Inside Track Motorsport News - Volume 26, Issue 06

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Coveted LRR Igloos go to the Winners

Harrington Wins DIRTcar Sportsman Feature

Oswego Speedway Hosts 50th Edition

Qwick Wick Super Stock Series

Vanderwyst Seals Title at Delaware Speedway

Earl Ross Memorial Ailsa Craig Pays Tribute to One of its Own

Canada 200 Western Speedway Signs off with 44th Edition

Austin Riley Canadian Wins Radical Cup North America

Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Jake Cowden Wins F1600-A Title

Shannonville Motorsport Park Ontario Track Receives Facelift

CASC-OR Ice Racing New Season Begins in January 2023

Canadian Connection ‘The Captain’ Barry Paton Passes Away

APC Unite Late Model Series J.R. Fitzpatrick Wins Second Championship

NTT IndyCar Series The ‘New’ Will Power Reigns Supreme

CASC-OR Road Racing Series Wraps Up 2022 Season at CTMP

THE INSIDE LINE

By Greg MacPherson

On the Labour Day weekend of 1997, we launched Inside Track Motorsport News . Not long after, we received an envel ope with a subscription form and a cheque inside. The name of our very first subscrib er… John Wally Nesbitt. You may recognize the name.

Before getting too far into this, I want to let you know that Wally is retiring as our Senior Writer at the end of this year. There are some of his stories in this issue and the next one, but Wally is pretty adamant about that being it… for the most part.

In my case, I first came to know Wally as the writer who filed stories from the Mosport Speedway oval. And when I’d go to races there, he was the friendly guy with the Tilley hat, notebook and paper, and a stogie, when you walked through the gap in the grandstands, at the Start/Finish line.

But Wally came from a road racing back ground and long before he was filing stories from the oval, he loved what was happening a few hundred yards further east, on the legendary Mosport road course. I can’t recall all the details, but it feels like

it wasn’t long before our first subscriber started getting busy filing stories to us, beyond just the ones from the oval. His specialty was regional and professional road racing, but he also continued to help with stock car stories and content for projects like the NASCAR Pinty’s Series program.

In the more than 25 years we’ve been publishing Inside Track , there’s no doubt that Wally has written more stories and filled more pages than any of us.

His race reports are excellent, and his interviews are even better. We’d send him a name, a phone number and some back ground. And before you knew it, he’d file a great story. On the road racing side, he had his finger on the pulse and more often than not, he came to us with ideas for stories. Or he knew what we needed before we asked him for it, and he filed out of the blue, to stay ahead of things.

Wally has been an incredible contributor. He’s good, organized, efficient and he has a great attitude. Unless, of course, he’s talking about computers, in which case, he doesn’t even try to hide his hatred and disdain for

the lousy machines. In this way, he has a bit of the legendary Chris Economaki in him, who also despised the things.

The fact that Wally had to spend so much time on computers, typing in stories and reports that he’d hand-written first, and then sending them to us via email, meant a lot to us. Then, we pushed our luck even further, asking him – and then teaching him – to post stories and press releases to our web sites. And like a friendly trooper, he bit his lip and did that, too.

And if the computers didn’t drive him over the bend, there were all those freezing cold Thanksgiving weekends at Peterbor ough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic. Wally would be bundled up and sitting in a lawn chair down near Turn 4 until the final checkered flag flew, often well into the night, making sure every class and winner were included in his report.

Yet through it all, his love of racing and racers has never diminished. Wally would always smile and ask, ‘What’s next?’

In terms of his legacy in racing, Wally has produced hundreds and hundreds of amazing stories and reports about a lot of Canadian racing people who no one else would have ever written about. That’s our mandate and Wally has done an incredible service to our sport and community, and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

And he’s been an absolute pleasure to deal with. Recently, on a tour of his home, it was very clear that he still loves racing as much as ever. I was very happy to see that all his efforts on our behalf haven’t burned him out on motorsports.

This was underscored when I saw his huge ‘Walsport’ slot car track, in one of his spare bedrooms. He credits all the time spent on the project for getting him through the pandemic with his sanity intact. Some people baked bread… Wally built a racetrack.

Wally, on behalf of all of us at Inside Track, thank you for efforts and friendship. Congratulations on your well-deserved retire ment and we hope you’ll enjoy going back to being a fan. And we look forward to seeing you at the track. IT

(Above) Retiring Inside Track Motorsport News Senior Contributor J. Wally Nesbitt at home with his ‘Walsport’ slot car track he built over the course of the pandemic. Photo by Greg MacPherson

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WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...

Las Vegas will make its return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2023 for the first time since the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix, and the Formula 1 circus was on hand on November 5, 2022 to preview the event, includ ing demonstration runs on the street of ‘Sin City.’ Photo by Les Kalman

SHIFTING GEARS

By James Neilson

MAD MAX IS BACK

Despite having the Drivers and Constructors Championships all spoken for heading into the Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, there were fireworks on and off the track from the start of the race weekend to the end, and then spilled over into the post-race festivities.

First up, you had Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen qualifying on pole after a wet start to qualifying, the first pole for both driver and team, then you had Mercedes’ George Russell winning both the Saturday Sprint Race and the Sunday Grand Prix, giving Mercedes its much needed first win of what has been a very disappointing season for the German marque.

But all that pales in comparison to the fiasco that is the fallout of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen’s inexplicable decision to ignore team orders late in the race, where he was asked to move aside for teammate Sergio Perez to help the Spaniard pip Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to second in the Drivers Championship.

“I told you already last time, guys. Don’t ask that again to me, okay? Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons, and I stand by it,” said Verstappen over the team radio.

What those reasons are is unclear, but the Formula 1 rumour mill has picked out Perez’s crash at the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix as a possible reason. At the time, it was assumed it was an accident, which brought out the red flag and ended Verstappen’s chance at pole, but apparently some people within the paddock suspect Ver stappen thinks it was intentional, and the Dutchman did nothing to quell those suspensions when asked after the race.

“You can decide that. I’m not going to say,” was his answer.

Perez, understandably, was furious, saying “it shows who he (Ver stappen) really is. After all I’ve done for him, it’s disappointing. I have no idea. I’m really surprised”

Teammates not getting along is a tale as old as time in Formula 1, most famously when Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna had their battle in the late 1980s, but those two drivers were locked in a heated battle for the title, Verstappen has already clinched his. This whole thing makes no sense to me.

I’m not normally one to believe gossip, but Verstappen’s actions were so pointless, so petty, that where there is smoke there must be some fire. Was it Monaco? Was it something else? We’ll probably never know.

And to add to the ridiculousness of the whole affair, Verstappen’s mother, Sophie Kumpen, accused Perez of cheating on his wife on social media before quickly deleting it.

Thankfully, since then things have settled down, apparently the two drivers have ironed things out and Verstappen will support Perez’s bid for second place in the championship at the Abu Dhabi finale.

Between feuding with Sky Sports over one of their on-air person alities stating Lewis Hamilton was robbed of the 2021 title (which is correct, by the way), the penalties handed down after the team ex ceeded the spending cap, and now a completely avoidable driver row, it’s been an embarrassing month for Red Bull, the reigning Formula 1 Drivers and Constructors champions. IT

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PARKER THOMPSON

2022 CARRERA CUP CHAMPION

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

In an automotive re-enactment of the David versus Goliath parable, Parker Thompson and the single car JDX Racing effort, took on the powerhouse Kelly Moss Racing team and emerged as the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup North America champion.

Entering into the season finale at Road Atlanta riding a record of five race victories plus another eight top five finishes, Thompson still sat five points in arrears of points leader Kay van Berlo. Bene fiting from early race misfortune for his rival van Berlo (punctured radiator-contact), Thompson was nevertheless forced to run a disci plined 45 minute contest, ultimately finishing the season with a third place overall (second in Pro Class) race result, sufficient to earn the Red Deer, AB resident the prestigious Al Holbert Cup.

“I was taking no risks in that final race. I’d done the math and knew where I needed to finish to complete the comeback,” noted Thomp son. “When my crew told me that Kay was out, a lot of the pressure was off, but I still needed to finish near the top. Riley (Dickinson) was hounding me pretty fiercely, so I let him go. I didn’t need that position. I settled into third spot, focused on avoiding the curbs and backed my speed off a little.”

“I have to admit, running below just the limit made it the hardest

30 minutes I’ve ever done in a race car,” concluded the driver of the No. 9 Shell/JDX Racing Porsche 992.

Originally having set his career motorsports goal of racing in the Indianapolis 500, Thompson trained in a variety of open wheeled disciplines with successes coming in Formula 1600, USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Pro Mazda. Receiving a taste of sports car competi tion in 2019 by piloting an Audi R8 to the GT-Sport class title in the Canadian Touring Car Championship, Thompson went a step further by doubling his workload with a season-long ride in the Canadian Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge where he finished in second spot overall behind current IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis.

Moving into the Carrera Cup North America ranks in 2021, Thompson again enjoyed success riding a trio of race win to third place in the year-end rankings.

“As we prepared for this season our mindset was championship or nothing,” recalled Thompson. “Personally, I’d had enough of this runner-up stuff.”

Kicking off the 2022 campaign with three podium finishes at Sebring and Long Beach, the series moved on to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca where the No. 9 Porsche found its way into victory lane with back-to-back wins.

Canadian Parker Thompson earned five wins in 2022, on his way to the Porsche Carrera Cup title.

Photos Courtesy Parker Thompson Racing

“That weekend was a real turning point for JDX Racing, we now knew we could run with, and beat, the best in the series. That gave us all a real boost of confidence,” said Thompson. “But I think our wins may have woken up the Kelly Moss bear.”

Two more solid performances came at Watkins Glen (3rd/ 4th), setting up Thompson’s much anticipated return to Canada as part of the Toronto Indy weekend. Unfortunately, the first of the 45 minute races did not go as planned.

“That weekend embodied how I drove this year, I was always attacking as hard as I could. And sometimes that can burn you.”

Taking the green flag from third spot on the grid, Thompson wrestled his way into second place in the first turn and was char ging for the lead as the pack headed into the tight, third corner. On cold tires and with cold brakes, Thompson simply overshot the corner and was forced to take to the runoff area. By the time he had his mount spun around, the pack was 30 seconds ahead of him. Undeterred, the 24-year-old planted his right foot down and after 45 minutes of caution-free racing, he had worked his way back up to a sixth place result. Employing the same mindset in the Sunday finale, Thompson was able to add another runner-up finish to his totals.

“I knew that after Toronto we were hitting a couple of my best tracks, Road America and the Indy road course, places where I’d won before. I knew that we’d needed to do well there, because after that was the final weekend at Road Atlanta, a track that just didn’t seem to like me very much.”

