Westbrook, Turkey, Bailey & Masi Score Wins On Ohsweken’s 23rd Opening Night

Story By: CLAYTON JOHNS / OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY – OHSWEKEN, ONT – A long, seven-month off-season finally came to an end for Ohsweken Speedway drivers, staff and fans as the green flag finally dropped to begin the 2018 season as 116 drivers signed in for competition at the 23rd Season Opener presented by Ackland Insurance.

The night featured the inaugural race for the Action Sprint Tour powered by RaceRivalz.com. When the dust settled on a busy night, Aaron Turkey made history as the upstart tour’s first winner. Reigning champion Dylan Westbrook claimed the win in the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car Feature while defending champion Dave Bailey won the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock Feature and Nick Masi scored the opening night victory with the HRW Automotive Mini Stocks.

KOOL KIDZ-CORR/PAK 360 SPRINT CARS

Mikey Kruchka jumped out to an early lead in the Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars Feature event, but was quickly under siege from defending track champion Dylan Westbrook. While Kruchka opened a half straightaway lead in the early laps and the top two drivers distanced themselves from the rest of the field, Westbrook kept pace with the leader.

On lap four, Westbrook pulled to the rear tail tank of Kruchka’s No.01k off of turn two and then dove to the inside lane in turn three to take the lead. A lap later, the leaders had found their way into lapped traffic and Westbrook began to distance himself from the field.

A caution on lap eight for a spun Cory Turner regrouped the field before the second and final yellow flag of the race on the ensuing restart when Tyler Hendricks spun at the bottom of turn one. The restart gave Kruchka a chance to retake the lead, but Westbrook was too strong and ran away from the field to a 7.440-second margin of victory, lapping all but the top three finishers.

Turner recovered from his mid-race spin and worked his way back to the front. He mounted a late race charge and drove past Kruchka with two laps to go for second and held down the runner-up spot at the finish, leaving Kruchka to settle for the podium’s bottom step. Rookie 360 Sprint Car driver Mack DeMan finished fourth in his debut and Tyler Hendricks rounded out the top-five. Hendricks and DeMan also won qualifying heats earlier in the night.

ACTION SPRINT TOUR/STRICKLAND’S GMC CRATE SPRINT CARS

The first-ever race for the Action Sprint Tour powered by RaceRivalz.com was also a full points night for the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars weekly racing. Of the 31 cars entered, 24 cars qualified for the inaugural 20-lap Feature event. Shone Evans and Brad Herron started on the front row for the main event.

Evans grabbed an early lead before fourth-starting Aaron Turkey darted out front on the second lap in what proved to be the winning pass of the night. The caution waved for the first time on lap three when Herron slowed with damage to his No.12, ending his night. Two laps later with four laps in the book, the red flag was displayed when Herron’s Styres Racing teammate Holly Porter flipped in turn three. She was uninjured.

At the halfway mark, Turkey had opened a full straightaway advantage over Evans and third-place Jesse Costa. With five laps to go, Costa had worked past Evans to claim second, but faced a deficit of more than seven second behind Turkey. That advantage was erased though on lap 16 when the caution waved for Steven Beckett, who suffered a broken tie-rod on the left-front and rolled to a stop at the exit of turn two.

The restart didn’t prove to hinder Turkey at all as he drove away to the victory over the final four laps, leaving second-place to Jesse Costa, while 20th starting DJ Christie scored a third-place finish. Former Bomber driver Lucas Smith finished fourth in his Sprint Car debut while Evans claimed the fifth-place finish.

Costa, Turkey and Evans were heat race winners while Jerry Hill won the B-Main.

MIDDLEPORT MECHANICAL THUNDER STOCKS

The Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock field featured some familiar faces along with a new cast of characters. Two familiar faces in Logan Shwedyk and Jason Lungaro started on the front row, but it was third-starting Ken Sargent who grabbed the early lead.

Sargent was quickly met a familiar foe though when sixth-starting Dave Bailey drove to the runner-up spot and the two drivers battled side-by-side for the lead. After numerous attempts to get past Sargent on the inside, Bailey got a run down the front straightaway on lap eight and drove to the outside of the No.25 and completed the pass for the lead off turn two.

