Inside Track Motorsport News - Volume 26, Issue 05

News

Ontario Sportsman Series

Takes Two!

APC Late Model Series

Weekend for Josh Stade

Hot Rods

Sr. Wins at 80 Years Old

Modifieds

Overcomes Adversity

Qwick Wick Super Stocks

Tiemersma Wins at Sunset Speedway

Ontario Modifieds

Wins 2022 Championship

Southern Ontario Modified Association

Affordable Division Gains Traction

Western Speedway

Flag Waves for 68-Year-Old Oval

Western Short Track Report

Willison Wins 2022 Daffodil Cup

East Coast International Pro Stocks

Proude Wins IWK 250 at Riverside

Gunter Schmidt

Racing Legend Passes Away

St. Thomas Dragway

Drag Strip Celebrating 60 Years

Canada Heads Up Shootout

Fall in Late -Season Action

New Drag Sanctioning Body

Thomas and Grand Bend Sign with WDRA

Features

Big Win for Mac

Clark Wins USF Juniors Title

NASCAR Pinty’s Series

Round-Up and New GM Announced

Grand Prix de Trois -Rivières

Production Challenge Headlines

Report

Canadian Touring Trophy Races

Volunteers

Volunteers Make Racing

Team Profile

Racing is a Family Affair

Historic Motor Races

Event Returns

Two -Year Hiatus

Canadian Rally Championship

and Barral Win Rallye Défi Petite Nation

Driving Academy

Area 27’s Driving School

INSIDE Opinions

Inside Line

MacPherson: Transition Period

Gears

Neilson: Formula 1 Silly Season 2022

Speaking

Holt: Heroes

Back

Mathers: The Carling Racing Team

That & the Other

Saxton: Chastain Making Enemies

ON THE Cover

USF Juniors Champion Mac Clark at the

of the Americas in Austin, TX.

by Jose Mario Dias

of Andersen Promotions

PAGE

THE INSIDE LINE

By Greg MacPherson

TRANSITION PERIOD

P.I. CLOSES

As mentioned in our previous issue, Performance Improvements (P.I.) co-founder Bob McJannett passed away in June. And after considering the company’s future, in early September, McJannett’s sons Andy and Rob announced that P.I. would be closing for good, on September 30.

The closure marks the end of an era that began in 1964, under the helm of Bob and Susan McJannett. At one time, the company had a chain of nine stores across Ontario and Quebec. P.I. was also entrenched in the racing community, selling parts and sponsoring racers and events.

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series is in a period of transition. In this issue, we have an interview with Tony Spiteri, who recently accepted the role as the General Manager of NASCAR Canada. It’s a newly created position that will oversee all aspects of NASCAR’s operations in Canada.

Spiteri is a former VP at Pinty’s, which was purchased by Olymel. The Pinty’s brand recently extended its title sponsorship of Canada’s NASCAR Series.

With energy, vision and a mandate to make decisions and build consensus, Spiteri’s new position will likely result in many positive changes, in short order.

By all accounts, the 2022 season was a huge success for the series. Car counts are up, the tour returned to its traditional dates and venues, and it ventured to exciting new host tracks.

Following two seasons during which the series – specifically its officials, racers, teams and sponsors – fought to survive, it’s exciting to see where things stand now.

Another major change is the retirement of Series Director Cherie Putnam, after six years guiding the series.

As mentioned above, getting the series through the 2020 and 2021 seasons was a major accomplishment.

Putnam oversaw drastic, last minute

schedule changes and safety protocols –that literally saw the series competing in front of zero fans. How that scenario got past the discussion stage will always be a mystery. But thank goodness it happened.

Races were held. Temperatures were taken. Attendance was restricted. And champions were crowned. Thanks to Cherie and everyone who worked together and kept things in place for the post-pandemic era and what we’re now experiencing.

The successful inaugural races in Newfoundland and on the dirt at Ohsweken were other major milestones that will continue into the future.

And earlier in her tenure, Putnam headed the series when it made its first appearances outside of Canada, at the one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

So, as we wrap the 2022 season, we celebrate Marc-Antoine Camirand on his almost certain first NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship, we’re excited to see what Tony Spiteri can do to grow the NPS series in Canada and hopefully secure dates for one or all of NASCAR’s major US touring series on Canadian soil, and we thank and congratulate Cheri Putnam for her efforts and achievements at the helm of Canada’s national stock car series. Cherie, good luck in your future endeavours!

“This is not a sad story. We’re proud of what we’ve done, our contributions to the local automotive community,” said company president, Andy McJannett. “After almost 60 years, we can sit back and say hey, we helped a lot of people improve their cars while helping so many employees, over the years, at the same time.”

MAC CLARK WINS

Prior to last winter, I’d heard of Mac Clark, but hadn’t met him. A successful young road racer, no one doubted his talents behind the wheel. But that’s not enough. To climb the racing ladder, kids need money.

At the time, Clark didn’t know what or where he’d be racing in 2022. Undeterred, he and his family put on a karting event to raise funds and awareness to support his racing dreams. And not long after that event, I bumped into he and his dad, at the PRI show in Indy, as they were meeting people and expanding their network. Nothing happens when you’re sitting at home or moping, so they decided they would do their best to make things happen. And something happened.

Their efforts paid off and Mac ended up racing in the USF Juniors Series this season. And in mid-September at Texas’ Circuit of the Americas, he clinched the championship and a Road to Indy scholarship valued at over $220,000, for 2023.

Clark is on the cover of this issue, and the interview inside is a lesson in perseverance and positivity. Congratulations, Mac! We can’t wait to see what you do next. IT

(Above) Cherie Putnam, in victory lane with Andrew Ranger as he celebrated his 2019 NPS championship at Jukasa Motor Speedway, is resigning as Series Director after six years at the helm of Canada’s national stock car series. Photo by Steve Traczyk

SNONOW

This winter say no to snow and yes to WeatherTech. Just like a snowflake, the WeatherTech FloorLiner has unique curves and contours designed to perfectly fit the floor of your specific vehicle. But instead of leaving you with cold feet and soggy carpets, the WeatherTech FloorLiner will keep your boots clean and your carpets pristine. And with a lifetime guarantee, it’s tough enough to handle any winter adventure for as long as you own your vehicle.

THE PLAYGROUND OF EUROPE

Inside Track Motorsport News Senior Photographer Richard Coburn attended the 2022 Historischer Bergsprint Hillclimb in Switzerland, featuring a wide array of historic vehicles, including the No. 93 1960 Austin Healey 3000 Rally Car driven by Richard’s son, Greg Coburn. Motorsport tracks are banned in Switzerland, which has resulted in the creation of unique events like this. Photos by Richard Coburn

SHIFTING GEARS

By James Neilson

SILLY SEASON RETURNS

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For those of you who listen to Erik Tomas’ Raceline Radio, you’ll be familiar with our ongoing Formula 1-related conversations about Ferrari constantly shooting itself in the foot, so instead of discussing the fantastic Formula 1 title battle between Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and the Scuderia’s Charles Leclerc, let’s look at the 2023 starting grid, which is beginning to take shape.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso is moving to Aston Martin, replacing the retiring Sebastian Vettel and highly touted prospect Os car Piastri will make his Formula 1 debut after a protracted contract dispute with Alpine Racing, with whom he raced for as part of their driver academy.

That leaves incumbent McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo without a seat, but Alpine Racing Team Principle Otmar Szafnauer has recently stated a preference for signing an experienced driver to race along side Esteban Ocon, which could result in the popular Aussie driver re turning to the team after racing their when it was known as Renault Racing. Nico Hulkenburg, who raced twice for Aston Martin this year, has also been linked with Alpine Racing. Ricciardo and Hulkenburg have also been linked with Haas F1, who will be parting ways with Mick Schumacher at the end of the 2022 season.

Pierre Gasly was initially the favourite to switch from Scuderia AlphaTauri to Alpine Racing, but Red Bull Racing Team Principle Christian Horner has stated that would only occur if American IndyCar driver Colton Herta would be granted a superlicence by the FIA to replace Gasly, and ultimately that didn’t happen. Gasly’s team mate, Yuki Tsunoda, was recently signed to an extension and Zhou Guanyu also re-signed with Alfa Romeo.

As of press time, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing have completed line-ups for next year.

On the Canadian front, Lance Stroll will return with Aston Martin. No surprise there given his father’s ownership of the team, but Nicholas Latifi will not be returning to Williams. Sadly, Latifi never impressed in his time in Formula 1, being outshined by teammates George Russell and Alex Albon, plus he was outperformed by drivers subbing in for one-off races with the team, including Nyck de Vries, who scored points on his Formula 1 debut this year at the Italian Grand Prix. De Vries is currently being tipped as the favourite to replace Latifi, but Williams protégé Logan Sargeant has also been rumoured to be in contention. The American currently sits in third in the Formula 2 title race. Based on the scuttlebutt, there could be an impressive crop of rookies in Formula 1 next year, which will be exciting to watch throughout the 2023 season. IT

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(Above) Nicholas Latifi’s time in Formula 1 has come to an end. Photo by Ed Gatner

BIG WIN FOR MAC

SCHOLARSHIP

Story by Greg MacPherson

With Files from Andersen Promotions

On September 18 at the Circuit of The Americas, Canadian Mac Clark won the USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires championship. With the title, the 18-year-old from Milton, ON secured a scholarship valued at more than $221,000 to graduate onto the first official step of the Road to Indy, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, in 2023.

At Sunday’s two-race season finale, VRD Racing teammates Sam Corry and Nikita Johnson shared the final two race wins, but it was Clark who took the overall title.

Corry, from Cornelius, NC, emerged on top of a dramatic contest in Sunday’s first race. It was enough to keep his slim title hopes alive, but he needed another victory in the afternoon finale to have any chance of wresting the championship away from Clark.

In the end, Johnson, from Gulfport, FL, proved too strong, winning by 2.189 seconds over Corry, while Clark drove a carefully measured race to third, despite having started at the back of the field.

Clark also finished third in the earlier contest behind impressive USF Juniors debutant Bryson Morris (Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport), from Nashville, TN.

“We just finished up the championship at COTA and we are the inaugural USF Juniors champions,” said Clark. “It feels amazing. I have to thank the team, all my supporters and my family… This is something we have been pushing for all year and to get the job done

is definitely a big weight off the shoulders.

“It was a little nerve-racking going into the last race knowing that we didn’t have the championship sealed up, but I knew that I had to make smart decisions on track.”

had two amazing driver coaches behind me giving me updates throughout the entirety of the race and we managed to come away with enough points to win the championship.”

Following the race, Clark’s magnificent season was honoured at a special Championship Celebration banquet.

Immediately after the weekend, Clark returned to Canada where he’s a first-year student in the Automotive Engineering program at Oshawa, ON’s Ontario Tech University.

Asked about his busy schedule, Clark laughed, “My dad (Stu Clark) made me promise, when we started getting serious about racing, that I would go to school. So, here I am and I’m loving it so far.”

Recalling his championship weekend at COTA, Clark outlined the team’s strategy.

“Going in, we knew we had to play ‘the championship game’ in terms of strategy. It’s interesting how our mindset kind of shifted throughout the season. At the beginning, it was all about getting those first few wins and scoring the maximum points.

“But about midway through the season, we realized we were out front with a decent points gap, and things kind of slowed down and we went race by race, making sure we were still bringing home good points, but taking less risks. So that’s kind of what the back half of

our season was all about.”

Clark was fast at COTA but mechanical troubles impacted his qualifying results and where he would start in each of the races.

“During qualifying, on Saturday, we were the quickest car – and we were the same through Friday testing – so we knew we had a good car. But we had an unfortunate mechanical failure. So, we had to come all the way from the back in Race One.

“That was a bit of a stressful situation for us, but we were able to drive all the way back from 19th to second and actually extend our points lead on Saturday. That was a big comeback and a big win for us, in terms of sealing the championship.”

The Saturday result set the stage for the final two races of the season, on Sunday.

“We had two more races on Sunday,” Clark continued. “For Race Two, we started eighth. The way it works in Road to Indy is your fast est qualifying lap sets the grid for Race One and your second fastest lap sets the grid for Races Two and Three.

“And we didn’t set times for either of those because of the mech anical failure, on the second lap of qualifying, so my lap got taken away and we had to start at the back for all three races.

“It’s kind of complicated, though, because they also figure Race One results into the grids, so that moved me to like eighth for Race Two and we managed to work away up to P4 at the end. It was a pretty intense battle with a six-car train for the lead. And I was just trying to keep my nose clean and play the ‘long-term’ game.

“And then, for Race Three, we only had to finish 15th or higher to seal the championship. We decided to start at the back, which was a bit of interesting strategy by us, to stay out of trouble. A lot of people were kind of taken aback by it, but it was just about minimizing risk.”

With his team making constant points calculations throughout the final race, at a point, it became clear that Clark had the title locked up and could change tactics.

“There was a sizable crash about midway through the race, which took out enough cars for us to lock the championship. So, for the last few laps, my team let me loose. At that point, I thought, ‘Now, I have a job to do. I want to try to put this car on the podium.’ I think we were still on seventh or eighth place.”

In the end, Clark clawed his way to third and onto the podium.

“It was a mix of emotion. We’d achieved what we’d been working for all year. It was a massive celebration with the team with hugs all around. Super happy to have it done.”

The achievement was even more special given that representatives of his primary sponsor were in attendance at COTA.

“It was a really solid weekend and it was great to have our title sponsor, Valkyrie.AI there, cheering us on. And the guys from Speed

Group were also there.

And while he wasn’t there in person, Mac credits former IndyCar racer and current Speed Group co-founder James Hinchliffe as an important mentor.

“Whether it’s off the track or on the track, he’s got great advice for me all the time. And I’ve been to his house a few times in Indian apolis. I call him ‘Uncle James’ and he’s an awesome guy to have in my corner.”

Clark’s accomplishment is all the more stunning given that it was only last winter that he still didn’t know where he’d be racing in 2022. His family and supporters put on a fundraising and awareness event, in Toronto, and he and his father were at the PRI show, in Indy, to network.

“When we talked at the PRI show, my dad and I didn’t really know what our program was going to be for 2022. We were lucky that DEForce Racing gave us an amazing offer and an amazing program, so we had a really good package to compete with.”

Asked what doors the Road to Indy title opens up for him, Clark is very optimistic.

“With the championship and the scholarship that Andersen Promotions and the Road to Indy put together, it’s going to allow us to actually move forward with my career. I’m going to keep climbing that ladder and the end goal is IndyCar. I now have an amazing opportun ity to keep moving up.”

Clark understands that he needs to perform to continue racing, and he’s proven that he can achieve results under that pressure.

“We don’t have the finances to keep going by ourselves. So, for us, it’s really all about building partnerships. And winning the scholarship was massive, but even with that money, it covers just over half of what you need to do USF2000, if you’re doing a proper amount of testing and funding the whole season. So, we’re still actively looking for sponsors and partners.”

And beyond getting the job done in the car, Clark is also commit ted to all aspects of what it takes to succeed.

“Part of that is being active on social media, always being at the racetrack and at events to meet new people and expand our network of connections. And we need to keep winning at every level. We’re doing all these things to make this dream really happen.”

In the days that followed his championship at COTA, Clark has been inundated with congratulatory messages and media inquiries, all as he settles into his university courses.

“People have reached out to me that I never would have thought would have known. The Road to Indy does an extremely good job promoting their programs. And I’ve had some bigger media outlets reach out, as well. That’s been a really cool feeling.”

IT

(Opposite page) Canadian Mac Clark celebrates his USF Juniors Title at the Circuit of the Americas (above) in Austin Texas. Photos Courtesy Andersen Promotions

NASCAR PINTY’S SERIES

MARC-ANTOINE CAMIRAND TAKES CHARGE

Stories by Davey Segal & Adam Fenwick / NASCAR,

With files from Greg MacPherson / ITMN Marc-Antoine Camirand wheeled his No. 96 GM Paillé machine to his second short-track oval win in a row, and first of his career, at Edmonton International Raceway on July 24. The Quebec racer dominated the Bayer 300, holding off Kevin Lacroix and Andrew Ranger in an overtime finish.

The win was Camirand’s second of the year and the fourth of his NASCAR Pinty’s Series (NPS) career.

The overtime restart came after a caution flew for Alex Tagliani, who was multiple laps down when he took out Brandon Watson, who was running inside the top-five. The incident set up an overtime finish between Camirand and Kevin Lacroix.

The two had swapped the lead multiple times – and even some paint – over the course of 300+ laps. But in the end, Camirand chose the inside lane on the final restart and prevailed. With the win, he vaulted top the top of the point standings, two points ahead of Lacroix. Ranger, L.P. Dumoulin and Donald Theetge rounded out the top five.

SASKATOON / JULY 28

On July 28, the NPS returned to Saskatoon’s Sutherland Automotive Speedway for a pair of Twin 125-lap races. Series ironman DJ Kennington and veteran Alex Tagliani each took checkered flags.

After a relatively uneventful opening 52 laps, in the first race, Andrew Ranger forced his way past polesitter Treyten Lapcevich and into the lead. Several laps later, Lapcevich spun following heavy contact with T.J. Rinomato, causing a lengthy clean-up and red flag.

Ranger maintained the lead down the stretch, until more contact while racing inside the top-five collected multiple race and champion ship contenders.

The late yellow triggered another overtime restart, where Kenning ton nipped Ranger at the line for the win for his third career triumph in Saskatoon, and first in ten years.

Ranger, Marc-Antoine Camirand, Kyle Steckly (making his NPS debut), and Lapcevich rounded out the top five.

Around an hour later, Donald Theetge led the field to green in the second 125-lapper, in front of Kennington, who was black flagged for jumping the initial start. Theetge and Ranger battled for the lead, until lap 42, when Tagliani nudged his way underneath Ranger for the top spot.

Reminiscent of Race No. 1, Ranger got close to doing one spot better in race No. 2 but wound up settling for second. The win was Tagliani’s first at Sutherland and his first of the season.

Camirand’s second event didn’t go as smoothly as the first, as he pulled his No. 96 onto pit road with 65 laps to go with an apparent issue. He went on to finish 20th. Ranger, L.P. Dumoulin, Raphael Lessard and Brandon Watson completed the top five.

GP3R / AUGUST 8

In what was yet another wild Trois-Rivières event for the NPS tour, Alex Guenette emerged through the chaos for his first career series victory, in his 31st start with the series.

It was a relatively straightforward first half of the August 8 race on the streets of Trois-Rivières, with Camirand and polesitter Lacroix swapping the lead. Guenette, who started 10th, made his way into the lead battle on Lap 16, as his No. 39 was nearing the back bumper of Camirand’s No. 96, but the latter held the top spot under green. Twenty-eight laps later, Mathieu Kingsbury spun to bring out a red flag. Gary Klutt and Andrew Ranger got together, bringing out an other caution, which led to hometown drivers J.F. and L.P. Dumoulin making contact while battling Camirand for the lead.

The brothers sustained heavy damage after spinning and bringing out yet another yellow flag, leading to an overtime restart.

Guenette wouldn’t be denied, as he wrestled the lead away from Camirand, who had trouble getting through right-hand turns. Despite Ranger and Klutt wrecking in Turn 1, the race stayed green as Guen ette sailed onto his first career NASCAR Pinty’s Series victory.

Kennington, Camirand, defending race winner Alex Tagliani and Treyten Lapcevich rounded out the top five. Sam Sam Fellows posted a career-best sixth-place finish. With Lacroix falling out with engine woes, Kennington moved to first in the points, ahead of Camirand.

OHSWEKEN / AUGUST 12

The first NASCAR Pinty’s Series race on dirt at Ohsweken Speedway was worth the wait. Treyten Lapcevich survived a challenge from NASCAR Camping World Truck Series star Stewart Friesen during a two-lap dash to the checkered flag to win the August 12 Pinty’s 100.

Lapcevich, who earned his first NASCAR Pinty’s Series triumph in the season opener at Ontario’s Sunset Speedway in May, took the lead following a restart with 52 laps left from polesitter Marc-Antoine Camirand.

The official results will show Lapcevich led the rest of the race, but what the results won’t show is how he nearly lost the race to Friesen during the final restart with two laps left following a spin by Raphael Lessard.

Lapcevich and Friesen restarted on the front row and Friesen did his best to steal the win away from Lapcevich. The two made contact in Turn 2 moments after the restart, which allowed Friesen to stay under Lapcevich through Turns 3 and 4 and as they crossed under the white flag.

Through Turns 1 and 2 Friesen got a great run and was able to pull clear of Lapcevich to take the lead as they raced down the backstretch. Lapcevich responded quickly by hitting the rear bumper of Friesen’s No. 22 before turning left to cross back under Friesen. The two bounced off each other multiple times coming to the checkered flag, with Lapcevich getting to the finish line first by a car length. Lapcevich pocketed $25,000 for the win.

Jake Sheridan, who was a late substitute for NASCAR Cup Series star Christopher Bell, finished third ahead of Camirand and Alex Tagliani.

ICAR / August 27

You don’t have to be The Amazing Kreskin to predict what will likely hap pen when the NPS tour heads to Circuit ICAR, near Mirabel, QC. There’s a good chance Kevin Lacroix will win. And that’s exactly what happened on August 27.

Lacroix drove to his third victory of the season – his third consecutive at ICAR and fourth overall at the venue (2015, 2017, 2021, 2022) – tying Andrew Ranger for the most wins all-time at ICAR. Lacroix took the lead from polesitter Camirand, on Lap 7, and held it for the majority of the race. With 15 to go, Andrew Ranger ‘sent it’ on a restart and cleared Lacroix for the lead momentarily. But later that lap, Lacroix got back by Ranger and sailed off to the checkered flag.

Camirand, Alex Guenette, Alex Labbé and Ranger rounded out the top five. With his runner-up finish, Camirand extended his points lead over Ken nington, who came home 12th.

CTMP / SEPTEMBER 4

Marc-Antoine Camirand won the September 4 WeatherTech 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) and all but secured the 2022 NPS championship. Camirand held off Kevin Lacroix by 0.452 seconds to extend his points lead to 33 heading to the Delaware season finale.

“We knew coming up here that this race was the biggest race of the sea son for us,” Camirand said. “We knew if we did well, we’d have a good gap for the last race of the season. That’s exactly what happened, and we’re happy to show up to Delaware with a good points lead.”

Four drivers – Camirand, Lacroix, Alex Tagliani and D.J. Kennington –entered CTMP with a shot at the championship. Though all expectations were for a Camirand and Lacroix showdown for the CTMP win, the two didn’t disappoint.

The two traded the lead early before caution flags brought a mixed bag of pit strategies.

“Early in the race I passed him (Camirand) for first place before the pit stops, but as soon as we put on the second set of tires, I felt it wasn’t as good,” Lacroix said.

The duo lined up, side-by-side, for three restarts in the second half of the race but Lacroix was never able to catch Camirand.

“Marc was good, he didn’t make any mistakes, he deserves to win,” Lacroix said after the race. “You always want to win, but under the circum stances, we’ll take second.”

“In the end, I was faster than Kevin in Turns 2 and 3, but he was faster than me in 8, 9 and 10,” said Camirand, who knew he couldn’t let the 74 to his bumper. “I was able to pull away from him enough so he couldn’t catch me there.”

Gary Klutt finished third. IT

(Opposite page, left) Marc-Antoine Camirand won at Edmonton International Raceway, on July 24. It was the first time since the start of the pandemic that the NPS tour has made the trek to western Canada. Photo by Perry Nelson (Opposite page, right) Alex Guenette earned his first-ever NPS victory on August 8 at the GP3R. The race featured a chaotic finish that saw the Dumoulin brothers involved in a late-race crash. Photo by Paolo Pedicelli (Top) The inaugural NPS race on dirt was held August 12 at Ohsweken Speedway. The thrilling race saw Treyten Lapcevich (No. 20) lose and retake the lead from Stewart Friesen (No. 22) on the final lap, to bag the $25,000 winner’s share. Photo by Peter Anderson (Above) Marc-Antoine Camirand (No. 96) put a virtual lock on the 2022 NPS championship by winning the Labour Day Sprints race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Photo by Tim McGill

TONY SPITERI

NAMED NASCAR CANADA GM

By Greg MacPherson

At the recent NASCAR Pinty’s Series race in Trois-Rivières, QC, Tony Spiteri was introduced as the new General Manager of NASCAR Canada. The newly created role encompasses all aspects of NASCAR’s operations in Canada.

Canadian NASCAR fans are no doubt familiar with Spiteri, who was formerly a senior VP with the series’ title sponsor, Pinty’s, and then Olymel, after that company purchased Pinty’s.

Hands on and engaged, Spiteri is a true fan of racing and has solid relationships with the series’ officials, racers, team members and sponsors. These relationships are largely responsible for the almost universal applause that resulted when Spiteri’s new role with NASCAR was announced.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for all of us. It’s probably about two and a half years in the making,” said Spiteri, during an interview in his hometown Port Colborne, ON, while taking a break at the weekly cruise night that he, his family and friends put on during the summer.

“While I was a sponsor, Chad Seigler (Vice President International Business at NASCAR) asked me, ‘what are some of the things we could do differently, in the series?’

Spiteri continued, “Chad was starting to contemplate what NASCAR could look like in the future. I kind of gave him a Canadian motorsports manifesto, that could actually work to make things even

LONGTIME

(Above) Tony Spiteri (right) is the new General Manager of NASCAR Can ada. The newly created role will see him oversee all aspects of NASCAR’s operations in Canada, including competition, technical, marketing, scheduling and more. In this photo, at ICAR, he’s chatting with perennial contender Kevin Lacroix. Photo by Paolo Pedicelli (Below) Spiteri (second from the right) is a popular and respected figure in the pits. Photo by Peter Anderson

better, with NASCAR as a central point.

“As I left the Olymel business, I was in a position where I had no conflicts of interest, and Chad reached out and said, ‘Would you con sider doing this? Would you consider working with us on it?’”

With the news now public, Spiteri is focused on making NASCAR in Canada something much bigger than it has been so far.

“So, a lot of what I’m doing is what I was doing as a sponsor, work ing with a whole lot of motorsports folks. The only difference now is that we’re attempting to bring all the facets of Canadian NASCAR under one roof. This includes competition, technical, safety, sales, marketing, venue management and scheduling.

“This is in contrast to the old model where it was all decides in the US, and approved in the US. Now, we’ve got a centralized team, here in Canada, that’s going to be responsible for growing the sport across Canada.”

Transitioning to a homegrown, integrated model can only be viewed as a hopeful sign for Canadian NASCAR racers and fans.

“That’s the dream and the hope. I think a lot of people were thinking almost exactly the same way – just from the letters and the notes I’m getting from folks – saying this is what we can do now. Even just little things that might have taken three or four months to get done, in the past, we were able to get done in three or four hours, so that’s kind of cool.”

With a proven track record of bringing Pinty’s into the series and growing that brand, Spiteri has credibility and goodwill on his side. And there’s no way he would have set himself up to fail, taking a title that didn’t include the mandate and the tools to succeed.

“From a business perspective, it was great that Steve (O’Donnell, Chief Operating Officer for NASCAR) and I were able to talk with everyone on the Saturday (at the GP3R), focused on the business of racing in Canada. We’re blessed because we’ve got a lot of folks on the competition side that are as strong as any anywhere.

“We’re just looking to gel it all together. The reason the US model works so well is all the resources are there to make decisions immediately. Well, we’ve got a very successful series here in Canada that is now prepared to go to the next level.”