Earning a win at each of the doubleheader events at Elkhart Lake and Indy somewhat softened the blow of a DNF in round two at Indianapolis.

“I really wanted to at least finish on the podium to narrow the points gap, but Trenton (Estep) lost his brakes and got into me in the first corner. That was my first ever non-finish in a sports car and it could not have come at a worse time.”

With a month to prepare for the Road Atlanta finale, the JDX Racing strategy was laid out.

“We were confident of our chances, we knew that the cham pionship was within reach and that we just had to do our jobs. We followed the plan and I was able to get my first win at Brazel ton. That was probably the most rewarding win we had all year. I know that I worked harder in the car than I ever had before.”

Despite having not slept the night prior to the finale, Thompson was nevertheless prepared for the title fight, ‘bullying’ his way into second place behind Porsche Junior Driver Lauren Heinrich and setting the fastest race lap. Contact between van Berlo and Trenton Estep ultimately led to van Berlo’s retirement from the event, allowing Thompson to cruise to his inaugural Carrera Cup championship.

“For me, it was business as usual in the car until the cool down lap. But as soon as I crossed the line, the tears began to flow. The pressure was off – I’d finally won a premiere championship.”

Not one to show off for a simple race win, on the occasion of his Porsche crown Thompson did allow himself the opportunity to do some doughnuts.

“I’d never done doughnuts before, but I did manage to do some of the nicest doughnuts that I’ve ever seen,” he laughed.

Concluded the newly crowned champion, “If someone offered me a ride in the Indy 500, you bet I’d take it. But now, I’ve put myself on the map in sports cars and I am committed to this discipline. I have fallen in love with sports cars and sports car racing. I’m in this for the long haul now.” IT

Team Canada Scholarship (TCS) marked its tenth anniversary in 2022 and did so with its largest effort to date. For the first time, TCS sent two young Canadian drivers to the world-renowned Formula Ford Festival at England’s Brands Hatch, as well as the largest F1600 event in the world, the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone (WHT). This year also marked the first time that a ’shootout’ was introduced to select two drivers from six worthy candidates. With a judging panel that reads like ‘who’s who’ of Canadian motorsports, judges James Hinchcliffe, Robert Wickens, Kyle Marcelli, Ian Willis and TCS founder Brian Graham faced a tough task selecting the two drivers to make the trip to the U.K.

“This has been a big year for the TCS,” said Graham. “With our growing program and inclusion of a proper shootout, getting some iconic Canadian personalities involved, as well as building our behind-the-scenes team, it has been a massive step forward. (And) of course, our supporters and sponsors play the biggest part in allowing us to exist.”

When the dust settled, the driver announcement was revealed on REV TV, with newly-crowned Toyo Tires F1600 champion Jake Cowd en of Aurora, ON, and Kevin Foster of Calgary, AB – who is enjoying a breakout season in Rotax karting – making the cut.

“The TCS Program for this year had taken a step forward in terms of their nomination and selection process, also by adding a shootout element with alumni and ambassador judges, who have gone on to have illustrious careers of their own,” said Foster. “I believe that the scale of the program is going to increase year after year, and that’s down to the passionate people working very hard to maintain support and funding.”

TCS partnered with Graham Brunton Racing (GBR) as the host team. The two Ray F1600 cars featured an all-white livery, adorned with the classic maple leaves.

After three days of testing, it was qualifying time for the first set of heat races and both TCS drivers showed strength, with Jake grabbing an outside pole position and Kevin lining up fifth for his heat. Kevin converted that into a fifth-place finish, while Jake was unfortu nate to get taken off and recorded a DNF. That sent Jake into the ‘progression’ race.

With 80 entries vying for just 30 starting spots in the final, Jake’s path was difficult. Lining up tenth in the pouring rain, he put in a fan tastic effort to take second and move into the semi-final.

Kevin continued his strong run, finishing eighth in his semi-final

TEAM CANADA

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CELEBRATES TENTH ANNIVERSARY WITH SUCCESSFUL UK TRIP

to transfer to the final, whereas Jake once again found himself in trouble, with a trip through the gravel trap after contact that relegat ed him to the Last Chance race. With only the top-six advancing and his starting position of 16th, it was too big of a hurdle to advance, as the race was shortened to just two laps.

With weather and darkness looming, the Grand Final got under way, with Kevin the lone TCS car on the grid. After two laps, the skies opened up and lightning arrived, forcing officials to call an end to the race. Kevin managed to climb forward to 11th, a fantastic result in what was his first-ever car racing event!

The TCS entourage travelled to Milton Keynes for some downtime between the two race weekends, and kept busy with tours of Prod rive, Multimatic, Garage 59, Red Bull F1, Mercedes F1 and Haas F1, as well as a trip into London.

The WHT attracted 119 entries looking to make the 36-car Grand Final. Jake was up first, taking a terrific sixth in his heat, followed by Kevin notching yet another top-five in his. The pair advanced straight to the semi-finals, where they went head-to-head. With the top-14 advancing to the Grand Final, Kevin had a great start, jumping from 11th to fourth on the opening lap, only to have contact knock him down the order but still in the top-14, with a damaged car, to ad vance. Jake finished ninth and also advanced to the final.

With typical late-fall weather and a somewhat damp track, 36 drivers were set for action. The two Canadians advanced, initially, but fell victim during contact in what is best described as the most aggressive open-wheel racing in the world.

In the end, Jake came home with a 22nd-place finish, while Kevin was listed as 26th. Regardless of the results, it was an incredible trip where both Jake and Kevin showed very well and consistently ran inside the top ten.

“Working with a new team, at a new track, with a new car/tire combination, in a new country, was a very big learning curve, but I enjoyed every minute of it,” said Jake Cowden. “I learned so much and I’m excited to build on all of the knowledge that I’ve gained from this experience!”

“Being my first ever races in cars, even with the wealth of karting experience I have, it was jumping right into the deep end for sure,” said Kevin Foster. “With the seat time I had at both race weekends, I think it’s fair to say that by making the final for both events and run ning, sometimes right at the tail end of the lead group of drivers as well, that the overall speed and potential pace was very encouraging and beyond anything I thought was personally possible.” IT

With Files From Team Canada Scholarship

Photo Courtesy TCS

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PFAFF MOTORSPORTS

2022 GT PRO CHAMPIONS

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

For the second consecutive year, the Pfaff Motorsports racing effort returned home to Canada in possession of the coveted IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Pro trophy. With a record of five class victories in the nine starts heading into the sea son ending Petit Le Man at Road Atlanta, the Plaid Porsche needed only to take the green flag in order to secure this year’s title.

“It had been an eventful year up to Atlanta, I’m glad we were in a fairly safe position going in because we never knew what was going to hit us next,” admitted Team Manager Steve Bortolotti. “Ten hours is a long time to hold your breath.”

Starting the 2022 championship chase on a winning note, the Pfaff Porsche team captured victory in the season opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

“That win definitely set us on the right path,” continued Bortolotti. “We had laid the groundwork in 2021, we knew the package and were ready for the GT Pro battles while some of the other fac tory-based teams, like Corvette and BMW, were coming from GTLM and needed to rework their cars to fit the GT Pro regs.”

The Daytona win did not come without its controversy as in the dying minutes the Pfaff entry and the challenging KCMG Porsche entry engaged in an ‘elbows up’ last lap.

Contact between the two cars in the backstraight chicane re sulted in the No. 2 Porsche 911 spinning out of contention while the Pfaff Porsche carried on for the class win.

“The last two hours were probably the most stressful of my life,” admitted Pfaff pilot Mathieu Jaminet. “What a crazy fight with Lau rens (Vanthoor). We had a great fight, it was sometimes on the limit, sometimes even over.”

A top five result in the 12 Hours of Sebring allowed the Pfaff entry to maintain their class points lead heading to the street circuit in Long Beach where a head-shaking incident knocked them from contention.

Explained Bortolotti, “I was watching from the top of the pit box and I had to ask myself- did that actually happen?”

During a regular pit stop, an errant wheel nut was launched out of the air gun from the Corvette stall located behind the Porsche, the heavy nut sailing over the car and plunging directly into the radiator exhaust chute, puncturing the radiator and ending the Porsche’s day.

“I’ve seen wheel nuts flung out of the gun before, but never once have I seen damage to another car like that one did ours. I honestly think I laughed when I saw it happen.”

Rebounding from this incident the IMSA tour moved on to Laguna Seca where the Toronto-based team picked up another win. Adding to their points totals with a podium result at Watkins Glen, the Canadian team then returned home to compete at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

“That was really the most important race of the year for us,” noted Bortolotti. “Pfaff had almost 500 guests, sponsors and VIPs there, so the pressure was on.”

He need not have worried as the hometown heroes started from pole position and then led 102 of the 111 laps to notch Pfaff’s first IMSA WeatherTech win at CTMP.

“We had won at Daytona, but this win at CTMP was the most special one of the year. The ovation we received from the fans was overwhelming and to see so many people wearing plaid was inspiring for the entire team.”

Two more wins came at Lime Rock Park and VIRginia Raceway, with a second place finish in the a race that ended under yellow at Road America sending the Pfaff racing effort to Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans.

“Even with our point advantage, our guys were motivated. No one has ever won six races in a season before, and we were also in the running for the Michelin Endurance Cup award. A win at Atlanta would have really set a very high bar for the future.”

Early race contact was a minor setback for the Canadian team but they managed to rebound to take the checkered flag in third place. The podium finish cemented their top placing in the driver champion ship, although they fell two points shy of the Endurance Cup trophy, losing out to the Serra/ Rigon Ferrari but tying the Garcia/Taylor Corvette in the scoring.

Riding the crest of back-to-back titles, Pfaff Motorsports realizes they will be the entry with the bull’s-eye on their back bumper in 2023. Bortolotti’s response, “Bring it.” IT

Five wins in ten races, plus a podium finish in the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road America sealed back-to-back titles for Pfaff. Photos by Richard Coburn

NASCAR PINTY’S SERIES

CAMIRAND SECURES NASCAR PINTY’S SERIES CROWN

Story by Bryce Turner

In early January, Paillé Racing didn’t exist – there were no cars or parts, no trailer or crew. Yet nine months later, the team and driver Marc-Antoine Camirand celebrated the end of a dominant season at Canadian stock car racing’s highest level with a NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship.

The original plan for Camirand was to return to 22 Racing, where he had spent over three seasons, but that plan changed in late January when Camirand discussed the idea of starting a new team with Jean-Claude Paillé, whose GM Paillé dealership sponsored him since 2016. The talks centred around free agent crew chief Robin McCluskey.