The race ran caution-free, allowing Bailey to pull away from the rest of the field in traffic and make a statement victory on opening night to open his championship defense. Sargent faded to fourth in the closing laps after reigning Mini Stock champion Mark Bazuin made a three-wide pass to take over second with three laps to go. Billy Bleich took over third in the final laps and Trevor DeBoer made an impressive move late to take fifth.

Earlier in the night, Shwedyk, Bailey and Chris Dickie won qualifying heats while Jay Liverance won the B-Main.

HRW AUTOMOTIVE MINI STOCKS

The HRW Automotive Mini Stocks featured the largest car count of the night, with 39 drivers signing in for competition. When the 15-lap Feature rolled to the line, it was Dusty DeBoer and Nick Masi who started up front.

Masi jumped out to an early lead on the opening lap with DeBoer in tow and a bee hive of drives behind them. The caution waved on lap seven when Tim Nuell rolled to a stop on the back stretch. Masi maintained the lead on the restart, but DeBoer stayed within striking distance.

The final caution of the race was on lap 11 for debris and didn’t appear to bother Masi at all as he held off DeBoer on the restart and for the final four laps to claim the opening night win. Meanwhile, Bobby Tolton, who started 22nd after missing his heat race and qualifying through the B-Main, raced to a third-place finish ahead of Sean Iftody and Jonathan Ayrton, who both had strong runs after starting in the fifth and sixth rows, respectively.

Heat race victories went to Jason Dixon, Dale Millard, Tim DeBoer and Ayrton. Tim Nuell and Tolton won the B-Mains.

OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY STATISTICAL REPORT
23rd Season Opener presented by Ackland Insurance
May 18, 2018
Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
Total Entries – 116

Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars (17 Entries)

A-Feature (20 laps – No TIme)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 47x Dylan Westbrook (7); 2. 97 Cory Turner (6); 3. 01k Mikey Kruchka (2); 4. 17x Mack DeMan (5); 5. 38 Tyler Hendricks (4); 6. 14h Jim Huppunen (15); 7. 9 Steve Lyons (9); 8. 55 Mike Thorne (8); 9. DNF 0c Cole MacDonald (17); 10. DNF 91 Ryan Turner (1); 11. DNF 5c Conor Mahoney (14); 12. DNF 11 Jamie Turner (3); 13. DNS 10 Mitch Brown (10); 14. DNS 49 Todd Hoddick (11); 15. DNS 0 Glenn Styres (12); 16. DNS 1-10 Jake Brown (13); 17. DNS 15 Dan Nanticoke (16)
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Mikey Kruchka 1-3, Dylan Westbrook 4-20
Hard Charger – Jim Huppunen +6 (15th to 6th)

Lucas Oil Products Heat Race No.1 (8 laps – Time: 2:02.579)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 38 Tyler Hendricks, Pain Court, ON (1); 2. 01k MIkey Kruchka, Hamilton, ON (2); 3. 47x Dylan Westbrook, Scotland, ON (9); 4. 97 Cory Turner, Caistor Centre, ON (7); 5. 9 Steve Lyons, Carlisle, ON (4); 6. 1-10 Jake Brown, Brantford, ON (3); 7. 14h Jim Huppunen, Fenwick, ON (5); 8. 5c Conor Mahoney, Waterdown, ON (6); 9. 0c Cole MacDonald, Waterdown, ON (8)

Creative Edge Signs & Graphics Heat Race No.2 (8 laps – No Time)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 17x Mack DeMan, Mississauga, ON (3); 2. 55 Mike Thorne, Caledonia, ON (2); 3. 91 Ryan Turner, Caistor Centre, ON (7); 4. DNF 11 Jamie Turner, Caistor Centre, ON (4); 5. DNF 10 Mitch Brown, Brantford, ON (5); 6. DNF 49 Todd Hoddick, Cheektowaga, NY (1); 7. DNF 0 Glenn Styres, Ohsweken, ON (8); 8. DNF 15 Dan Nanticoke, Ohsweken, ON (6)
Ackland Insurance “Top Gun” Award ($150): Dylan Westbrook
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Action Sprint Tour powered by RaceRivalz.com/Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Cars (31 Entries)

