Rouse Dominates For Ohsweken DIRTcar Sportsman Series West Win

Story By: CLAYTON JOHNS / DIRTCAR – OHSWEKEN, ONT – The DIRTcar Sportsman tour rolled into Ohsweken 33 cars strong for the first race on the Western Region’s schedule. Brad Rouse of St. Catharine’s, Ont. dominated the 30-lap Feature, leading 28 laps after starting on the pole to score the victory.

“The luck of the draw and starting up front really helps with these guys,” Rouse said in Victory Lane. “Like I said before, we have the best in the business around here. The guys put a great car underneath me again tonight and I want to thank everybody for that.”

Rouse and Rob Knapp from Niagara Falls, Ont. brought the field to the green flag for main event. Knapp led the opening two circuits before Rouse pulled alongside him and drove off with the lead.

The polesitter didn’t get very far thought before he was slowed by a lap four caution when Luke Carleton spun in turn four. On the ensuing restart, Rouse got a much better jump than the initial green flag and pulled away from the field while James Henry and Matt Farnham battled for second.

Rouse pulled away to a lead of more than two second by the halfway point while Farnham and Henry couldn’t separate for each other and continued their battle. Rouse worked into some lapped traffic on lap 14, but a caution on lap 15 when Tyler Puchalski spun in turn three gave him a clear track once again.

That was bad news for the rest of the field as Rouse anchored his No.18r right on the bottom of the racetrack against the infield wall to take the short way around the very slick track. The all-time Ohsweken Sportsman wins leader, Jay Mallory raced into the top-five from the 10th starting spot on lap 16 and battled with Darrell Farrway, who made his way up front as well after starting 15th.

Over the final 10 laps, the race ran caution-free and Rouse drove to the win by 2.678 seconds, or what looked like a straightaway. Henry claimed the second position and Farraway was a strong third-place finisher.

“It was even all the way across,” Rouse said of the track’s slick surface. “You just had to pick your line and stick to it.”

Racing alongside the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series meant the Sportsman drivers enjoyed the opportunity to race in front of a packed crowd.

“Brad was definitely the class of the field,” said second-place finisher James Henry of Niagara Falls, NY. “This racetrack’s awesome. A big crowd, it’s awesome to be here.”
After starting in the middle of the pack, Farraway was ecstatic about his third-place effort.

“I’m totally excited about it,” Farraway said. “We changed carburetors after hot laps because we had a miss. We were still having a miss for the Feature, but maybe that’s what helped me out to keep it down low. To finish behind these guys is one heck of a job. They’re the best in the business.”

Farnham and Mark Chiddy rounded out the top-five.

The DIRTcar Sportsman tour’s Western Region will next be in action with a busy tripleheader weekend September 8-10, 2017. The tour makes stops at Ransomville Speedway on September 8, Merrittville Speedway on September 9 and at Humberstone Speedway on September 10. The DIRTcar Sportsman tour’s Northern Region is the next to hit the track on August 11 at Autodrome Granby. For the complete DIRTcar Sportsman tour schedule of events, visit www.dirtcarump.com/schedules/.

Ohsweken Speedway Notebook

Feature
(30 laps) – 1. 18r Brad Rouse (2); 2. 21 James Henry (3); 3. 66 Darrell Farraway (16); 4. 7f Matt Farnham (4); 5. 54 Mark Chiddy (7); 6. 20 Jay Mallory (10); 7. 12 Chad Chevalier (17); 8. 15 Adam Leslie (11); 9. 2k Rob Knapp (1); 10. 17c Jordan Cosco (22); 11. 96b Luke Carleton (9); 12. 52 Jessica Power (5); 13. 7 Cody McPherson (26); 14. 74 Dave Flannigan Jr. (13); 15. 8 Zac McBride (14); 16. 9r Tom Richau Jr. (24); 17. 8s Justin Sharpe (6); 18. 73 Dylan Davidson (23); 19. 119 Chris Watters (15); 20. 21p Tyler Puchalski (21); 21. 29k Chris Cunningham (19); 22. 12p Emily Puchalski (18); 23. 18w Jim Harbison (25); 24. 72 Gord McIntosh (27); 25. 35t Cameron Tuttle (29); 26. 11 Dan Ferguson (12); 27. 54a Mike Beyore (30); 28. 17 Tristan Draper (20); 29. 104 Zak Sam (31); 30. 1 Andrew Smith (8); 31. 94 Chris Burek (28); 32. DNS 09 Trevor Wright (32)

