsports as the highest-finishing Eagle Chassis, while Mark Smith and Alex Vigneault earned $100 each from Mach 1 Chassis for qualifying their Mach 1 Chassis into the A-Feature.
-The highest-finishing drivers from each of the 5 official CSCN affiliate sanctions earned bonus prize money, including Steve Poirier (Empire Super Sprints), Dustin Daggett (Great Lakes Super Sprints), Mitch Brown (Ohsweken Speedway Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars), Ryan Susice (Patriot Sprint Tour), and Dylan Westbrook (Southern Ontario Sprints).
–Scott Kreutter was awarded a custom Sprint Car-inspired fire pit worth $500 from South Coast BBQ Fire Pits for winning the Little Feature.
A-FEATURE (Started) 35 laps – NT
1. 67x Parker Price-Miller (1)
2. 28fm Steve Poirier (3)
3. 1z Jessica Friesen (2)
4. 45 Chuck Hebing (24)
5. 2m Dustin Daggett (5)
6. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (19)
7. 14 Coleman Gulick (13)
8. 18 Ryan Susice (10)
9. 10 Mitch Brown (11)
10. 51 Bryan Howland (27)
11. 55 Mark Smith (20)
12. 17 Jared Horstman (23)
13. 79 Jordan Thomas (15)
14. 14h Jim Huppunen (21)
15. 49x Carson Macedo (9)
16. 01k Mikey Kruchka (29)
17. 123 Yan Bilodeau (28)
18. 61 Parker Evans (30)
19. 53 Shawn Donath (4)
20. 47x Dylan Westbrook (25)
21. 1-10 Jake Brown (6)
22. 0 Glenn Styres (17)
23. 0a Amber Balcaen (8)
24. 49 Scott Kreutter (26)
25. 24 Devin Caron (18)
26. 38 Tyler Hendricks (22)
27. DNF 35 Jared Zimbardi (14)
28. DNF 80 Chris Steele (16)
29. DNF 3g Brandon Wimmer (12)
30. DNF f55 Alex Vigneault (7)
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Parker Price-Miller (1-3, 14-16, 26-35), Jessica Zemken (4-13, 17-25)
Hard Charger – Chuck Hebing (+20)
AWARDS:
-Fine Touch Collision Rookie of the Nationals Award ($500) – Coleman Gulick
-Corr/Pak Merchandising Bill Peer Memorial Best Appearing Car Award ($350) – Shawn Sliter
-Tammy Ten Media Hard Charger Award ($300) – Chuck Hebing
-Corr/Pak Merchandising Fastest Qualifier Award ($300) – Jordan Thomas
-Corr/Pak Merchandising Fastest Canadian Qualifier Award ($300) – Steve Poirier
-Travis Rutz Long Tow Award presented by Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel ($250) – Sam Hafertepe Jr.
-Empire Super Sprints Highest Finishing ESS Driver ($250) – Steve Poirier
-Specialty Fuels & Logistics Highest Finishing GLSS Driver ($200) – Dustin Daggett
–Ohsweken Speedway Highest Finishing Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car Driver ($250) – Mitch Brown
-Patriot Sprint Tour Highest Finishing PST Driver ($200) – Ryan Susice
-Brighton Speedway Highest Finishing SOS Driver ($200) – Dylan Westbrook
-Mike Emhof Motorsports Highest Finishing Eagle Chassis Award ($200) – Steve Poirier
-Mach 1 Chassis Bonus ($100 each) – Mark Smith & Alex Vigneault
GROUP TIME TRIAL FLIGHT #1 (Overall Rank)
1. 67x Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo IN, 14.854 (2), 2. 28fm Steve Poirier, Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil QC, 14.890 (3), 3. 18 Ryan Susice, Ransomville NY, 15.001 (4), 4. 55 Mark Smith, Sunbury PA, 15.120 (6), 5. 123 Yan Bilodeau, Victoriaville QC, 15.214 (8), 6. 53 Shawn Donath, South Onondaga NY, 15.251 (13), 7. 47x Dylan Westbrook, Scotland ON, 15.362 (16), 8. 45 Chuck Hebing, Ontario NY, 15.401(18), / 9. 01 Mikey Kruchka, Hamilton ON, 15.546 (27), 10. 3g Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount IN, 15.598 (29), 11. 0a Amber Balcaen, Winnipeg MB, 15.603 (30), 12. 