A-Feature (20 laps – No Time)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 68 Aaron Turkey (4); 2. 52 Jesse Costa (5); 3. 5 DJ Christie (20); 4. 49L Lucas Smith (21); 5. 87x Shone Evans (1); 6. 4 Hannah Ferrell (9); 7. 49h Jerry Hill (19); 8. 74 Rob Neely (17); 9. 9c Brian Nanticoke (11); 10. 70 Baily Heard (16); 11. DNF 08 Steven Beckett (15); 12. DNF 38 Derek Miller (14); 13. DNF 43h Ryan Hunsinger (6); 14. DNF 99 Michael Bell (12); 15. DNF 24 Jeff Newham (22); 16. DNF 9 Paul Ballantyne (10); 17. DNF 1eh Paul Klager (13); 18. DNF 1 Holly Porter (7); 19. DNF 7 Caleb Wood (3); 20. DNF 5d Jacob Dykstra (8); 21. DNF 12 Brad Herron (2); 22. DNF 3b Blaine Barrow (24); 23. DNF 51 Trevor Young (23); 24. DNF 56 Dereck Lemyre (18)
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Shone Evans 1; Aaron Turkey 2-20
Hard Charger – DJ Christie +17 (20th to 3rd)

Lucas Oil Products Heat Race No.1 (8 laps – Top 2 Redraw – Top 6 Transfer – No Time)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 52 Jesse Costa, St. Thomas, ON (4); 2. 12 Brad Herron, Waterdown, ON (2); 3. 1 Holly Porter, Delhi, ON (3); 4. 9 Paul Ballantyne, Brantford, ON (7); 5. 1eh Paul Klager, Beamsville, ON (9); 6. 70 Baily Heard, Niagara Falls, ON (8); 7. 49h Jerry Hill, Hagersville, ON (5); 8. DNF 5 DJ Christie, Beachville, ON (1); 9. DNF 17 Joshua Giroldi, Beachville, ON (10); 10. DNS 10 Lofton Schuts, Oakland, ON (6); 11. DNS 9b Scott Burk, Charing Cross, ON (11)

Klotz Automotive Heat Race No.2 (8 laps – Top 2 Redraw – Top 6 Transfer – No Time)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 68 Aaron Turkey, Ohsweken, ON (2); 2. 43h Ryan Hunsinger, Stouffville, ON (3); 3. 5d Jacob Dykstra, Port Colborne, ON (4); 4. 9c Brian Nanticoke, Ohsweken, ON (8); 5. 38 Derek Miller, Ohsweken, ON (1); 6. 74 Rob Neely, Rockwood, ON (9); 7. DNF 88h Josh Hansen, Beamsville, ON (6); 8. DNS 24a AJ Lewis, Stoney Creek, ON (5); 9. DNS 26 John Verney, Salmon Arm, BC (7); 10. DNS 24 Jeff Newham, Windsor, ON (10)

Creative Edge Signs & Graphics Heat Race No.3 (8 laps – Top 2 Redraw – Top 6 Transfer – Time 2:05.737)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 87x Shone Evans, Scotland, ON (1); 2. 7 Caleb Wood, London, ON (3); 3. 4 Hannah Ferrell, Vanessa, ON (7); 4. 99 Michael Bell, Hagersville, ON (2); 5. 08 Steven Beckett, Fonthill, ON (9); 6. 56 Dereck Lemyre, Hamilton, ON (5); 7. 49L Lucas Smith, Brantford, ON (10); 8. 3b Blaine Barrow, Welland, ON (8); 9. DNF 51 Trevor Young, Ancaster, ON (4); 10. DNS 29 Liam Martin, Binbrook, ON (6)

B-Feature (10 laps – Top 6 Transfer – Time)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 49h Jerry Hill (1); 2. 5 DJ Christie (2); 3. 49L Lucas Smith (10); 4. 24 Jeff Newham (9); 5. 51 Trevor Young (5); 6. 3b Blaine Barrow (11); 7. DNS 88h Josh Hansen (3); 8. 24a AJ Lewis (4); 9. 10 Lofton Schuts (6); 10. 26 John Verney (7); 11. DNS 29 Liam Martin (8); 12. DNS17 Joshua Giroldi (12); 13. DNS 9b Scott Burk, Charing Cross, ON (13)
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Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks (29 Entries)