“When I saw the opportunity that we could get Robin on board, I went to J.C. Paillé and talked with him and said ‘that’s the guy we need if we want to start a team, we need to hire that guy,’” said Camirand. “I worked with Robin in 2014-15 with White Motorsports and it was already a good match because we got along really good and he also won two championships with L.P. Dumoulin.”

Camirand had his own team when running in other series, such as F1600, but having his own program at the NASCAR level was always a dream of his, so with the initial pieces in place and the support of J.C. Paillé, it was time to get working.

“When we made that decision to start everything, we built the two cars and pretty much bought everything…it was a hell of a job,” he said. “To start a new team is a lot of money…I’m so happy that Paillé was there to help me achieve that.”

The team tested at Sunset Speedway the week before the opening race and thought that the car was not completely ready. The goal was to just survive and finish the race, but the No. 96 Chevrolet was fast right out of the gate. They qualified fifth and led a race-high 203 laps, before something broke on the front-end and a late-race battle with Raphaël Lessard limited them to a fourth-place result.

Despite being more of a road course driver, Camirand found himself with fast cars on the ovals. He led 92 laps at Autodrome Chaudière, but a pit road penalty at the halfway break sent him to the tail-end of the lead lap; he battled back to finish second. The series then shifted to Eastbound Speedway for its first race in Newfound land, where Camirand grabbed the victory. The team with momen tum approaching the western swing.

“I would lie if I said before the season that (I thought) we would win the championship the first year,” said Camirand. “We were supposed to win some races and have some good pace with the team…but half way through the season, when leading the championship, we thought maybe we had a shot.”

The biggest test of the season came at Edmonton International Raceway, where teamwork was on full display. The series changed some rules for the rear end of the car after Eastbound, but Camirand said that teams had an agreement with the series to make just a few modifications, due to the short turnaround before Edmonton. However, his crew was told at technical inspection that they’d have to make other changes too.

“We missed all of practice; we went in the parking lot to make

the modifications to the back of the car, brought the car back just in time for qualifying,” said Camirand. “If Robin wasn’t there to weld the things in the parking lot, I think the championship was over because if I missed Edmonton and Saskatoon, it was over for sure.”

The team qualified fifth and won the race. They weren’t expecting the victory and Camirand says it was a turning point in the season, one of the biggest wins of his career. The team then faced more adversity as they were penalized after Edmonton for a muffler issue, though NASCAR later rescinded the penalty and restored the 12 points that had been deducted.

The career year for Camirand continued throughout the summer and the Paillé Racing team entered the penultimate race, at Can adian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), with a chance to make things really difficult on the competition.

“That race was a big race for us; we knew that if we did well at that race, we could pretty much seal the deal in the championship,” said Camirand. “The pressure was on everybody, even I had more pres sure, but the crew and Robin were a little bit more nervous.”

The team made some adjustments to the car, compared to the first CTMP race, and was fast again in practice before qualifying on the pole. They led for half of the race and took the victory, picking up maximum points and leaving CTMP with a commanding 33-point lead in the standings over Kevin Lacroix.

Camirand went to the Delaware Speedway finale with the same strategy as always, having the mindset that he needed to win the race to win the championship. But expectations were different at the same time, knowing that Ontario-based teams had more experience and knowledge of the London, Ont. area track.

With no pressure of having to finish ahead of other drivers, Camirand clinched his first career NASCAR Pinty’s Series champion ship by just starting the race.

“Robin said on the radio, after one lap, we are the 2022 cham pions,” said Camirand. “It was a dream for me to win a championship at that level because the competition is really high. I don’t remember what I said, but the first thing I thought about was my family. My father and my family spent a crazy amount of time, money and effort on my career.”

A ninth-place finish at Delaware capped off a breakout year for the driver from St-Léonard D’Aston, QC. His three wins, seven podiums, nine top-five finishes and 5.6 average finish were all career bests. His 803 laps led were also the second-most laps led in a single season in NASCAR Pinty’s Series history, behind only his former boss Scott Steckly, who led 1,090 laps in 2015. It was a dominant year for Camirand and he gives a lot of the credit to his Paillé Racing team.

“We brought a few guys back (from his seasons with White Motorsports) and we had a few crew guys from GM Paillé, who work at the dealership, and the chemistry already at the first race of the season was really, really good,” said Camirand. “The chemistry of the team was so good that race after race, everybody was getting more experience and the match between the crew and Robin was really, really good.”

After taking the checkered flag, the team remained parked in Turn 4 as the race winner’s victory lane was held. When it was time to celebrate, the burnout was slightly subdued, due to the amount of people standing on the frontstretch. Camirand slid the car into victory lane and, with confetti and a champagne shower, it was time to enjoy the moment with his team and family.

After three weeks off, Camirand says the team was already back at work preparing for 2023, with the bar set high for them to repeat their surprise success from 2022.

DELAWARE SPEEDWAY

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series capped off Delaware’s Great Canadian Race Weekend with the season-ending Pinty’s Fall Brawl. Brandon Watson started on the pole, leading all but five laps during the first half of the race. D.J. Kennington spent that brief time out front, following one of six cautions during the first 125 laps.

Watson continued to hold the top spot after the halfway break. As the laps wound down, things started to get hairy. Jake Sheridan’s No. 3 Chevrolet spun after contact from Camirand on lap 217, which left team owner Ed Hakonson calling for a black flag against Camirand.

On the following restart, Raphaël Lessard wiggled while battling door-to-door with Watson in turn four; Lessard lost pace and got hit from behind by Kevin Lacroix, sending Lessard spinning and starting a scary 10-car wreck. Andrew Ranger’s No. 27 was launched over the driver’s side of Alex Tagliani’s No. 18 in the incident; luckily both drivers were okay.

The race resumed after a red flag delay and Watson went on to score his first career NASCAR Pinty’s Series victory; he also won Jostens Rookie of the Year. Donald Theetge, Lacroix, Treyten Lapce vich and Kennington rounded out the top five. IT

(Opposite page) Marc-Antoine Camirand celebrates his 2022 NASCAR Pinty’s Series title with his family and crew at Delaware Speedway. (Top and Above) 2022 NPS Rookie of the year Brandon Watson led the field to the initial green, and won his first career NPS race, in the finale.

Photos by Steve Traczyk (Camirand and Watson Victory Lane) and Greg MacPherson (start of race)

WhileJ.R. Fitzpatrick won his second career APC Series title this season, fans would not be wrong to feel like it’s his first. The same driver who earned a reputation for being overly-aggressive and less concerned about his equipment looked different this year –a Fitzpatrick 2.0 if you will.

The Cambridge, ON driver entered the season with a simple expectation – try not to wreck anything. It was just a year earlier that he had a shop full of wrecked cars and had fallen out of love with racing. But with the help of Taylor Holdaway, who gave him the oppor tunity to race one of his cars down the stretch, Fitzpatrick re-gained the spirit and passion for the sport.

Fitzpatrick started this season with a new McColl Racing chassis and finished fourth in the opening event, at Sunset Speedway, after a tire pressure mistake affected the car’s ability to fire off. He then followed that race with three straight victories.

“When you win one you think ‘that’s good, I stayed out of all the trouble, had a good car,’” said Fitzpatrick. “Then you win the second and you’re like ‘oh, maybe we got lucky,’ then the third, you’re like ‘holy crap, we’re really on a roll.’”

The wins at Flamboro, Peterborough and Delaware speedways changed Fitzpatrick’s demeanour in how he approached a race.

“I started calming down a little bit after those three wins because

Story by Bryce Turner

(Above and below) 2022 APC Late Model Series champion J.R. Fitzpatrick and his dad John, at Delaware Speedway. Photos by Steve Traczyk (Opposite page) APC season finale winner Shae Gemmell and his team in Delaware’s victory lane. Photo by Dave Franks

I wanted to start racing a little more conservatively in earning points and trying not to put myself in a bad spot,” he said. “On the tour, everybody’s so close; when you’re racing for wins, you put yourself in some pretty hairy situations so we tried to keep that (success) going as long as we could.”

Following another top-five finish, Fitzpatrick faced some adversity on the August long weekend at Sauble Speedway. With 13 to go, he made contact with the left-rear of leader Ryan Kimball, sending Kim ball spinning. Fitzpatrick was sent to the rear, since he was involved in the wreck, and he ultimately came back to finish 10th.

“I was passing for the lead and got chopped off,” said Fitzpatrick. “The guy who I got into conflict with is a guy who I thought I could race with, hard, and not have to deal with what he was making me deal with.”

For perhaps the only time this season, the old Fitzpatrick made a return, with a closer margin in the points standings after the incident at Sauble.

“It definitely changed my mindset because I was trying my best to be conservative in that race but we were just so much faster and it end ed up hurting me,” he said. “So, I thought about taking a much more aggressive approach when we went back to Sunset Speedway, because Kyle Steck ly is a really good driver and really smart, so I couldn’t let him get any closer.”

The team went to Sunset on “full attack mode” and ended up winning the race. The series then returned to Sauble, where it was a change of fate. Fitzpatrick finished eight spots behind Steckly in the previous race at the beach, but this time it was Steckly who made contact with another driver and finished eight spots behind Fitzpa trick. With a third-place result in that penultimate race, Fitzpatrick carried a 20-point lead over Steckly into the finale at Delaware.

“I used to always be all-out, didn’t care who was in my way, and that hurt me for years in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series,” said Fitzpat rick. “I got reminded after that Sauble race that it was my champion ship to lose and I didn’t want to lose it.”

It was a nervous Saturday for Fitzpatrick in the championship finale, part of the Great Canadian Race Weekend. He was thinking about what would happen if the car broke or if he suffered a flat tire late in the running. He also knew that Delaware was Steckly’s home track and that he was really good there.

But as it turned out, it was Steckly who suffered the first setback of the day, as he was unable to qualify after his car wouldn’t fire. Fitzpatrick loaned parts to Steckly’s team so they could fix the car, ensuring the drivers would be able to battle for the title. Steckly started shotgun on the field in 29th, while Fitzpatrick qualified fifth and started eighth. Fitzpatrick ran inside the top-five for most of the race until it was his turn to have an issue, his nervous fears potential ly becoming a reality.

“My steering wheel started shaking for the last 30 laps,” he said. “I radioed the team saying I had a flat tire because it was shaking so bad and they just told me to keep going, it’s up, and we looked at the tire after the race and, sure enough, it was a blistered tire.”

Fitzpatrick nursed the car home, moving over every time that another driver got close to him, letting them go by to not risk making

the tire any worse. That included Steckly passing him for fifth with 22 to go. Ultimately, the #84 Chevrolet crossed the line seventh, good enough to secure the championship.