The ability of Canadians, on the ground, to make calls about all aspects of the sport in this country, is key to Spiteri.

“It means working with all the assets that we have in Canada, taking it to different tracks and taking it to different venues. And hav ing a presence at places like Motorama, where we understand the importance of being at that show. And it’s very difficult sometimes to explain that to people that maybe don’t live here.

“Another key part of what we’re going to do quickly is open communication with a view to bringing more peoples’ voices to the table. I’m planning for it not to be a top-down situation.”

As noted earlier, Spiteri has been in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series trenches for several years and his new position means his contacts and associates will now be better represented as decisions are crafted.

“I’m trying to bring the sponsors’ perspective to the table… the business perspective to the table… the racers’ perspective to the table… the team owners’ perspective to the table. And most import

antly, the fans’ perspective to the table. What’s important to the fan? Because if we do that right, everybody will win down the road.”

Asked what the racing community can expect in the near and longterm, Spiteri replied, “In the short-term, I’m a real big believer in new assignments; the first 100 days are mission critical. The first thing I’d like to do is get our whole group together… the NASCAR group in Canada, to bring stakeholders together.

“The stakeholders are the team owners, drivers, sponsors, potential sponsors and tracks. Bring them together and actually start having open dialogue about what’s really good right now, and what can we make a little bit better. We also want to look at the schedule to figure out what everybody really likes and what can we tweak.”

Another goal of Spiteri’s is to expand the number of stakeholders.

“Then, look for us to bring not only new fans to the table, but new partners to the table. We all ‘hit’ the traditional ‘wells’ all the time. But we have to start looking for opportunities to look at different partners and a new audience. I think going to Ohsweken (Speedway) for our first-ever dirt race was a great showcase for stock car racing, in front of a group that is all about racing.”

And looking down the road, Spiteri continued, “I think the longer-term piece is that NASCAR Canada is going to play a substantially larger role on the world stage when it comes to, not only NASCAR, but motorsports. We have the talent. And frankly, if we get organized, we actually have the sponsorship to get into. We’ll play a larger role within the NASCAR organization, from a Canadian perspective, but maybe on the worldwide stage.”

Of note, Spiteri’s role as GM of NASCAR Canada is not limited to just the Pinty’s Series and track sanctions. It also includes possible dates for one or all of NASCAR’s major US-based touring series, although none are currently scheduled to appear in Canada in 2023.

Discussing the reception he’s gotten, since the news came out, Spiteri was philosophical and almost overwhelmed.

“I wasn’t quite expecting or prepared for the reaction from the drivers and the owners. It was humbling. I thought a lot about my dad, my earliest memories of NASCAR were of sitting with my dad and watching races with him in the ‘70s and thinking, ‘Man, what would he think about this?’ I’ve gotten so much support. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure I deliver.”

One thing that Tony wants to make clear to Canadian racers and fans is that NASCAR is extremely committed to Canada.

“The amount of commitment from Steve O’Donnell, Chad Seigler and all the senior brass, and the France family – for the Canadian series – is amazing. They’ve taken notice. While we were at the GP3R, I was getting texts from people saying they were at the Cup race in Michigan with 63,000 people… and they were talking about how we were at Trois-Rivières with 132,000.

“COVID could have been an easy excuse for them (NASCAR) to say, ‘Let it go for a couple of years.’ But not a chance. We have a resounding commitment from them. I wish I could take everyone who is a motorsports fan and say, ‘This is what the France family and the executives of NASCAR think of Canada.’ Because they wouldn’t believe me. They really are in tune with what we’re doing, and I really want to make this work.”

Photo by Steve Traczyk

TREVELLIN TAKES TWO!

Veteran OSS Competitor Wins for the First Time in 30 years

Story by Bryce Turner

It felt like a normal day for Kevin Trevellin when he arrived at Peterborough Speedway for the Ontario Sportsman Series (OSS) race on July 16. He followed his routine, doing his own work on the car, never thinking about how competitive he’d be.

Trevellin has been racing for over 30 years. He started out at the now-defunct Checker Flag Raceway in Windsor, ON when he was 16 years old, more recently doing local racing at Southern Ontario Motor Speedway and Delaware Speedway, but most of his career has been in touring series. He started in CASCAR in 1992 and has raced OSS for two decades, but something has been missing. Every time he had a decent car, it felt like a mechanical issue or accident took him out – he was still searching for his first career touring series win.

“It was starting to bother me quite a bit,” said Trevellin. “You kind of wonder if it’s ever going to come.”

Trevellin never gave up on the hope of winning. He started on pole and took the lead in his No. 19 Dodge from the drop of the green flag at Peterborough, continuing to lead as the finish drew closer.

He refused to let the moment get to him,

picturing there being 50 to go during the closing laps. Ultimately, he led flag-to-flag to claim his breakthrough victory, where the location was the first thing that came to mind.

“Wow, I can’t believe I just won – here,” he said. “Peterborough was never my strong track, we’ve always run mediocre at best.”

Trevellin made a point on the cool down lap to start soaking up every moment and talk to as many people as he could, to not miss a second of what comes with a win. But when it came to the celebration, he put his owner’s hat on.

“My spotter came on the radio and said ‘go ahead, you’ve got room to do doughnuts on the front stretch,’” said Trevellin. “Because my budget is very small and I always take care of my equipment the best I can, that was the farthest from my mind.”

For the next race, on August 5 at Delaware Speedway, there turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Trevellin rented out a No. 39 Dodge entry for Alan Arsenault, which was involved in a wreck during qualifying.

Trevellin switched hats from driver to mechanic and fabricator, having to fix and prepare the No. 39 for the feature. That meant he didn’t have time to reflect on his first win and think about what was coming.

“When I got back into my car, I put all of the damage on my rental and what was going on with the pressure, the points and the win, I just put it all aside,” he said. “I put my helmet on and I got to focus on just what I was doing.”

Trevellin started third in the race and was in that position when he saw the #2 Chevy of Todd Sheppard wiggle in turn one, forcing a split-second decision that felt like it took ten minutes of thought – whether to be conservative the whole race or go for it.

“In that split second, I got under the No. 2 car and I never looked back,” he said. “I just drove and I was just going to burn the car down getting to the front, I was going to lead and just see what happened after that.”

He took the lead on Lap 19 and went on to win his second race in three weeks, after three winless decades. Both victories had plenty of reaction, but the people who were at Delaware gave that moment the slight edge for most memorable of his career over Peterborough.

“On the way home (from Peterborough) my phone was just going…(it) was dinging so much that it actually broke the speaker in my phone,” he said. “I had more friends and racing family at Delaware and it felt like a

bigger win because there were so many people who I knew at Delaware Speedway and it just took that one to the next level in excitement.”

With two wins under his belt, it’s only made him hungrier to visit victory lane. He finished third in the following race, at Full Throttle Motor Speedway, but still has two more chances to add to his win total this season –something that may be a little easier now. “Knowing that I can have the ability (to win) if the car’s underneath me,” said Trevellin. “You do question your ability, are you good enough, can you do this and when you do get your first win and you get a win, it strengthens your ability to be able to do this.”

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY – JULY 16

Ten cars took the green flag in the sixth race of the OSS season, the AF 100 presented by AF International at the 1/3-mile Peterborough Speedway. Kevin Trevellin started on the pole, aiming to continue the parity seen so far this season, with four different winners in the first five races.

Trevellin took the lead from the drop of the green in his No. 19 Dodge, with the No. 47 Dodge of Sean Mangin in close pursuit. Attrition became the story of the race, as drivers dropped out, leaving the No. 12 Chevy of Mark Patrick, No. 48 Chevy of Doug Cathcart and No. 18 Ford of Chad McGlynn to battle behind Trevellin.

In the end, Trevellin led flag-to-flag for

his first career touring series win. Patrick, Cathcart, McGlynn and Bradley Robinson rounded out the top-five.

DELAWARE SPEEDWAY – AUGUST 5

The next race saw a field of 15 cars take part in the Gulf Pro Fuels 100 presented by Derek’s Mowers & Blowers at the half-mile Delaware Speedway. The No. 38 Dodge of Derek McCullough started on the pole, followed by the No. 2 Chevy of Todd Sheppard, who won the OSS race at Delaware earlier this season.

McCullough pulled out to the lead at the green flag, with the cars running a fast pace early. Trevellin moved up from a third place starting spot to take the lead on Lap 19. McGlynn moved up to second, from a fourth place starting spot, while McCullough settled into third.

A few late race cautions bunched the field, with Trevellin able to hold off challenges on the restarts to claim his second straight win. Mangin, McGlynn, Cathcart and Michael Hryniuk Jr. rounded out the top-five, while

both McCullough and Sheppard were unable to finish the race.

FULL THROTTLE MOTOR SPEEDWAY –AUGUST 13

Ten cars took to the quarter-mile Full Throttle Motor Speedway for the One Stop Auto Centre Sponsor Appreciation 100. McGlynn won the pole for the event, joined on the front row by the No. 3 Chevy of Tim Tolton, a two-time winner at the track, including a victory earlier this season.

McGlynn took the lead at the drop of the green, keeping his No. 18 Ford on the point throughout the event, but winning by just one car length over Tolton. Trevellin, Patrick and Hryniuk Jr. rounded out the top-five.

Hryniuk Jr. leads in the standings with two races remaining, by five points over Trevellin. McGlynn sits in third, 17 points back.

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY – SEPTEMBER 10

On September 10, the OSS returned to Flamboro Speedway for its season-ending event. Three racers were tightly bunched atop the standings and the Twin 40-lap features would determine the champion.

Todd Sheppard won the first feature after a race-long battle with Connor James. Heading into the second main, Kevin Trevellin held a narrow lead over Michael Hryniuk Jr. and Chad McGlynn.

In the finale, it was once again Sheppard and James fighting for the lead, but this time, James took the lead just prior to the halfway point and led the rest of the way to the checkered flag.

Trevellin took second, which was enough to secure his first championship in 30 years of motor racing. IT

(Opposite page) After 30 years of trying, Kevin Trevellin broke through to Victory Lane when he won the July 16 OSS feature race at Peterborough Speedway. Photo by Jim Clarke (Above) Chad McGlynn won on the high-banks at Full Throttle Motor Speedway, on August 13. Photo by Dave Franks (Below) At the OSS Championship Night finale, September 10 at Flamboro, Todd Sheppard (No. 2) and Connor James (No. 4) each took checkered flags in the 40-lap features. Photo by Dave Franks

DREAM WEEKEND

Josh Stade Wins Big in APC LMS at Sauble Speedway

Story by Bryce Turner

It was home cooking, buffet style, for Josh Stade at Sauble Speedway on the August long weekend, as he scored a pair of wins, including his first career APC Series victory.

Stade entered Sauble having a career year in the APC Series, with four top-five finishes in five races, all of which were fifth place results. He’s been racing in the series full-time since the inaugural year in 2015 but had just three top-five finishes in 58 races entering the year.

“We’ve been in the series right from the start, we’ve had a lot of good runs, been real ly competitive, and this year we’ve seemed to be able to pull it together,” said Stade.

On top of the momentum that he carried in the series, he had the advantage of extra support in the stands at his home track, including a large contingent from new sponsor Ridgeline lubricants.

“We had 260 Ridgeline people, Ridgeline being the primary sponsor on that car, then also had other sponsors,” he said. “All my friends, family, my kids, my fiancé, everyone was there who needed to be there.”

Stade started fifth in the Stewart’s 100 for the APC Series but faded early as the car took a little while to come to life. He battled between sixth and ninth in the early going, before moving up to fifth, soon after a lap 32 restart.

A quick caution would set up the opportunity Stade needed to gain more spots, as he climbed to third shortly after a lap 35 restart. He briefly lost third to Rick Spencer-Walt after the next yellow flag, before

yet another caution led to Kyle Steckly taking over the spot, with 48 to go.

Stade kept with Steckly and made the pass with 33 to go, putting him in the catbird seat for some late-race drama. J.R. Fitzpatrick made contact with the left-rear of leader Ryan Kimball with 13 to go, sending Kimball spinning and resulting in Fitzpatrick being sent to the rear.

Stade restarted as the leader and dealt with a near three-wide battle with Steckly and Spencer-Walt, though it ultimately remained a two-wide contest with Steckly. Two laps after the restart, some contact

between the pair led to Steckly hitting the wall. Stade then pulled away and went on to the victory.

The following day, Stade returned for the Beat the Heat 100, an annual pro late model race held by the track. Fresh off the Saturday night win, Stade claimed the victory in the Sunday headliner.

“It was a pretty incredible, emotional weekend,” he said. “These races are not easy to win, I think anyone working on these cars knows that and to get the first APC Series win out of the way and get the Beat the Heat (win), it was just incredible.”

The track is located about 37 kilometres north of Stade’s hometown of Chesley, Ont. He said the location, where he started late model racing, and the sponsors on-hand made it more special, but the time and place also came as a surprise.

“I never personally thought that our first APC Series win would come at Sauble,” he said. “The civic long weekend has never been really good to us when we go there; we have high expectations and we get let down as something mechanical or such would happen.”

“I don’t know that I’ll ever have a weekend like that again in my racing career,” he concluded. “I’m trying to accept the fact that we’re just going to go out there and keep digging and try to get the wins.” IT

(Top) Josh Stade emerges from his car after winning the APC Series race at Sauble Speedway on the August long weekend. (Above) Stade, his team and supporters cele brate in Victory Lane after his first career APC Series win. Photos by Dave Franks

Making tires for your road!

APC UNITED LATE MODEL SERIES

Late-Season Action Sees Wins by Stade, Fitzpatrick and Spencer-Walt

Stories by Bryce Turner and Greg MacPherson, with quotes from GForceTV

The APC Series visited the quarter-mile Sauble Speedway for the Stewart’s 100 on July 30. Ryan Kimball passed polesitter Jordan Howse on the opening lap, staying in front during a string of four cautions between laps 33 and 54. Meanwhile, J.R. Fitzpatrick and Josh Stade moved from further down in the top-ten to run second and third.

Kyle Steckly then took third for about a dozen laps, but it was Stade in a position to gain when late-race drama happened. With 13 to go, Fitzpatrick made contact with the left-rear of Kimball, sending him spinning. Fitzpatrick was sent to the rear as a result, giving Stade the lead.

Stade and Steckly battled on the restart, where Rick Spencer-Walt nearly made it three-wide. Two laps later, contact between the lead duo sent Steckly into the wall. Stade pulled ahead and got his first win in 64 series starts; Steckly finished second.

“I used up (Steckly) pretty good, and I apologize,” said Stade. “But these things don’t come easy, he’s won a few this year and I’ve been fighting in this series for seven years to get this. To do it at home, with all the sponsors…it’s just amazing.”

SUNSET SPEEDWAY – AUGUST 13

The tour headed to Sunset Speedway on August 13. J.R. Fitzpatrick continued his hot streak, scoring the win after taking the lead just after the two-thirds point of the race.

Rick Spencer-Walt was fasted during time trials, an amazing accomplishment given he required crutches to get around the pits. Ryan Kimball started on the pole, following the inversion. Kimball led during the early going, as Spencer-Walt climbed quickly to second, eventually taking the lead on Lap 17.

By Lap 56, Fitzpatrick was up to second. He took the lead from Spencer-Walt on Lap 68 and the two would cross under the checkered flag, in that order, at the end of Lap 100. Andrew Gresel was third, ahead of Dale Shaw and Treyten Lapcevich.

“The car was really good,” said Fitzpatrick, in Victory Lane, after driving away from the field at the end. “It was a little tight at the beginning, but we worked on it this week with the mindset that we’d have lots of grip later in the race. And the car just came to life.

“But we were obviously a little better than everyone else at the end because we drove away. Proud of the team because we struggled in practice and were 13th fastest and we turned it around and into a rocketship at the end.”

SAUBLE SPEEDWAY – AUGUST 27

The series made another trip to Sauble for 100 laps, where Kimball took the lead from polesitter Blair Wickett on the first lap, before Shae Gemmell took the spot on lap 25. Gemmell sat comfortably until 29 to go, when Wickett got to his inside as he tried to lap a car. The two made contact, sending Gemmell spinning into the wall.

Spencer-Walt took the lead on the restart, holding the position through a pair of cautions. The later of the yellow flags was for contact between Steckly and Stade that sent Stade spinning; another incident between the two drivers, with the first Sauble race still in mind.

Spencer-Walt held off a challenge from Jo Lawrence and pulled away to his second series win of the season. He grimaced as he climbed out of the car, having raced with an injured leg after sustaining a torn ACL earlier in the month, but it didn’t appear to be on his mind when reflecting on the event.

“It’s been an awesome weekend,” said Spencer-Walt. “The whole team worked really hard today.”

Fitzpatrick leads the points standings entering the Delaware Speedway finale, by 20 points over Steckly and 25 points over Spencer-Walt. IT

J.R. Fitzpatrick (right) got underneath Rick Spencer-Walt (left) with just over 30 laps to go in the August 13 APC Series race at Sunset Speedway, and never looked back. Photo by Steve Traczyk

OSCAAR HOT RODS

Zardo Sr. Wins at 80 Years Old

Story by Bryce Turner

While all sports have youth waves, racing sometimes has elder waves, including the return of Bill Zardo Sr. to victory lane in the recent OSCAAR Hot Rod race at Peterborough Speedway.

Seasoned veterans have shown a youthful energy as of late. Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) Class of 2020 inductee Jim Bray, at 89 years old, frequently roams around the track as a NASCAR Pinty’s Series (NPS) team owner. Bryan Cathcart, at 59 years old, returned behind the wheel of an NPS car after a six-year hiatus.

Now, you can add 80-year-old Zardo to that list. A member of the CMHF Class of 2021, Zardo was inducted alongside Bray this year, when both classes were enshrined. Meanwhile, it was Cathcart, along with two of Zardo’s grandsons, who convinced him to return behind the wheel after two decades away.

“Well, I never did retire,” said Zardo. “I just laid off to help my grandkids.”

Zardo jumped back into racing at full speed, running the full OSCAAR Hot Rod schedule. He finished second to Stompin’ Tom Walters in his first feature back, during Sunset Speedway’s Spring Velocity weekend. He had one additional top-five finish entering the seventh race of the year, at Peterborough, on July 30.

From a third-place starting spot, Zardo moved to second and stalked leader Donny Beatty, before taking over the top spot, on Lap 12. This time, it was Zardo who finished just ahead of Walters to score his first win in the series.

“It was a great win,” said Zardo. “I haven’t won for a long time; the last time I was at Peterborough I won, that was 22 years ago, that was the last time I raced.”

Despite the time away, his familiarity with the southern Ontario short track circuit helped him remain competitive.

“The track’s never changed in 22 years,” said Zardo. “So, I knew how to drive the track.”

It’s been a long and storied career for Zardo. He started out at Pinecrest Speedway in 1962, won the first CASCAR Super Late Model Series championship in 1981 and has won multiple track championships at Flam boro Speedway. As he starts a new chapter, will he keep it going for another year?

“I have no idea,” he said. “The way my heart is, I’m not even supposed to be doing it now.”

Zardo sits fifth in the OSCAAR Hot Rod standings, after nine races, and is showing no signs of slowing down.

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY – JULY 30

Polesitter Donny Beatty moved ahead at the start, as the field checked up behind second place starter Ryan Cowan. Steve Book got squished between Cowan and Tom Walters, sending Book through the grass, though he kept going.

Bill Zardo Sr. took the lead on lap 12, with Walters following to second. The duo worked through traffic, sometimes three-wide, down the stretch. Zardo took the win, followed by Walters and Book.

BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY – AUGUST 13

Cowan took the lead to start the feature, before Brandon Crumbie passed him a couple of laps later. Crumbie held the spot through the first half of the 30-lap race. Book then took the lead and drove away to win the caution-free event for his first victory of the season, ahead of Nick Clarke and Crumbie.

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY – AUGUST 27

Walters took the lead from polesitter Jordan Morris on the opening lap, holding the spot as positions shuffled behind him. A caution came with five to go, setting up a final battle.

Walters pulled ahead on the restart, as Jaeger McMaster slid up the track. Cole Weber grabbed second and made a last lap move on Walters, edging him for the win; Clarke finished third. IT

(Top) Eighty-year-old Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame member Bill Zardo Sr. won his first career OSCAAR Hot Rod Series race on July 30 at Peterborough. Photo by Jim Clarke (Above, left) Steve Book started fifth and methodically made his way to the front, en route to winning the August 13 OSCAAR Hot Rod main at Brighton Speedway. Photo by Rod Henderson / CanadianRacer.com (Above, right) Cole Weber in Victory Lane at Flamboro Speedway. Photo by Derek Smith / Racepulse.com

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OSCAAR MODIFIEDS

Kamrath Overcomes Adversity in Series Action

Story by Bryce Turner

From woes to wins, Andy Kamrath’s OSCAAR Modifieds season completed a 360-degree turn after a challenging weekend at Delaware Speedway.

Kamrath won the first three features of the year before being collected in a wreck at Delaware. He was running third when the motor broke on Ryan Dick’s car. The No. 88D came down into Kamrath’s No. 35, sending the No. 35 up the track, in front of oncoming traffic.

With another race the following day, two of Kamrath’s crew members drove almost all night to drop off his wrecked car and pick up a loaner from Peterborough, Ont. He finished sixth with that car, while driving with two broken toes. He then left the track wondering what to do next.

“Looking at all the damage, I was ready to throw in the towel right after that wreck and fix (my car) whenever I could,” said Kamrath.

Despite his busy work schedule, the extra effort from his crew members during the Delaware weekend gave him the motivation needed to be ready for Sunset Speedway.

“If they were going to drive through the night to go get a car, I didn’t have an excuse for not getting a car turned around in a couple of weeks,” he said. “It was a lot of work for me, my wife and Shawn Chenoweth; we do a lot of the work on our own, so it was a pretty big undertaking.”

Chenoweth pre-scales Kamrath’s car at the start of the year and the two help each other out at times during the season. The team went back to their baseline notes for Sunset,

where it didn’t take long to get up to speed.

Kamrath quickly moved from sixth to second in the feature, before taking the lead on lap 17. He had a good long run car and went on to win, completing the comeback.

“Sunset’s right down the road from my house, so it’s always nice to do one right in the backyard,” he said. “We know we dotted our I’s and crossed our T’s properly and we still had the same speed in the car, so everything went well.”

The win provided a “shot in the arm” and they carried the momentum into Peterborough Speedway, where Kamrath grabbed the victory for his 10th win in his last 13 OSCAAR Modifieds starts dating back to last year.

SUNSET SPEEDWAY – JULY 23

Herb Walters started on the pole, before being passed by Dale Reinhart on the opening lap. A.J. Emms moved from a fourth place starting spot to take the lead on Lap 3.

As positions shuffled further back, Andy Kamrath stalked the leader until he took the spot on lap 17.

Kamrath went on to score his fourth win of the year, followed by Emms, T.J. Edwards, Reinhart and Marshall Schrenk.

PETERBOROUGH SPDWY. – JULY 30

Luke Gignac grabbed the early lead, from the pole, while Kamrath started eighth and worked his way to second during the opening eight laps.

Kamrath took the lead on lap 11, but the field was slowed by caution simultaneously. He took the lead on the restart and went on to win, followed by Edwards, Emms, Gignac and Reinhart.

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY – AUGUST 27

Norman Newman led from the pole, before Jason Keen took the spot on lap 3, bringing a line of cars with him that forced Newman back to eighth.

On lap 30, contact between Tyler Liscum and Edwards sent Edwards’ car into the turn three barrier. The race was called with Keen recording his first feature win in the series; Kamrath, Emms, Reinhart and Jake Watson completed the top-five. IT

(Top) Andy Kamrath’s win at Sunset Speedway, on July 23, was his fourth victory of the OSCAAR Modified season. (Above, left) Kamrath was also the big winner a week later at Peterborough Speedway. (Above, right) A big accident ended the August 27 OSCAAR Modified race at Flamboro Speedway on lap 30. Jason Keen was leading at the time and got the win. Photos by Ashley McCubbin

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QWICK WICK SUPER STOCK SERIES

Tiemersma Wins Qwick Wick Race at Sunset Speedway

Gerrit Tiemersma was ready to put his Sunset Speedway record in the rearview mirror when the Qwick Wick Super Stock Series (QWS) visited the 1/3-mile oval in Innisfil, Ont. on August 13.

The Newmarket, Ont. driver had yet to win this season in the track’s super stocks division or on the QWS tour – in fact, he hadn’t won a feature at Sunset since the Spring Velocity event in 2019.

“(It’s) always been, statistically, my worst track and I have not had any success there for a very long time,” said Tiemersma. “Our car has just been unreal fast (this season), we’ve had a ton of speed at Sunset, the cards just haven’t fallen our way.”

Tiemersma was looking to shuffle those cards after a frustrating start to the year. He felt like the team consistently had bad luck, whether being involved in someone else’s wreck or being in the wrong lane when a caution came out.

In QWS, he started the season with a second-place result, before finishing 14th and ninth. Still, he remained in the championship hunt, where he knew that he needed to lead the most laps and win at Sunset to gain as many points as possible.

“Starting on outside pole, I had to win the start, I had to get the lead,” he said. “I made sure to beat Nic Ramsay to the line, so that way I could control giving it back to him and at least I’d be even with him coming out of turn two.”

The move worked, with Tiemersma taking the lead and holding the position for all 50 laps en route to victory.

“It was a big release of emotion and pressure, a big weight lifted off of my shoulders,” he said. “Finally, everything fell our way for the QWS race at Sunset and it was all right when we needed it for our points championship and for our team.”

This is Tiemersma’s second victory in 12 series races, with his maiden win coming last season at Flamboro Speedway. It also adds to his family’s history at Sunset, where his dad Steve Tiemersma is a past track champion and where his uncle Derrick Tiemersma and grandfather Siebe Tiemersma have also raced. While the family name has been plastered on race cars for decades, Gerrit would like to live his own career out-

side of family legacy.

“I love to meet people who have known my family or know about my family, but I’m always someone who says onwards and upwards from here; I don’t spend much time looking back,” he said. “In the broadcast, they mentioned quite a bit about my family history and adding to that legacy, but I don’t really think about it that way.”

Tiemersma’s current focus is on winning championships, where he leaves Sunset with a slim lead in the QWS, which has just one event remaining.

He’s in the title hunt in the Sunset Speedway super stocks division as well.

SUNSET SPEEDWAY – AUGUST 13

Gerrit Tiemersma took the lead at the initial green flag and raced cleanly to the checkered flag in the caution-less Qwick Wick Super Stock Series race at Sunset Speedway, on August 13.

Former NASCAR Pinty’s Series champ Cayden Lapcevich posted the fastest lap in qualifying, setting a new track record for the class, at 15.477 seconds. Tiemersma bested Nic Ramsay in the race to Turn 1, at the start of the race, and Shawn Chenoweth followed him through to second.

At the end of the 50-lap race, Tiemersma led Chenoweth and Miles Tyson across the stripe. Jason Parker and Lapcevich completed the top-five finishers. IT

Stories by Bryce Turner, with files from Greg MacPherson

(Top) Gerritt Tiemersma (No. 17) darted to the lead, from the front of the outside line, on Lap 1 of the Qwick Wick Series race at Sunset Speedway on August 13. Photo by Steve Traczyk (Above) The starting field for the race at Sunset. Photo by Dave Franks

ONTARIO MODIFIEDS RACING SERIES

Cuzzilla Wins 2022 Season Championship

Story by Jim Clarke

On September 3, the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series (OMRS) wrapped up its 2022 season, at Peterborough Speedway. Flamboro Speedway was the tour’s other host track this season.