A-Feature (20 laps – Time: 6:59.199)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 49 Dave Bailey (6); 2. 21x Mark Bazuin (14); 3. X Billy Bleich Jr. (12); 4. 25 Ken Sargent (3); 5. 23 Trevor DeBoer (5); 6. 84rk Ryan Beagle (7); 7. 79 Christopher Hale (10); 8. 53 Logan Shwedyk (1); 9. 28 Jim Lampman (9); 10. 93 Melissa Miller (11); 11. 40 Jay Liverance (22); 12. 24 Blake Bomberry Jr. (17); 13. 63 Brandon Crumbie (19); 14. 777x Chase Hess (23); 15. 11 Brian Teeple (18); 16. 43 Jay Doerr (20); 17. 13 Bobby Mercer (13); 18. 52 Tony Fraser (21); 19. 28d Donny Lampman (24); 20. 38 Terry Martin (25); 21. 4 Aaron Rewutzsky (26); 22. DNF 1 Chris Dickie (4); 23. 8 Ryan Dinning (8); 24. DNF 37h Rob Hoskins (16); 25. 7 Jason Lungaro (2); 26. 46 Kevin Pauls (27); 27. 2 Lee Winger (15); 28. DNS 3c Devon Bacher (28)
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Logan Shwedyk 1-3; Ken Sargent 4-6; Dave Bailey 7-20
Hard Charger – Mark Bazuin +12 (14th to 2nd)

Lucas Oil Products Heat Race No.1 (8 laps – No Time)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 53 Logan Shwedyk (2); 2. X Billy Bleich Jr. (8); 3. 8 Ryan Dinning (9); 4. 93 Melissa Miller (10); 5. 13 Bobby Mercer (4); 6. 37h Rob Hoskins (5); 7. 63 Brandon Crumbie (1); 8. 4 Aaron Rewutzsky (3); 9. 14L Jonny Lowenberg (6); 10. DNS 38 Terry Martin (7)

Caledonia Auto Supply Heat Race No.2 (8 laps – Time: 2:42.664)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 49 Dave Bailey (2); 2. 23 Trevor DeBoer (6); 3. 79 Christopher Hale (1); 4. 28 Jim Lampman (7); 5. 21x Mark Bazuin (3); 6. 24 Blake Bomberry Jr. (9); 7. 43 Jay Doerr (10); 8. 40 Jay Liverance (8); 9. 777x Chase Hess (5); 10. 46 Kevin Pauls (4)

Miska Trailer Factory Heat Race No.3 (8 laps – No Time)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 1 Chris Dickie (1); 2. 25 Ken Sargent (5); 3. 84rk Ryan Beagle (9); 4. 7 Jason Lungaro (2); 5. 2 Lee Winger (7); 6. 11 Brian Teeple (3); 7. 52 Tony Fraser (6); 8. 28d Donny Lampman (4); 9. DNS 3c Devon Bacher (8);

B-Feature (6 laps – Top 7 Transfer – Time; 2:04.451)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 40 Jay Liverance (2); 2. 777x Chase Hess (5); 3. 28d Donny Lampman (3); 4. 38 Terry Martin (8); 5. 4 Aaron Rewutzsky (1); 6. 46 Kevin Pauls (7); 7. DNS 14L Jonny Lowenberg (DNS); 8. DNS 3c Devon Bacher (DNS)
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HRW Automotive Mini Stocks (39 Entries)