The shaking in the car was so bad that Fitzpatrick started counting laps himself in the closing stretch. When he took the checkered flag, it was a feeling of relief, a weight lifted off his shoulders, but it was for more than just finishing the race with a blistered tire.

“When you think all summer long about how to keep points, how to not lose them, maintaining your race car, looking after the team, it gets stressful,” he said. “Plus, your full-time job and your family and all that stuff, so it was really nice and I got to have both my daugh ters there with me to celebrate…my whole family was there and we enjoyed it for sure.”

Fitzpatrick became just the second driver to win multiple cham pionships in the eight-season history of the APC Series. Brandon Watson won both years before Fitzpatrick, claiming the champion ships in 2017 and 2021. When comparing the two titles, Fitzpatrick seems to favour this year’s crown.

“I feel like our first championship, people didn’t really think that we earned it, in a way, because we were extremely consistent but there were a couple of points penalties to a couple guys that really gave me a big points gap,” he said. “I feel like this year, with no penalties or anything like that, we just strictly outran everybody, really, so I feel like this year’s championship was more gratifying and more earned than in 2018.”

With the title now his, Fitzpatrick’s team decided to wait a bit longer to celebrate, with a house party a few weeks later, including time in the hot tub and a dinner prepared by his friend and sponsor, Dave Wood from Meineke Car Care. It seems Fitzpatrick 2.0 changed his celebration routine too.

“By the time we got out of tech, which was a couple hours, we went back, I had a couple drinks, and I ate because I didn’t eat all day,” he said. “By the time all that settled in, I went to bed…that was only midnight so I behaved very well.”

Matt Pritiko led the field to green in the Castrol Great Canadian 100 at Delaware, before being passed by Jake Sheridan on the opening lap. On lap 17, Brandon Watson was shown the black flag, sending him to pit road to fix his window net. Watson brought out the first caution just four laps after that, with his car leaking oil.

Sheridan continued to lead through a pair of restarts before a caution on lap 32, when Pritiko stalled in turn four with a flat tire. A heated battle ensued on the restart, where Sheridan stayed slightly ahead while running the high line, as Shae Gemmell continued to challenge on the bottom.

With 56 to go, Gemmell took the lead, Sheridan settling into second. The race stayed green from there with Gemmell grabbing his second career APC Series victory; Sheridan, Josh Stade, Kyle Steckly and Treyten Lapcevich rounded out the top-five. Despite his early issues, Watson stayed in the race and finished 10th.

Two-time NASCAR Pinty’s Series champion D.J. Kennington worked his way into the top-five before dropping back in the second half; he ultimately retired with nine to go, finishing 25th. IT

FLAMBORO FROSTOBERFEST

Story by Ashley McCubbin

Despite the cold temperatures, there was a lot of hot action around Flamboro Speedway on Saturday, October 1 for the first day of Frostoberfest.

Bryan Batty started pole for the OSCAAR Modifieds feature, but it was Jason Keen who broke out to the early lead, while Batty and Dale Reinhart battled for second. The lead changed hands on lap 11, when Andy Kamrath took over the spot, with Reinhart following him through. Keen ran third, in front of A.J. Emms and Batty, before Emms passed Keen on lap 23.

Kamrath led the rest of the way en route to the win, followed by Reinhart, Emms, TJ Edwards and Keen.

Dalen Martin started pole for the OSCAAR Hot Rods feature. The start saw a battle for the lead between Martin and Cole Weber, as Bill Zardo Sr. and Nick Clarke ran side-byside for third. Martin got the lead on Lap 2, as the battle continued for third.

Clarke lost positions before spinning on lap 22, collecting four others. Weber took the lead on the restart before the yellow flag came back out, courtesy of Martin Morin making contact with the backstretch wall.

Weber led the rest of the way to the check ered flag, with Martin, Tom Walters, Zardo Sr. and Rob Bromley completing the top five.

In the Canadian Legend Car Series, the drop of the green saw a battle for the lead between Jaden Chapman and Kenny McNicol, with McNicol taking the spot on lap two. Cole Mc Fadden got alongside McNicol for the lead on lap seven, but McNicol held off the challenge as they weaved through traffic. The drivers battled again before a caution on lap 17.

McNicol got a good restart, as Hudson Nagy dueled with McFadden for second. The battle for the lead did not end there, with McFadden challenging McNicol once again, only for contact to be made. This allowed Nagy to take over the top spot on lap 22. Nagy went on to win, followed by Josh Indig, McFadden, Chapman and Matt Boyes.

The Mini Stock main event started off with a bang, courtesy of a wreck on lap two, when Shawn Taylor went for a three-wide move, ultimately collecting six others. Samantha Shaw and Cory McAllister battled for the lead on the restart, with McAllister taking the spot on lap four.

Things later got interesting for the lead ers, as they found themselves deep in traffic.

Contact between Dave Dippel and McAllister resulted in McAllister going around, with the whole nose ripped off the car. Shaw and Bobby Mercer battled on the restart, where Mercer took the lead on lap 26. Twelve laps later, Taylor took the top spot and led the rest of the way to win, followed by Mercer, Karl Sault, Mike Thomson and Shaw.

The Ontario Pro Sprints ran a pair of features. Adrian Kemp climbed through the field, from an 11th-place starting spot, to take the lead on lap 13. He led the rest of the way for the victory in race one, ahead of Ryan Wardell and Tyler Cullen. Kemps grabbed the early advantage and paced the field to win race two, followed by Cullen and Ashley Bend er. The Mini Trucks saw Austin Arnel sweep both feature races. Hayden Sim and Caleb Goertz followed him across the line in race one, while Kaisha Zimock and Sim completed the top-three in the second feature.

Jake Spencer-Walt and Laila Walser battled for the lead, down the stretch, in the first Junior Late Models feature, with Walser edging out Spencer-Walt at the line for the win. The positions reversed for the second feature, where Spencer-Walt grabbed the win, ahead of Walser.

Coveted London Recreational Racing Igloos go to the Winners

FROSTOBERFEST DAY 2

Sunday’s headliner was round two of the Grisdale Triple Crown, featuring 100 laps for the Pro Late Models.

Treyten Lapcevich started pole, with the invert, and grabbed the initial advantage, as Andrew Gresel and Jordan Howse battled for second. Gresel got alongside Lapcevich for the lead on lap 15, but was unable to complete the pass. He did not give up though, challenging Lapcevich once again and taking the top spot on lap 19.

J.R. Fitzpatrick challenged Gresel for the lead on Lap 31, with the battle lasting all the way until lap 37, where Gresel held onto the position. Fitzpatrick continued to stalk Gresel, as he would peek underneath and try for the run off of turn two. His attempts paid off, with Fitzpatrick taking over the lead at the halfway mark.

Following cautions on lap 72 and 75, the restart produced a third yellow flag, with Blair Wickett climbing the backstretch wall and stopping off of turn four. Gresel got a good restart, with Fitzpatrick challenging him back to re-take the lead on Lap 80, before Gresel passed Fitzpatrick again on lap 89. Gresel went on to take the victory, fol

lowed by Fitzpatrick, Ryan Kimball, Lapcevich and Erik Della Riva. With finishes of first and second in the pair of Grisdale Triple Crown events, Fitzpatrick took home the champion ship honours.

With the invert in play, Ethan Constable started pole for the Super Stocks. Rick Spen cer-Walt ran into issues rolling to the green flag, with a suspension piece breaking; this brought out a caution as he was stopped in turn two. Constable and Brandon McFerran battled on the restart, with Constable hold ing down the advantage.

Lane Zardo got alongside Constable for the lead, just as Constable was behind a battle from outside of the top ten. Constable was able to hold off the challenge. A caution came on lap 38, setting up a restart be tween Constable and Zardo, with McFerran third. Zardo snagged the lead on lap 41, with McFerran following him through.

McFerran tracked down Zardo for the lead and made the pass underneath him on the last lap, in turns one and two, to take the vic tory. Gerrit Tiemersma, Chase Pinsonneault and Constable rounded out the top five.

In the Pure Stocks, Cameron Thomson grabbed the early advantage, in front of

Rodney Rutherford, with the first caution on lap two for Tegan Ellis spinning. Thomson got a good restart, as positions shuffled further back. Spencer Riddell got alongside Rutherford for second on lap 10, completing the pass a lap later, before being passed by Wayde Thorne on Lap 14.

Thomson, Thorne and Jo Lawrence found themselves three-wide for the lead as they got caught in lap traffic. Thomson held off the challenge before another three-wide battle for the top spot on lap 25. Thomson got pinned in lap traffic, allowing Thorne to take over the lead on lap 27.

Lawrence challenged Thorne for the lead on lap 33, with contact happening in the process, resulting in a flat tire for Lawrence. Lawrence then slowed, drawing the second caution. Thorne got a good restart and led the rest of the way for the win, ahead of Thomson, Riddell, Craig Cole and Phil Givens.

And in the Outlaw Midgets, Dave Bradley grabbed the early lead, before being passed by Jessica James on lap two.

James led the rest of the way en route to the win; Dave Bradley, Cory Whittam, Mike Bradley and Jason Metcalfe rounded out the top five. IT

(Opposite page) Andrew Gresel picked up the Pro Late Model / Grisdale Triple Crown win on the Sunday of Frostoberfest. (Above, left) Super Stock feature race winner Brandon McFerran. (Above, right) Mini Stock winner Shawn Taylor. (Above) Legends winner Hudson Nagy. (Left) Racer Shawn Chenoweth (l) with London Recreational Racing’s Mike Schmidt. For more Frostoberfest pics, see Kenny U-Pull Victory Lane, starting on Page 66.

Photos by Peter Anderson

FITZPATRICK WINS ELECTRIC CITY 167

Story by Jim Clarke

Afresh, fall day dawned – Sunday, October 9 – with nothing but the final events of the 29th edition of the Lucas Oil Autumn Colours Classic on the agenda at Canada’s toughest 1/3-mile oval, as a strong crowd packed the stands at Peter borough Speedway.

With Chris Milwain and Luke Gignac on the front row, the OSCAAR Modifieds rolled to the line for a 50-lap feature to get the final day of action underway. Milwain led through the event’s early stages, with the No. 14 of AJ Emms and Andy Kamrath, in the No. 35 ride, marching towards the front of the field. Emms was running second, with Kamrath third at the halfway mark.

As the leaders started to work through slower traffic, Kamrath moved into the lead and had a straightaway advantage with 39 laps complete. Not even a late-race caution flag – with less than a handful of laps re maining – would keep Kamrath from the win and the 2022 OSCAAR Modified title. Emms, Colton Everingham, T.J. Edwards and Dale Reinhart completed the top five.