Randy Hollingsworth and Chad Strawn brought the starting field to the green flag for the 20-lap main event.

Strawn took the early lead from his outside front row starting spot, with Robert Maebrae, Rick Warnes and John Baker Jr. on his tail.

The event’s first yellow flag, for an issue

CANADIAN MOTORSPORT HALL OF FAME ADDS 14 NEW MEMBERS

With Files from the CMHF

On September 19, following a public nomination process that took place throughout the summer, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) announced that 13 individuals and one organization will be welcomed as new members.

Twelve individuals and one race team will be inducted in the Competitors / Motorsport Builders / Team Members / Significant Contributors category, with a veteran Canadian journalist to be honoured in the Media category.

In all, almost 40 individuals and organiz-

on lap 3, slowed the pace and brought everyone back together. Strawn maintained his lead on the restart but now had Alex Cuzzilla and Shane Pollock looking for a position at the front of the pack.

Not even a mid-race red flag or a run through some of the slower traffic with about five laps remaining would keep Strawn from making another trip to the winner’s circle.

Cuzzilla – the 2019 series rookie of the year – clinched this year’s OMRS championship with his runner-up finish. Pollock, Baker Jr. and Maebrae completed the top 5.

ations – representing varied racing disciplines and regions across Canada – were nominated for consideration.

Discussing the ‘Class of 2022’ nomination and selection process, CMHF Chair Peter Lockhart said, “We’re pleased to announce this year’s group of new inductees to the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. We appreciate everyone who researched and submitted nominations. And we recognize and applaud the contributions of those who will be inducted, as well as those who were put forward for consideration. The quality of the nominations was excellent…”

“On behalf of the entire CMHF board, we celebrate the new members and the contributions they have made to Canadian

Alex Cuzzilla (No. 50), the 2019 top rookie, was crowned the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series champion. Photo by Melissa Smits / OneNine Marketing

The OMRS finale featured a moving tribute to current racer Robert Maebrae. A former snowmobile and Thunder Car racer from nearby Millbrook, ON, Maebrae hoped to race with the tour starting in 2019, but was only able to compete in 2022 following a cancer diagnosis.

The September 3 event was his final race. The other team joined Maebrae’s family and a large group of supporters for a pre-race photo shoot in victory lane. IT

motorsports. We look forward to welcoming them all to the CMHF, next February, in Toronto.”

The new members in the various categories are:

COMPETITORS / BUILDERS / TEAM MEMBERS / SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS: AIM Autosport, Uli Bieri, Chris Bye, Gary Elliott, Terry Epp, Robert Giannou, Carl Harr, Dave Lloyd, Derek Lynch, Bob MacDonald, Dick Midgley, Scott Spencer and Russ Urlin.

MEDIA: Bruce Biegler.

The next CMHF Induction Gala is scheduled to take place during the Canadian International Autoshow (CIAS), in February of 2023, in Toronto. IT

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY

Cam Pederson Wins Pot of Gold

Story by Ashley McCubbin

With $50,000 on the line, there was bound to be lots of competition and battles through the field, and that’s what everyone was treated to on September 4 at Flamboro Speedway.

The Pot of Gold 300 was the big money centrepiece of the track’s 50th anniversary celebrations this season.

A variety of different vehicles showed up to compete. Piloting them were racers with

CANADIAN VINTAGE MODIFIEDS

Story Jon Morrison

In the month leading up to mid-September, Young Driver’s of Canada Canadian Vintage Modifieds (CVMs) took part in four events over five weeks, producing some of the best racing action the club has put on in recent years. Several racers picked up checkered flags, including three first-time winners in Steve Murdoch, Rodney Rutherford and Jake Gilbert.

On August 6, at Flamboro Speedway, Gilbert picked up his first career victory in the first feature of the night. He was followed home by T.J. Marshall and Scott Tonelli.

In the second Main, Marshall grabbed the top spot, ahead of Ricky Willigar and Mike Podd.

The CVMs were back at Flamboro on August 13 for another double-feature

extensive Late Model experience, as well as those with hardly any experience in a race car. Put it all together and it made for an interesting afternoon. There were many battles throughout the field, including several sketchy three-wide moments.

As you might expect, there were several incidents and hard contact during the 300lap affair. Thankfully, the vehicles took the brunt of the damage and there were no injuries. Following Lap 300, the checkered flag

night. In the first, Mike Westwood grabbed the feature win. Podd and Marshall finished second and third, respectively. The second feature saw Marshall return to the top spot of the podium with Quintin Murdoch and Scott Tonelli taking the other podium spots.

The last race of a five-race stretch wrapped up on August 20 with Marshall once again emerging victorious. Willigar and Podd joined him on the podium for the post-race celebrations.

Marshall continued his recent dominance by winning the night’s second feature to take his fifth win of the season and a sweep of the night. Willigar and Murdoch were second and third.

Following a week off, the CVMs returned to Flamboro for Night #13 of their 2022 season. The night was special because it

and a lengthy inspection in Tech Lane, Cam Pedersen was declared the winner of the Pot of Gold 300 and pocketed the $50,000 winner’s cheque.

Veteran racer Rodney Rutherford, who has won many previous Enduro events and has been a front-runner in multiple racing divisions, placed second. Past Bone Stock / Mini Stock racer Gillian Hils finished third, followed by Delaware Speedway regulars Jordan Willms and Jo Lawrence. IT

was the club’s Backpack Giveaway event.

In the first feature of the night, Willigar would get out front and stay out front taking the win over Rodney Rutherford and Quintin Murdoch. During intermission the drivers from the club took all 22 backpacks donated from driver’s teams and fellow competitors from other divisions. In the second feature Ricky Willigar would sweep the night with Quintin Murdoch and Rodney Rutherford would swap positions on the podium.

Heading into the September 24 season finale, Marshall has all but secured his third career CVM championship, although Murdoch, Podd and Willigar made the title chase interesting all season long. The Rookie of the Year title, between Scott Tonelli and Jae Pepin, also appeared set to go down to the wire. IT

Cameron Pederson won the $50,000 winner’s cheque on September 4 at Flamboro. The race was the highlight of the track’s 50th anniversary season.

Photo by Derek Smith / Racepulse.com

SOMA RISES OUT OF PRO 4 ASHES

Fun, Affordable Racing Division Gains Traction

Story by Greg MacPherson

The Southern Ontario Modified Association (SOMA) recently completed its inaugural season of racing, at Flamboro Speedway and Grand Bend Speedway. If you aren’t familiar with SOMA, they replaced the former Pro 4 division, which was based at Flamboro.

Racer Ken Mercer is working with the other drivers and team owners to grow the club, and is excited about the series, its unique character and its prospects for growth.

The vehicles are open-wheel modifieds that race on asphalt. Prior to the pandemic, according to Mercer, the class was on the decline because of excessive costs causing dwindling car counts. COVID was the final nail in the coffin for the Pro 4s.

Starting with a clean slate, Mercer organized a group of former Pro 4 racers but with a mandate to keep costs down, maintain a level playing field and to foster a fun and competitive environment for the drivers and teams.

“The first order of business was to get the guys to get their old cars out of storage, barns and garages and get them back on the track,” said Mercer. “With ‘outside the box’ thinking, we settled on rear-engine, offset engines – like the Supers – with modified 4-cylinder Ford and Honda engines, and stock V6 powerplants, and optional wings. But it’s not a ‘cookie cutter’ class. All the cars are very unique, and it turns out the fans love the differences in them.”

And to help guarantee close racing, the series implemented the use of rev limiters, restrictor plates and a weight rule to maintain parity amongst the drivers.

As car counts recovered during this inaugural / return season, families started to show up with multiple vehicles, competing against each other. To keep things fun for families, SOMA races are spaced at least two weeks apart.

Also keeping things light and fun, all cars that show up are currently paid the same amount to race, whether they finish first or last, although some creative cash bonus awards are distributed, including Best Appearing, Pass/Move of the Night, and Bridesmaid, for someone finishing in third, fourth or fifth.

“Open-wheel racing is different than full-

body stock car racing,” Mercer continued.

“The ‘bump and grind’ stuff doesn’t fit here. Some of our drivers came up through karting, where it’s very respectful towards each other and the equipment because things can quickly go wrong.”

Mercer notes that a sense of sportsmanship and camaraderie has already developed amongst the SOMA racers, with competitors helping each other to repair any damage or malfunctions.

“We had six races this season, between Flamboro and Grand Bend. Our ‘power to weight’ ratio is great, and we have good, fast racing. We started fresh with our rules because it was getting so expensive.

It was all about big dollars and we decided we needed to put some limits on things and now we’ve got rev limiters and plates on the carburetors.

“This makes everyone competitive, and that makes for fun racing. It’s dads and sons working on cars, and some are even racing

against each other. The goal is to have fun and not take every nickel out of the drivers’ pockets. The Honda engines we’re using are dependable and are a big part of keeping things affordable.”

Helping the new series get off the ground are several sponsors, that Mercer is eager to recognize, including The Co-Operators Norbis Group Brantford, Strodes Deli & BBQ, BCW Lumber and Plywood Brantford, and Knot Too Shabby Bridal of Stratford.

Looking ahead to next year, Mercer expects SOMA to race at as many as four different tracks, with Grand Bend already locked in to host the tour. Mercer also reports that he’s hearing that several new cars are being built for 2023, as well as more past Pro 4 racers are planning a return to action.

For more information about SOMA, look up the Southern Ontario Modified Association on Facebook, or email Ken Mercer at kenmercer55@gmail.com.

The Southern Ontario Modified Association held a total of six races, split between Flamboro and Grand Bend, in its inaugural season. According to SOMA head Ken Mer cer, the goal is to encourage fun, competitive and affordable racing. Photos by Dave Franks

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WESTERN SPEEDWAY GOES DARK

Final Checkered Flag Waved for 68-Year-Old BC Oval

Story and Photos by Don Laidlaw / Wildlight

On September 17, the last-ever checkered flag flew at Victoria, BC’s Westshore Speedway – long known as Western Speedway – closing the book on the storied 4/10-mile paved oval located in the province’s capital.

Fittingly, the flag waved home the only driver who has raced at the track in every one of its 68 years of operation. ‘Gentle man’ Jim Steen not only took the final Feature checkered flag, in front of a sold-out crowd, but he also won his Trophy Dash, earlier in the evening.

Work will now commence on an 81-acre residential, office and industrial site to take the place of a generational hub of families, friends, competition and entertainment that has touched many thousands.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as 100 cars represented 12 different classes in the 2022 Championship Night. The social media fallout has shown nothing but love and emotion as people share their heartfelt stories from the event.

The multi-use facility has been home to motocross, drag racing, drifting, cyclocross, monster trucks, rock crawling, demo racing, karting, and all varieties of circle track racing – both open and closed-wheel. As well, the 60th Anniversary of the Daffodil Cup was run in this final year.

Darrell Midgley is the owner of Western Promotions and is the son of legendary track promoter Reg Midgley, who hosted many Canada 200 races featuring NASCAR stars as competing guests.

Midgley and his partner Daryl Crocker (track Manager) have been the caretakers of the facility which was owned for decades by the Wille family of Victoria. They are optimistic they will find a new home for the speedway on Southern Vancouver Island.

Bastion Development Corp. and Strand Holdings will start demolition of the facility immediately but are providing $2.5M to help establish an alternate location.

Much of the existing infrastructure, including the track’s grandstands, will be disassembled and stored until a new site can be located.

The Victoria Motorsport Hall of Fame is also located on-site and will need a new home.

Midgley and Crocker are joined by Jason Frost, Todd Troyer, Jesse Stramm and Steve Copp in a group dedicated to raising the funds (roughly $20M) to develop the new speedway site.

The Vancouver Island Safe Speed Association reportedly have as many as four possible locations near Greater Victoria which meet the requirements. The group intends to build a multi-purpose motorsport park that will include an oval, a road course, a drag strip, an off-road park and an RV / camping area.

(Top) An era came to a close September 17 when Victoria, BC’s Westshore Speedway (formerly Western Speedway) held its last-ever night of racing. (Mid dle) The pits and the grandstands were packed for the final event at the histor ic, flat, 4/10-mile oval. (Above) The final person to take a checkered flag at the track was the only person who raced all 68 years the track was in operation, ‘Gentleman’ Jim Steen. It was an emotional evening for everyone in attendance.

Stop just imagining it...

WESTERN STOCKS

Aaron Willison Wins 2022 Daffodil Cup in Western Speedway Swansong

Stories by Robert K. Rooney

In 1961, what was then known as Western Speedway initiated a big race for openwheel race cars. It was called the Daffodil Cup and a list of winners over the years reads like a who’s who of successful racers from Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

The track is now called Westshore Speedway and 2022 is its last season before it closes and the land is used for commercial and residential buildings.

On the August 19-20 weekend, the P&R Truck Centre Daffodil Cup was won for the last time – at least at this location – by Aaron Willison of Langley, BC.

On August 19, Willison started his effort to win the Cup a third time by timing-in quickest of the 19 entrants. The top ten cars were all within a half-second of each other. Willison also took the Trophy Dash and finished fourth in his heat, which was won by Ryan Burdett. The other heat race winners were Ryan Orchard and Cris Muhler.

In the 35-lap Main, Quesnel veteran Ron Larson started beside Duane Zeinstra on the front row and took control immediately. By the halfway point, Kyle Vantreight was up to second and hot on Larson’s heels. With a couple of laps to go, Vantreight thought he saw daylight underneath Larson and took a shot. Immediately realizing that the nose of his No. 66 was not where it should be, Vantreight moved down and spun himself out rather than take out the leader. Larson’s troubles weren’t over, though, as Willison had finally fought his way forward from Row 5. Only a couple of laps before the end, Willison made a bold move to the outside

and put Larson’s No. 12 behind him. Brad Aumen, whose father Scott won the Daffodil Cup five times, was third. Randy DuBois was fourth and Brandon Carlson, in his eighth outlaw sprint car race, was fifth.

Night two – on August 20 – started something like Night 1, with Willison quickest in qualifying. Once again he finished fourth in his heat. Burdett took the Trophy Dash and the first heat.

The other heat race winners were Chris McInerney and three-time Daffodil Cup winner Trevor Montgomery.

Randy DuBois started alongside Aumen on the front row and led the first 29 laps. Ron Larson, who is both a previous winner

and the son of two-time winner Doug Larson, saw his night end on Lap 16 with a broken rear end. It took a while to get the race going again as three consecutive attempts at a restart saw one of the leading cars go for a spin. Aumen, Carlson and Muhler all found themselves well back by the time the 40-lap main was half-done.

After starting sixth, Willison managed to avoid all the carnage and made his move with about ten laps to go, setting his best time of the race on Lap 38.

DuBois tried to hold off Vantreight and at least salvage second, but had to settle for third. Ryan Orchard and Mike Meeres rounded out the top five.

Willison’s performance over the two nights of racing made him the P&R Truck Centre Daffodil Cup winner. He also took over the Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association points lead from Larson. Willison’s teammate, Brandon Carlson, was second in the Daffodil Cup rankings.

(Above) 2022 Daffodil Cup winner Aaron Willison. Photo by Don Laidlaw

The Roy Ross Memorial 47 has always been the most prestigious race on the IMCA Canada calendar. For 2022, the race has become the climax of what amounts to a mini-series – the Goldbrick 447.

Two-time Roy Ross winner B.J. Clark of Grand Prairie, AB won the first event at Medicine Hat Speedway. The next race, at Hythe Motor Speedway, was won by Justin MacTavish. The third qualifier ran prior to the Roy Ross race and would set the field for the big race.

Timing-in first was MacTavish, who was going after a remarkable 12th Roy Ross trophy. Justin also won his second heat race. Other heat race winners were Chase Guidolin who also won the Merrill Knowles Trophy Dash, Shaun Stevenson, B.J. Clark and Tyler Knowles, who won two. Travis Lapainis started the Silverstar Challenge 47 on the front row, which turned out to be an excellent idea as a couple of cars at the front of the field got together just as the race started and the entire field drove into the melee. Once things were cleaned up, several drivers were unable to continue. B.J. Clark was one of them, a broken frame on his No. 90 turning him from a contender a

mere couple of points out of the lead into a spectator. Once the race got going, Lapainis put his head down and charged with a lot of racing going on behind him. After 47 laps, MacTavish was just three-tenths behind, followed by Jason Bujold, Tyler Knowles and Keaton Pylypiuk.

This year, the Roy Ross Memorial 47 wasn’t an IMCA points race, so the usual method of setting the field using qualifying and heat race results did not apply. The fastest cars would start at the front of the field.

Edmonton International Raceway is where Justin MacTavish cut his racing teeth and with his No. 14 on the front row, it was a

safe bet he was going to be hard to handle. So it proved, with Tyler Knowles starting and finishing second. Mike Clark did good work moving from Row 4 to third and Pylypiuk and Alex Krause were fourth and fifth.

With Justin’s dozen Roy Ross victories and nine more scored by his father Barry, including the very first one, the MacTavish family has created quite a record in a race that originated as a way for the Ross family to remember their father.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Roy Ross and Gord MacTavish, who founded the MacTavish racing dynasty, were very close friends. IT

(Above) 2022 Roy Ross Memorial 47 winner Justin MacTavish. Photo Courtesy Edmonton International Raceway

EAST COAST INTERNATIONAL PRO STOCKS

Greg Proude Wins IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway

Stories Courtesy East Coast International Pro Stock Tour Greg Proude (Springvale, PE) picked up the biggest win of his career at the iconic IWK 250 – Round 6 of the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour – and pocketed more than $25,000 in purse and contingency funds.

Not only can Proude add IWK 250 champion to his racing resume, his name will also be etched on the revered John W. Chisholm Memorial Cup. This was Proude’s second win of the season, but it didn’t come easy as he had a hard-charging Dylan Blenkhorn (Truro, NS) to contend with for the final laps. Blenkhorn, a former IWK 250 Champion, had to settle for second. Cole Butcher (Hantsport, NS) was back in victory lane with a third-place finish. Ashton Tucker (Lyttleton, NB) finished just off the podium in fourth, with Chris Reid (Fort McMurray, AB) in fifth.

Proude (Springvale, PE), Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake, NS), Cole Butcher (Hantsport, NS) and Chris Reid (Fort McMurray, AB) won their respective Atlantic Tiltload heat races, which set the field for the IWK 250.

Tucker won the Kenny U-Pull Hard Charger award picking up the most spots on the field. Jarrett Butcher was the Fleet Brake Atlantic Lucky Dog award winner. Proude took home the R&D Performance Most Laps Led Award (213 laps) and was the halfway leader, too.

The race was slowed by 15 cautions and took two hours and 40 minutes to complete.

BJ’S TRUCK CENTRE 150

Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB) scored his first career East Coast International Pro Stock Tour victory in the BJ’s Truck Centre 150 at Oyster Bed Speedway, Round 7 of the season.

Hall battled through a green flag run encompassing two thirds of the race with championship leader Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS), with Hall ultimately pulling away with less than ten to go in the race. Slaunwhite was second with Mike Rodgers (Moncton, NB) also scoring a career best third place run. Greg Proude (Springvale, PE) was fourth and Darren Mackinnon (Charlottetown, PE) fifth.

PEI Premier Dennis King gave the command to start your engines and waved the green flag to commence the BJ’s Truck

Centre 150 at Oyster Bed Speedway.

Atlantic Tiltload Heat Races kicked off Pro Stock action on the track. MacKinnon, Slaunwhite and Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside, NS) won their Atlantic Tiltload heat races which set the field for the BJ’s Truck Centre 150. Mike Rodgers took home the Kenny U-Pull Hard Charger award. Slaunwhite won the R&D Performancentre Most Laps Led Award. Mike Duskey (Albany, PE) was the Fleet Brake Atlantic Lucky Dog winner.

SUMMER CLASH 250

Ashton Tucker (Lyttleton, NB) picked up the biggest win of his career at the Summer Clash 250 presented by Superior Foundations and Atlantic Tiltload, Round 8 on the season. The race will go down as one of the longest in Series history, taking more than three and a half hours to complete. Jarrett Butcher (Porters Lake, NS) and Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside, NS) were hot on Tucker’s heels and battled through Turn 4 on the final lap, with Butcher edging out Smith for second. Dylan Blenkhorn (Truro, NS) and Matt Vaughan (Bedford, NS) round out the top five.

Atlantic Tiltload Heat Races kicked off the action on the track. Dylan Blenkhorn (Truro, NS), Nicholas Naugle (Dartmouth, NS), Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB) and Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS) won their Atlantic Tiltload heat races.

Allison MacKinnon (Oyster Bed Bridge, PE) took home the Kenny U-Pull Hard Charger award. Ryan VanOirschot (Antigonish, NS)

was the Fleet Brake Atlantic Lucky Dog. Cole Butcher won the R&D Performancentre $1,000 Most Laps Led Award. Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS) wins $1,000 for leading at half-way courtesy of A&W Burnside and Eastern Passage.

The Imagine Pools Chase the Checkers Fan Award went to Shelly Risser, who drew Ashton Tucker in a random draw during opening ceremonies. Both Shelly and Ashton walked away with an extra $1,500 in their pockets courtesy of Imagine Pools.

CUMMINS 150

Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS) picked up his fourth win of the season in Round 9 at Petty International Raceway. Slaunwhite took the lead on Lap 64 from Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside, NS) and never looked back. Nicholas Naugle (Dartmouth, NS) ran at the front of the pack all day and brought home a second-place finish. Darren MacKinnon (Charlottetown, PE) returned to victory lane, taking the final spot on the podium. Russell Smith Jr., who led the first portion of the race came home fourth, followed by John Rankin (Saint Martins, NB) in fifth.

Greg Proude (Springvale, PE) and Jarrett Butcher (Porters Lake, NS) won their respective Atlantic Tiltload heat races. Slaunwhite won the R&D Performancentre Most Laps Led award.

Ryan VanOirschot (Antigonish, NS) was the Kenny U-Pull Hard Charger, while Mark LeClair (Brackley Beach, PE) took home the Fleet Brake Atlantic Lucky Dog award. IT

(Above) 2022 IWK 250 winner Greg Proude (No. 29). Photo Courtesy East Coast International Pro Stock Tour

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J-Bar Style Panhard

Stories by J. Wally Nesbitt

The July appearance for the Super Production Challenge prior to GP3R took 40 entrants to the 3.4-kilometre Circuit ICAR Mirabel airport track for a trio of 30-minute races.

Due to ASN Canada regulations limiting the number of cars on the track at any one time, the SPC field was split into the GT Challenge race for the 18 Super Production cars and the Summer Challenge for the combined Production and Compact class vehicles.

“Something that makes SPC racing exciting is the multi-class fields,” remarked series president Dominic St-Jean. “The racing was okay, we had multiple winners in each class, but it would have been better if we could have run all the classes together.”

Demonstrating the balance of performance in the Super Production races, defending class champion Olivier Bedard aboard his No. 1 Nissan 370Z captured the victory in the opening round by edging Eric Hochgeschurz (No. 11 BMW 330i) by a mere 0.400 seconds at

SUPER PRODUCTION CHALLENGE HEADLINES

2022 OF ICONIC TROIS-RIVIÈRES EVENT

the stripe. Jimmy Briere (No. 12 Hyundai Genesis) used his knowledge of the circuit as a race academy instructor to secure a solid win in Race 2, while Bedard was relegated to a runner-up position due to power steering issues.

For the weekend finale, Arek Wojciechowski replaced his Legs Racing teammate Hochgeschurz in the No. 11 BMW and captured the checkers by over four seconds from Bedard.

“Three different winners in three different makes of cars. Technically, I think we’re pretty close to having a good formula in SP,” commented St-Jean.

RySpec Racing was in obvious control of the Production class over the ICAR weekend, sweeping the podium in the middle stanza while finishing one-two in the opening race and in the finale.

“Greg Bell, owner of the No. 30 Toyota GR86, elected to put his son Connor in the car for the weekend. Connor had done some testing at ICAR, but it was his first-time racing in SPC, and he came

away from the weekend with a pair of wins,” reported Team Manager Richard Yin. “Owen Clarke (No. 55 Toyota GR86) was always in contention; he won the second race with Connor locked right on his bumper and finished in second spot in the other two races. Our third driver, Kai Dalziel (No. 44 Subaru) finished within the top four twice but had mechanical issues in the last race.”

“Clarke reminds me a lot of a young Paul Tracy,” noted St-Jean. “No fear and with a very heavy right foot. He has the skills to go far.”

The concept behind the Compact class is to provide an affordable entry-level entity for the up-and-coming novices and the veteran races. However, this by no means detracts from the competition, because as St-Jean said, “Those old guys don’t give an inch!”

Former Toyota Echo series pilot Etienne Samson-Laflamme (No. 19) took the checkered flag for the win in the weekend opener but fell afoul of the rules committee in the second race and suffered a mechanical DNF in the final event. Replacing LaFlamme on the top step of the podium for race two was Mont St-Hilaire’s Vincent Desau tels (No. 67 Honda Fit), while series veteran Patrik Wittmer (No. 93 Honda Fit) rounded out the list of weekend victors.

“We are very happy with the Compact class right now,” concluded St-Jean. “There is a mixture of old and young drivers, different mod els of cars, and the racing is crazy without being dangerous. These guys are lots of fun to watch.”

Several drivers headed into the penultimate event on the 2022 Super Production Challenge series schedule looking to lock up a class championship. Spoiler alert, it didn’t happen.

Thirty-nine competitors, split between three distinct classes, signed in to tackle the 11-turn, 2.430-kilometre Trois-Rivières course for a trio of 30-minute races, each hoping to capture a prestigious victory on the legendary circuit.

The weekend opener was run on Friday evening in front of packed grandstands, with the spectators treated to 20 laps of hard racing, not all of it contact-free.

Ultimately, defending Super Production Class champion and GP3R pole sitter Olivier Bedard (No. 1 Nissan 370Z) went flag-toflag for the overall win, with points challenger Jimmy Briere (No. 12 Hyundai Genesis), hampered by traffic, crossing the stripe just 2.278 seconds behind in the runner-up position. Eric Hochgeschurz fell to the tail end of the field due to early race contact, but an inspired drive allowed the driver of the No. 11 Eight Legs Racing BMW 330i to rebound for a fourth-place overall result.

Vancouver, BC’s Carlos Tesler-Mabe guided his No. 47 Octane Racing Mini Cooper to the Production class win over Nathan Blok (No. 05 Toyota), while veteran Patrik Wittmer (No. 93 Honda Fit) notched his first of what might have been a weekend sweep in the Compact Class.

Some overly aggressive driving and avoidable contact penalties worked to the benefit of Briere in Round 2 as, with his primary rival Bedard relegated to the back of the pack for misconduct with rivals Hochgeschurz and Charles DePatie (No. 71), the Trois-Rivières resident cruised to the SP class victory, easily outdistancing fellow Trois-Rivières natives Mark Heroux (No. 24) and Gabrile Lacombe (No. 03) for spots on the Super Production podium.

The Mini Coopers again showed their strength on the tight street course as Nelson Chan (No. 45 Octane Racing) captured the Production Class win over Connor Bell (No. 30 Toyota) while Patrik Wittmer doubled down with another Compact Class checkered flag.

Following his misconduct penalty, Bedard rebounded in the third and final event on the GP3R schedule, capturing his fifth win of the 2022 campaign, this success allowing him to leap past the driving

Olivier Bédard (top) earned the SPC Super Production win at GP3R ahead of Jimmy Brière (bottom), while Sylvain Laporte (middle) triumphed in the Production class.