A-Feature (15 laps – No TIme)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 222 Nick Masi (2); 2. 23 Dusty DeBoer (1); 3. 13 Bobby Tolton (22); 4. 15 Sean Iftody (10); 5. 21 Jonathan Ayrton (12); 6. 6x Mike Sarantakos (24); 7. 46 Wayde Thorne (18); 8. 54 Christopher French (3); 9. 32 Gillian Hils (8); 10. 2 Matt Nuell (15); 11. 6 Jason Dixon (11); 12. 01 Tristan Da Silva (14); 13. 93 Andy Ryckman (23); 14. 3 Dale Millard (6); 15. 96 Brian Crosgrove (17); 16. 69 Rob Twitchett (16); 17. 60 Martin Schroeder (28); 18. 63c Dave Crumbie (4); 19. 13m Daniel McKay (19); 20. 19w Trevor Want (13); 21. 79 Dan Miller (27); 22. DNF 16 Fabio Olivieri (5); 23. DNF 16J Jeremy May (9); 24. DNF 19 Kyle Wert (26); 25. 11p Patrick Abrahamsson (25); 26. DNF 9 Tim DeBoer (7); 27. DNF 26 Tim Nuell (21); 28. DNF 17 Mike Taylor (20)
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Nick Masi 1-20
Hard Charger – Bobby Tolton +19 (22nd to 3rd)

Lucas Oil Products Heat Race No.1 (6 laps – Time: 2:21.688)
Finish. # Name, (Starting Position)
1. 6 Jason Dixon (5); 2. 54 Christopher French (3); 3. 222 Nick Masi (4); 4. 19w Trevor Want (1); 5. 96 Brian Crosgrove (6); 6. 11p Patrick Abrhamsson (10); 7. 05 Dave Goodacre (8) 8. 177 Tim Jamieson (7); 9. 93 Andy Ryckman (2); 10. 1 Jason Tolton (9)

Caledonia Auto Supply Heat Race No.2 (6 laps – No Time)
Finish. # Name, (Starting Position)
1. 3 Dale Millard (3); 2. 23 Dusty DeBoer (6); 3. 16J Jeremy May (8); 4. 01 Tristan Da Silva (4); 5. 46 Wayde Thorne (10); 6. 19 Kyle Wert (9); 7. DNF 6x Mike Sarantakos (2); 8. DNF 10 Zach Buchwald (1); 9. DNS 13 Bobby Tolton (5); 10. DNS 88 Aidan Nigh (7)

Miska Trailer Factory Heat Race No.3 (6 laps – Time: 2:16.514)
Finish. # Name, (Starting Position)
1. 21 Jonathan Ayrton (2); 2. 32 Gillian Hils (5); 3. 16 Fabio Olivieri (8); 4. 2 Matt Nuell (10); 5. 13m Daniel McKay (6); 6. 26 Tim Nuell (3); 7. 517 Cody Sommerville (7); 8. 79 Dan Miller (9); 9. 11e Jeff Elsliger (4); 10. 188 Paul Longboat (1)

Ackland Insurance Heat Race No.4 (6 laps – Time: 2:26.005)
Finish. # Name, (Starting Position)
1. 9 Tim DeBoer (2); 2. 63c Dave Crumbie (1); 3. 15 Sean Iftody (9); 4. 69 Rob Twitchett (6); 5. 17 Mike Taylor (3); 6. 60 Martin Schroeder (4); 7. 64 Doug Erskine (5); 8. 11 Mike Giberson (7); 9. DNS 43c Clinton Nicholls (8)

B-Feature 1 (6 laps – Top 4 Transfer – Time: 2:24.062)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 26 Tim Nuell (2); 2. 93 Andy Ryckman (7); 3. 11p Patrick Abrahamsson (1); 4. 79 Dan Miller (6); 5. 05 Dave Goodacre (3); 6. 188 Paul Longboat (10); 7. 11e Jeff Elsliger (8); 8. 517 Cody Sommerville (4); 9. 1 Jason Tolton (9); 10. 177 Tim Jamieson (5)

B-Feature 2 (6 laps – Top 4 Transfer – Time: 2:14.905)
Finish. # Name, (Starting Position)
1. 13 Bobby Tolton (9); 2. 6x Mike Sarantakos (3); 3. 19 Kyle Wert (1); 4. 60 Martin Schroeder (2); 5. 11 Mike Giberson (6); 6. 10 Zach Buchwald (5); 7. 43c Clinton Nicholls (8); 8. DNS 64 Doug Erskine (4); 9. DNS 88 Aidan Nigh (7)