David Rockwood and Phil Givens led the way as the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stockers rolled from the staging area for their 40-lap Autumn Colours feature tilt. Givens took the early lead but surrendered

the spot to Rockwood with seven circuits on the scoreboard. A yellow flag just one lap later brought the field back together, with Kyle Neumeister taking the lead on the restart.

David Booth took over the top spot at the halfway mark and survived a pair of late-race caution flags for the checkered flag. Craig Cole, Steve Finnegan, Eric Stewart and Spen cer Riddell were next across the line. Though Booth, No. 26, was the first car across the line, he was disqualified for a technical viola tion discovered in post-race inspection. Cole, No. 55, was credited with the win.

Front row starters J.R. Fitzpatrick and multi-time Peterborough Speedway track champion Dan McHattie showed the way as the Electric City 167 Late Model shootout took centre stage. A quick yellow flag slowed the pace early but, for the most part, the longest race distance that many of the 19 racers in the starting field will ever run was a steady affair.

Fitzpatrick’s No. 84 machine built-up a strong advantage and had started working through the tail-end of the field with 14 laps complete. Gord Shepherd moved into the runner-up position and set his sights on Fitzpatrick.

There were a few more yellow flags before the competition caution brough the pack

back together, but there was no match for J.R. Fitzpatrick – the 2022 APC Pro Late Model Series champion – who led every lap on his way to the win. Shepherd held on for the second-place finish, 2021 event winner Ryan Kimball was third, with Travis Hallybur ton fourth. Connor James – who marched to the front of the field after experiencing issues in qualifying and starting at the back of the pack – completed the top five.

Dawson Drimmie and Jordan Latimer had the front row starting spots for the week end’s second 30-lap Trailers Plus Canadian Legend Car Series feature run. Off the initial green flag, Drimmie and inside second row starter Hudson Nagy ran side-by-side for the opening lap, before Nagy took the lead.

A yellow flag with five laps complete slowed the pace and saw Drimmie take the lead on the restart, before Cole McFadden took over the position.

The leaders started working through the tail-end of the field just past the halfway mark, with Adam Cuthbertson taking the lead. The driver of the No. 79 machine held on for the win, with McFadden, Drimmie, Nick Portt and Jordan Latimer completing the top five.

Even though he didn’t participate at Autumn Colours, Parker Traves was named the 2022 Trailers Plus Canadian Legend

(Above) J.R. Fitzpatrick flashes the No. 1 sign as he takes the checkered flag to win the Electric City 167. Photo by Greg MacPherson

Peterborough Speedway: Autumn Colours Classic

Car Series champion. With his fifth-place main event finish, Jordan Latimer clinched third-place in the overall standings and was named the 2022 rookie of the year.

Todd Davenport and Lane Zardo brought the 15-car KOD Disposal Super Stock 50-lap ‘A’ main to the line. Zardo picked up the early lead, with the crowd watching strong runs by Rick Spencer-Walt and Shawn Cheno weth. Following the race’s first caution flag, Chenoweth took the lead away from Zardo, with slower traffic becoming an issue with just less than 20 laps remaining. Zardo snatched the top spot back following a lap 38 yellow flag, but a short time later, mech anical issues forced the No. 36 machine behind the wall.

Chenoweth and Spencer-Walt swapped the lead back-and-forth several times before running out of laps for another change. Shawn Chenoweth earned the traditional crown that goes to the Autumn Colours Classic Super Stock feature winner, with Spencer-Walt, Davenport, Paul Pepper and Brian Wilson completing the top five.

As the top finishing Peterborough Speed way regular, Paul Boundy, in the No. 08, earned a $250 bonus from Larry Crowe Jr. with his sixth-place effort.

With 67 laps on the table – in memory of Melissa Bullen – the Jiffy Lube Mini Stock

field came to the stripe with Josh Bullen and Chandler Bos on the front row. Following an early yellow flag, for an issue in the third turn, James Townsend took control of the field with Josh Bullen, Johnny Paradzinski, Shawn Taylor and Bobby Mercer hot on his tail.

With 28 starters taking the initial green flag, attrition was a major factor on the day as several top runners fell out of the field. Townsend – who had claimed the Peterbor ough Speedway Late Model track champion ship a month earlier – survived a late-race caution flag and held off a hard charging Nolan Gould to take the win. Paradzinski was third, with Taylor and Mercer completing the top five.

The final main event of the 29th Autumn Colours Classic was a 40-lap headliner for the OSCAAR Hot Rod teams. As Tyler Hawn and Tom Walters attempted to bring the field to the Great Canadian RV green flag, an impromptu rain shower delayed the start of the event, but fans were still treated to an enter taining end to the weekend.

Hawn took the early lead, with Walters and Bill Zardo Sr. – a pair of Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductees – making headlines. Just as the leaders were working through the tail of the field, the race’s only yellow flag flew. Not even that slowdown could keep Tyler Hawn – the 2017, 2018 and 2019 series champion – from victory lane, with Big Bill, Stompin’ Tom, Steve Book and J.R. Fitzpatrick next across the line.

The fourth-place finish clinched a second straight OSCAAR Hot Rod Series title for the No. 47 of Steve Book. The driver from Brant ford, Ont. recorded a win and seven top five finishes in 12 races this season. IT

(Top, left) Shawn Chenoweth was the man to beat in Super Stock action at the ACC. Photo by Greg MacPherson (Top, right) The Autumn Colours Classic is the province’s best attended and final asphalt ‘special’ of the Ontario racing season. Photo by Dave Franks (Above, left) Andy Kamrath cruised to the OSCAAR Modified win and the 2022 points championship. Photo by Dave Franks (Above, right) Following the DQ of the driver who took the checkered flag, Craig Cole was credited with the Bone Stock feature win. Photo by Dave Franks

(Below) Adam Cuthbertson took the lead near the halfway point of the Canadian Legend Car Series, en route to the win. Photo by Greg MacPherson

BRIGHTON APPLEFEST

Story by Nicole Kleinsteuber, with Contributions from Tim Baltz

The biggest weekend in racing at Brighton Speedway was a thrilling affair, with Applefest taking place September 23-24.

Justin Cyr was the early pace setter in Saturday’s 35-lap DIRTcar Sportsman fea ture. On Lap 5, Bobby Herrington took the lead and started to pull away, while using the outside lane, as Justin and Gabriel Cyr put on a great battle for second. Michael Dillon brought out the first caution, setting up a re start, where Herrington was in control once again, as Gabriel Cyr took second.

Herrington marched away and built up a sizeable advantage. On Lap 23, things got interesting as Brennan Moore was involved in an accident on the backstretch. Herring ton was taken off the track as he tried to avoid a spinning Jamie Young, but was able to keep going and hold the lead as the yellow flag flew. When the green waved, it was Herrington again in front.

Herrington proved to be too strong on this night; he marched on to become the first driver since Cody McPherson to sweep the DIRTcar Sportsman portion of Applefest weekend. Gabriel Cyr finished a career-best second, while Brad Rouse had

a third-place result.

Johnathon Ferguson took the lead, from the outside pole, at the start of the 75-lap DIRTcar 358 Modified feature. Ferguson was working the top side of the speedway perfectly in the early laps. On Lap 15, 2019 champion Chris Raabe was on the move, taking third from Erick Rudolph. Raabe con tinued his charge forward and, on Lap 21, would use the bottom to take the lead and begin a dominant run.

Nearing the halfway point, Raabe began to enter traffic. Derek Vanmill, Chris Herbison, Jarrett Herbison and Todd Gordon all spun heading into turn three and Raabe was able to somehow get by without issues. As the laps clicked off, it became clear that it was going to take something major for anyone to catch Raabe. He authored a dominant performance in the win, ahead of Rudolph and David Hebert. Gary Lindberg scored the 10-lap Dash for Cash victory on Friday night.

Charlie Sandercock led the field to green in the 50-lap Northeast Late Model Alliance Great Crate race. The driver punched on the gas as his contenders hunted him down. Sandercock and Brandon Mowat tossed the lead back-and-forth, with Sandercock sailing to victory lane. Andrew Hennessy finished

second, with Steve Baldwin third. Sander cock also won the LMNA ten-lap Dash for Cash on Friday night.

Shawn Gregory had the early lead in a 30-lap Canadian Modified/UMP series race and took the victory, with Ron Wadforth in second. Joel Dick parked it in a ten-lap Mod Dash for Cash on Friday night.

Justin Ramsay was bent and bound to sweep the Applefest Shootout weekend for the first time in his Thunderstock career. Following a pass for the lead with one lap to go on Apples Eve, Ramsay was quick to take the lead on Saturday, as he bolted to victory lane in the 40-lap Insta Panel Duel in the Dirt 40-lap main.

Pierre Picard drove hard on the high side to victory lane in the Mini Stock/ Comp 4 20-lap main, while Mini Stock champ Carter Rhodes was victorious on Apples Eve in the Insta Panels Duel in the Dirt Mini Stock 20lap main.

And the Eastern Ontario Vintage Stock Car Club was on hand for a 20-lap feature event on Friday. Jason Riddell’s car broke while leading, giving the spot to Brandon Gregory, who held off repeated challenges to collect the win. Greg Hale scored the victory in the 50/60 Vintage division. IT

(Above) Bobby Harrington won the 35 lap DIRTcar Sportsman main at Brighton Speedway’s Applefest Weekend. Photos Courtesy of Brighton Speedway

Bobby Harrington Wins 35-lap DIRTcar Sportsman Main Event

BROCKVILLE FALL NATIONALS

Canadians Raabe and McPherson Star at Brockville Ontario Speedway

Story by Tim Baltz

It was a big weekend for Canadians Chris Raabe and Cody McPherson during the Brockville Fall Nationals, which took place on October 14-15 at Brockville Ontario Speedway.

DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIEDS

Raabe led early on Night 1, moving to the bottom line as it gained rubber during a 62lap green flag run. Traffic became a factor down the stretch in the 75-lap contest, but Raabe was able to hold on for the win.

“I knew I had to try to protect the bottom because that’s where the rubber was,” he said. “I felt confident that as long as I had a lap car beside me, it was going to be awfully hard for anyone to make a move.”

Night 2 featured 100 laps of racing, with $10,000-to-win. Raabe and David Hebert battled for the lead early before Hebert’s car caught fire, from the lead, on Lap 46. Raabe pulled away from Tim Fuller on the restart; he had a versatile car, which he says is key for long races, allowing the car to move between lanes. With a strong car and no concern about the threat of lap traffic, Raabe grabbed another victory.