Photos by Paolo Pedicelli

duo of Hochgeschurz and Wojciechowski to take top spot in the SP Class standings. A broken motor aboard the No. 11 BMW in the final weekend contest proved to be detrimental to the title hopes of the Ottawa-based pair as Briere also slipped past and into the runner-up position in the scoring.

Nelson Chan closed the gap to Production points leader Owen Clarke (No. 35) with his second win of the weekend. Although his Honda Fit was apparently the class of the Compact division on this weekend, Patrik Wittmer, despite crossing the stripe in first place in all three races, was penalized five seconds for avoidable contact in the weekend finale, leaving him in third place in class, ultimately finishing behind winner Etienne Samson-Laflamme (No. 19) and Sylvain Ouellet (No. 99).

After GP3R, and with a dozen races completed, the class championships in the Super Production Challenge series remained undecided, with tight points battles in the Super Production, Production and Compact classes putting additional pressure on the contenders as the teams headed to Circuit ICAR for a very busy, one-day (August 27), doubleheader shootout.

A total of 33 cars set qualifying times in a wet morning session with Gabriele Lacombe (No. 03 Honda) setting the fastest overall and SP class time. Owen Clarke (No. 55 Toyota) topped the timing charts for the Production class, remarkably setting the fourth fastest time overall, while Vincent Desautels (No. 67 Honda) took top honours in the Compact class.

On a dry, but now green, racetrack, the field streamed away for their first race from a standing start.

At the front of the pack, SP point leader Olivier Bedard (No. 1 Nissan 370Z) snatched top spot away from Lacombe early in the 30-minute race but was never able to shake his rival over the 16 laps of competition. Eventually Bedard was able to stretch his advan tage to 3.638 seconds over runner-up Lacombe to secure his sixth win of the campaign.

Bedard would go on to notch win number seven in the weekend finale following a frantic, race-long, three car dice with Lacombe and points runner-up Jimmy Briere (No. 12 Hyundai Genesis).

A Friday testing incident by Nelson Chan left Carlos Tesler-Mabe’s No. 47 Mini Cooper in pieces and unable to contend in the weekend’s events. Inheriting the ride in Chan’s No. 45 Octane Racing Mini, Tesler-Mabe scored a third-place finish in the opening round, backed up by a top five in the second contest.

This, coupled with a mechanical DNF for points leader Owen Clarke (No. 55 Toyota) in the first race allowed the Tesler-Mabe/ Chan duo to leap past Clarke in the standings to assume top spot, despite a class victory for Clarke in the finale.

“In SPC, it’s the car that scores the points, not the driver, so in ef fect, the No. 45 Mini car was the champion, with Carlos and Nelson as registered co-drivers and now Production class co-champions,” explained SPC president Dominic St-Jean.

Series newcomer Nathan Blok (No. 05 Toyota) took the Production class win in the opening race.

A runner-up and a third-place finish was all that Louiseville, QC’s Sylvain Ouellet needed to lock down the Compact title.

At ICAR, Etienne Samson-Laflamme (No. 28 Toyota Echo) proved to be the best of the pack, edging championship challenger Vincent Desautels (No. 25 Honda Fit) by a mere 0.480 seconds for the win in Round 1.

Leading Ouellet to the line with a more manageable 3.864-second gap allowed Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC’s Samson Laflamme to claim his second consecutive Compact class win.

Marc Héroux (top) finished fourth in the SPC Super Production class at GP3R, two spots ahead of fellow class member Gabrile Lacombe (bottom) in sixth, while Patrik Wittmer (middle) finished second in the Compact class.

Photos by Paolo Pedicelli

Romain Monti (top) piloted his Mercedes AMG to GT4 class wins in FEL action at GP3R, as did Jerimy Daniel (middle) in his TCR class Audi RS3, while Zachary Vanier (bottom) finished runner-up in his McLaren in GT4.

Photos by Paolo Pedicelli

FEL SPORTS CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

The FEL Sports Car Championship Canada tour made its debut doubleheader appearance on the streets of Toronto as part of the 2022 Honda Indy event prio to GP3R. And while many words could be used to describe the action, words like cautious and respectful may not be part of that conversation.

Five entries were received for the GT4 class with Mount Albert, ON’s Gavin Sanders enjoying an off weekend from his regular ride in the World Challenge SRO GT4 series, filling the field aboard the Sportscar Boutique Mercedes AMG and claiming top spot in Saturday morning qualifying. Jerimy Daniel (No. 10 Audi RS3) set the in the TCR class.

In Saturday afternoon’s 40-minute weekend opening round, the GT4 contest became a primarily two-car dice, with Sanders going head-to-head with points leader Zach Vanier and his No. 9 Pfaff Racing McLaren 570s.

When Sanders outbraked himself entering the first turn, Vanier struck and squeezed through to take the overall race lead. However, on the penultimate lap, the duo encountered traffic that balked the leader, allowing Sanders to reclaim top spot and ultimately score the win by a margin of 1.454 seconds over the McLaren.

“That was disappointing, but that’s street racing. I have to say that it was kind of rough and I think that everyone coming away with a bit of damage,” said Vanier. “My start was good; I was able to stay in contact with Gavin and when I got my chance, I took it. If the traffic hadn’t become a factor, that race was ours.”

The gap between first and second in the TCR class was even clos er, with Richard Boake aboard his No. 84 Audi RS3 taking the point in Turn 1 of the opening lap and edging pole sitter Jerimy Daniel by a mere 0.121 seconds at the Lap 27 checkered flag to secure Blanchet Racing its first SCCC race victory.

“This win has been a long time coming,” remarked the ecstatic team owner Frank Blanchet. “And Richard drove the race of his life. He was just that little bit better than Jerimy in traffic and that was the difference. Craig Willis (Engineer) and Richard have been working long and hard on a multitude of little things to make this car feel better, learning the data for a set up that works for us.

“We’ve been quick so far this year, and this race win makes all the effort worthwhile.”

The concrete canyon that is Exhibition Place played no favourites in the second race for the FEL Sports Cars. Two full-course cautions preceded a full red flag stoppage for a six-car incident that ultimately brought the race to a premature conclusion due to television time restrictions.

Ensuing days of reviewing videos by FEL officials resulted in driving infraction penalties for four drivers with the results awarding Gavin Sanders the GT4 class win and Connor Attrell (No. 80 Hyundai Veloster) receiving his first career TCR Class victory.

“Sometimes car racing yields disappointing results and Sunday’s race was incredibly disappointing for the SCCC drivers and teams as well as the race fans,” said FEL SCCC President Chris Bye.

With only three weeks to make repairs on their cars following the carnage on the streets of Toronto, the FEL Sports Car Championship Canada competitors rolled onto another concrete-lined street course for their appearance at GP3R.

Although the drivers were much better behaved, Friday’s two-night opening race was concluded early due to a Turn 9 incident between Bob Attrell and Richard Boake. That, however, was no indication of the close and exciting racing put on by the GT4 and TCR class competitors.

Brought in for this event to bolster the SH Karting Mercedes AMG roster was Mercedes factory driver, Frenchman Romain Monti. Although unfamiliar with the GP3R circuit, Monti was able to push his silver No. 57 Mercedes onto the GT4 pole, a feat matched in TCR by Jerimy Daniel aboard his No. 10 Audi RS3.

With headlights a necessity for the Friday contest, at the drop of the green flag GT4 points leader Zach Vanier (No. 9 Pfaff Racing McLaren 570S) wrestled top spot from Monti on the second turn and began edging away from his class rivals. However, staying within close contact, Monti recorded the race’s fastest lap and then repli cated Vanier’s passing manoeuvre in the same corner with less than ten minutes remaining on the clock to take the lead, a position he would maintain until the premature checkered flag. With the running order frozen due to the red flag, Vanier was shown crossing the stripe in the runner-up spot, with Charles Robin (No. 56 Mercedes AMG) completing the podium positions.

The GT4 finishing order was the same in the weekend SCCC finale with Monti going flag-to-flag for the win in the clean-and-green 35-lap race, Vanier edging Robin by a mere 0.607 seconds to claim a hardfought second place result.

With three TCR race victories already on his 2022 scoring sheet, Châteauguay, QC’s Jerimy Daniel padded his points lead atop the standings with back-to-back wins on the streets of Trois-Rivières.

Described by announcers as seemingly being out for an afternoon drive, Daniel guided his Audi to the win in the opening race holding a 12-second advantage over Tom Kwok’s No. 55 Honda Civic at the conclusion of the event, with hometown driver Jocelyn Hebert (No. 89 Honda FK8) a further seven seconds behind in third place. Daniel and his Audi teammate Jean-Francois Hevey (No. 21) celebrated on the top two steps of the podium in the second contest, with Hebert repelling repeated challenges from Connor Attrell (No. 80 Hyundai Veloster) to again reserve the final step of the podium. For his part, Attrell was named the hard charger of the race, having gained seven spots from his starting position to earn a fourth-place result, finishing just 1.565 seconds behind Hebert’s bumper.

TOYO TIRES F1600 CHAMPIONSHIP

Despite a scheduling conflict with the Toyo Tires F1600 VARAC VGP race weekend, the Britain West Motorsports effort opted to prepare five cars for their drivers to challenge the street course in Trois-Rivières. Facing off against the best talent that the Quebec F1600 Canada tour could provide, ultimately it was Aurora, ON’s Jake Cowden who stole the show, sweeping to victory in all three of the GP3R weekend races.

Marc-Antoine Cardin guided his No. 10 Spectrum-Honda to the Race 1 pole position and spent the early part of the contest exchan ging positions with Cowden’s No. 66 Mygale-Honda. Stealing top spot on a late race restart, Cowden was able to fend off the challenges of his Quebec counterpart just long enough to take advantage of a last lap yellow flag that froze the finishing positions.

Cardin was once again on the pole for the second race of the weekend and led until the eighth lap when an electrical issue sidelined his Spectrum. With Cardin retired, it turned into a Britain West sweep of the podium with Cowden and Connor Clubine (No. 6) running in lockstep to the checkered flag, Callum Baxter (No. 65) finishing third, albeit 15 seconds behind.

Aboard his repaired No. 10 mount, Cardin was once again a force in the final F1600 event, as he and Cowden swapped positions three times before Cowden made a last lap, Turn 8 pass stick following a caution period restart. IT

Marc-Antoine Cardin’s (middle) F1600 mount was fast – but fragile – at GP3R, losing out in a weekend-long duel with Jake Cowden (top), while Connor Clubine earned a runner-up spot in Race 2. Photos by Paolo Pedicelli

Speed with Purpose

2022 BARC CANADIAN TOURING TROPHY RACES

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

The CASC-Ontario Region marked the mid-point of the 2022 schedule with the running of the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy Races over the July 23-24 weekend. Featuring Rounds 6, 7 and 8 for the Toyo Tires F1600 Series and a triple header for the GT Sprints machinery, the weekend calendar also showed a twin bill for the touring Emzone Radical Cup Canada cars as well as a full docket for the Formula Libre/F1200s and the VARAC Vintage Historic, Classic and Formula Classic divisions.

TOYO TIRES F1600

With 29 cars taking time in Saturday morning’s qualifying session, there would be guaranteed competition for every driver in the trio of 22-minute contests.

Britain West Motorsports brought in a ‘ringer’ for the TTR weekend, as Megan Gilkes, who has been competing in the British GB4 championship signed on to drive the No. 63 Mygale-Honda.

“Racing in the U.K. has really taught me how to get my elbows up,” said the 21-year-old. “I am trying to put that into practice here, all within fair racing of course. In England where the racing is much more aggressive, I’ve learned how to overtake and how to defend and [I] have really stepped up my race craft.”

Having an immediate impact on the F1600-A field, Gilkes set the fastest time in the opening round of qualifying and then led each the first two races until the final lap when she was beaten to the check ered flag by her BWM teammates Connor Clubine (No. 6) and Jake Cowden (No. 66).

It as the debut F1600-A class victory for Clubine.

“My car was good, but maybe not up to the level of Megan’s and Jake’s,” observed Clubine. “Both of them were dancing around on the inside line of the track and I knew they were scrubbing speed. I figured if I got a run I could clear both of them. I had no right being out on the dirty line, but I got around them both going around the outside of Turn 8.”

The Richmond Hill-based Gilkes exacted a measure of revenge in the weekend finale as she pipped Cowden heading into turn eight on the final lap to score a well-deserved victory.

The leading four drivers (Clubine, Cowden, Gilkes and William Ferguson) formed a breakaway pack, each competitor taking their turn in the lead. At the end of the 15-lap contest, the front four were separated by just 3.006 seconds.

William Ferguson, aboard the Brian Graham Racing No. 2 Piper-Honda coming off back-to-back wins in June, endured a frus trating weekend.

“I made a couple of mistakes in qualifying, I didn’t get the draft right and it cost me,” explained the Californian. “The first race of the weekend I was able to match the front runners but couldn’t get close enough to really challenge. Race Two was my first time racing in the wet. I fell back at the start, but eventually got the hang of the handling and worked my way back up to the lead pack, but again came up short. The final race was spectacular, I finished in fourth place but after a run like that one, I still came away feeling pretty good. I had the speed, I set fastest race lap in all three races, so that also gives me a boost of confidence.”

Pack racing was also the story of the weekend for the F1600-B class racers with multi-car trains forming up throughout the field. Defining the depth of competition, three different drivers, Bill Tebbutt (No. 82), Andrew Mason (No. 32) and pole sitter Mike Dodd (No. 24), all aboard Van Diemen-Fords, took turns standings atop the ‘B’ Class podium. One final update: In the middle race, wheelto-wheel contact between Jonathan Brooks (No. 55) and Graham Lobban, sent the brilliant orange No. 42 Van Diemen-Honda into a Turn 2 rollover. Although three corners were knocked off of Lobban’s car, he emerged physically unhurt.

“It was a kind of slow roll so I can’t believe the amount of damage that was done. But I’m fine,” said the Cambridge, ON driver.

GT SPRINTS

With 46 vehicles taking qualifying laps, CASC-OR organizers wisely decided to split the GT Sprints field once again for the trio of 25-minute races. In the opening contest for the GT1/2 class cars, rain struck as the cars were set to begin their pace lap. Although the start was delayed to allow competitors to change to wet weather tires, the majority of the fast cars elected to stay in the pits rather than risk damage to their machinery.

In the slimmed-down field, Dan Corcoran (No. 125 Impala) claimed top spot in GT1 at the checkered flag, while Jack Polito aboard the No. 589 Mustang topped the charts in GT2.

A full field took the green for Round 2 for the GT1/2 racers, with Rocco Marciello (No. 53 BMW) taking advantage of the retirement of Blaise Csida’s No. 161 Chevy to secure the GT1 class win.

“Racing this little BMW against those big V8 Trans Am cars has been hard,” said Marciello. “This race, I had a plan to save my car and race for the last ten minutes, rather than burn off the tires in the opening laps. That strategy worked out quite well, I was able to really push as the laps wound down.”

In GT2, John Hansen (No. 30 BMW 328i) bounced around the top five for the entire race, but ultimately scored the win in GT2, crossing the stripe in fifth overall.

The class winners matched their records in the weekend finale as both Marciello and Hansen went back-to-back in the win column.

It was slim pickings for the GT4 pack as only Ian Law (No. 43 Acura) was in attendance, but the massive GT3 and GT5 classes made up for it.

Norm Beaudry (No. 529 Porsche 944) dominated GT3 in Race 1, but it was Marie-France Nadeau (No. 103 GT4 Porsche) rebounding for back-to-back wins in the final two events.

It was a similar situation in GT5, where Steve Barnett (No. 113 BMW 323) took top spot in the opener and in the weekend finale with the No. 155 BMW 325i of Joseph Comacchio breaking the streak with the win in the middle stanza.

FORMULA LIBRE/F1200

Surprisingly, motor issues sidelined the all-dominant No. 77 Formula Mazda of Paul Subject, but that misfortune opened the door for James Morton (No. 11 Gamma F4) to sweep the overall race victories in this open wheeled class.

The Formula 1200 cars were incorporated into the field, and as usual produced their typical (relatively) high speed dance.

Pole sitter Bill Mitchell (No. 58 BRD) diced his way to two race wins on the weekend, while perennial front runner Phil Wang (No. 173 Caracal C) managed to separate Mitchell from the top step of the podium in the second of three events.

CALABOGIE SUMMER CLASSIC

The CASC-Ontario Region marked the mid-point of the 2022 calendar with a visit to Calabogie Motorsport Park on August 20-21 for the Summer Classic weekend.

An ambitious schedule of races kept the track busy from early morning until late afternoon with the regular CASC divisions in play along with the Calabogie V8 Thunder Car Series and the FEL Sports Cars and Radical Cup Canada drivers. Fields were bolstered by drivers from both Ontario and Quebec, numbers that provided extra competition for the racers and greatly increased the excitement for the spectators. Added elements of challenge for the competitors was the extreme heat on Saturday, a factor that contributed to abnormally high tire wear, and full wet track conditions for Sunday’s contests.

TOYO TIRES F1600

Series rookie William Ferguson has shown to be a quick study this year, his ability to learn and adapt to new tracks an asset that came to the fore at Calabogie.

With limited practice time on Friday, the Californian managed to put his No. 2 BGR Piper/ Honda on the front row in qualifying, lapping the 5.05-kilometre circuit a mere 0.107 seconds off pole sitter’s Jake Cowden’s pace.

Spending the early laps of Saturday’s opener dicing with the No. 23 Piper-Honda of Connor Wagland, Ferguson was eventually able to clear his hard-driving rival to claim the victory, with point challenger Jake Cowden aboard his No. 66 Mygale-Honda securing a runner-up spot ahead of Wagland. It was a similar situation in Sunday mor-

(Opposite page) British GB4 racer Megan Gilkes (top) returned to F1600 action at the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy Races, but was beaten to the checkered flag by teammates Connor Clubine (middle) and Jake Cowden (bottom). (Above) Dan Corcoran earned a GT1 class win. Photos by Richard Coburn

(Top) Rocco Marciello earned a GT1 class win ins his BMW at CTMP, while Jack Polito won in GT2 class action, while Bill Mitchell (No. 58) and Phil Wang (No. 173) F1200 wins. Photos by Richard Coburn

ning’s wet race as Ferguson paced himself, launching past Cowden in the closing stages of the 22-minute dash to earn another check ered flag, his seventh of the 2022 campaign.

The Britain West duo of Cowden and Connor Clubine (No. 6) completed the podium finishers.

The third round of the Summer Classic was slowed by an early Turn 1 melee that resulted in an extended full-course caution. Eventually going back to green, a late race spin by Ferguson again produced twin yellows, with the race ending under caution with Jake Cowden picking up the win over his BWM teammate Callum Baxter (No. 65 Mygale-Honda). Ferguson recovered to claim the final step of the F1600-A podium.

As usual, behind the overall race leaders the F1600-B class competitors were engaged in their own tight battles.

In Round 1, it was veteran Steve Bodrug (No. 41 Van Diemen-Ford) taking the win over Nepean, ON’s Henry Knox (No. 48) and Jason Sharpe (No. 88 Van Diemen-Ford).

Knox asserted himself in the next two rounds, ascending to the top step of the podium with back-to-back wins, besting Bodrug and Andrew Mason (No. 32 Van Diemen-Ford) in each instance.

GT SPRINTS

Being a double points weekend for the GT Sprints series partially accounted for the solid 30-car GT field, but some imagined that a perceived inter-provincial rivalry may have also played a factor in the large car count.

Local drivers held the upper hand when it came to the big power GT1 class as Marc Steenbakkers (No. 68 Camaro) grabbed the victory by 2.583 seconds from the yellow No. 02 Corvette of James Beaton. The Cavanaugh Camaro Clan swept to the overall and GT1 class victories in the second and third rounds of the weekend with Jeff (No. 11) leading Mike (No. 78) to the stripe in each of the 20-minute contests.

Enterprise, ON’s Patrick Cyr (No. 23 BMW M3) secured the GT2 class win in the Saturday race, but it was his points challenger Daria Khachi (No. 199) in a similar mount that ascended to the top step of the podium in the final two contests, with Cyr in close pursuit settling for back-to-back runner-up results.

It was a similar scenario in both GT3 and GT4 with David Ivichek (No. 555) scoring the opening round win but relinquishing top spot to Marc Lafleur in the next two races for GT3. Matt White (No. 76 Mustang) earned the checkered flag on Saturday, but it was left to Khalid Eidoo (No. 126) to set the pace in the Sunday twin bill. Kevin Glass (No. 83) would not be forced to share GT5 honours as he swept to three consecutive victories in the 11-entry class.

FORMULA LIBRE/ F4/ F1200

Weather conditions dictated the size of this combined open-wheel field, with a weekend-opening 19-entry car count diminishing as the event went on.

The conditions proved to be no concern for Marcel Lafontaine as he guided his No. 127 Formula Renault to a trio of Formula Libre wins. James Morton (No. 11 Gamma) took the sole victory in Formu la 4, while Phil Wang (No 173 Caracal C) outscored Nathan Yu (No. 49 BRD) two races to one.

VARAC

A small contingent of VARAC competitors were on the Summer Classic schedule, each driver more racing for the sheer joy of speed rather than intense competition. IT

Automobile

GET TRACKSIDE

BARC GRAND PRIX MARSHALS

RACE DAY REGISTRATION

CTMP STARTER'S STAND

TAKING A BREAK AT A CTMP VENDOR SURVEYING THE ACTION AT CTMP

ASSISTING A GT SPRINTS RACER

HELPING A STRANDED RACE CAR

A MEETING AT THE HONDA INDY

VARAC VINTAGE GRAND PRIX

CASC-OR VOLUNTEERS

ONTARIO’S DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS MAKE RACING POSSIBLE

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

At any given motorsports event, no matter what the discipline or the level of competition, it would be safe to say that the list of involved volunteers would most likely outnumber the roster of competitors.

From race registration to assisting in assigned parking, from scrutineering to organizing line ups, from timing and scoring to com munication directors, to the safety workers and the recovery staff, no racing event would be possible without a massive, coordinated effort between all of these dedicated volunteers and their associated organizations.

“This sport that everyone has very close to their heart would not happen without them. They give up a huge amount of their time just for the opportunity to be a part of this sport,” stated former Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi. “They [the volunteers] have immense respect for the drivers. And likewise, the drivers respect them and their work.”

The same situation arises with every event on the CASC-Ontario Region calendar. Drivers and team members need to be registered, their vehicles need to be safety checked and someone, or a very large group of someones, needs to be in place to keep the day’s ontrack events organized and safely running as planned.

Setting the tone for a typical CASC race weekend are the vastly experienced Chief Ontario Registrar Anne McCallum and BARC Club Registrar Tom Hyland, along with their assistants working in the Registration Centre.

“We’re the first contact for the drivers, crew members and guests and we always like to start their weekend off smoothly,” commented Hyland. “It’s usually just a matter of checking IDs, verifying car class, numbers and transponder addresses. However, the biggest, recurring problem is that some crew members inevitably don’t get pre-registered. That’s when we could use some extra hands to get the problems sorted out.”

With electronic registration now essential, the time spent in lines is shortened, but the computer program “takes some getting used to,” according to Hyland.

“We’re well-versed in the use of the system, but it’s something a new worker would have to be trained on. That would be entirely ‘hands-on’ but it’s nothing we can’t do over a race weekend. And we can always use those extra hands.”

At a normal regional race event, registration work is generally completed by noon on Saturday, and although someone must remain

in the building in case of emergencies, this allows any extra person nel to enjoy the remainder of the on-track action.

“Really, it’s a pretty good gig,” said Hyland.

With registration and technical inspection completed, the drivers now guide their cars to the mock grid, where the orange-shirted grid crew align the race starters.

Assuming the new role of ‘Track Mom’ with the retirement of founder Pat McDiarmid, Angela Callow Ward heads this group of volunteers, ‘Angie’ earning her stripes by previously working in the starter’s stand and in Race Control. However, she found her niche in 2007 and has been a vital contributor as part of the grid crew for many road racing events at Ontario locations such as CTMP, Shannonville, Calabogie and Toronto.

“Most of the time, it’s very basic. We line cars up in the appro priate order so that the races can get underway quickly. And when they start to roll off, we make sure that they’re starting in the proper lane,” explained Ward. “But we also do a double check to make sure that the cars have been through technical inspection and we keep an eye out for the little things, like making sure that their window nets and hood pins are secure.”

Should the race require a restart, the grid crew, having received the starting positions from Race Control, once again is on top of re-aligning the racers into their proper order.

“This is a great entry level spot for young people,” said Ward. “It’s relatively safe, we all watch out for each other, and it gives you a true sense of what it’s like to work up close with the racers. We are like a family, most of us have been doing this for quite a while, and that makes for an enjoyable weekend at whatever track we’re attending.”

A trip to the movies with his father to see Steve McQueen star in Le Mans initially “planted the seed in the mind” of Terry McCarthy,

who this year celebrates his 37th year as a member of the Motorsport Marshalling Service.

“I had been to the races at the old Pinecrest Speedway when I was a kid, but it was the Le Mans movie and then going to Mosport (CTMP) for the Can-Am race in 1982 when the seed bloomed,” recalled McCarthy. “A co-worker and I were sitting in Corner 5 and I saw what the marshals were doing. I knew that was something I could, and really wanted, to do.”

A marshalling team working a corner are the early warning system for on-coming drivers. Connected to Race Control by radio, the ‘Corner Senior’ alerts the flagging and safety marshals of any on-track incidents, although most flaggers work independently, with out being told, when something goes wrong in their area. Different coloured flags for different occasions provide a quickly recognizable explanation of something out of the ordinary.

“The flags are a way to tell an approaching driver that a car has maybe stopped or crashed just ahead and out of their view, or if there is something like oil on the track. A driver is usually busy just controlling his car, he needs and deserves a warning if something is wrong,” added McCarthy.

This marshalling veteran has almost 400 race days in his logbook, having worked at racetracks from the Toronto Indy (30 times), the Montreal Formula 1Grand Prix (25 times), Canadian Tire, Shannonville and Calabogie Motorsports Parks, and at such international venues like Daytona, Indianapolis, Long Beach and Detroit. McCarthy’s racing experience came full circle in 2015 when he joined some international colleagues marshalling on the Mulsanne Straight at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“There is just something special about being close to the action, watching the races and meeting other marshals and race fans, race

drivers and celebrities at the races. There is a lot of responsibility in what we do, occasionally a lot of intensity, but there is also time for relaxing and sharing our passions with other people. That’s the best part for me.”

These are stories from only a small example of volunteers that are a part of any motorsports event; there are many other positions available should a race fan have an inkling about getting on the ‘other side of the fence’. Racing organizations are continually looking for volunteers (many hands make for light work!) and gender and age are rarely a limiting factor.

If volunteering for a position at a racing event is something you might be interested in, there are several possibilities for connecting with the proper people.

First, when attending a race, simply speak with the volunteers. They’re just like you, they love racing, too.

Or you might consider contacting the motorsport governing authority in Ontario, the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) by email at casc.on.ca.

There are three primary marshalling organizations in Ontario, either the Motorsports Marshalling Service (MMS) (www.motorsportmarshalling.on.ca) or the Canadian Race Communications Association (www.crcamarshal.com) who mainly work the motorcycle tours. The Motorsports Club of Ottawa (www.mco.org) have their own marshalling entity that is responsible for the Calabogie Motor sport Park events. All three groups offer training sessions through out the year at different locations.