Qualifying Group No.1
– 1. 1 Andrew Smith, 17.517; 2. 54 Mark Chiddy, 17.593; 3. 7 Cody McPherson, 17.710; 4. 7f Matt Farnham, 17.756; 5. 74 Dave Flannigan Jr., 17.777; 6. 12 Chad Chevalier, 17.878; 7. 18w Jim Harbison, 17.977; 8. 21p Tyler Puchalski, 18.022; 9. 94 Chris Burek. 18.100

Qualifying Group No.2
– 1. 11 Dan Ferguson, 17.678; 2. 8s Justin Sharp, 17.792; 3. 52 Jessica Power, 17.903; 4. 8 Zac McBride, 18.171; 5. 09 Trevor Wright, 18.231; 6. 54a Mike Beyore, 18.289; 7. 12p Emily Puchalski, 18.386; 8. 72 Gord McIntosh, 18.506

Qualifying Group No.3
– 1. 2k Rob Knapp, 18.020; 2. 20 Jay Mallory, 18.096; 3. 119 Chris Watters, 18.181; 4. 29k Chris Cunningham, 18.267; 5. X Chris Storm, 18.296; 6. 96b Luke Carleton, 18.299; 7. 104 Zak Sam, 18.444; 8. 73 Dylan Davidson 18.678

Qualifying Group No.4 – 1. 21 James Henry, 17.720; 2. 15 Adam Leslie, 17.831; 3. 9r Tom Richau, 17.877; 4. 18r Brad Rouse, 18.014; 5. 35T Cameron Tuttle, 18.075; 6. 17 Tristan Draper, 18.161; 7. 66 Darrell Farraway, 18.207; 8. 17c Jordan Cosco, 18.337

Heat Race No.1
(8 laps – Top 5 Transfer) – 1. 7f Matt Farnham, Tonawanda, NY (4); 2. 54 Mark Chiddy, Boston, NY (2); 3. 1 Andrew Smith, Lockport, NY (1); 4. 74 Dave Flannigan Jr.. Port Robinson, ON (5); 5. 12 Chad Chevalier, Port Colborne, ON (6); 6. 21p Tyler Puchalski, Port Colborne, ON (8); 7. 7 Cody McPherson, St. Catharines, ON (3); 8. 18w Jim Harbison, Ransomville, NY (7); 9. 94 Chris Burek. Wilson, NY (9)

Heat Race No.2
(8 laps – Top 5 Transfer) – 1. 8s Justin Sharp, St. Catharines, ON (2); 2. 11 Dan Ferguson, Bloomfield, ON (1); 3. 52 Jessica Power, Kingston, ON (3); 4. 8 Zac McBride, Baltimore, ON (4); 5. 12p Emily Puchalski, Port Colborne, ON (7); 6. 09 Trevor Wright, Beamsville, ON (5); 7. 72 Gord McIntosh, Smithville, ON (8); 8. 54a Mike Beyore, Colborne, ON (6)

Heat Race No.3
(8 laps – Top 5 Transfer) – 1. 20 Jay Mallory, St. Catharines, ON (2); 2. 96b Luke Carleton, Port Colborne, ON (6); 3. 2k Rob Knapp, Niagara Falls, ON (x); 4. 119 Chris Watters, Springville, ON (3); 5. 29k Chris Cunningham, Cazenanovia, NY (4); 6. 73 Dylan Davidson. St. Catharines, ON (8); 7. X Chris Storm, St. Catharines, ON (5); 8. 104 Zak Sam, Kitchener, ON (7)

Heat Race No.4
(8 laps – Top 5 Transfer) – 1. 18r Brad Rouse, St. Catharines, ON (4); 2. 21 James Henry, Niagara Falls, NY (1); 3. 15 Adam Leslie, Port Colborne, ON (2); 4. 66 Darrell Farraway, Hamilton, ON (7); 5. 17 Tristan Draper, Kingston, ON (6); 6. 9r Tom Richau, Cambria, NY (3); 7. 17c Jordan Cosco, St. Catharines, ON (8); 8. 35T Cameron Tuttle, Wilson, NY (5)

B-Feature (10 Laps – All Transfer) –
1. 21p Tyler Puchalski (1); 2. 17c Jordan Cosco (8); 3. 73 Dylan Davidson (3); 4. 9r Tom Richau Jr. (4); 5. 18w Jim Harbison (9); 6. 7 Cody McPherson (5); 7. 72 Gord McIntosh (6); 8. 94 Chris Burek (13); 9. 35t Cameron Tuttle (12); 10. 54a Mike Beyore (10); 11. 104 Zak Sam (11); 12. 09 Trevor Wright (2); 13. DNS X Chris Storm (7)