“Any time you go to a big weekend, like the Fall Nationals, you hope that you can maybe win one night,” he said. “But you certainly don’t expect to sweep the weekend, so it was a pleasant surprise.”

Dave Marcuccilli clinched the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series championship by finish ing 12th.

DIRTCAR SPORTSMAN SERIES

Shane Pecore led early in the 50-lap race on night one, before a caution on lap eight set up a series of restarts that would create great battles up front. Bobby Herrington passed Pecore on Lap 18 before Pecore took the spot back at the halfway mark. Herring ton made another pass on Lap 43, before a green-white-checkered finish was required.

Herrington pulled away to his ninth win of the year and clinched the track’s Ogilvie’s Sportsman Series title in the process. Pec ore finished a hard-fought second.

Night 2 saw another 50-lap event for the division, where Cody McPherson entered with a 16-point lead over Zach Sobotka in the DIRTcar championship battle. Cedric

Gauvreau passed Jessica Power for

lead after the start, before Herrington took the top spot on Lap 16. A restart on Lap 34 cre ated a close battle between Herrington and Sam Charland before Herrington pulled away.

The closing laps saw Sobotka running third, but McPherson stayed right with him in fourth. Herrington went on to win the race, while McPherson clinched his second career DIRTcar Sportsman Series title.

“You have goals but you just don’t know how they will turn out,” McPherson told DIRTcar Racing. “We started from the very first race. We knew what we had to do to get the most points and what races we needed to make this all happen. It just worked out and thanks to all that helped me as well. What a year.”

There was a key difference for McPher son’s second title, as he says it means a little bit more that he ran his own program for the 2022 campaign, a move that he made about three years ago before pandemic delays.

OTHER DIVISIONS

The Brockville Fall Nationals featured more than just the 358 Modifieds and Sportsman Series. On night one, victories were claimed by Justin Ramsay in Street Stock (25 laps), Mason Barkley in 50s/60s Vintage (20 laps) and Jason Riddell in 70s/80s Vintage (25 laps).

The second night saw Kevin Fettery Jr. win a 30-lap race for the DIRTcar Pro Stocks, while Hayden Brown won a 15-lap per for the Mini Stock division. IT

DIRTcar 358 Modifieds winner Chris Raabe (above) and DIRTcar Sportsman Series champion Cody McPherson (below) were big winners at the Brockville Fall Nationals. Photos by Rick Young

the

SUPER DIRT WEEK

The 50th running of the prestigious Super DIRT Week took place October 4-9, culminating in the main events at a dirt-covered Oswego Speedway, northwest of Syracuse, NY.

DIRTCAR SPORTSMAN

The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series saw Canadian Cody McPherson continue his dominant season. With multiple track cham pionships already under his belt, he started Super DIRT Week with a win at Weedsport Speedway. The St. Catharines, ON driver had a new tire and decided it was now or never to get it cycled in, despite issues running new tires all season.

“It takes about 20 to 30 laps for it to fire off, but we figured with a 75-lap race we’d be okay,” said McPherson. “We used to run them in the hot laps and then the heat, dur ing the regular season, to try and heat-cycle a tire but we didn’t have that option with the dirt tour races because we had hot lap time trials, which were important, and the heat, which was so important.”

The obstacle didn’t hold them back for long, as he led the final 43 laps of the Tuesday night race. McPherson then set his sights on the main event, where he led the field to green at Oswego.

“The plan was just to take it easy, run

basically 75 time trial laps and just hit my marks,” he said. “If someone was going to pass me, they were going to have to go around me.”

McPherson held off defending race win ner Zach Sobotka on a late restart to cap off a dominant performance, where he led every lap en route to victory, ahead of Chad Edwards and Sobotka. It’s McPherson’s first Super DIRT Week title and his 16th DIRTcar feature win of the season.

“Being the 50th (running) makes it a little more special,” he said. “They’re all special though, especially it being the biggest race; it feels phenomenal.”

SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES

The headline race was 200 laps and $50,000-to-win for the Super DIRTcar Series. Matt Sheppard started on the pole and led early before making a scheduled pit stop for fuel and rear tires. It took Sheppard just 18 laps to move back inside the top-two, while Canadian Mat Williamson struggled to move through the field.

Marc Johnson moved up from a 10thplace starting spot to take the lead from Peter Britten on lap 66. Johnson held off Sheppard until Lap 160, when the polesitter moved back to the front. The Waterloo, NY driver pulled away to win the race, followed

by Williamson and Max McLaughlin. It was Sheppard’s third Super DIRTcar win in Super DIRT Week and his seventh overall victory at the event.

DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIEDS

Sheppard also raced in the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds event, making his first division start in three years for the 150-lap race. He was running third when he suffered a flat tire around Lap 91, but a timely caution saved his day. Sheppard took the lead on Lap 140 and pulled away to the win, followed by McLaughlin and Tim Fuller. Canadian Stew art Friesen led during two portions of the race and was running second in the closing laps when he blew a tire, finishing 19th.

OTHER DIVISIONS

Nick Stone won a 50-lap DIRTcar Pro Stock race after holding off competitors dur ing three green-white-checkered attempts; Chucky Dumblewski and Pete Stefanski rounded out the podium. In a 25-lap Past Champion Big Block Modifieds event, Friesen claimed the victory over Sheppard. Else where, Sobotka (Sportsman) and Williamson (358 Modifieds) won at Brewerton Speed way, while Josh Coonradt (Pro Stocks) and McLaughlin (358 Modifieds) took victories at Weedsport Speedway. IT

Canadian Mat Williamson (left) came up just short in his quest to win the 200-lap Modified main at Super DIRT Week, finishing second to Matt Sheppard (middle). Photo by Alex and Helen Bruce

Oswego Speedway Hosts 50th Edition of Annual Dirt Event

QWICK WICK SUPER STOCK SERIES

Story by Bryce Turner

It was a mix of new and old for Pete Vander wyst in the Qwick Wick Super Stock Series this season, as the veteran driver won the series’ second official championship.

Vanderwyst started the five-race season with a pair of top-five finishes, before an eighth-place result in the Canada Day race at Delaware Speedway, where a right-front spring collapsed to spoil his day. That race made tire management a challenge moving forward.

“We had wrecked a tire at the Delaware race, but we weren’t allowed to replace any tires,” said Vanderwyst. “The tire shortage caused a bunch of issues for a lot of guys.”

The team finished eighth at Sunset Speedway before entering the September 24 finale at Delaware just two points back of Gerrit Tiemersma, with Lane Zardo wedged between them in the standings. Vanderwyst is not much of a points racer, so his strategy of chasing wins didn’t change.

“We set the track record, got the pole, started fifth and we were running second for a bunch of the race,” he said. “We finally got to lead eight laps, then I knew Rick Spen cer-Walt had new tires and I had tires that had 140 laps on them already.”

Vanderwyst let Spencer-Walt pass him with the fresher tires and settled into second, with some buffer between him and his championship challengers. He held the position for the remainder of the 50-lap race and, with the math done by his team, he had a hunch that the title was his.

“We didn’t want to rejoice sooner than when they actually acclaimed it, but it was a great feeling,” he said. “Great accomplish ment for our whole team and the program that we put together.”

Vanderwyst ran a new car out of the Mc Coll Racing stable, which he says gave him the feel he needed to be successful.

“Starting off building a brand-new car and something that was completely different than what anybody had really been running from the metric side of it,” he said. “Burt Mc Coll, who really designed the car…and all the guys at McColl Racing, got the car to where we needed it to be.”

As for the ‘old,’ Vanderwyst says the lines and feel of Delaware remained the same from his CASCAR and early-2000s Late Model days, despite the new pavement, and facing tough competition in weekly racing at Delaware also helped with his home track advantage.

DELAWARE SPEEDWAY

Nic Ramsay led the field to green for the season finale, which was the Friday night headliner in the Great Canadian Race Weekend.

The race saw an early red flag of nearly 45 minutes for an opening lap wreck, where Tate O’Leary’s car came to rest with the back bumper stuck atop the inside front stretch wall. O’Leary felt sore, so a hole was cut in the roof of his car for an easier exit.

Carson Nagy briefly took the lead on the restart before Ramsay took control of the top spot. Nagy started dropping way back, eventually pitting with a blistered tire. With 26 to go, title contender Lane Zardo bounced off the wall and pitted with a flat tire; he went on to finish 10th.

Ramsay held the lead for two restarts be fore Vanderwyst took the spot with 20 to go. Spencer-Walt used fresher tires to take the lead with 12 to go, winning the race before later being disqualified for failing post-race total weight inspection.

As a result, Vanderwyst, in addition to the title, was also credited with his first series victory; Ramsay, Shawn Chenoweth, Ryan Dyson and Gerrit Tiemersma rounded out the top-five. IT

(Above) Pete Vanderwyst (No. 7) entered the Delaware season finale just two points back in the points. The St. Thomas, ON racer has always gone for wins, and he took the victory and secured the championship in the closer. Photo by Dave Franks

Vanderwyst Seals Title at Delaware Speedway

Ontario Great Lakes Legends

Story by Bryce Turner

It’s not uncommon for ‘families of four’ go to racetracks, to watch. But for the McNi col-Hatch family, they recently had the rare opportunity to compete as drivers in the same class, on the same night!

It happened September 24 in the penultimate race of the Qwick Wick Great Lakes Legends Series, at Flamboro Speed way. Three of the family members were scheduled to compete, with Kenny McNicol in a Dan Russ car, while running his own program for kids Hailey McNicol and Zach Hatch. When an extra seat opened at Russ’ team, it was Kenny’s wife Jennifer Hatch who filled in.

With Kenny and Jennifer about to enter their 30th year of racing, they got the unique opportunity to race as a family of four. They made up the entire field of a heat race when they previously competed together in Bone Stocks but doing this in Legends cars felt different.

“We did a whole bunch of research, and we can’t find anyone else who’s ever docu mented doing this,” said Jennifer Hatch.

It was a competitive affair for the family, who trash talked during the car ride to the track, about who was going to win and who was going to crash. Ultimately, it was Jennifer who had the worst run of the day, with a mechanical issue relegating her to a 22nd-place finish.

“I ended with a broken rear gear, so ‘mom’ got the shaft,” she said. “I knew that the rear gear could let go at any point and I wasn’t willing to trash the car, so I was just out to start the race with them and get a few laps in.”

Kenny, who went on to win the series championship, led the family with a third-

place result. Hailey finished 14th and Zach finished 15th, continuing a tendency of finish ing back-to-back in very equal equipment.

“In practice, we’ll tell them to go out and get away from each other and we’ll walk up to the fence and there they are, toe-to-toe,” said Jennifer. “We only had one bad crash this year and it was Hailey spinning and Zach launching over the back of Hailey into the wall, (so even the crash) was with each other.”