So, if you’re looking for the ‘Best Seat in The House’ a volunteer position at a racetrack somewhere near you might just provide you with the very best possible opportunity. Don’t be afraid to call, and maybe we’ll see you trackside in the very near future. IT

In addition to CASC-OR events, its volunteers have worked at the Honda Indy Toronto and Canadian Grand Prix (25 times), and at international venues like Daytona, Indianapolis, Long Beach and Detroit. Photos by Richard Coburn

VARAC REPORT GLADIATOR RACING

PETER JACKSON RACES REPORT AND VICCARY FAMILY PROFILE

Stories by J. Wally Nesbitt

Proper parenting is a key aspect to creating a family tradition, so ably demonstrated by Viccary family patriarch Eric. Exposing his son Peter to the earliest form of sports car racing through numer ous trips to the now long abandoned Harewood Acres site, Peter picked up the torch and did the same for his son Shane.

“My first exposure to racing was as early as two years old when my dad would take me to Mosport (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) to watch anything and everything from Trans Am to regional week end racers. I was immediately hooked,” recalled Shane.

Building on that family tradition, Shane, accompanied by his father Peter and with his sons Ayden and Wyatt in tow, is a regular con tender in the VARAC Formula Classic racing ranks.

Despite being an avid follower of motorsports and a qualified racing photographer, Peter was by all accounts a relatively late bloomer when it came to being an active participant.

“As I was closing in on my 50th birthday and I realized that my

window of opportunity was closing, so I began to look for something that was cheap, reliable and vintage,” said Peter.

Coming across an advertisement for a 1966 Kelly Formula Vee being sold by Kiki car builder Doug Durrell, Peter entered the world of on-track competition, something that he continues to this day.

“I bought the car from Doug in 2006, he said it was something I could handle,” continued Peter. “I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Doug ever since, but there is enough love to overcome the hate.”

Aboard his Kelly Vee, Peter rapidly gained racing experience while Shane waited in the wings for two more years before being allowed to share the family weekend car.

A student of motorsports and mechanical engineering, Shane’s exposure to the internal workings of a performance vehicle were enhanced with his university participation in the UOIT Formula SAE program. Joining fellow FSAE teammates Sam Ashtiani and Jonathan Rolstin, the trio formed AVR Racing, an ‘Arrive and Drive’ program participating in the CASC/Millers Oil F1200 championship.

After catching the racing bug from his father, Eric, VARAC Peter Viccary (inset) passed it on to his son, fellow VARAC racer Shane (main), who is now passing it on to his kids (opposite page). Photos by Richard Coburn

By 2014, AVR Racing had transitioned into the Formula 1600 tour before slowing down and eventually closing their racing operation.

“It was fun, we had a lot of success, but it was very time-consum ing,” noted Shane. “And when we looked into the financial aspect, I decided that it was time to go back to just racing for fun.”

With Peter now firmly ensconced as the primary operator of the Kelly FV while Shane took turns behind the wheels of several other mounts, including an Altona FV, a Gladiator FV and finally a Protoform P3, what would eventually become Gladiator Road Racing searched around for an upgraded car suitable for Shane.

Locating a specific model of a Citation Zink Formula Ford in Texas, Gladiator Racing expanded into a two-car effort in 2016.

“We wanted the Z-16. It had proven successful in the US,” said Shane. “The car looked good on paper, but once we got it home, we soon realized that it needed a lot of work. We basically rebuilt every joint and replaced most of the components in it. It took almost three years before we got it done, but we are very happy with it. This car is

now capable of racing at the front of any Club Ford field.”

When asked to describe what it is like to race their individual cars, Peter responded laughingly the “Kelly is slow, I know it, but it’s still fun to drive.”

Shane’s opinion of his Zink is that “t he handling makes this car a frontrunner. Of any group I race with, I have the most grip. We knew this would be a good Club Ford for us.”

With the fourth generation of Viccarys now an interested and inte gral part of Gladiator Road Racing, this family-bonding activity shows promise of successes for years to come. Just another example of the influence of positive parenting.

PETER JACKSON RACES

Sweltering heat did nothing to stop the one-day VARAC vintage racing festival from being held on August 6 at Shannonville Motorsports Park. Barbecue, live music and great racing were the highlights of the annual Peter Jackson Trophy Races with almost 70 vehicles filling the SMP paddock.

There was only one apparent casualty on this day as Shane Viccary lost the right rear suspension of his No. 27 Zink Classic Formula Ford after contact in morning practice. A nice collection of Formula 1200/Vees joined in the day’s racing celebrations, and as usual, it was multi-time series champion Phil Wang aboard his No. 173 1996 Caracal C taking top honours in the twin bill.

Immediately following Saturday’s lunch break, a widely varied collection of cars lined up for the 20-minute specialty race, with the Peter Jackson Memorial Trophy as the coveted prize. Amazingly, with a trio of Mazdas, a pair of MGs, a Volvo and a Lancia Beta Scorpion for his competition, it was the diminutive No. 38 BRD Formula 1200 piloted by Robert Patterson who stole the show, besting runner-up Bertrand Dupuis (No. 123 Mazda RX3) by 32.824 seconds at the conclusion of the 15-lap sprint. Russ Bond (No. 55 Mazda RX3) had enjoyed an entertaining back and forth dice with his Mazda counter part but was forced to settle for a third-place finish.

RESULTS

VINTAGE/ HISTORIC Race 1: VH-1: No. 04 John Hawkes / VH-2: No. 55 Russ Bond / VH-3: No. 7 Stefan Wiesen / VH-4: No. 32 Del Bruce / VH-5: No. 717 Michael Deweerd.

VINTAGE/ HISTORIC Race 2: VH-1: No. 04 John Hawkes / VH-2: No. 123 Bertrand Dupuis / VH-3: No. 7 Stefan Wiesen / VH-4: No. 32 Del Bruce / VH-5: No. 717 Michael Deweerd.

CLASSIC Race 1: CL-1: No. 095 Ian Crerar / CL-2: No. 03 Hugo Girard / CL-3: No. 55 Russ Bond / CL-4: No. 147 Claude Lussier / CL-5: No. 515 Chris Rupnik.

CLASSIC Race 2: CL-1: No. 095 Ian Crerar / CL-2: No. 02 Matthew Gidman / CL-3: No. 55 Russ Bond / CL-4: No. 85 Curtis Smith / CL-5: No. 515 Chris Rupnik.

FORMULA CLASSIC Race 1: FC90: No. 77 Paul Subject / CF: No. 47 Doug Beatty / HFF: No. 5 Ed Luce / PFF: No. 33 Chris Evans / F1200: No. 173 Phil Wang.

FORMULA CLASSIC Race 2: FC90: No. 77 Paul Subject / CF: No. 47 Doug Beatty / HFF: No. 5 Ed Luce / PFF: No. 33 Chris Evans / F1200: No. 173 Phil Wang. IT

GUNTER SCHMIDT

Canadian Racing Legend Passes Away

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

Although small in physical stature, Gunter Schmidt left a very large vacancy in the Southern Ontario motorsports scene with his passing on August 16, 2022, at the age of 71. Immigrating to Canada from his birthplace in Germany in 1976, Schmidt found considerable success on track, competing in the disciplines of autoslalom, ice racing, open-wheel and most regularly in GT racing, both in North America and abroad.

Enjoying a strong affection for various Volkswagen racing models, Schmidt accumulated multiple national and class championships, especially in endurance racing, where he was often partnered with long-time friend Peter Carpenko.

Over his 43-year racing career, Schmidt was honoured with many awards, including those for CRCA Driver of the Year (1986 and 1998), CASC Competitor of the Year (1995 and 97), Mr. Personality of the Year (1996) and

EMZONE RADICAL CUP CANADA

the Race Ontario Sports Person of the Year (1999).

Aside from his on-track accomplishments, Schmidt was also recognized as an invaluable asset behind the Ontario road racing scenes. A Licensed Race Steward, Schmidt also served as a Race Clerk, a Scrutineer, a Timer and led the CASC-Ontario Region executives by holding down the positions of Race Director, Vice President and President.

“It is difficult to overstate Gunter’s contribution to motorsport in Ontario,” Stated current CASC-OR President Ted Michalos. “He was involved at so many levels for so many years – ice racing, road racing, as a competitor, official and an organizer. He helped shape motorsport at the grassroots level. We’re better for knowing him and we will miss him.”

Inside Track Motorsport News would like to offer its sincerest condolences to Schmidt’s wife Laura and to the extended Schmidt family. IT

Jonathan Woolridge continued his domination of the Emzone Radical Cup Canada championship chase, earning race wins at doubleheader events at both Calabogie and CTMP.

At the June 4-5 Calabogie Spring Classic weekend, Woolridge guided his No. 77 SR3 RSX Radical to a new track record in qualifying and then proceeded to outrun home track driver Travis Hill (No. 22) by 4.712 seconds in round 1, with a slightly slimmer 1.729-second advantage in the weekend finale.

Although a new qualifying record would not follow when the RCCC tour returned to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on the July 23-24 race weekend, Woolridge did manage to earn back-to-back victories.

Despite besting race runner-up Tim Sanderson (No. 07) by 16.683 seconds in the 30-lap clean-and-green opening round run, Woolridge’s crew discovered water in the oil upon post-race inspection. Diagnosing the issue as a possible cracked engine block, the team employed a rather ingenious solution, taping up the oil cooler,

for the second 40-minute contest.

“By forcing the oil to run hot, the theory is that the coolant would evaporate before it contaminated the oil,” said Woolridge. “It worked, everything held together.”

With the field running on rain tires due to a slowly drying track, Woolridge pulled out to a sizable lead while Kevin Poitras (No. 007), Adam Ali (No. 88), Peter Dyck (No. 73) and Matt Graham (No. 31) diced for a top-five finish. When Doug Allingham’s No. 33 coasted to a stop on the exit of Turn 1 on Lap 12, a full-course caution

called to retrieve the stricken car closed the pack and set up a 12-minute green flag dash to the checkers.

Woolridge quickly resumed his front-running position, while behind him a scramble began with multiple racers determined to fill the remaining podium spots. When the checkered flag eventually dropped, Poitras had managed to maintain his second-place spot, with Tim Sanderson making a remarkable late race charge to be gifted a hard earned third place result when the No. 88 of Ali was disqualified post race. IT

(Above) Gunter Schmidt’s illustrious racing career spanned more than four decades. Photo Courtesy CASC (Below) Jonathan Woolridge has continued his winning ways in Radical Canada Cup action. Photo by Richard Coburn

BC HISTORIC MOTOR RACES

Story and Photos by Brent Martin

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID, the BC Historic Motor Races (BCHMR) were back with gusto at the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit at Mission Raceway Park in Mission, BC. Nine ty-plus vintage and historic racers from BC, Alberta and Washington State all came together for the two-day event (August 6-7, 2022) put on by the Vintage Racing Club of BC (VRCBC).

There were four race groups this year consisting of Group A (Fast Cars), Group B (Faster Cars), Formula Ford/Exhibition for open-wheel and purpose-built race cars and a round of the Pacific Challenge Cup for Formula Vees.

The races included the Hagerty Formula Festival for the combined Formula Ford and Exhibition Group. They had five races over the weekend with Erle Archer from West Kelowna, BC. in his 1967 Lotus S3 winning the feature race and taking home the Westwood Trophy. Kevin Wall from Port Coquitlam, BC in his 1982 Reynard took home the Hagerty Formula Ford win only 0.224 seconds behind Erle Archer. Three of the other four races were won by Kelowna, BC’s Marty Knoll in a 1975 Johnston JM3 formula Atlantic, with Issaquah Washington’s Daniel Morrision taking two seconds and a third in his 1968 Lotus 51.

The Pacific Challenge Cup formula vee group had three races over the weekend with Quinn Posner from Camas Washington taking all three wins, including the Abbotsford Trophy final, in his Protoform P3. Braydon Arthur from Mission, BC took home two second place

finishes and a third in the final. The other top three finishers were Delta, BC’s Robin Smith taking third in Race 1, Tony Baldassarre third in Race 2 and Derrick Moennick taking second place in the final race of the day.

The BCHMR featured lots of exciting racing in the Group A and Group B divisions for closed-wheel vintage production and improved production cars.

Group A had four races with Kent, WA’s Jeffrey Quick in his 1967 Triumph TR4-A taking home two wins, Tacoma Washington’s Charly Mitchel in his 1969 Triumph TR6 and Aaron Griffiths in his 1979 Mazda RX7 taking home the other class wins. There were also four races for Group B, with four different winners in each race. Burnaby, BC’s Malcolm McQueen in his 1972 Datsun 510 taking the win in Race 1, Geoff Tulpholme from Prichard, BC in a very quick 1973 Austin Mini taking home the win in Race 2, Woodinville, WA’s Anthony Nadalin in his 1965 FFR Challenge Cobra was the Race 3 winner and Doug Yip from North Vancouver, BC in his 1979 Ford Mustang took home the final Group B win.

The final race of the weekend for the combined Group A and B cars was the Jim Latham Memorial Race for the SCCBC Trophy. Due to the usual weekend breakage, only 23 cars managed to make it out for the final, which was won this year by Coquitlam, BC’s Robin Liu in his 1971 Datsun 240Z followed by Ian Thomas of North Vancouver, BC in his beautiful 1970 BMW 2002.

Rounding out the top three was Georges Kreuzkamp from Delta,

The COVID pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the last two BC Historic Motor Races, but 2022 saw the event come back with a bang to Mission Raceway Park in Mission, BC, featuring a large, 90-plus car field split into four race groups.

BC in a 1990 Acura Integra.

On Saturday afternoon, after all the racing was finished, there was an event to honour BC’s most famous racer, the late Greg Moore who was born and raised in Maple Ridge B.C. There was a dedication ceremony to dedicate turn two at the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit as Greg Moore Corner and event chairman Ian wood of IWE Rear Ends Only has commissioned a Statue of Greg and his NO. 99 Players IndyCar to be eventually placed at the Greg Moore Youth Center in Maple Ridge, BC.

Once again, this year there were lots of SOVREN racers from Washington State who made the trek up to Canada to battle for SOVREN points and enjoy some great Canadian hospitality as well as making some new friends.

This year, the SOVREN Canada Cup was presented to SOVREN president Brad Shinn from Vashon, WA, who came north with his 1966 Austin Healy Sprite. The VRCBC was grateful for their participation, and they all had nothing but great things to say about the event (a few of them even told the mayor of Mission, BC how much they loved coming up to Mission year after year) and were planning on coming back in the future and bringing more SOVREN members with them.

The other trophies for the weekend included the Pete Lovely Memorial Award for the best prepared car, won by Kelowna, BC’s Marty Knoll and his 1975 Johnson JM3 Formula Atlantic. The SCCBC Award for spirited driving was presented this year to Dermott

Young from Millarville, AB in his 1973 Austin Mini. The Battered Cup which nobody wants to win was awarded to Gayle Baird, who had an unfortunate meeting with the Turn 2 wall with her Honda which ended her weekend early, although she still competed in her vintage Formula Vee for the rest of the weekend. The final award for the weekend was the Chairman’s Award that this year was presented to Geoff Tulphome in his very quick and beautiful 1973 Austin Mini.

The other highlight of the weekend was the display and demonstra tion laps put on by BCHMR event chairman Ian Wood of Burnaby, BC in his very loud and popular 1970 McLaren M12 Can-Am race car. Wood enjoyed driving his McLaren for some spirited laps around the Speed-Fanatics Motorsport Circuit to the great enjoyment of all the fans in the grandstands.

At the end of the weekend everyone went home happy and excited about returning next year for the 34th running of this great event. The VRCBC would like to thank all the participants, volunteers, course marshals and emergency crew for making this year’s event another great success. VRCBC would like also to thank event spon sors, Hagerty Classic Car Insurance, Drivers Edge Autosport, BC Used Oil Association, Odd Squad Productions, IWE Rear Ends Only, 900 Werks, Speed-Fanatics, Bent Wrenches Autoservice, Vintage Racing Motors, the Sports Car Club of BC and all the others for their continued support.

For information on the 2023 BC Historic Motor Races, visit vrcbc. ca or bchmr.ca. IT

JOEL LEVAC AND NEW CO-DRIVER FLORIAN BARRAL WIN RALLYE DÉFI PETITE NATION

The 30th Edition of the Rallye Défi Petit Nation, the fourth round of the 2022 Canadian Rally Championship, saw 36 teams tackle two days and 21 stages of gravel action.

Several of the stages featured abrupt changes in character, swinging from smooth and fast to rough and technical, forcing the drivers to remain focused for every kilometre. With dusty conditions and a reputation for being a rally of attrition, the stage was set for high speeds and maximum drama.

After a minor crash and mechanical trouble ended his chances at a podium at Rallye Baie-Des-Chaleurs, Joel Levac returned to the stages with his ex-WRC Mini Countryman. Employing a new co-driver, Florian Barral from Peymeinade, France, Levac made his intentions clear from the first kilometre, winning Stage 1 by 30 seconds. His dominant performance continued through the first day, putting on an amazing show for the fans at the Carrière Lirette Gravel Pit Specta

Story and Photos Courtesy Carsrally.ca

tor stage. He ended Friday up by almost a minute-and-ahalf over Jerome Mailloux.

A broken half-shaft on the first stage on Saturday left the team with only rear-wheel drive, but Levac was still able to keep pace with the top runners. It would be their only mechanical issue in an otherwise textbook rally, and Levac continued to victory with a lead of over five minutes after winning all but two stages.

Championship points leaders Jerome Mailloux and Philippe Poirier had the title in their sights from the getgo, refusing to be drawn into making a costly mistake chasing the uncatchable Levac. Their Test Racing Subaru WRX STI suffered minor mechanical problems at several points throughout the event, including a power loss in the second loop of stages on Saturday. Despite keeping the service crew busy, Mailloux’s pace kept him solidly ahead of the rest of the pack and finishing in second place has extended his lead in the championship.

Looking for a second podium in a row, Alexandre Moreau and Ian Guité had been running consistently in third until a crash ended their rally. This promoted Jean-Sebastien Besner and co-driver Yvan Joyal onto the podium. Knowing better than most how difficult Rallye Défi can be, the veteran team adopted a conservative pace early on. A rear differential problem in their Mitsubishi Evo forced the team to swap in a stock road car unit on Friday night, making the car twitchy and prone to oversteer. Despite this, Besner maintained a smooth and fast pace for another podium.

The Two-Wheel-Drive battle was tight and exciting through the first day of the rally. American Chris Greenhouse, paired with co-driver Ryan Scott, was determined to overcome setbacks at earlier events to win the class. He and his freshly rebuilt Dodge SRT4 faced steep competition from 2WD points leader Nick Wood, and 2021 Rallye Défi 2WD winner Francis Belley. Belley, with co-driver Danny Mallette, traded the lead with Greenhouse through the first loop, while Wood was held back by minor gearbox issues combined with feeling unwell. By the end of the first day, Wood and co-driver Jennifer Daly were back up to their usual pace, but Greenhouse had already built a lead of over forty seconds.

Rallye Défi has a well-earned reputation for ruining the best laid plans of drivers and co-drivers. Starting the second day with the hopes of carving up Greenhouse’s lead, Belley suffered a driveline failure that took him out of the rally, and Wood had a “disagreement with a tree,” which forced the team back to service early, resulting in rally-restart penalties. They would still go on to finish fourth in class, earning Wood valuable points towards his championship. Greenhouse and Scott would be flanked on the 2WD podium by Kurtis Duddy and Matthieu Toupin in their Nissan Sentra, and Pascal Besse and Nicolas Tousignant in the classic Porsche 911.

In Production AWD class, Trevor Pougnet and Ryan Rouleau brought their Subaru home to the class win.

Now at the half-way point in the 2022 Canadian Rally Championship, Jerome Mailloux has a 24-point lead, with Olivier Martel and Joel Levac tied for second. Despite his difficulties, Nick Wood leads the 2WD standings. IT

(Opposite page, main) Rallye Défi Petit Nation winners Joel Levac and co-driver Florian Barral. (Opposite page, bottom) Jerome Mailloux and co-driver Philippe Poirier increased their championship lead with a runner-up result. (Top) Jean-Sebastien Besner and co-driver Yvan Joyal finished third overall. (Middle) Chris Greenhouse and co-driver Ryan Scott won the 2WD class in their Neon.

ST. THOMAS DRAGWAY

Ontario Drag Strip Celebrating 60 Years

Story By Larry Satchell St. Thomas Dragway in Sparta, Ontario recently celebrated its 60th Anniversary, with an exciting racing weekend on August 13-14. The track holds the distinction of being the longest running purpose-built track in Canada, as it has continued to operate for 60 consecutive years. Attending the 60th celebration was Judy Burgess, daughter of the original track owners and facility builders, Robert and Helen Harvey. Also in attendance were some of the original staff members, including the first track announcer, Al Pimlatt.

In 1962, Robert Harvey decided to build St. Thomas Dragway on farmland that he owned. He was encouraged to build the track to give the local hot rodders and car racing enthusiasts a safe place to race, and to help prevent street racing.

With the assistance of the St. Thomas Gearjammers car club, Harvey went to work to assist in the construction of the timing tower, the track and the bleachers for spectators.

As the track continues to operate year after year, there have been four primary owners of St. Thomas Dragway.

After the passing of the original owners, the Harvey family sold the facility to John and Sharon Fletcher, in 1990. Under John’s direction, he hired me (Larry Satchell) to manage the track. The track was subse-

quently purchased by Dave Mathers, from St. Thomas.

And after a few years, the track was managed by the late Jay Morse. St. Thomas Dragway has been owned by the Spriet family for many years and now is operated by Paul and Jarrett Spriet.

The 60th Anniversary event brought out almost 200 racers and a variety of current model and nostalgia cars for drag racing action.

Memories of past events flashed through the heads of many in attendance, including appearances by the likes of John Force and Chuck Etchells, who set new Funny Car track records in the ‘90s.

Back in the early days of St. Thomas Dragway, I recall asking ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits, from Florida, for his autograph. He was there to match race Connie Kalitta in

the ‘Bounty Hunter’ AA/FD.

Wheelstanders, Jet Dragsters, Funny Cars, and Pro Modifieds – in the ‘90s –provided some of my fondest memories at the track.

During the 60th Anniversary weekend, fans were treated to Top Dragster and Top Sportsman racing, in addition to all of the bracket classes.

Congratulations go out to Top Dragster ‘number one’ qualifier Brody Vandergeld in the Lowdown Hotrods supercharged dragster. He established a new eighth-mile time of 3.99 seconds at the event.

FINAL ROUND RESULTS:

TOP DRAGSTER: Dan Zygmont over Brody Vandergeld

TOP SPORTSMAN: Steve Corriveau over Bob Robinson

TOP ET: Trevor Deeks over Dustin Gabel

MODIFIED: Austin Ward over Brad Gibbs

BIKE/SLED: Glen Rock over Kody Howe

JR. DRAGSTER: Megan DeJong over Reese Hamilton IT

(Above) Neale Armstrong’s Jet Dragster. (Below) Kayden Wicke Chevy Camaro. Photos by Cody Evans

CANADIAN CONNECTION

John Waldie Highlights Canadians Making Recent Waves in Drag Racing

By John Waldie with files from Greg MacPherson

CanadianracingguruJohnWaldieoffers hisperspectiveonsomeoftheCanadians whohavebeenmakinganimpactonthe sportofdragracing,inrecentweeks.

The ‘number one’ story, in my opinion, was Jeff Veale’s Top Alcohol Dragster win in mid-September at Maple Grove Raceway, in Reading, PA. The Lucas Oil Series competitor who last competed at Gainesville, in March, earned his first career national event win.

His only other appearance in the finals came at Norwalk in 2016. In the final, Veale – from Stoney Creek, ON – bested fellow Canadian Shawn Cowie, from Langley, BC, after Cowie lost traction. Veale also had the top speed at the event, at 279.27 mph.

The ‘number two’ story is Canadian Rob Flynn, the co-crew chief for Top Fuel star Mike Salinas. Following Maple Grove, their Scrappers Racing car is in third place in the standings, just one point back of Brittany Force and ten (half a round!) back of leader Justin Ashley.

Flynn is a member of the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame and has worked with many accomplished racers, including Whit Bazemore, ‘Hot Rod’ Fuller and J.R. Todd, as well as some of the top teams in the sport

RACE CAYUGA SPORTSMAN SERIES

Story by Deryk Stevens

The Race Cayuga Sportsman Series (RCSS) held its fourth points race weekend

August 17 & 18 at Toronto Motorsports Park (TMP). Dubbed the ‘NHRATV Wally Weekend,’ it was also a memorial event for Mike Marshall and Jim Thomson.

Unfortunately, rained washed away the remainder of Saturday’s schedule, after the completion of Round 1.

Staff and racers worked overtime, Sunday morning, to get the track and pits dry and in shape for a day of racing.

On Sunday, the Quick Sportsman Class saw Claude Losier make his way to the finals against Mike Newman. Losier, in his 1985 Laser, had a .009 second reaction time (RT) running 5.641 seconds on his 5.63 second dial-in time. Meanwhile, Newman posted a .019 RT and ran a 5.641 on his 5.63 dial-in. The result was that Losier got the win in a very close race.

(Kalitta Motorsports, Dote Racing, Bob Van dergriff Racing and Don Schumacher Racing).

Also notable at Reading, Brantford, ON’s Jeff Chatterson qualified for the field in his first-ever Top Fuel outing. Driving a Paton Racing car, Chatterson took the #15 spot with a 3.909-second run, at 314.9 mph.

In just his fourth career Top Fuel pass, in competition, the Canadian lost to points lead er Justin Ashley in Round 1 of Eliminations, but went a very respectable 3.865 seconds at 321.58 mph.

Finally, at Reading, Ryan Stack from Wingham, ON drove Larry Dobbs’ Alcohol Funny Car, subbing for regular driver Tyler Scott. Stack made the field (5.663 seconds at 233.6 mph), which was impressive. In Round 1, Stack’s car shook hard, releasing the chute and ending his event.

Looking further back, to the US Nationals at IRP, St. Michel, QC’s Dan Mercier qualified 16th (3.758 secs. at 318.99 mph) in what was the largest field (25 cars!) in the sport’s modern era.

Ultimately, Mercier lost to Brittany Force in the first round.

Also at Indy, BC’s Shawn Cowie qualified second fastest (5.237 secs. at 275.45 mph) in TAD action. He posted a first round win over John Paul Gutierrez and took out

In Super Pro action, Jarrod Kolne (‘85 Camaro) faced off against Tony Valerio in his ‘68 Camaro. Kolne dialed a 6.57 and with a .025 second RT, and running 6.606 seconds. Valerio crossed the line first with his Camaro dialed 6.85 with a .023 RT, running 6.836 seconds at the finish line, breaking out and giving the win to Kolne

The Modified Class final saw Vinnie Bombini, in his ‘67 Chevy, take on Blake Sutton in his 2000 Sunfire. Bombini, the winner, dialed a 7.00 and ran a 7.039 after cutting a .032 RT and took the win over Sutton and his .257 RT, running 6.475 on his 6.44 dial.

Dan Earl came out on top in the Pro Bike/Sled Class final, over Brent Neison. Earl dialed 6.91 with a .65 second RT running 6.924 seconds against Neison, who dialed 6.85 seconds with a .103 second RT, running 6.930 seconds.

In the Street Eliminator class, presented by Performance Improvements, Brad

Hunter Green in Round 2, but fell to Mike Coughlin in Round 3 after a big tire shake ended his run.