10p Paulie Colagiovanni, Cicero NY, 15.661 (35), 13. 38 Tyler Hendricks, Chatham ON, 15.703 (36), 14. 47 Kyle Drum, Wayland NY, 15.789 (39), 15. 22 Shawn Sliter, Port Colborne ON, 15.790 (40), 16. 19k Paul Kinney, Durhamville NY, 15.851 (41), 17. 5d Dave Dykstra, Port Colborne ON, 15.859 (42), 18. 3r Shane Ross, Thedford ON, 15.883 (44), 19. 5c Conor Mahoney, Waterdown ON, 16.164 (51), 20. 69k Cole MacDonald, Waterdown ON, 16.235 (54), 21. 31 John Burbridge Jr., St. Williams ON, 16.308 (55), 22. 18s Josh Shantz, St. Agatha ON, 16.373 (57)
GROUP TIME TRIAL FLIGHT #2 (Overall Rank)
1. 16 Ryan Ruhl, Coldwater MI, 15.030 (5), 2. 2m Dustin Daggett, Portland MI, 15.154 (7), 3. 1-10 Jake Brown, Brantford ON, 15.245 (11), 4. 1z Jessica Friesen, Sprakers NY, 15.326 (14), 5. 14 Coleman Gulick, Binghamton NY, 15.431 (19), 6. 80 Chris Steele, St. Catharines ON, 15.477 (21), 7. 0 Glenn Styres, Ohsweken ON, 15.487 (22), 8. 33k Kyle Patrick, Tilbury ON, 15.500 (23), / 9. 11r Chase Ridenour, Perry MI, 15.508 (24), 10. 97 Cory Turner, Caistor Centre ON, 15.517 (25), 11. 14h Jim Huppunen, Welland ON, 15.529 (26), 12. 49 Scott Kreutter, Alden NY, 15.605 (31), 13. 91 Ryan Turner, Caistor Centre ON, 15.608 (32), 14. 2 Kyle Sauder, Archbold OH, 15.625 (33), 15. 51 Bryan Howland, Union Springs NY, 15.640 (34), 16. 77x Alex Hill, Six Nations ON, 15.953 (46), 17. 01 Kyle Fraser, White Lake ON, 16.031 (47), 18. 28 Phil Gressman, Fremont OH, 16.095 (49), 19. 2w Lee Winger, Mount Hope ON, 16.235 (53), 20. 6 Curtis Gartly, Thamesford ON, 16.440 (60), 21. 9 Steve Lyons, Carlisle ON, 16.464 (61), 22. 81 Derek Jonathan, Lewiston NY, NT (63)
GROUP TIME TRIAL FLIGHT #3 (Overall Rank)
1. 79 Jordan Thomas, Harding PA, 14.851 (1), 2. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale TX, 15.215 (9), 3. 10 Mitch Brown, Brantford ON, 15.237 (10), 4. f55 Alex Vigneault, Trois-Rivieres QC, 15.245 (12), 5. 2 Dave Axton, South Byron NY, (15), 6. 35 Jared Zimbardi, Bradford PA, 15.370 (17), 7. 49x Carson Macedo, Hanford CA, 15.452 (20), 8. 24 Devin Caron, Cornwall ON, 15.567 (28), / 9. 11 Jamie Turner, Caistor Centre ON, 15.750 (37), 10. 00 Dane Lorenc, Lancaster NY, 15.755 (38), 11. 17 Jared Horstman, Cloverdale OH, 15.865 (43), 12. 61 Parker Evans, Owego NY, 15.890 (45), 13. 42w Rick Wilson, Joyceville ON, 16.054 (48), 14. 36 Matt Billings, Brockville ON, 16.107 (50), 15. 11j Chris Jones, Picton ON, 16.169 (52), 16. 27z Stan Zanchin, Fort Erie ON, 16.313 (56), 17. 15aw April Wilson, Joyceville ON, 16.397 (58), 18. 98 Joe Trenca, Clay NY, 16.402 (59), 19. 67 Chris Durand, Port Stanley ON, 16.464 (62), 20. 87 Jason Barney, Brewerton NY, NT (64), 21. 17x Dain Naida, Tecumseh MI, NT (65),
CREATIVE EDGE SIGNS & GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #1 (Started) 10 laps – NT
1. 67x Parker Price-Miller (4), 2. 18 Ryan Susice (3), 3. 0a Amber Balcaen (6), / 4. 123 Yan Bilodeau (2), 5. 38 Tyler Hendricks (7), 6. 22 Shawn Sliter (8), 7. 01k Mikey Kruchka (5), 8. 5c Conor Mahoney (10), 9. 31 John Burbridge Jr. (11), 10. DNF 5d Dave Dykstra (9), 11. DNF 47x Dylan Westbrook (1)
INSTA-INSULATION HEAT RACE #2 (Started) 10 laps – NT
1. 53 Shawn Donath (2), 2. 28fm Steve Poirier (4), 3. 3g Brandon Wimmer (5), / 4. 55 Mark Smith (3), 5. 45 Chuck Hebing (1), 6. 3r Shane Ross (9), 7. 10p Paulie Colagiovanni (6), 8. 69k Cole MacDonald (10), 9. 19k Paul Kinney (8), 10. 18s Josh Shantz (11), 11. DNF 47 Kyle Drum (7)