While they’re a blended family, Jennifer says outsiders wouldn’t know the difference if spending time with them. The four of them travel together on weekends, enjoy trash talking and clearly the kids are close on track. But there are differences when it comes to driving style.

“Hailey is definitely more of a ‘Hail Mary,’ throw it in, let’s get to the front in a hurry, just like her dad,” said Jennifer. “Zach is very much like me, he is cool and consistent every lap, making really calculated moves and working his way to the front.”

Looking back at the experience, Jennifer is proud of how they made it happen, with Ken ny running the program and Hailey and Zach moving up from Bone Stocks last year. Ken ny, Hailey and Zach plan to race in Legends next year, while Jennifer could potentially join them again, along the way. IT

(Above) Four members of the McNicol-Hatch clan were in the Great Lakes Legends Series field at Flamboro. (L to R) Jennifer Hatch, Kenny McNicol, Hailey Hatch & Zach Hatch. Photo Courtesy Jennifer Hatch (Below) Of the four, Kenny McNicol, who would go on to clinch the GLLS championship, posted the best result on the night, to secure the family bragging rights. Photo by Peter Anderson

EARL ROSS MEMORIAL

Ailsa Craig, Ontario Pays Tribute to One of its Most Prominent Citizens

Story by Dave Mathers, with files from Charlene Kydd-Pickering

OnOctober 15, Ailsa Craig, Ontario paid tribute to one of its most prominent and successful citizens, the late Earl Ross. The Canadian racer had a long and successful career in Canada and the US, and made history in 1974 by winning the fall NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Martinsville (VA) Speedway.

For decades, Ross – who passed away in 2014 – was the only non-American to accomplish this feat and is still the only Can adian ever to have won a race in NASCAR’s elite Cup Series.

Bill Daniels, a former CASCAR and Late Model racer and son of legendary Super Modified driver ‘Hickory Bill’ Daniels (he came from Hickory Corners so thus the nickname), runs a small engine repair business in Ailsa Craig. He organized the event. Daniels’ sister is married to Ken McKichan, one of the trio of McKichan brothers – Gord, Stan and Ken –who were the magic behind Ross’ success on the track and at Martinsville.

Nearly 500 people attended the event, which featured several vintage Super Modi fieds out front of the host building, all with Buick ‘nailhead’ engines. There were also displays presented by the families of ‘Speedy’ Jack Monaghan, Ken Johnston, Trip Trepani er and several others.

A live auction raised $3,057.05 for the Ailsa Craig and District Historical Society (ADHS). I had the honour of being the emcee and interviewing some of the racing legends who were signing autographs, including Bill Kydd and Scott Wilson.

Also in the house were CASCAR founder

Tony Novotny and two-time NASCAR Pinty’s Series D.J. Kennington. I can’t try to list all the legends in attendance, as I would surely miss many!

According to Charlene Kydd-Pickering, who was schoolmates and good friends with Earl’s daughter, Liz, the event was a great success.

“It brought back many memories of the celebrations held in April, 2000 (when Ross was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame) to celebrate Earl’s success with many drivers and fans of stock car racing, including many who used to race in Ailsa Craig when it had a track.”

Charlene credits Bill Daniels for all his efforts to make the event a big success.

“One day last year, Bill Daniels came to the ADHS with the idea of having an Earl Ross Racers Memorial, which would also help ACDHS raise funds for the replacement of the steeple on one of our building that

was taken down by a tornado September 2021. We all agreed that it sounded like a great idea.

“Bill worked very hard, spending countless hours gathering memorabilia, contacting people and promoting the event, encour aging people to come out on October 15, share stories and enjoy the day.”

Looking ahead, to 2024, Kydd-Pickering says there is a 50th anniversary celebration in the works, at the Historical Society, to hon our Earl Ross’ NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory at Martinsville Speedway, in 1974.

Talking about Earl Ross’ impact on Ailsa Craig, Kydd-Pickering continued, “Earl was dearly loved. We were lucky enough to live in a small town where Earl Ross wasn’t a hero, he was a father, friend, and all-around good person that loved racing cars and golf.”

Thanks to the many volunteers who made the Earl Ross Memorial event such a big success. IT

(Above, left to right) Host Dave Mathers was joined on state by Ken and Stan McKichan, who were members of Earl Ross’ crew. (Below, left) NASCAR racer D.J. Kennington (left) with event organizer Bill Daniels (right). (Below, right) There were several tables full of memorabilia at the event, including this one honouring Earl Ross. Photos by Bruce Laing

OSCAAR MERGES WITH THE URS

With files from OSCAAR

In early November, the long-running OSCAAR sanctioning body announced that effective immediately, it had merged with the United Racing Series (URS).

During the 2022 season, OSCAAR’s tours included the Modified and Hot Rod classes. The United Racing Series oversees the APC Late Model Series and the Qwick Wick Super Stock tour.

According to the release, discussions about a possible merger have taken place intermittently for a couple of years.

“Luke Ramsay and I have had discussions over the past two years about how to move OSCAAR forward, and during the 2022 season, talks had intensified,” said OSCAAR President Dave Gainforth. “I feel I have taken OSCAAR as far as I can without additional resources, and by merging with the United Racing Series and tapping into their expertise and support, we can only become better in all areas.”

The press release noted that it will be, “business as usual to start” in the wake of the merger announcement. OSCAAR just completed its 32nd year of racing.

Speaking on behalf of the URS, Luke Ramsay said, “The United Racing Series is excited to welcome OSCAAR into our family. Dave (Gainforth) will still be at the helm and with technical, administration and marketing support from our group we feel that together we can help move the Modifieds and Hot Rods to the next level.”

Ramsay continued, “We have always looked at ways to expand our brand and footprint in motorsports. This is a perfect opportunity.” IT

CANADA 200 AT WESTERN SPEEDWAY

Korbin Thomas Wins 44th Edition at Western Speedway

Western Speedway opened in 1954. In 1972, the Vancouver Island oval held the first Canada 200 – a race that would become one of the most prestigious late model stock car events in the Pacific North West. On September 4, Korbin Thomas won the 44th Canada 200, the last to be held on the historic Victoria-area track.

The 2022 Shockwave Seats Reg Midgley Memorial Canada 200 was a good one. Ac cording to Thomas, organizers made every effort to make it a memorable show.

“A lot of people put a lot of effort into it. They put a lot of money up to win and they really tried to make it something that was a good farewell and send-off. A lot of guys bought cars for that race.”

The result was one of the largest 200 fields in many years, with 34 cars qualifying. Timing-in quickest was 2020 winner Bran don Carlson, who bettered second-fastest Mark Stuart by 1/1,000ths of a second. The top 25 qualifiers were within a second of each other.

Although Korbin qualified third, he wasn’t satisfied.

“The car was fast, but it wasn’t where we needed to be. Sunday morning, we made changes and felt it was in the right direction and left it like that for the race.”

Just to remind everyone that it was the Island, rain on Sunday morning shortened the time available for practice.

A ten-car inversion for the start put twotime 200 winner Rory Smith of Metchosin on the pole with three-time winner Dave Hemrich of Vancouver outside. WESCAR regular Trevor Adelman was the best of the Interior racers in third and track promoter and two-time 200 winner Darrell Midgley took the green in fourth.

As was to be expected, Smith seized control of the race right from the start and held on until the halfway break. Behind him, Midgley and Thomas fought over second and were soon joined by Carlson, up from tenth and Mike Haslam, who started 17th. Although the very busy conditions led to a number of spins, especially in Turn 1, Hem rich was the only one of the frontrunners who didn’t make it to halfway.

“You try and run as fast as you can with out beating on stuff,” Thomas said. “You’ve

got 200 laps and you keep yourself out of trouble and try and keep the fenders on it. Bent racecars don’t win races.”

After refuelling and making adjustments, but still on the same Hoosier tires, the restart order was Smith and Carlson up front, trailed by Midgley and Haslam and then Thomas and local driver Kyle Cottam. Thomas was soon on Smith’s back bumper and was still there when a spin brought out the yellow on lap 116. As Smith and Thomas dove into turn one on the lap 122 restart, they both went around with the right rear of Smith’s No. 16 climbing up and over the nose of Thomas’s No. 5. A number of other cars piled in, as well.

“We went side by side into the corner and the next thing I knew we were both spinning out,” Korbin explained. “I don’t know if we got close enough that our tires jumped over one another. It was an odd thing, not part of the plan.”

After stopping for some bodywork, almost everyone was able to continue but Adelman could not.

Carlson and Haslam led on the restart, but tangled after a couple of laps and

Story by Robert K. Rooney

(Above) Korbin Thomas’ win at the 2022 Canada 200, will be the last for a driver at Western Speedway (above), which is closing its doors this year.

brought out the yellow again. It was Cottam and Midgley leading to the green next time and Cottam took the lead and held onto it through restart after restart. Midgley kept his No. 81 NPP Dodge in the hunt but was increasingly challenged by WESCAR racer Jarrett Bonn of Quesnel. With 30 laps to go, Carlson, too, was back in the top five as were the battered machines of Thomas and Smith.

With ten to go, Cottam still led from Thomas, Bonn and Carlson. Spencer Carlson was part of the lead pack now and Smith was still there, as well. Smith’s day ended on the Lap 191 restart when he was tapped and turned off turn four. A short run under green ended on Lap 198 with Cottam still up front and Thomas second, setting the scene for a green-white-checkered finish.

Thomas made an excellent start from the outside, and had edged past Cottam with one to go. His Key Welding/Finishline Racing Products Chevy crossed the stripe less than half a tenth ahead of Cottam’s No. 4. Bonn’s No. 51 was third with Midgely fourth and Duane Zeinstra of Black Creek fifth. Ten cars finished on the lead lap.

“Kyle drove a really smart race,” Korbin noted. “I don’t know that I could have got him without that restart. There wasn’t much more than tape holding our front end together. This was a hard race to win. Nobody came to finish second.”

Owning the second-most Canada 200 wins with four, just one shy of Victoria racing legend Roy Haslam’s five, felt good to Thomas but is overshadowed by the fate of the speedway.

“It’s just sad,” he says. “There was so much history here. It’s defin itely the end of an era. Hopefully, it won’t take too long before we get a 2.0 on the go and start all over again.” IT

BUTCHER WINS TIRECRAFT 200

Slaunwhite Crowned 2022 East Coast International Pro

Stock Tour Champion

Story Courtesy of East Coast International Pro Stock Tour

Cole Butcher (Hantsport, NS) won the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour season-ending Tirecraft 200 tonight at Scotia Speed world. The win is the second of the season for Butcher. Ashton Tuck er (Lyttleton, NB) was in the hunt all day and found himself second when the checkered flag flew. Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS) found himself on the podium yet again with a third-place finish. Lonnie Sommerville (Barnesville, NB) and Nicholas Naugle (Dartmouth, NS) completed the top five in Round 12.