There were several Canadians in Stock / Super Stock action at Indy, including: Stock: Darcy Clarke (Spruce Grove, AB), Dominic Desjardins (Chambly, QC), Frank Federico (Smithville, ON) and Mark Howes (Rothesay, NB). Norm Lapointe from Sherwood Park, AB went three rounds at Indy!

Super Stock: Venice Perno (Hamilton, ON) won a round at Indy. Darcy Clarke did double duty in Stock and Super Stock. Also partici pating were: Louis Gill (Quebec City, QC), Sean Gaffney (Navon, ON), Frank Schmitt (Binbrook, ON), Norm Lapointe (Sherwood Park, AB) and Ollie Stephan (Scarborough, ON). IT

Talbot made it to the finals against John Dakin. Talbot dialed 7.79 seconds with a .053 second RT and ran 7.79 at the finish line to take the win over Dakin, who dialed 10.95 seconds with a -.14 second ‘red’ reaction time, giving the instant win to Talbot.

The Footbrake Class saw J.C. Hutchinson take on Jay Branning in the final. Hutchinson dialed a 9.14, and with a great reaction of .020, was able to take the win running a 9.172 after Branning had a .047 RT and ran a 6.249 on his 6.23 dial.

In Junior Dragster action, the final pitted Ryan Pettit – in his 2018 Mike Bos Junior – against Arnold Fox in his ‘08 Lowdown Dragster. Pettit dialed 9.00 seconds and had a .064 second RT, running 9.012 seconds. Meanwhile, Arnold was dialed at 8.11 seconds and unfortunately turned on the red light with a close -.10 RT, giving the win to Pettit. Cole Williams bested Allan Colavecchia in the Junior Dragster consolation race. IT

Brantford, ON’s Jeff Chatterson qualified in Top Fuel at Maple Grove, driving a Paton Racing car.

Photo by Tony Paton

CANADA HEADS UP SHOOTOUT

Penultimate Round of 2022 Season Features Record-Breaking Runs

Story Courtesy Ian Hill Heads Up racing returned to Toronto Motor Sports Park September 9-11, 2022 with the Canada Heads Up – Shootout Series presented by Speedwire Systems, Maxima Racing Oil and Nash Competition Engines. The cars and bikes took to the track for testing day that had the traction on point for the weekend! Many cars and bike were able to set up their race cars for what was to become some of the tightest fields we have seen all season!

Saturday was Qualifying day and wow, did the competitors put on a show! Three rounds of Pro Category Qualifying, four rounds of Index qualifying followed up with the scheduled late night $3,000 All Star Shootout made for an amazing day!

Lake Shore Pools and Hot Tubs Crazy8’s bike class started the Pro Session and by Round 3, Tanya Teetzel held the No. 1 spot with a stout 8.815-second run! Fourteen cars showed for Sokoloff Lawyers EZ Street and Rob Orofiamma not only led the pack but also nailed the target of being the first EZ Street Nitrous combo to get into the 4.5-second range with a 4.592 at 153.06 mph pass! Rob was followed up by our quickest field ever as No. 11 qualifier ran 4.777! Damian Tong once again didn’t disappoint

leading the pack in Stock Wheel Base Bike with a 8.561-second pass while the top four spots were filled by 8.6-second cars. Sokoloff Lawyer’s 5.0 Warriors were next with Mike Gentile nailing the #1 spot with a dead on 5.000 @ 134.75mph. However not to be overshadowed the fourth qualifier hit a 5.010 so we had some serious competition in this class as well.

Five Nine Motorsports Street275 was again filled with some great tight qualifying. Jeff Bleom once again led the field with a 5.503-second run on the 5.50 index and was followed by a string of 5.5s all the way to the No. 7 spot. RM Racing Lubricants KOTS bike saw it largest field of the season with David Rego leading the pack with a 7.366-second ET at 196.67mph. VP Racing Fuels Super Street was down slightly on car count, but this didn’t stop Ed Shram from taking the No. 1 spot from points leader Paul Bhawan with a 4.294 second ET marking the first pass in the series for a Nitrous combo to go 4.2 seconds!

The 4.20 Pro Mod class also saw an increase in car count over the last race and Chris Brohman once again led the field with a 4.246-second run at 172.24mph. The series welcomed JRPonline.com Pro24 for the first time and the six FWD inports didn’t

disappoint, with Reno Mobilio’s run of 8.355 seconds at 183.44 mph for the No.1 spot.

On the Pro Category side of things, Saturday night ended with the running of the All Star race presented by Trevor Snyder’s Matco Tools. The top two in points in Super Street, EZ Street and SWB Bike got the chance to run off for $1,000 each and a custom trophy in front of a packed house. Super Street saw Paul Bhawan take out Brent Stein as he laid down a hole shot start on his competition and proceeded to drive straight down Broadway to his win beating Brent by a tenth of a second.

EZ Street Saw points leader Ed Mcguinn take the win over Mark Azevedo as Mark gave it away with a red light but make a perfect run of 4.75 to Ed’s winning-but-spinning six-second pass. SWB Bike had Nick Kempers take out Murray Lonsbary after Murray treed him at the get-go. Murray had Nick by .08 at the tree, but Nick was able drive around him for the win with an 8.693-second pass.

Other ICD Insurance number 1 qualifiers were: Joe Van O 5.50 – John Stornelli 5.502 / ICD Insurance 6.0 – Jeff Gilbert 6.002 / Misener Motorsports 6.50 – Nick Corano 6.502 / ICD Insurance 7.0 – Anthony Sloot 7.001 / ICD Insurance 7.50

The September 9-11 CHU weekend at TMP featured tight racing in every class and an increased car count across the field. Photo by Blak Farnan

– Jason Jean 7.502 / Low9s Bike – Adam Dubeau 9.349.

Saturday’s Priority Collision Jr Dragster Champion was Mya James and Cole Ferri took the Consolation spot. Bikes and Sleds was won by Dan Earl.

Teams and drivers ended Saturday on a high note, with a Karaoke Party put on once again by Ian and Al of IHRP and supported by TMP at the bar…but woke up on a low note as the track was once again under water on the morning of race day. As has become standard for the series’ rainouts, a decision was made by 9:30 a.m. to cancel the day…mother nature winning again!

The series now turns heads into the last race of the season on the October 15 weekend, where the points will be tallied and series champions will be crowned. IT

Unfortunately, CHU teams were unable to return to the track on Sunday, as Mother Nature intervened overnight. Photo by Blake Farnan

NEW DRAG SANCTIONING BODY

Story by Larry Satchell

For the past several years, drag racers and racing fans have had the opportunity to choose which type of drag racing they wanted to follow or participate in.

The main options were to follow the NHRA, which offers everything from Top Fuel and Funny Car racing at a professional level, right down to Stock Eliminator, and the Super classes. The alternative was the IHRA, which always identified itself as a Sportsman racers organization, primarily focusing on bracket racing, and Sportsman Series participation.

There has also been a major upswing in “No Prep” racing throughout Canada and the US. But let’s take a look at Sportsman bracket racing, which accounts for the majority of drag racing activity in North America. These racers patronize their favourite local tracks, and have done so for many years.

The sanctioning body for ‘their’ home track almost seems secondary, as racers know that certain safety and operational rules and regulations are in effect, whether they race under the NHRA or IHRA banner.

Recently, a sanctioning body shakeup began with the announced sale of the IHRA, by its owner IRG Sports & Entertainment. The sale took place after several years of IRG involvement in various motorsports

activities. The transition of the IHRA to new owner – successful businessman and racetrack operator, Larry Jeffers – may have come as a surprise to many IHRA followers. Jeffers is a drag racer and also operates his own chassis building business, in Missouri.

However, what appeared to be a clear-cut change of ownership quickly became clouded when former IHRA managers, officials and some track operators disclosed that they had tried to purchase the IHRA from IRG Sports.

Their offer to purchase was declined.

What we now know is that the former IHRA managers and track operators have decided to form their own new sanctioning body, the World Drag Racing Alliance (WDRA). The new association is headed by Don Scott, a former part owner of Central Illinois Dragway, and Scott Gardner who is a multi-track owner and a former President of the IHRA. The launch of the WDRA has had an immediate impact on the Canadian drag racing scene as St. Thomas Dragway (Sparta, ON) and Grand Bend Motorplex (Grand Bend, ON) have both signed on with the upstart body.

As of mid-September, a total of 30 facilities (the other 28 located in the US) had joined the new group with others expected in the coming weeks and months.

The WDRA has developed a Track Advis-

ory Committee, which includes well-known track operators such as Royce Miller (Maryland International Raceway), Jason Peterson (US 131 Dragway in Martin Michigan), Carl Blanton (Mo-Kan Dragway), and Jeff Miles (Darlington Dragway).

It has also reportedly emerged that the offer to purchase the IHRA, by the Don Scott group, was a higher offer than what IRG ultimately accepted from Larry Jeffers.

So, what does this mean for Sportsman bracket racers? It simply means that racers will be choosing which track they may call their home track, based what the IHRA or the WDRA has to offer.

The key deciders for most racers will likely be the opportunity to run for a World Bracket Championship and their ability to attend a Division Bracket Finals.

It is in these settings where team concepts come into play and a comparison of the contingency programs the sanctioning bodies may offer. The IHRA and WDRA have both announced they will have these programs in place.

With new choices available to bracket racers, it almost seems like a win-win situation. A downside, however, may be the risk of dividing the masses and driving racers away from their traditional home tracks.

We will keep you posted on Sponsor Programs and Series developments. IT

Grand Bend Motorplex and St. Thomas Dragway (above) have both signed on with the new World Drag Racing Alliance (WDRA), which came about following the sale of the IHRA. Photo by Peter Anderson

St. Thomas and Grand Bend Sign with World Drag Racing Alliance

HEROES

space frames (you wouldn’t believe how many times his more formal explanation of that limitation has helped avoid a structural embar rassment), and the former is the mathematical representation of Newton’s Second Law of Motion. In my world it is the most important of Sir Isaac’s three commandments. For sure the other two are strong statements that remind us of the basics of physical behaviour that on occasion get away from us Engineers (like the one about stuff that is in motion staying in motion); friction and wind resistance constantly confusing our understanding of that first law, my rule of thumb being to always go back to that perfect Grade 10 physics world of no friction or gravity. But Newton’s Second Law comes with a simple equation, and it describes the relationship between applied force (F), mass (m) and acceleration (a) of anything and everything that moves (e.g. cars!). On top of all that Sir Isaac is really where my understanding of Physics ends (no idea how all of that Einstein shit figures into what I do every day) and it is truly the only corner of science that I have any concept of; absolutely zero grasp of biology and only enough Chemistry (all memorized, no real understanding) to get me a passing grade in the two compulsory units that I had to participate in to obtain that degree.

HARRY FERGUSON (‘THE MAD MECHANIC’)

I’ve kept up on the technical topics recently, despite sometimes mix ing in a load of personal background, which my long-suffering editor tells me is totally acceptable (please write directly to him if you don’t agree: James Neilson, you can find his email on the masthead page). That said, this submission absolutely doesn’t cover a technical topic, although it is wholly about technical people who have created a load of technical topics. It is background on three of my heroes. I started by picking six but by the time I got to the end of the third the piece was already over the word limit. Saying that, I had already started a couple of the other guys and am well ahead for another similar article, if you readers find it interesting. So, to the first three most significant (to me) technical characters in the world of mechanical engineering and motorsports.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Going to be lots of sighs and “sooo boring” mutterings going on amongst the readership in reference to me starting the list with this guy; but it’s fully sincere as I regularly make the statement that I only learned two things in the six years it took me to snag a four-year engineering undergraduate degree: F=ma and you can’t push on a rope. The latter being a highly practical and useful observation, obviously intuitively known to everybody, but specifically pointed out to me by our first-year statics professor in terms of analyzing

I will now jump a couple, and a bit, centuries from Newton to one of engineering’s greatest inventors, the choice of which will also prob ably confuse many of you racing types. It’s true that most of Harry Ferguson’s greatest contributions were associated with the agricul tural business, but there is also a strong racing angle, not to mention a significant Canadian connection. His most noteworthy invention, the Three Point Hitch, so revolutionized the way implements were attached to tractors that it is now the only coupling method used by the entire industry (that’s what I call a legacy, too bad he patented it in 1926, which meant it expired well before technology licenses could have buried him in cash). He also brought a load of other significant creations to the agricultural world, including Draft Control which was tied directly to the Three Point Hitch (a closed loop force feedback hydraulic control system which dynamically adjusts the depth of the plow…look it up, truly brilliant). Not to get into too much more of his farming related stuff I can’t end without mentioning his most famous tractor, the beloved TE20 (‘Little Grey Fergie’) of which, by some accounts, half a million were made at the Banner Lane plant in Coventry, one of which sits in my Welsh farmyard awaiting restor ation (like a lot of other old shit). I will end the tractor aspect of the Ferguson story with Harry’s greatest quote: “Agriculture should have been the first industry to be modernised, not the last.”

However, all that incredible stuff that helps feed our world was bookended by a couple of other notable technical achievements. The first goes way back to 1909 when Harry became the first Irishman to design and build his own aeroplane, and the first Irishman to fly, after convincing his brother to cooperate in the construction of an innovative monoplane design in their diminutive Belfast bicycle repair

shop (Joe Ferguson ultimately kicked Harry out of the business because he thought he was crazy). This was a mere six years after the Wright Brothers famous first flight at Kitty Hawk and only a year after Alliot Verdon Roe became the first guy to get a “flying machine” off the ground in the United Kingdom. Harry was at the leading edge of that emerging transportation technology but got bored and moved on to tractors.

At the back end of his career (he died in 1960) he created a new company (using a load of money acquired from two North American industrial giants, more on that later) in partnership with racers Tony Rolt and Freddie Dixon, bringing to life a four-wheel-drive concept the two had been working on for a land speed record car. The new endeavor, Harry Ferguson Research Ltd. stated their goal was the development of “a safe family car,” with a focus on the application of their novel four-wheel-drive arrangement. The result was the R5, of which six prototypes were built in the late 1950s in response to a commitment from The British Motor Company (BMC) to buy a run of 350 cars (which sadly never happened). The R5 boasted four-wheeldrive (FWD), disc brakes with an anti-lock system (unheard of outside the aerospace industry), electric windows and a hatchback, which anticipated five technologies/features that we all now take totally for granted! Unfortunately, Ferguson’s FWD didn’t see production in a road car until six years after he died, adopted by Jensen for the Interceptor FF (Ferguson Formula) of 1966. The car also included the R5’s innovative Dunlop Maxaret ABS system as well as a hulking six-litre Chrysler V8 engine, which without the FWD and ABS would have probably been too much for the tires of that era.

Just before he passed, Harry decided to showcase the Ferguson FWD system in racing and commissioned Claude Hill to develop a front engine Formula 1 car using the system. The outcome was the Ferguson P99, which was also regrettably completed after Harry had passed, as well as coming at an extremely inconvenient time as the competition were all discovering that mid-engine cars were the way ahead and the governing body had decided to reduce Formula

1 engine capacity to 1.5 litres while the P99 was originally designed around a 2.5-litre engine. The drop in power penalizing the FWD car more than those conventionally driven due to the higher powertrain losses. However, once fitted with a Coventry-Climax FPF 1496cc four-cylinder engine, it won the wet 1961 International Gold Cup race at Oulton Park in the hands of Stirling Moss, the only time a FWD car has ever won a Formula 1 race. There was subsequently widespread usage of the FF system in Formula 1, Indycar, rally and hillclimbing with tremendous success (ultimately it was banned in all open-wheel categories) as well as being the catalyst for widespread FWD adoption in road cars. Stirling Moss rated the P99 highly and commented that given a choice you wouldn’t want to race anything else in the rain!

Finally, Ferguson’s story isn’t complete without a few notes on his most unconventional approach to business. I’ll relay two of his most famous deals. In 1938, he showed Henry Ford his Three Point Hitch and integrated Draft Control system at a famous meeting on the grounds of the Ford Fairlane Estate in Dearborn. He demonstrated an appropriately equipped tractor in Henry’s garden. Ford, being a significant inventor in his own right, immediately grasped the significance of the ‘Ferguson System.’ It is generally understood that the two technical geniuses were not conventional in their approach to business and at the meeting they did a handshake deal on the use of Harry’s inventions on Ford tractors. The handshake was simple, but the deal was convoluted in that Ford would manufacture the tractors (the famous 9N), and Ferguson would oversee engineering, sales and marketing. In addition to the war getting in the way, both the protagonists became slightly crazier and although the tractor was hugely popular it didn’t result in the massively lucrative partner ship that either had envisioned. Nothing much happened until things became dire at Ford due to Edsel’s (Henry’s son) death in 1943 followed by an acceleration of Henry’s failing mental health and so his wife, Clara, took control and brought in her grandson, Henry II (“The Deuce”) to run things. One of the young man’s early calls was

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(Above) Harry ‘The Mad Mechanic’ Ferguson. (Opposite page) Sir Isaac Newton. Photos Courtesy Wikia Commons

to kill the agreement between Ford and Ferguson and launch his own rip-off tractor, the 8N. Harry sued for $340M (stout money in 1947) and finally settled for $9.2M in 1952 (still a lot of coin for the time).

Final business piece, I promise; After the split Harry started his own tractor company making the TE20, which looked ironically identical to a Ford 8N, everybody now being able to use the Three Point Hitch. An aspect of the lawsuit settlement agreement was that Harry’s patents could not be renewed because of their importance to agriculture. He then sold the whole lot to Canada’s Massey-Harris (the Harris bit being a tractor company that Massey had previously purchased). The final company name ultimately becoming Massey-Ferguson, my first job out of university was with them in 1983, and one of Harry’s old secretaries was in the same facility as me. Some stories were told in the coffee room (not for here). But the most famous legend is that when the Massey executives were negotiating the purchase price (a load of them against just Harry on the other side of the table) in 1953 they arrived at a stalemate, haggling over one million dollars. The story goes that they were in Harry’s limo on the way from the factory to his house for dinner when the Irishman unexpectedly proposed to simply flip a coin for it. The Massey executives didn’t know what to do, other than accept the offer. So, Harry had his chauffeur stop the car in the centre of Broadway in the Cotswolds, and they flipped the coin, Harry lost, and the deal was done (apparently, he didn’t blink an eye over the loss). Harry was later presented with the mounted ‘Million Dollar Coin.’ Crazy as a loon but with a load more money to start a four-wheel drive development company and build a race car using the product. Gotta love the guy.

COLIN CHAPMAN

I hear you all thinking, “finally, a real racing character.” For sure, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (the ACBC in the middle of the Lotus logo) was a motorsports legend and gifted in very many ways. He was a brilliant innovator, engineer and businessman, as well as a sales and marketing genius, motivational leader and outstanding identifier of talent, many characteristics paralleling those of Harry Ferguson. But what put him at the top of the motorsports industry for almost three decades was a total obsession with racing, at the detriment of everything else in his life, including the Lotus road car business and his application of good judgement when engaging in “too good to be true” opportunities (e.g. DeLorean).

Throughout his career Chapman collaborated with best talent in the industry, both from an engineering perspective: The Costins (both Mike and Frank), Rudd, Duckworth, Terry, Philippe, Wright, Ogilvie and a host of others, as well as drivers: Clark, Hill, Rindt, Peterson, Andretti, Fittipaldi and many more. He inspired these guys, all outstanding in their own right, feeding them with concepts and ideas, providing them with the finances to create finished products (occasionally with a level of collateral damage that he always seemed to juggle to avoid disaster), driving them ahead with promises and grand visions of what was at the end of the project’s rainbow. A visionary leader, and that was just the first group (engineers). The second group came to drive for Lotus because Colin built the fastest cars, but it would be remiss of me not to mention, also some of the most fragile. My partner, Victoria, is a Norfolk girl (home of Lotus), and she carries the local folklore of Colin’s “dodgy” approach to things (relationships, business deals and building race cars) deep in her psyche, despite a couple of generations having passed to water it down. I spent a lot of time trying to explain what really happened in the Clark, Rindt and Peterson accidents (I have extensive inside

information on one of them) which I won’t get into here. She was unimpressed and wasn’t high on including Chapman in my list of technical heroes, but he is, so I did.

On to more positive thoughts. What did Colin give us? Please don’t send dozens of letters to the editor pointing out that some of this stuff was originally conceived between the great wars. What I list here is the first time it was really used, championed by Chap man, and widely adopted in the modern era. It includes the first real application of a composite monocoque to a GT road car (kind of a specialty of Multimatic these days). The main structure of the Lotus Elite of 1958-1963 was entirely fabricated from resin bonded glass fibre. The basic geometry consisted of eight torsion boxes with steel inserts glued in at high stress points. The prototype car was shown at the London Motor Show, Earls Court in the autumn of 1957 and went on to sell more than 1000 examples in six years of production. The idea was conceived as a relatively inexpensive method of manu facturing a lightweight low volume sports car, but it’s interesting to note that although later Lotus models continued utilizing glass fibre, the main structures migrated to steel backbone chassis (Elan). But that smell, like being on a boat.

In racing, Colin and his team were prolific in the deployment of innovative ‘firsts.’ Although he didn’t lead the way, he was right behind John Cooper in adopting the mid-engine configuration for his race cars, and they were far better executed than what came out of Surbiton. But the first really big Lotus innovative moment was the Type 25, the monocoque Formula 1 car. Originally conceived in 1961 during the development of the Elan, Colin started applying aircraft structural approaches (stressed skins) to car chassis archi tecture. The result was a main structure consisting of two fuel filled booms either side of the cockpit (Victoria…shhhh!), fabricated from 0.049” sheet aluminum, approximately 6”x12” (150mm x 300mm)

Lotus founder Colin Chapman (opposite page) and his iconic Ford Cosworth DFV-powered Lotus 49. Photos Courtesy Wikia Commons

in section running the entire length of the car, utilizing a similar gauge floor to join them together. There were front and rear bulkheads of boxed and riveted aluminum with steel fab rications for the roll hoops and steering column mounts. The front and rear suspension pickups (steel) were bonded and riveted to the extremities of the booms. A 1.5-litre Coventry-Cli max V8 was rigidly attached between the booms at the rear which significantly increased the overall stiffness of the chas sis way beyond its tube frame predecessors (reputedly by three times at half the weight). It first appeared in competition in 1962 and soon became the dominant car in Formula 1 (customers could buy a tube frame version…another Colin Chapman side story) and won the 1963 Constructor’s and Driver’s Championships with Jim Clark at the wheel. It evolved into the Type 33 with similar architecture which also won the Constructor’s and Driver’s Championships for Jimmy in 1965.

The next step in the evolution of Chapman’s monocoque race car journey was to include the engine as a fully stressed structural mem ber. With the beginning of the three-litre formula in 1966, the time was right to implement such a concept (the engines now becoming twice as big, and potentially capable of realizing Colin’s concept). For this he required the help of the nascent race engine builder, Cos worth, the small Northampton based company set-up by Keith Duck worth and Mike Costin to hot rod road car engines for various junior formula. The key problem being that road car engine blocks wouldn’t be able to carry the suspension and driving loads of a Formula 1 car. So, with big help from Colin, Duckworth and Costin convinced Ford, championed by Walter Hayes, to stump-up £100,000 to develop such a piece. The result changed the course of Formula 1 history, the 3.0-litre Cosworth DFV. It won 154 races during its life and came close to turning Formula 1 into a kit car championship because of its outstanding power, reliability and ease of use. Colin and his team designed the Lotus 49 around the engine using all the architectural developments of their previous monocoque cars, less any structure behind the roll hoop, the engine bolting directly to that rear bulkhead, the gearbox to the back of the engine and the suspension to the gearbox (like everybody does it today). It won First Time Out (the title of an excellent period piece that you can find on YouTube) at Zand voort and was in the back of every Lotus Formula 1 car well past Chapman’s death.

Both Ground Effect Aerodynamics and Active Suspension I have previously covered in technical detail, so won’t deep dive the topics here. But again, with inspiration from Chapman and the in-depth knowledge and experience (from BRM) of Tony Rudd and Peter Wright, Lotus embarked on a scale model test program at the Imperial College London wind tunnel (at the time the only available facility with a moving ground plane belt) to study the effect of

inverted wing sections placed under the car to generate negative pressure. The result made history with the Type 78 and 79 cars. Mario Andretti won the 1978 Driver’s Championship and Lotus the Constructor’s Championship using their new aero discovery, but the competition was quick to copy and within a year the playing field had been leveled and things began to ratchet-up with massive downloads requiring ever stiffer springs to keep the cars from bottoming. This created a nasty situation, beating the hell out of the tires and drivers, until ultimately the whole concept was banned in 1983…but it’s back!

The final topic of Lotus ingenuity conceived during Colin’s reign (plenty occurred after his death) was Active Suspension. Again, I have explained this technology at length in previous articles, but it goes hand in hand with Ground Effect aero because it was created to keep the cars from smashing into the road surface at high speeds (equals high downforce) while maintaining a reasonable level of ride quality so as not to damage the drivers, which became a real concern during that era. It was Multimatic’s very own Dave Williams (he was at Cranfield University while working with Peter Wright at Lotus) who came-up with the idea of replacing the conventional spring/damper units at each corner of the car with dual acting hydraulic actuators. A pump and five servo valves (Moog) were controlled by a microproces sor and the cars suspension motion became synthesized “actively” in response to road inputs, driver comfort requirements and ride height to optimize the ground effect aerodynamics. The system first ran on the Type 92 in late 1982 and raced at Rio and Long Beach in early 1983 with poor finishing results, and negative feedback from driver, Nigel Mansell (he hated it). The team gave it one more kick at the can on the 99T in 1987 but by that time Williams’s competing system had advanced beyond what Lotus had, part due to Peter Wright being focused on its application to road cars.

So, there you go, three of my heroes and their contributions to my engineering centric world. The full list is far greater, and I will, spor adically, throw another of these articles at you, should we not receive a rash of complaints about you all being subjected to unrequested history lessons. Some future topics being Jim Hall, Bill Milliken, Soichiro Honda and Gordon Murray (a couple of them still alive). IT

LOOKING BACK

By Dave Mathers

THE CARLING RACING TEAM

to see Junior’s operation up near the highway going to North Wilkesboro Speedway.

I was literally shocked to see how those winning cars had come out of such a small facility. The Terry Labonte shop was down ‘across the creek’ and the Darrell Waltrip shop was up by the main house.

During a tour of the Waltrip shop I spotted an engine sitting on an engine stand with a drive shaft sticking through the wall to the outside. ‘What’s that?’ … ‘Junior’s dyno!’ came the reply.

We went outside and there sat a 9-inch Ford axle on a heavy stand with, wait for it, two tall and huge lead wheels mounted on it. Apparently, the wheels were 1,750 pounds each and Junior could replicate a 3,500-pound Cup car making ‘pulls’ on his own personal dyno.

Most NASCAR fans – in Canada and the US – know the name Earl Ross. Many would also know that he is the first and only Canadian to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. That happened at Martinsville, back in 1974.

This big achievement warranted his very own Wikipedia page. But those same fans likely know very little about the guys who helped him get that win. This article will tell some of their stories.

In short, the McKichan brothers were the magic that made it all happen. I first met Gord and Stan almost 60 years ago in the tech lanes at Grand Bend Dragway. They had a ‘40 Willys coupe with a 390 Ford for power. Nice guys.