STRICKLAND’S GMC HEAT RACE #3 (Started) 10 laps – 2:30.530
1. 1-10 Jake Brown (3), 2. 14 Coleman Gulick (2), 3. 0 Glenn Styres (1), / 4. 11r Chase Ridenour (5), 5. 14h Jim Huppunen (6), 6. 51 Bryan Howland (8), 7. 16 Ryan Ruhl (4), 8. 91 Ryan Turner (7), 9. 9 Steve Lyons (11), 10. 01 Kyle Fraser (9), 11. 2w Lee Winger (10)
O’NEIL’S FARM & GARDEN HEAT RACE #4 (Started) 10 laps – 2:29.995
1. 1z Jessica Friesen (3), 2. 2m Dustin Daggett (4), 3. 80 Chris Steele (2), / 4. 49 Scott Kreutter (6), 5. 97 Cory Turner (5), 6. 2 Kyle Sauder (7), 7. 6 Curtis Gartly (10), 8. 77x Alex Hill (8), 9. 28 Phil Gressman (9), 10. 81 Derek Jonathan (11), 11. DNF 33k Kyle Patrick (1)
LONE WOLF FIREWORKS HEAT RACE #5 (Started) 10 laps – 2:32.566
1. 49x Carson Macedo (1), 2. 10 Mitch Brown (3), 3. 79 Jordan Thomas (4), / 4. 17 Jared Horstman (6), 5. 11 Jamie Turner (5), 6. 2 Dave Axton (2), 7. 42w Rick Wilson (7), 8. 67 Chris Durand (10), 9. 11j Chris Jones (8), 10. 15aw April Wilson (9), DNS. 87 Jason Barney (11)
RENWAY ENERGY HEAT RACE #6 (Started) 10 laps – 2:35.014
1. f55 Alex Vigneault (3), 2. 35 Jared Zimbardi (2), 3. 24 Devin Caron (1), / 4. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4), 5. 61 Parker Evans (6), 6. 98 Joe Trenca (9), 7. 00 Dane Lorenc (5), 8. 27z Stan Zanchin (8), 9. 36 Matt Billings (7), DNS. 17x Dain Naida (10)
B-FEATURE #1 (Started) 10 laps – 2:39.240
1. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3), 2. 38 Tyler Hendricks (2), / 3. 49 Scott Kreutter (1), 4. 01k Mikey Kruchka (9), 5. 51 Bryan Howland (5), 6. 61 Parker Evans (4), 7. 9 Steve Lyons (10), 8. 11 Jamie Turner (6), 9. 2a Dave Axton (8), 10. 19k Paul Kinney (12), 11. 27z Stan Zanchin (11), 12. 81 Derek Jonathan (13), 13. 15aw April Wilson (14), 14. 5c Conor Mahoney (7), DNS. 47 Kyle Drum (15), DNS. 17x Dain Naida (16)
B-FEATURE #2 (Started) 10 laps – 2:38.685
1. 55 Mark Smith (3), 2. 17 Jared Horstman (1), / 3. 3r Shane Ross (2), 4. 123 Yan Bilodeau (4), 5. 2 Kyle Sauder (6), 6. 16 Ryan Ruhl (10), 7. 00 Dane Lorenc (9), 8. 91 Ryan Turner (11), 9. 47x Dylan Westbrook (15), 10. 36 Matt Billings (13), 11. 42w Rick Wilson (8), 12. 11j Chris Jones (12), 13. 6 Curtis Gartly (5), 14. 2w Lee Winger (14), 15. 69k Cole MacDonald (7), DNS. 87 Jason Barney (16)
B-FEATURE #3 (Started) 10 laps – NT
1. 14h Jim Huppunen (3), 2. 45 Chuck Hebing (6), / 3. 97 Cory Turner (5), 4. 11r Chase Ridenour (1), 5. 98 Joe Trenca (2), 6. 77x Alex Hill (10), 7. 10p Paulie Colagiovanni (8), 8. 5d Dave Dykstra (14), 9. 22 Shawn Sliter (4), 10. 31 John Burbridge Jr. (9), 11. 28 Phil Gressman (11), 12. 01 Kyle Fraser (13), 13. 18s Josh Shantz (12), 14. DNF 67 Chris Durand (7), DNS. 33k Kyle Patrick (15)
ACKLAND INSURANCE POLE DASH (Started) 5 laps – 1:17.280
1. 67x Parker Price-Miller (1), 2. 1z Jessica Friesen (3), / 3. 28fm Steve Poirier (6), 4. 53 Shawn Donath (5), 5. 2m Dustin Daggett (7), 6. 1-10 Jake Brown (2), 7. f55 Alex Vigneault (4), 8. 0a Amber Balcaen (8)
SOUTH COAST BBQ FIRE PITS LITTLE FEATURE (Started) 15 laps – 4:04.465
1. 49 Scott Kreutter (1), 2. 51 Bryan Howland (7), 3. 123 Yan Bilodeau (5), 4. 01k Mikey Kruchka (4), 5. 61 Parker Evans (10), / 6. 11r Chase Ridenour (6), 7. 3r Shane Ross (2), 8. 5d Dave Dykstra (15), 9. 16 Ryan Ruhl (11), 10. 2 Kyle Sauder (8), 11. 77x Alex Hill (9), 12. 10p Paulie Colagiovanni (12), 13. 9 Steve Lyons (13), 14. DNF 00 Dane Lorenc (14), DNS. 97 Cory Turner (3)
PROVISIONAL A-FEATURE STARTER: 47x Dylan Westbrook (Southern Ontario Sprints)