A few years later, as I was heading to ‘The Bend’ one Saturday, I looked over at the Nairn intersection (home of the McKichan Brothers garage) and there was a stock car out front; a Ford. Needless to say, I had to turn around and go have a look. The boys told me they had moved up from racing Hobby Cars to the Late Models.

In 1970, Gord ordered a new 454/390 H.P. BelAir two-door hardtop from me. The next year, Earl Ross qualified their car on the pole for a 100 lapper at Flamboro, a two day event, but broke the 427.

What to do, what to do? I said, jokingly, to Gord ‘why don’t you pull the 454 out of your car?’ He did, Earl won the race, the 454 went back into the BelAir and home it went.

Meanwhile, brother Ken, the eventual crew chief, had been working on a deal to get Carling involved so they asked him to build a show car. The Carling Team was launched. The brewery had been thinking about getting into the US market, so they set up a budget to run some NASCAR races. Earl and the boys hooked up with the legendary Junior Johnson and the rest is history. Earl won the fall race at the tight paperclip known as Martinsville Speedway.

Ken, the youngest brother, did not get down for that race as he was fogged in at what is now called Toronto’s Pearson Airport, so Gord took over the crew chief job. Of all the races to miss!!

The joke is that Gord drove the car back to the pits from the winner’s circle after the race and said to Earl, ‘hey, this thing doesn’t have any brakes!’

Earl laughed and said, ‘it hasn’t brakes since the halfway mark!’ Drum brakes all the way around.

Ken tells how impressed the other teams were with the Carling operation as big haulers were very rare back then. As well, the team always had lots of food at the tracks and the other teams sure enjoyed that hospitality. More smart marketing by Carling.

Gord, the oldest, actually went back south to work for Junior in the late ‘80s and we ran into him at the World 600 at Charlotte one year. He invited my wife Linda and I to stop in

Ingenious to say the least.

Gord’s son Timmy is still down in Mooresville, North Carolina running his own very successful Performance Vehicle Works company, mounting bodies on ARCA cars. If you have watched any ARCA races, you will see why he is so successful!

Brother Stan, the middle brother, was the team’s jackman and I always joked that Stan didn’t need a jack as he could just lift the car up all by himself!

Stan was a mechanic and he, Ken and Gord were probably the sharpest guys in the pits at just about any track they visited.

Stan actually came out of retirement a few years ago to help the late Don Brooks at his O’Tooles golf carts business. And when Stan retired from there, brother Ken took over for him. Stan’s son Steve was an NHL goalie with the Vancouver Canucks and now runs a very successful goalie school with many locations in both Canada and the U.S.

Ron Ling was the front-end guy on the team. And without a doubt, he was the best front-end guy in Ontario. He worked out of a service station beside Victoria Park in London and every racer, stock car or drag, took their cars to have Ron apply his magic.

After his Carling days, Ron ran a Street Stock at Delaware Speedway with great success. He was one of the smoothest drivers out there and his cars were always the cleanest of all. His son Mike inherited his

Members of the Carling Racing Team working at the Carling Garage at Delaware Speedway.

father’s driving talents, and he has raced almost everything there is to race. Earlier this year, Mike said he was retiring.

Don Duncan was the Carling PR guy for the team. He was a true professional and the nicest guy one would ever want to work with. In 1979, Don called me and asked if I had a 12-passenger van. I said ‘no, I don’t.’

He said, “that’s too bad,” … as he had twelve tickets to the Cup race at Martinvsille.

But, I said, “I have a 15-passenger unit!” Deal!

I picked up another couple in London and stopped at Don’s place in Georgetown.

When we pulled up, I heard, “Open the back!” I figured it was for the luggage. Nope.

Suffice to say the back area was completely full of Carling product.

On the way back, several of the guys had to ‘relieve themselves’ as we pulled onto the New York Thruway. Five guys got out, Don hopped behind the wheel and drove about fifty feet down the shoulder, leaving five sets of shocked eyes standing there!! The girls still laugh about it.

Ken Silk was the ‘parts’ guy who knew where to get everything and anything. I used to kid Ken that a guy who owned a speed shop shouldn’t walk so slow. But he sure knew his stuff.

Norm Lelliott was the other half of the dynamic duo driving the fabled ‘computer car.’

When Earl and Norm showed up at a big race, the competition knew they would probably be racing for third.

When I was living in Newmarket, on Fridays I used to pick Norm up at the Carling garage out by Toronto Airport and we would drive to Delaware to watch the hundred

lappers that Tony Novotny ran on a fairly regular basis in the early ‘80s.

I was sworn to secrecy hearing more tales about the race team, from Norm, and I’ll maintain that promise.

Earl opened a metal fabricating shop in Ailsa Craig, and he came into my office at Motion (in London) one day, and said, ‘have I got something for you,’ in his understated enthusiasm. Earl was very quiet and soft spoken.

He showed me photos of a portable hoist he had designed. I drove out to his shop to see the real thing, and I bought one right on the spot. This was a hoist that could actually be moved with a vehicle on it.

What are the odds that it ended up in our race car shop!! I just sold it about ten years ago and it is still going strong.

Earl had a young guy working for him who was a human dynamo by the name of Jerry Thompson. Jerry had crewed for Junior Hanley, and he helped Earl when he came out of retirement to run the Ford Credit car on the CASCAR circuit. Earl actually sold his business to Jerry.

Jack Greedy had built a garage in front of Delaware Speedway that was known as the Carling Garage. In about 1971, I was walking at the corner of Richmond St. and King St. in downtown London, coming back from the bank at about 4:30 on a Friday afternoon.

A cement mixer owned by a company with a very close connection to Delaware Speedway came east on King at a fast pace and turned the corner left onto Richmond. Almost in slow motion the whole barrel rolled off the truck and right into the lobby of the hotel on the northeast corner.

I quickly walked over – along with a lot of other people – and saw the bolts sheared off on the ground. I picked one up and it was ‘grade three,’ not ‘grade eight.’ I went back to the dealership and called Herb Rogers at London Concrete and told him what happened.

He came down with his boss Pat Hodgson and they picked up as many bolts as they could. As you can imagine, they got sued and had to go to court.

They produced the incorrect bolts to the judge and indicated they had been changed by the mixer company. Case dismissed.

Fast forward to 1976 and Pat invited me out to his house. Pat owned the Tammy Ten Super Modified car driven so successfully by Harvey Lennox and he was still upset that Greedy had dropped the Supers and replaced them with the Late Models or as he called them the ‘Taxi Cabs.’

He had heard that Greedy wanted to sell the Track’s lease (maybe through the aforementioned mixer company owner). He wanted the two of us to take over the lease and he would supply the money and I would run the place. Sure.

He went to Toronto and met with Jack. He called me when he got back, saying, “we’ve got the deal.” Perfect.

As regular track announcer Sandy Harrison was off with another one of his many heart attacks, I was the announcer. The next morning, I got a call from Jack and he asked what I was doing at five o’clock and could I come out to the track to run a press conference.

I said, “What’s up?” He replied, “I want you to introduce the new owners.”

I said, “Yeah, I know who they are, Pat Hodgson and I.”

Jack said, “Oh no… Pat wouldn’t buy the Carling Garage so I sold it and the track lease to the Prince Brothers.”

I met Bill Prince at the track and it turns out he had a similar deal that I had and that Carl Lave was his partner. I called Pat and he was not happy. I’m not sure if he ever called Greedy.

The Carling Garage is now Performance Fiberglass the company that Tony Novotny set up to build bodies for CASCAR.

It’s hard to believe that those stock car giants came out of two little towns, Nairn and Ailsa Craig, in Ontario. What a legacy.

Sadly, with the exception of Ken and Stan, the rest of that powerful and famous team are no longer with us, all gone way too soon. But their memories will live on for years to come. IT

(Above) Ron Ling working on the big block. Stan McKickan working on a vise.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

By Ernie Saxton CHASTAIN MAKING ENEMIES

Larson is someone that had his own experience with a rivalry during the playoffs, albeit a much quieter one. He and Christopher Bell got together during the 2021 race at Watkins Glen International, which sent the No. 20 spinning. The on-track incident was minor enough. Though it knocked Bell out of contention for the win. What really created the “feud” were some comments by the two NASCAR drivers.

Larson first appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after the incident. He made some strong comments and said that Bell “was not willing to discuss” the wreck at Watkins Glen International.

Often Ross Chastain seems to deserve what is said and sometimes he is just a victim of circumstances. Just my thinking. One of the biggest storylines heading into the playoffs is Chastain and whether other NASCAR drivers will let him reach the ‘Championship Four.’ Defending champion

Kyle Larson knows that Chastain has plenty of speed, but he also has a sizable list of ontrack rivals.

Larson provided his thoughts ahead of the Watkins Glen race weekend. He explained Chastain has used his aggressiveness to secure some wins and strong finishes, but he has also rubbed some drivers the wrong way. There is a possibility that this could lead to Chastain getting payback, but it may not necessarily disrupt his playoff run.

“Ross has like a two-page list of guys, it seems like,” Larson said, video courtesy of NASCAR Media. “I know…yeah, it’s the Cup Series. I feel like we’ve seen it in the past. People will make life tough on you, but he’s done a really good job of even when he does get into moments where he has issues with other drivers in the race, he still recovers from it really well.”

Chastain is far from the only driver to use aggressive moves to fight for wins and

top-ten finishes. There have been numerous others that have used this method throughout NASCAR’s history. He is just the latest.

To this point, Larson compared Chastain to a fellow Cup Series champion. He said the Trackhouse Racing driver has some similarities to a young Brad Keselowski, who had notable run-ins with multiple competitors.

“I would say Brad and Ross remind me a lot of each other,” said Larson. “I didn’t get to race with Brad, obviously, early in his career, but I feel like he had a lot of guys not enjoying racing with him early on in his career. And he had to kind of figure that out and now I don’t picture Brad as being an aggressive driver at all.”

Keselowski had his fair share of run-ins early in his career. The rivalry with Carl Edwards was the most notable, but he also got in a fight with Jeff Gordon after receiving a shove from Kevin Harvick. The list also includes some incidents with Kyle Busch.

The recent seasons have featured fewer incidents between Keselowski and his fellow drivers. There were some angry comments after the 2022 Daytona 500 due to the veteran’s pushes on the track, but those are tame compared to earlier seasons of his career.

“I reached out and tried, but I guess he’s not willing to talk to me, which is kind of whatever,” said Larson. “I think any adult in the field would at least have a conversation with you, but he doesn’t care to. So, we’ll move on from it and if he wants to get me back, that’s fine. Whatever. I’m not going to worry about it. If it makes him sleep better at night to ignore me and want to crash me or whatever, so be it.”

Bell fired back prior to the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He met with media members and said that Larson had only sent him a text message after their contact on the track.

“On-track incident, whatever. Him crying to the media that I didn’t reply to his ‘sorry’ text message, like, come on,” Bell told media members. “The on-track incident? No, it did not cross the line. Him going to the media, complaining that I did not respond. Yes, I would say that crossed the line. How many times have I sent an apology call, first off, or a text message and not got a reply? Probably more times than I got a reply,” Bell continued. “I didn’t think it was a big deal at all.”

There were questions after these two interviews about whether there would be another on-track incident. Nothing ultimately happened as the two drivers just raced each other cleanly throughout the summer and into the playoffs.

Lastly, I want to say thank you to all who have offered their sympathies as I lost my wife, my best friend and my driving force back on July 22. Marilyn and I were together for 50 years. IT

(Above) Driver Ross Chastain has become the villain in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Cup. Photo Courtesy NASCAR / Getty Images

CAMARO

DRIVING

When designing the Area 27 track, Jacques Villeneuve, Bill Drossos and Trevor Seibert sought to ensure it would be of a higher standard than that presented by any of other motorsports country clubs at the time. The track had to be challenging, even challenging to the most experienced professionals. Every corner presented its own unique set of characteristics to test a driver.

Because of this key parameter, the standard of driving had to be higher than that which was commonly accepted at other facilities. This meant that it would be necessary to create a top shelf driving academy.

Area 27’s original 2016/2017 Academy 27 instructor team included Richard Spenard, Scott Hargrove, Bill Drossos, Patrick Carpentier and Stefan Rzadzinski. The Academy’s curriculum was provided to Paul Cooke at ASN Canada, who then included Academy 27 on ASN’s website as a nationally recognized driving school. Mid way through 2017, local resident and experienced endurance racer Kees Nierop replaced Richard Spenard as chief instructor and has continued in that role ever since.

The Academy is a vibrant racing school which offers several courses throughout the racing season, including an introduction to motorsports, advanced lapping and racecraft, private instruction and a women’s program.

Area 27 came to the attention of General Motors in 2017 when they chose the circuit as the location to introduce the Camaro ZL1 1LE. The circuit proved the ideal location to show off the capabilities of Chevrolet’s ultimate track car. During the 2018 season, talks began with General Motors about having the Academy 27 and Area 27 join with Chevrolet to become the new home of the Camaro Driving Academy. By early June of 2019, the first Camaros arrived at Area 27 and the new school was launched.

The Camaro Academy currently features 14 SS 1LE, and six ZL1 1LE Camaros that are available to students for the various course offerings. Students can choose between a 6-speed manual with rev match or a ten-speed automatic with paddle shift. The school main tains a four to one student to instructor ratio to make sure students get the attention they require.

All cars have radios, so students can receive real time driving cri tique during lead follow and other driving exercises. Students learn the same fundamentals that would be taught as part of any open-wheel course, however, in a less intimidating and more intuitive track ready production car. By combining the challenging Area 27 circuit with a thorough fundamentals-based driving instruction, the Camaro Acad emy provides students with all the tools they need to tackle any circuit.

For more information, go to Area27.ca and select ‘Camaro Driving Academy.’

Story and Photos Courtesy of Area 27

DINOSAUR DOWNS SPEEDWAY

Murray Ritza (No. 2) from Blufton, AB won his first career IMCA Modified Main on August 13 at Dinosaur Downs Speedway, in Drumheller, AB.

CANADIAN LEGEND CARS

Parker Traves took the lead late in the August 6 Canadian Legend Car feature race at Peterborough and held on to win, holding off Wes Cuthbertson, Matt Haufe and Adam Cuthbertson.

Photo by Melissa Smits / OneNine Marketing

OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY

Mike Bowman celebrates in Victory Lane, at Ohsweken Speedway, after taking the September 17 Crate Sprints A Main at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.

DINOSAUR DOWNS SPEEDWAY

At the September 5 Labour Day race at Dinosaur Downs Speedway, in Drumheller, AB, Ron McKonkey won the Stock Car class main. McKonkey, with 40 years of stock car racing experience, hails from Airdrie, AB.

OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY

Ryan Turner won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 360 Sprints A Main on September 17 at Ohsweken Speedway. Turner pocketed $10,000 for the victory. The week before, Turner clinched the SOS title at Merrittville Speedway.

KNIGHTS OF THUNDER SPRINTS

Dale Gosselin became a first-time winner on the Pinty’s Knights of Thunder 360 Sprint Car tour when he won on September 3 at Brighton Speedway. The Quebec racer led the majority of the 25-lap main but had to pass Josh Hansen, late, for the win.

Photo by Carol Douglas

Photo by Dale Calnan / Image Factor

Photo by Rod Henderson / CanadianRacer.com

Photo by Carol Douglas

Photo by Dale Calnan / Image Factor

ACTION SPRINT TOUR

Jacob Dykstra started on Row 4 of the September 3 Action Sprint Tour race at Brighton, but quickly charged to the front. Dale Cur ran, who has raced extensively in California lately, finished second.

ONTARIO PRO CHALLENGE

Mike Norris (No. 17) won the first Ontario Pro Challenge feature of the night, on September 10 at Flamboro Speedway, and finished second (to his father, Tim Norris) in the second. With the results, Mike Norris clinched the 2022 Ontario Pro Challenge title.

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY

Peterborough Speedway Super Stock racer Brandon Feeney earned his first feature win in the division on September 3 at the high-banked, 1/3-mile asphalt oval. Feeney led all 20 laps, coming home in front of Jeremy Dobb.

DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIEDS

Alexandria, ON racer Chris Raabe won the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series race at Mohawk International Raceway on September 17. The event was part of the Mohawk Nationals at the Akwesasne, NY dirt oval.

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY

Former Pure Stock track champion Gillian Hils won her qualifying heat and the feature at Flamboro Speedway on September 10. Hils led all 25 laps en route to the win during the track’s Memorial Night.

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY

James Horner took the lead with just a handful of laps to go in the September 3 25-lap Late Model feature at Peterborough Speedway. Ryan Kimball and Jacob Mercer finished second and third, respectively.

Photo by Rod Henderson / CanadianRacer.com

Photo by Melissa Smits / OneNine Marketing

Photo by Melissa Smits / OneNine Marketing

Photo Courtesy DIRTcar

Photo by Dave Franks

Photo by Dave Franks

SUNSET SPEEDWAY

After coming close on several occasions this summer, Jake Spencer-Walt won the August 20 Junior Late Model feature at Sunset Speedway. The young racer led from ‘flag to flag’ and held off his rivals after a late caution wiped away his solid lead.

Photo by Ashley McCubbin

RANSOMVILLE SPEEDWAY

On August 5, St. Catharines, ON racer Mat Williamson won his fourth Modified feature of the season at Western New York’s Ransomville Speedway. Williamson started on the front row for the 30-lap Main and took the early lead.

Photo by Tom Stevens

BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY

Curtis King took the white flag in second place during the September 10 Danny Reid Memorial for the Canadian Modifieds. But an incredible run off Turns 1 and 2 shot him past Shawn Gregory and into the lead. King pocketed $2,000 for the win.

Photo by Rod Henderson / CanadianRacer.com

MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY

Dalton Slack won his first career 358 Modified feature race on August 13 at Merrittville Speedway. The Welland, ON racer is shown here, celebrating with his father and grandparents, in Victory Lane. Earlier in the night, Slack won his heat race.

MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY

St. Catharines, ON racer Mat Williamson won the 71-lap 358 Modified feature during the August 1 Canadian Grand Nationals at Merrittville Speedway, earning the $5,000 winner’s cheque.

Photo by Derek Smith / RacePulse.com

SPRINT BOAT RACING

A Canadian Sprint Boat Racing team has been making waves in the US. Fat Buddy Racing racers Phil Miller and Amy Thomasson, in ‘The Punisher,’ are dominating the 400 Class, in the northwest, with recent wins in Port Angeles and St John, Washington.

Photo by Don Laidlaw / Wildlight

Photo by Alex & Helen Bruce

BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY

August 27, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 1 Shawn Gregory, 2. No. 32 Doug O’Blenis, 3. No. 53 Wade Purchase, 4. No. 40 Ron Wadforth, 5. No. 5 Wally Alderdice // HEATS: 1. No. 1 S. Gregory, 2. No. 53 W. Purchase.

LATE MODELS: 1. No. 11 Kyle Sopaz, 2. No. 92 Adam Turner, 3. No. 46 Brandon Mowat, 4. No. 55 Brad Rayner, 5. No. 5 Steve Baldwin // HEATS: 1. No. 87 A. Hennessy, 2. No. 5 S. Baldwin.

THUNDER STOCK: 1. No. 03 Justin Ramsay, 2. No. 85 Austin Reid, 3. No. 48 Adam Wells, 4. No. 72 Doug Anderson, 5. No. 9 Josh Black // HEATS: 1. No. 85 A. Reid, 2. No. 03 J. Ramsay, 3. No. 19 C. White.

COMP 4: 1. No. 43 Devon Kippen, 2. No. 44 Tommy Bailey, 3. No. 35p P. Reid, 4. No. 20 Cody Sager, 5. No. 19 Shannon White // HEATS: 1. No. 43 D. Kippen, 2. No. 44 T. Bailey.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 96 Cole Abrams, 2. No. 4 Chris Tufford, 3. No. 22 Tyson Gregory, 4. No. 18 Carter Rhodes, 5. No. 54 Tim Moore // HEATS: 1. No. 96 C. Abrams, 2. No. 25 L. Evenden.

STINGERS: 1. No. 41 Landon Mutch, 2. No. 99 Alex Woods, 3. No. 93 Jorden Pickell, 4. No. 9 Zac MacDonald, 5. No. 67j Josh Whitney // HEATS: 1. No. 8 C. Sparks, 2. No. 12 S. Vale, 3. No. 93 J. Pickell.

BROCKVILLE SPEEDWAY

August 27, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. Kyle Dingwall, 2. Chris Raabe, 3. Johnathan Ferguson, 4. Ryan Arbuthnot, 5. Chris Herbison // HEATS: 1. K. Draper, 2. J. Herbison.

SPORTSMAN: 1. Shane Pecore, 2. Bobby Herrington, 3. Dylan Kirkland, 4. Xavier Andrews, 5. Jessica Power // HEATS: 1. B. Herrington, 2. D. Kirkland, 3. X. Andrews // FAST Q: X. Andrews- 15.145s

NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 1. Holly Denard, 2.Shawn Hodge, 3. Matt Pruner, 4. Paul Donnelly, 5. Marco McCarthy // HEATS: 1. J. Wood, 2. H. Denard.

MINI STOCK: 1. Kevin Sabourin, 2. Jarrod Galway, 3. Dakota Boal, 4. John Lamarche, 5. Jamie Larocque.

CORNWALL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

August 28, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 18j Louis Jackson Jr., 2. No. 47s Corey Wheeler, 3. No. 66x Carey Terrance, 4. No. 01 Chris Raabe, 5. No. 91 Felix Roy // HEATS: 1. No. 124 L. Whitteker, 2. No. 18j L. Jackson Jr.

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 41 Samuel Charland, 2. No. 88j Justin Cyr, 3. No. 85 Tyler Givogue, 4. No. 94 Gabriel Cyr, 5. No. 1x Robert DeLormier // HEATS: 1. No. 92t T. Ladouceur, 2. No. 0 S. Pecore, 3. No. 88$ F. Swamp.

NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 1 No. ONE Daphne Hebert, 2. No. 14 Ty David, 3. No. 17m Gavin MacFarlane, 4. No. 04 Joel Herne, 5. No. 27a Fred Andje // HEATS: 1. No. ONE D. Hebert, 2. No. 14 T. David.

PRO STOCK: 1. No. 48 Jocelyn Roy, 2. No. 72 Bruno Richard, 3. No. 8 Marc Lalonde, 4. No. 12a Alain Brochu, 5. No. 2x James Clarke / / HEATS: 1. No. 8 M. Lalonde, 2. No. 72 B. Richard.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 49 Alexis Charbonneau, 2. No. 21L Skylar Ladouceur, 3. No. 33 Kevin Sabourin, 4. No. 88c Curtis Lindsay, 5. No. 25 Pierre Picard // HEATS: 1. No. 25 P. Picard, 2. No. 21L S. Ladouceur.

DELAWARE SPEEDWAY

August 26, 2022

SUPER STOCK: 1. No. 43 Jay Doerr, 2. No. 93 Carson Nagy, 3. No. 22 Chase Pinsonneault, 4. No. 1 Trevor Collver, 5. No. 7 Pete Vanderwyst // HEATS: 1. No. 17 D. Rockwood, 2. No. 9 A. Ferreira.

V8 STOCKS: 1. No. 01 Devon Bloemendal, 2. No. 2 Doug Stewart, 3. No. 810 Kyle Mezenberg, 4. No. 23 Jeremy

Taggart, 5. No. 73 Jordan Moore // HEATS: 1. No. 01 D. Bloemendal, 2. No. 95 E. Orr.

BONE STOCKS: 1. No. 78 Jo Lawrence, 2. No. 5 Jeremiah Rabideau, 3. No. 00 Jay Cox, 4. No. 28 Kris Lawrence, 5. No. 92 Jorden Willms // HEATS: 1. No. 90 M. Lamont, 2. No. 26 N. Rhea, 3. No. 78 J. Lawrence.

EDMONTON INT’L RACEWAY

August 20, 2022

IMCA MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 14 Justin MacTavish, 2. No. 81 Tyler Knowles, 3. No. 92 Mike Clark, 4. No. 74 Keaton Pylypiuk, 5. No. 99 Alex Krause // HEATS: 1. No. 97 C. Guidolin, 2. No. 71 T. Knowles, 3. No. 5 S. Stevenson, 4. No. 14 J. MacTavish, 5. No. 81 T. Knowles, 6. No. 90 BJ Clark // DASH: No. 97 C. Guidolin. THUNDERS: 1. 08 Don Lawrence, 2. No. 15 James Clark, 3. No. 50 Tyrell Brenneman, 4. No. 36 Mitchell Bushnell, 5. No. 17 Andrew Crandell // HEATS: 1. No. 36 M. Bushnell, 2. No. 15 J. Clark.

PURE STOCKS: 1. No. 16 Davin Kropinske, 2. No. 67 Don Vallee, 3. No. 6 Acacia Graham, 4. No. 22 Eli Talajic, 5. No. 5 Jonnie Peters // HEATS: 1. No. 37 G. Garvey, 2. No. 16 D. Kropinske.

MINI CUPS: 1. No. 44 Sebastien Beaupre, 2. No. 88 Berlyn McKay, 3. No. 22 Noah Banman, 4. No. 27 Aydin Banman, 5. No. 23 Thomas Hinse // HEATS: 1. No. 22 N. Banman, 2. No. 77 C. Stievenart.

EMO SPEEDWAY

August 27, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 99 Brody Strachan, 2. No. 85 Jeff Davis, 3. No. 15r Raice Westover, 4. No. 4jr Cameron Brown, 5. No. 12p Brandon Pelepetz // HEATS: 1. No. 99 B. Strachan, 2. No. 85 J. Davis.

MIDWEST MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 4b Brandon Rehill, 2. No. 222 Bob Hammond, 3. No. 3h Keelan Hall, 4. No. 25 Jaxon Strachan, 5. No. 16 Garrett Paull // HEATS: 1. No. 4b B. Rehill, 2. No. 222 B. Hammond.

STREET STOCKS: 1. No. 54x AJ Kellar, 2. No. 24 Andrew Piilo, 3. No. 54 Dean Kellar, 4. No. 33 Garett Gamsby, 5. No. 3x Jesse Thompson // HEATS: 1. No. 54 D. Kellar, 2. No. 33 G. Gamsby.

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY

August 20, 2022

CAN AM TQ MIDGETS: 1. Cory Whittam, 2. Daniel Hawn, 3. David Miller, 4. Jeff Blackburn, 5. Craig Pitchell // HEATS: 1. B. Rockwood, 2. C. Whittam.

LATE MODEL (1): 1. Chris Howse, 2. Rick Burbridge, 3. Mat Box, 4. Kevin Albers, 5. Mark Burbridge // (2): 1.

Mark Burbridge, 2. Kevin Albers, 3. Kevin Gallant, 4. Mat Box, 5. Chris Howse.

CANADIAN VINTAGE MODIFIEDS (1): 1. TJ Marshall, 2. Ricky Willigar, 3. Mike Podd, 4. Quintin Murdoch, 5. Scott Tonelli // (2): 1. TJ Marshall, 2. Ricky Willigar, 3. Quintin Murdoch, 4. Scott Tonelli, 5. Ian McIntyre.

MINI STOCKS (1): 1. Bobby Mercer, 2. Mike Thomson, 3. Mike Gilmour, 4. Kaitlyn Wallace, 5. Matt Young // (2): 1. Mike Thomson, 2. Bobby Mercer, 3. Matt Young, 4. Mike Gilmour, 5. Kaitlyn Wallace.

PURE STOCKS (1): 1. Kris Lawrence, 2. Eric Stewart, 3. Gillian Hils, 4. Kyle Lucas, 5. Rick Mitchell // (2): 1. Mark Thorne, 2. Kris Lawrence, 3. Eric Stewart, 4. Gillian Hils, 5. Kyle Lucas.

August 27, 2022

OSCAAR MODIFIEDS: 1. Jason Keen, 2. Andy Kamrath, 3. AJ Emms, 4. TJ Edwards, 5. Dale Reinhart // HEATS: 1. A. Kamrath, 2. TJ Edwards.

OSCAAR HOT RODS: 1. Cole Weber, 2. Tom Walters, 3. Nick Clarke, 4. Paul Senior, 5. Steve Book // HEATS: 1. C. Weber, 2. T. Walters.

ONTARIO PRO CHALLENGE (1): 1. Mike Norris, 2. Tim Norris, 3. Peter Hattin, 4. Rodney Rutherford, 5. Travis Majuery // (2): 1. Rodney Rutherford, 2. Mike Norris, 3. Tim Norris, 4. Peter Hattin, 5. Nolan Quinton.

SUPER STOCK (1): 1. Chase Pinsonneault, 2. Lane Zardo, 3. Brody Rickwood, 4. Roy Wilkie, 5. Justin Collison // (2): 1. Lane Zardo, 2. Roy Wilkie, 3. Chase Pinsonneault, 4. Justin Collison, 5. Brody Rickwood.

MINI STOCK: 1. Ryan Edwards-Kiss, 2. Shawn Taylor, 3. Mike Gilmour, 4. Kaitlyn Wallace, 5. Isaac Goodfellow // (2): 1. Shawn Taylor, 2. Mike Thomson, 3. Kaitlyn Wallace, 4. Ryan Edwards-Kiss, 5. Bobby Mercer.

PURE STOCK (1): 1. Nic Ramsay (DQ), 2. Rick Mitchell, 3. Spencer Riddell, 4. Cameron Thomson, 5. Phil Givens, 6. Eric Stewart // (2): 1. Nicole Givens, 2. Kyle Lucas, 3. Phil Givens, 4. Reece Bourgeois, 5. Eric Stewart.

FULL THROTTLE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

August 20, 2022

FUN STOCK (1): 1. No. 2p Michael Peterson, 2. No. 18 Nathan Detwiler, 3. No. 12 Dustin Johnston, 4. No. 911 Austin Estell, 5. No. 07 Daphne Sullivan // (2): 1. No. 62 Mark Merritt, 2. No. 911 Austin Estell, 3. No. 2p Michael Peterson, 4. No. 18 Nathan Detwiler, 5. No. 02 Chantel Embros.

LATE MODEL (1): 1. No. 17 Miranda Gill, 2. No. 16 Lucas Dillman, 3. No. 66 Ed Entwistle, 4. No. 12 Eric Hincks // (2): 1. No. 17 Miranda Gill, 2. No. 16 Lucas Dillman, 3. No. 12 Eric Hincks, 4. No. 66 Ed Entwistle.

MINI STOCK- Dave Wilson Memorial: 1. No. 7 Brian Wil-

(Above) Jay Doerr earned a Super Stock feature win at Delaware on August 26. Photo by Dave Franks

son, 2. No. 14 Brian Wilson Jr., 3. No. 73 Scott Schlueter, 4. No. 47 Thomas Wunsch, 5. No. 5 Jeremie Duguay.

August 27, 2022

JUNIOR LATE MODEL (1): 1. No. 6x Will Quarrie, 2. No. 7 Laila Walser, 3. No. 23 Brandon Magee, 4. No. 37 Del Freiberger, 5. No. 05h Peyton Lewis // (2): 1. No. 6x Will Quarrie, 2. No. 7 Laila Walser, 3. No. 37 Del Freiberger, 4. No. 23 Brandon Magee, 5. 05h Peyton Lewis.

MINI TRUCK (1): 1. No. 29a Austin Arnel, 2. No. 20 Mason Collver, 3. No. 15 Kaisha Zimoch, 4. No. 11 Rob Broadhurst, 5. No. 43 Carson Sim // (2): 1. No. 29a Austin Arnel, 2. No. 20 Mason Collver, 3. No. 49 Hayden Sim, 4. No. 11 Rob Broadhurst, 5. No. 43 Carson Sim.

FUN STOCK (1): 1. No. 07 Daphne Sullivan, 2. No. 2p Michael Peterson, 3. No. 62 Mark Merritt, 4. No. 911 Austin Estell, 5. No. 18 Nathan Detwiler // (2): 1. No. 62 Mark Merritt, 2. No. 07 Daphne Sullivan, 3. No. 88 Mike Estell, 4. No. 2p Michael Peterson, 5. No. 911 Austin Estell.

STREET STOCK (1): 1. No. 14 Luke Bos, 2. No. 8 Drew Richardson, 3. No. 3 Mark King, 4. No. 78 James Hunt, 5. No. 77 Brad Poppe // (2): 1. No. 14 Luke Bos, 2. No. 8 Drew Richardson, 3. No. 29 Jake Pardy, 4. No. 3 Mark King, 5. No. 30 Jim Ferrier.

THUNDER TRUCK (1): 1. No. 94 Mark Dixon, 2. No. 18 Jason Vale, 3. No. 77 Nick Aballe, 4. No. 83 Henk Bos, 5. No. 63 Luke Dippel // (2): 1. No. 18 Jason Vale, 2. No. 94 Mark Dixon, 3. No. 66 John Green, 4. No. 63 Luke Dippel, 5. No. 83 Henk Bos.

CRAZY TRAINS (1): 1. Maximum Destruction, 2. The Crayon Crew, 3. Here We Go, 4. Ah Dale Yeah, 5. The Fun Starts // (2): 1. Ah Dale Yeah, 2. The Crayon Crew, 3. Here We Go, 4. The Fun Starts.

GRAND BEND SPEEDWAY

August 27, 2022

BONE STOCK: 1. No. 55 Craig Cole, 2. No. 34 Dan Storey, 3. No. 53 Kara Martin, 4. No. 52r Randy Martin, 5. No. 15 Sterling Roberts // HEATS: 1. No. 53 K. Martin, 2. No. 28 C. Graves.

9HP MINI SPRINTS: 1. No. 33 Mike Beneteau, 2. No. 77 Austen MacLennan, 3. No. 72 Mike Neumeister, 4. No. 45 Trevor Paull // HEAT: No. 77 A. MacLennan.

JUNIOR LATE MODEL: 1. No. 53 Kara Martin, 2. No. 9 Grayson Masson, 3. No. 2 Malachi Busink, 4. No. 73 Alyssa Brunette, 5. No. 77 Eric Lawton // HEATS: 1. No. 53 K. Martin, 2. No. 17 C. Lawton.

ROOKIE TRUCK: 1. No. 18 Quinn Goertz, 2. No. 77 Austen MacLennan, 3. No. 9 Bailey Batty, 4. No. 51 Brayden Martin // HEAT: No. 18 Q. Goertz.

JUNIOR SPRINT: 1. No. 4 Dylan Graham, 2. No. 11 Colin Klumper, 3. No. 7 Hannah Hamilton, 4. No. 2 Blake Watson, 5. No. 99 Tyson Fucille // HEATS: 1. No. 4 D. Graham, 2. No. 11 C. Klumper.

PRO STOCK: 1. No. 77 Jeremy Curtis, 2. No. 67 Gord Bennett, 3. No. 62 Darryn Wright // HEAT: No. 77 J. Curtis.

MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY

August 20, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 6m Mat Williamson, 2. No. 42 Pete Bicknell, 3. No. 37s Gary Lindberg, 4. No. 3rs Dalton Slack, 5. No. 38rs Ryan Susice // HEATS: 1. No. 42 P. Bicknell, 2. No. 28 T. Gordon.

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 72 James Friesen, 2. No. 7 Cody McPherson, 3. No. 99p Greg Panunte, 4. No. 2k Rob Knapp, 5. No. 8s Justin Sharp // HEATS: 1. No. 2k R. Knapp, 2. No. 68 C. Friesen, 3. No. 22 T. Smith. Stocks: 1. No. 49 Dave Bailey, 2. No. 32 Mark Fawcett, 3. No. 1j Jason Fontaine, 4. No. 28d Donny Lampman, 5. No. 28 Jim Lampman // HEATS: 1. No. 19 T. Want, 2. No. 1j J. Fontaine.

MOD LITES: 1. No. 16 Brent Begolo, 2. No. 88 Josh Sliter, 3. No. 26r RJ Pietz, 4. No. 6 Rob Mizner, 5. No. 44

Ryan Anderson // HEATS: 1. No. 26r RJ Pietz, 2. No. 71 L. Buscomb.

4-CYLINDER: 1. No. 09 Clinton Barrick,2. No. 71 Austyn Werstroh, 3. No. 96 Tyler Lafantaisie, 4. No. 5k Ken Hair, 5. No. 13 Vincent Pagnotta // HEATS: 1. No. 09 C. Barrick, 2. No. 13 V. Bagnotta, 3. No. 7 J. Denobriga.

August 27, 2022

ACTION SPRINT TOUR: 1. No. 5d Jacob Dykstra, 2. No. 71 Mike Bowman, 3. No. bs39 Brett Stratford, 4. No. 19 Mathieu Bardier, 5. No. 12dd Darren Dryden // HEATS: 1. No. 50LS A. Stahle, 2. No. 19d A. Downey, 3. No. 5d J. Dykstra.

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 6 Mat Williamson, 2. No. 38rs Ryan Susice, 3. No. 37s Gary Lindberg, 4. No. 42 Pete Bicknell, 5. No. 74 Dave Flannigan Jr. // HEATS: 1. No. 74 D. Flannigan Jr., 2. No. 72 T. Podwinski.

STOCKS: 1. No. 49 Dave Bailey, 2. No. 47x Kyle Pelrine, 3. No. 05 Pete Reid, 4. No. 1j Jason Fontaine, 5. No. 25 Ken Sargent // HEATS: 1. No. 1j J. Fontaine, 2. No. 05 P. Reid. MOD LITES: 1. No. 16 Brent Begolo, 2. No. 17 Josh Sliter, 3. No. 6 Rob Misener, 4. No. 4 Tyler Winger, 5. No. 27 Sean Iftody // HEATS: 1. No. 16 B. Begolo, 2. No. 17 J. Sliter.

V6: 1. No. 14dd Dustin Duga, 2. No. 13z Zach Dmytrow, 3. No. 16c Chris Mussat, 4. No. 27 Tine Ronning, 5. No. jr15s Joe Cushman // HEAT: No. 14dd D. Duga. 4 CYLINDERS: 1. No. 5k Ken Hair, 2. No. 13 Vincent Pagnotta, 3. No. 96t Tyler Lafantaisie, 4. No. 09 Clinton Barrick, 5. No. 71 Austyn Werstroh // HEATS: 1. No. 23 T. DeBoer, 2. No. 13 V. Pagnotta, 3. No. 38s S. Iftody.

OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY

August 26, 2022

SPRINTS: 1. No. 9 Liam Martin, 2. No. 88h Josh Hansen, 3. No. 45 Nick Sheridan, 4. No. 10 Mitch Brown, 5. No. 47x Dylan Westbrook // HEATS: 1. No. 9 L. Martin, 2. No. 10 M. Brown, 3. No. 1 H. Porter. DIRT LATE MODELS: 1. No. 87 Andrew Hennessy, 2. No. 57 Charlie Sandercock, 3. No. RH21 Gregg Haskell, 4. No. 555 Andrew Reaume, 5. No. 39 Jim Dale Jr. // HEATS: 1. No. 87 A. Hennessy, 2. No. 555 A. Reaume, 3. No. RH21 G. Haskell // B-MAIN: No. 82 K. Winfield. THUNDER STOCKS: 1. No. 49 Dave Bailey, 2. No. 23 Trevor DeBoer, 3. No. 84rk Ryan Beagle, 4. No. 97 Ron Loggie, 5. No. 19 Kyle Wert // HEATS: 1. No. 97 R. Loggie, 2. No. 79 C. Hale, 3. No. 49 D. Bailey // B-MAIN: No. 19 K. Wert.

MINI STOCKS: 1. No. 10j Jeremy Hughes, 2. No. 96 Tyler Lafantaisie, 3. No. 16 Fabio Olivieri, 4. No. 64 Nick Erskine, 5. No. 51 Eric Yorke // HEATS: 1. No. 9 T. DeBoer,

2. No. 16 F. Olivieri, 3. No. 10j J. Hughes, 4. No. 24 R. Rutherford // B-MAIN: No. 31 J. McDonald.

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY

August 20, 2022

ONTARIO MODIFIEDS- Bill Pickford Memorial (1): 1. Alex Cuzzilla, 2. Chad Strawn, 3. John Baker Jr., 4. Brad Stevenson, 5. Rob Richards // (2): 1. John Baker Jr., 2. Chad Strawn, 3. Alex Cuzzilla, 4. Shane Pollock, 5. Bob Franks.

LATE MODEL: 1. James Townsend, 2. Jacob Mercer, 3. Todd Delisle, 4. Dan McHattie, 5. Brandt Graham // HEATS: 1. D. McHattie, 2. B. Cousineau, 3. T. Delisle, 4. B. Graham.

SUPER STOCK: 1. Paul Boundy, 2. Bailey Jacobs, 3. Mark Gordon, 4. Brandon Feeney, 5. Jeremy Dobb // HEATS: 1. J. Remington, 2. B. Jacobs.

MINI STOCK: 1. Ryan Babin, 2. Ember Junkin, 3. Chris Tubman, 4. Shawn Solomon, 5. Tyler Junkin // HEATS: 1. Je. Kelly, 2. S. Solomon, 3. D. Lavoie, 4. C. Tubman.

PURE STOCK: 1. Brad Lavalle, 2. Steve Finnegan, 3. Sean Kennedy, 4. Tegan Stanley, 5. Mark Griffin // HEATS: 1. C. Lavalle, 2. B. Lavalle, 3. S. Kennedy, 4. A. McGibbon.

August 27, 2022

LATE MODEL: 1. Dan McHattie, 2. Tim Batty, 3. James Townsend, 4. Jacob Mercer, 5. Steve Powell // HEATS: 1. D. McHattie, 2. J. Mercer.

SUPER STOCK: 1.Brad Stevenson, 2. Marlie Owen, 3. Bailey Jacobs, 4. Mark Gordon, 5. Jeremy Dobb // HEATS: 1. B. Feeney, 2. P. Boundy.

MINI STOCKS: 1. Ryan Oosterholt, 2. Jeremy Kelly, 3. Chris Tubman, 4. Ember Junkin, 5. John Lavalle // HEATS: 1. R. Oosterholt, 2. C. Tubman, 3. R. Oosterholt, 4. E. Junkin.

BONE STOCKS: 1. Steve Finnegan, 2. Sean Kennedy, 3. Jacob Kelly, 4. Brad Lavalle, 5. Mark Griffin // HEATS: 1. A. Novis, 2. S. Kennedy, 3. B. Lavalle, 4. J. Kelly.

JUNIOR LATE MODELS: 1. Chase Stevenson, 2. Ryder White // HEATS: 1. C. Stevenson, 2. R. White, 3. C. Stevenson, 4. L. Finnegan.

PETTY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

August 27, 2022

EAST COAST PRO STOCK TOUR: 1. No. 99 Craig Slaunwhite, 2. No. 08 Nicholas Naugle, 3. No. 18 Darren MacKinnon, 4. No. 88 Russell Smith Jr., 5. No. 9 John Rankin.

MARITIME ALLSTAR SPORTSMAN TOUR: 1. No. 94 Deven Smith, 2. No. 8 Chris Reid, 3. No. 92 Pete Miller, 4. No. 53 Laurie Cormier, 5. No. 78 Dennis Nickerson.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 46 Ryan McKnight, 2. No. 60 Mike

(Above) Liam Martin won the August 26 Sprints feature at Ohsweken.

Photo by Peter Anderson

Weagle, 3. No. 0 Rob Poirier, 4. No. 10 Patricia Weagle, 5. No. 66 Chris Garnett.

OUTLAW BANDOLERO: 1. No. 24 Ayden Christensen, 2. No. 39 Chase Livingston, 3. No. 13 Sam MacDonald, 4. No. 71 Chase McKay, 5. No. 8 Dawson Noble.

BEGINNER BANDOLERO: 1. No. 86 Marco Doiron, 2. No. 83 Hudson Ruff, 4. No. 41 Mandi Lee, 5. No. 22 Tylar Dempsey.

RIVERSIDE INT’L SPEEDWAY

August 20, 2022

ALL STAR SPORTSMAN SERIES: 1. Chris Reid, 2. Colby Smith, 3. Pete Miller, 4. Brandon Carter, 5. Ryan Vanoirschot.

EAST COAST MINI STOCK TOUR: 1. Matt Watson, 2. Jesse LeClair, 3. Dave Matthews, 4. Nic Baker, 5. Steve Matthews.

HOT RODS CLASSIC: 1. Patty Lawrence, 2. Tylor Hawes, 3. Stacey Clements, 4. Chris Dingle, 5. Jeff Ainslie.

SAUBLE SPEEDWAY

August 27, 2022

APC LATE MODEL TOUR: 1. No. 31w Rick Spencer-Walt, 2. No. 54 Jo Lawrence, 3. No. 84 JR Fitzpatrick, 4. No. 97 Blair Wickett, 5. No. 10 Tom Gibbons.

CANADIAN LEGENDS SERIES: 1. No. 79 Adam Cuthbertson, 2. No. 60 Parker Traves, 3. No. 90 Jordan Latimer // HEATS: 1. No. 90 J. Latimer, 2. No. 60 P. Traves, 3. No. 79 A. Cuthbertson, 4. No. 60 P. Traves.

COMBINED 4s: 1. No. 46x Wayde Thorne, 2. No. 1 John VanDyk, 3. No. 17 Jennifer Hatch // HEATS: 1. No. 08f P. Farrow, 2. No. 46x W. Thorne, 3. No. 17 J. Hatch, 4. No. 46x W. Thorne.

SCOTIA SPEEDWORLD

August 20, 2022

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 92 Pete Miller, 2. No. 51 Dylan Dowe, 3. No. 14 Alex Johnson, 4. No. 62 Sheldon Pemberton, 5. No. 53 Steve MacPhee // HEATS: 1. No. 94 D. Smith, 2. No. 51 D. Dowe.

THUNDER/ LIGHTNING: 1. No. 94 JJ MacPhee, 2. No. 88 Nic Baker, 3. No. 113 Chris McMullin, 4. No. 184 Ross Moore, 5. No. 147 Colin Matthews // HEATS: 1. No. 113 C. McMullin, 2. No. 111 C. Sinton.

LEGENDS: 1. No. 25 Gage Gilby, 2. No. 66 Owen Mahar, 3. No. 87 Danny Chisholm, 4. No. 44 Nathan Blackburn, 5. No. 18 Josh Langille // HEATS: 1. No. 66 O. Mahar, 2. No. 87 D. Chisholm.

BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 24 Ayden Christensen, 2. No. 071 Chase MacKay, 3. No. 97 Daniel Vandenburg, 4. No. 00 Caden Tufts, 5. No. 89 Emily Chisholm // HEATS: 1. No. 24 A. Christensen, 2. No. 71 Chase MacKay.

BEGINNER BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 27 Hailey Bland, 2. No. 13 Avery Chisholm, 3. No. 85 Bella Pashkoski, 4. No. 12 Shelby Chisholm, 5. No. 99 Bristol Matthews // HEAT: No. 27 H. Bland.

August 26, 2022

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 92 Pete Miller, 2. No. 94 Deven Smith, 3. No. 1 Matt Moore, 4. No. 51 Dylan Dowe, 5. No. 25 Andrew Lively // HEATS: 1. No. 94 D. Smith, 2. No. 14 A. Johnson.

THUNDER/ LIGHTNING: 1. No. 147 Colin Matthews, 2. No. 88 Nic Baker, 3. No. 107 Kenny Hopper, 4. No. 108 Kyle Sinton, 5. No. 111 Chad Sinton // HEATS: 1. No. 147 C. Matthews, 2. No. 108 K. Sinton.

LEGENDS: 1. No. 25 Gage Gimby, 2. No. 51 Braden Langille, 3. No. 87 Danny Chisholm, 4. No. 66 Nathan Blackburn, 5. No. 03 Colton Noble.

BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 24 Ayden Christensen, 2. No. 00 Caden Tufts, 3. No. 8 Dawson Noble, 4. No. 97 Daniel Vandenburg, 5. No. 45 Brett Pashkoski // HEAT: No. 45 B. Pashkoski.

BEGINNER BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 13 Avery Decoste, 2.

No. 27 Hailey Bland, 3. No. 85 Bella Pashkoski, 4. No. 44 McKenna Little, 5. No. 5 Ethan Hicken // HEAT: No. 13 A. Decoste.

SUNSET SPEEDWAY

August 20, 2022

PRO LATE MODEL: 1. No. 54 Danny Benedict, 2. No. 39 Travis Hallyburton, 3. No. 17 Josh Stade, 4. No. 48 Dwayne Baker, 5. No. 83 Samantha Shaw.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 67 Josh Bullen, 2. No. 4 Johnny Paradzinski, 3. No. 18 Cole Quinton, 4. No. 76t Shawn Taylor, 5. No. 76 Chris Allard.

BONE STOCK: 1. No. 26 Jacob Booth, 2. No. 55 Brandon Steele, 3. No. 17 Aundrea Lusk, 4. No. 54 Cash Ireton, 5. No. 13 Nicholas Reece.

JUNIOR LATE MODEL: 1. No. 31 Jake Spencer-Walt, 2. No. 52 Keegan Maot, 3. No. 11 Morgan Moore.

SOUTHERN ONTARIO MOTOR SPEEDWAY

August 20, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 09d Joel Dick, 2. No. 5x Tim Richardson, 3. No. 14 Mario Toniolo, 3. No. 98p Patrick Lajeunesse, 5. No. 11 Kyle Vilaranda.

LATE MODEL: 1. No. 36 John Pinsonneault, 2. No. 47b Joe Brosseau, 3. No. 22s Brian Speelman, 4. No. 05 Mike Lewis, 5. No. 43 Cody Vanderwynkel.

THUNDER STOCK: 1. No. 96 Steve Shaw, 2. No. 98 Chad Mailloux, 3. No. 96t Todd Shaw, 4. No. 1a Jake Hooker, 5. No. 74 Jayden Miller.

MINI MODS: 1. No. n64 Dylan Bonner, 2. No. 46 West Bertozzi, 3. No. 87 Kyle Gill, 4. No. 16 Evan Bonner, 5. No. 8m Sean McNally.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 747 Ryan Beaulieu, 2. No. n64 Dylan Bonner, 3. No. 50 Ken Fraser, 4. No. 16 Evan Bonner, 5. No. H20 Mason Heintz.

August 26, 2022

THUNDER STOCK: 1. No. 98 Andrew Mailloux, 2. No. 96 Steve Shaw, 3. No. 74 Jaydon Miller, 4. No. 96t Todd Shaw, 5. No. 711 Seth Lanouf // HEATS: 1. No. 98 A. Mailloux, 2. No. 96 S. Shaw.

MINI MODS: 1. No. N64 Dylan Bonner, 2. No. 46 West Bertozzi, 3. No. 8m Sean McNally, 4. No. 16 Evan Bonner, 5. No. 7x Andrew Pfahler // HEATS: 1. No. 7x A. Pfahler, 2. No. N64 D. Bonner, 3. No. 46 W. Bertozzi.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 747 Ryan Beaulieu, 2. No. N64 Dylan Bonner, 3. No. 50 Ken Fraser, 4. No. 29 Joey Stickles // HEAT: No. 747 R. Beaulieu.

August 27, 2022

LATE MODEL: 1. No. 4 CJ Field, 2. No. 22s Brian Speel-

man, 3. No. RH21 Gregg Haskell, 4. No. 05 Mike Lewis, 5. No. 11b Brad Bloomfield // HEATS: 1. No. RH94 J. Haskell, 2. No. RH21 G. Haskell, 3. No. 1a J. Hooker.

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 5x Tim Richardson, 2. No. 09d Joel Dick, 3. No. 14 Mario Toniolo, 4. No. 86 Drew Smith, 5. No. 313 Clayton Smith // HEATS: 1. No. 11 P. Vilaranda, 2. No. 5x T. Richardson.

THUNDER STOCK: 1. No. 74 Jayden Miller, 2. No. 98 Andrew Mailloux, 3. No. 36 Alan Reaume, 4. No. 96 Steve Shaw, 5. No. 43 Gerald Martin // HEATS: 1. No. 96 S. Shaw, 2. No. 98 A. Mailloux, 3. No. 36 A. Reaume.

SUTHERLAND AUTOMOTIVE SPEEDWAY

August 27, 2022

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 49 Shantel Kalika, 2. No. 19 Aaron Anderson, 3. No. 93 Neil Schneider, 4. No. 88 Brad Wrennick, 5. No. 15 Justin Howlett // HEAT: No. 51 S. Howlett // FAST Q: No. 51 S. Howlett- 15.333s.

SUPER TRUCK: 1. No. 76 Dusty O’Connell, 2. No. 67 Kyle O’Connell, 3. No. 44 Dean Braham, 4. No. 2 Brian Sparks, 5. No. 7 Dave Vennard // HEATS: 1. No. 7 D. Vennard, 2. No. 44 D. Braham // FAST Q: No. 76 D. O’Connell-15.487s.

STREET STOCKS: 1. No. 18 Mike Rea, 2. No. 86 Bryan Johnson, 3. No. 37 Scott Kozak, 4. No. 22 Ryan Fredrickson, 5. No. 8 Andrew Clewes // HEATS: 1. No. 18 M. Rea, 2. No. 1 S. Barrand // QUALIFIERS: 1. No. 86 B. Johnson, 2. No. 18 M. Rea.

BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 51 Grayson Jewell, 2. No. 88 Tanner Emond, 3. No. 42 Charlee Carrier, 4. No. 27 Nevaeh Stewart, 5. No. 75 Carter Neudorf // HEAT: No. 51 G. Jewell // QUALIFIER: No. 88 T. Emond.

WESTSHORE SPEEDWAY

August 27, 2022

DEMO C&T: 1. No. 24 Cody Young, 2. No. 12 Kenny Baker, 3. No. 15 Forrest Leddy, 4. No. 05 Billy Stidston, 5. No. 31 Jim Young // HEATS: 1. No. 8 T. MacDonald, 2. No. 12 K. Baker.

MF8: 1. No. 99 Aaron Propp, 2. No. 38 Cam Wilkinson, 3. No. 15 Jacob Wilkinson, 4. No. 08 Daryn Cahill, 5. No. 18 Chris Humber // HEATS: 1. No. 08 D. Cahill, 2. No. 44 M. Noyce.

CLAIMERS: 1. No. 12 Mike Dash, 2. No. 21 Stephen Green, 3. No. 43 Lucas Dash, 4. No. 31 Jon Earl, 5. No. 50 Matthew Chitty // HEAT: No. 21 S. Green.

BOMBERS: 1. No. 74 Mark Zacchigna, 2. No. 29 Caleb VanBree, 3. No. 67 Devon Degraag, 4. No. 15 Ryan Alexander, 5. No. 27 Brad Dimitrov // HEATS: 1. No. 74 M. Zacchigna, 2. No. 67 D. Degraag. IT

(Above) Adam Cuthbertson won the Legends feature at Sauble on August 27. Photo by Dave Franks

BECAUSE TRACTION MATTERS

The