Slaunwhite clinched the 2022 championship at Scotia Speedworld by starting the Tirecraft 200. It is the first time since John Flemming (Halifax, NS) that the Series has seen a back-to-back champions after Slaunwhite won the crown for the first time in 2021. The champion receives $10,000 from the East Coast International Point Fund and a championship ring commissioned by Inglis Jewelers.

Ryan Van Oirschot (Antigonish, NS) won the Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year. Van Oirschot had a strong freshman year, finishing fourth in the overall championship standings. The No. 25 team finished the year with a 12th place finish in the Tirecraft 200 at Scotia Speedworld.

Donald Chisholm (Antigonish, NS), Slaunwhite and Matt Vaughan (Bedford, NS) won their Atlantic Tiltload heat races, which set the field for the Tirecraft 200. Flemming took home the Kenny U Pull Hard Charger award. Cole Butcher won the R&D Performance Centre Most Laps Led Award. Matt Vaughan took home the Fleet Brake Atlantic Lucky Dog Award. IT

(Above) 2022 East Coast International Pro Stock Tour Champion Craig Slaunwhite. Photos Courtesy of Western Speedway and the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour

CONSISTENT

VETERAN WINS 2022 NTT INDYCAR TITLE POWER

the 2022 NTT IndyCar season title wasn’t possible until the checkered flag at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. For the last 17 consecutive seasons, the series has been so competitive that the championship fight has come down to the final race, this year awarding Will Power his second title and Team Penske’s 17th.

Claiming

Ironically, Power only won one race this season (Detroit), beating his teammate, Josef Newgarden (with five wins) by 16 points. Scott McLaughlin’s three wins (St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio, and Portland) ranked him fourth, 50 points behind Power, giving Team Penske a combined 9 wins over 17 races. Consistency rather than wins was the key to winning this championship.

“I’ve had an attitude switch where you know the season is long, the races are long, and you've got to make the most of every situation, even if you're fighting for 12th,” explained Power, who last won the title in 2014 but was runner up in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016. “If that's your day to finish 12th, finish 12th, not 24th. The way the ser ies is, consistency counts big time. I know the game so well being at it for 17 years. It simply feels like the older you get, the more relaxed you get and just understand how life is.

“I know what nervousness you need and what pressure you need to find that sweet spot. I'm loving the racing. It's a privilege to feel nervous before a race because there's going to be a time that you don't get to do that. Some people never get to do that.

“It just shows how competitive the championship is. No one is dominating. Josef (Newgarden) has been probably the fastest guy. It just speaks to the way the IndyCar points system is: it rewards consistency as opposed to wins. Points reward the top four finishes. After that it really drops off. There's no series like it in the world. Just look at the time gap from first to last every week in qualifying. There's not a series as tight as this, as tough as this. It’s impossible to predict; it's always going to go down to the last race. There's just too many fast guys, good teams, and good drivers. Just try to pick a winner and pole sitter each week. Impossible!”

Perhaps Power’s strategist change to Ron Ruzewski, Team Pens ke’s Managing Director, helped convince Power not to get frustrated when his car had pace but lacked results. Instead, to accept and be satisfied finishing in the top five (he averaged sixth). Power’s mental shift, being more laid back over his results, was clear from the start of this season. But it didn’t slow his performance as he has amassed the most poles with 68, breaking Mario Andretti’s record of 67, held since 1993. Only Power and Scott Dixon completed all 2,268 laps in 2022.

Entering the final race there were still five drivers mathematically possible to win the title: Power (523 points), Newgarden (503), Scott Dixon (503), Marcus Ericsson (484) and McLaughlin (482).

Power, referred to a “Chill Will” due to the dramatic change in his approach, finished third at the season finale to earn his second title in 18 seasons. The Australian proved his was the right strategy.

Just hard to imagine as competitive as Newgarden was, with his killer instinct, that he came up short after winning five races. Newgarden won at Texas, Long Beach, Road America, Iowa 1, and St. Louis. While dominating in the lead at Iowa 2, a suspension part

Story by Mary Bignotti Mendez

failure caused Newgarden to spin with heavy wall contact, resulting in a loss of 44 points. His season average finish was 8.2.

“We've come up short in this championship,” stated Newgarden, winner of the 2017 and 2019 titles. “We've got to be in a different position next year and fight a lot harder so that we can hopefully be in a much more favorable position coming into this (final) weekend. I believe we can do that.

“It is very difficult to win these races consistently, difficult to win a pole, and hard just to win a race. Ten years ago, you used to have consistent trends. When a team would find a performance edge, they would typically carry that edge across the entire year. Now, people find these little edges on each other every weekend. It's going up and down all the time. You see a McLaren strong at one track, Andretti strong at another, Ganassi pops up, ECR (Ed Carpenter Racing) pops up, we're in the mix. Then a Shank pops up. It's never ending. We say every year it's the closest competition we’ve ever had. Somehow it keeps getting tighter. It must be the development of this car has really hit a fine point. You're just constantly tuning little things now, millimetres of changes. The driving style is getting tighter, with simulators, all this stuff you can analyze. It's impossible to hide something from the competition.”

Behind Newgarden in third was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dixon, 39 points behind Power with two wins. But the Kiwi’s greatest regret, a driver error, was exceeding the pit speed limit by 1 mph on his final pit stop at the Indianapolis 500 last May while leading the race. The re sulting drive-through penalty dropped him from a win to a 21st place finish and a loss of 70 points – at the only race offering double points.

“As a team we didn’t extract enough speed in qualifying,” reflected Dixon, a six-time champion, about his struggles trying to overcome mid-grid results over the season with an average start of 11th (aver age finish of 6.7). “Definitely an area we need to improve on. We’ll keep after it. We know exactly what we need to do in the off season. We made the most of what we had at every race, and finished every race lap this year, which is definitely a huge milestone. We’ll be fight ing for number seven next year.”

At Ganassi, Ericsson earned double points when he won the Indian apolis 500, finishing fourth overall in the points table. Alex Palou, the 2021 Titleist, ranked sixth with one win.

Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward earned two victories (Barber and Iowa 2), placing seventh overall. Andretti Autosport also had two victories accomplished by Colton Herta on the Indianapolis road course in May followed by Alexander Rossi’s win there in July.

The remaining five winless teams were Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Ed Carpenter, Dale Coyne, A.J. Foyt, and Juncos Hollinger Racing. At ECR, Rinus VeeKay had a third and fourth place finish and Conor Daly earned a fifth, but that is only three top-five finishes in 34 races com bined. A.J. Foyt’s highest finishing driver in tenth was Kyle Kirkwood, the 2021 Indy Lights champ. Dalton Kellett took 18th at the St. Louis oval as his best result.

“Overall, it’s been an up and down year for us,” said Kellett, a Stouffville native in his third season. “We have improved our street course car and our qualifying performances. But lacking a bit of per formance at the permanent road courses. We’ll put our heads down and do a season review to see what we can learn from everything. Then use that information to make improvements for next year.”

Fellow Canadian and rookie, Devlin DeFrancesco, earned his high est finishing position of 12th at the St. Louis oval driving for Andretti Autosport, ranking 23rd overall. Because Jimmy Johnson placed 21st for Ganassi, the Leader’s Circle funding (about U.S. $1.2M appearance money to the top 22 entries) goes to DeFrancesco who

returns for his second season at Andretti (only team grandfathered funding for four cars).

There was quite a battle for Rookie of the Year between Christian Lundgaard (323 points) driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan and David Malukas (305) of Dale Coyne Racing. Both had a season high finish of 2nd, with Lundgaard finishing 18 points ahead due to seven top-ten finishes versus Malukas’ two.

The engine manufacturers title was easily captured by Chevy with 11 wins and 1,510 points over Honda’s six wins and 1,299 points, although Honda achieved its goal of winning the Indianapolis 500.

Teams return March 2023 with the same cars and drivers mostly for another highly competitive IndyCar season where any driver can win. IT

(Opposite page and top) 202 NTT IndyCar Series champion Will Power. Canadians Dalton Kellett (middle) and Devlin DeFrancesco (above) finished 25th and 23rd in the standings, respectively. Photos by Ed Gatner

ANDREW RANGER

at the Chaudière Autodrome The 31st in all for the triple champion!

HÉBERT

MODIFIED RACE

DAVID HÉBERT — DAPHNÉ HÉBERT A SEASON FILLED WITH PASSION AND ABOVE ALL, VICTORY!

HÉBERT

DAVID

DAVID

Team ONE member, crowned champion of the Granby modified race feature and Quebec/Ontario Challenge champion.

2022 SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE WITH TWO EVENT IN 14 DAYS

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

Two events in a 14-day span, both run at Canadian Tire Motor sport Park, brought the 2022 CASC-Ontario Region racing season to a successful and fulfilling conclusion.

GT SPRINTS

As has become a recent tradition, the GT Sprints field was blessed with the presence of a handful of maritime competitors, much to the chagrin of the CASC regulars. For the Late Summer Trophy Races, the GT Sprints fields were split with the top end GT-1 and GT-2 racers getting a trio of 25 minute races, while the same schedule was offered to the GT-3,4,5 entries.

To no one’s surprise, local lead foot Blaise Csida (No. 120 Camaro) captured the GT-1 and overall checkered flag in Saturday’s opening round, edging out past champion James Beaton (No. 2 Corvette) by a mere 0.653 seconds. Unable to take the green flag in Sunday morning’s wet race due to rear end issues, Csida could only watch from the pitlane as Beaton exacted a measure of by capturing the victory, fending off repeated challenges from the east coast’s Leigh Pettipas (No. 706 Monte Carlo). However, it was Pettipas stepping up in the weekend finale by outdistancing Dan Corcoran (No. 125 Impala) by an amazing 51.435s.

John Hansen (No. 30 BMW) topped the charts in GT-2 in the opening two rounds, but it was Gary Kwok, aboard his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo who scored the class win in the third contest, finishing in third place, overall.

GT-3 checkered flags were captured by New Brunswick’s Chris topher McCrea (No. 506 Fusion) and twice by Marc Lafleur (No. 03 BMW), but it was another east coast entry that attracted much attention.

The yellow No. 149 Honda CRX was co-driven on this weekend by Nickoli Roussakov and Daniel Dugdale, thee pair also teaming up to enter the Late Summer Enduro. Although the car failed to see the end of the 100 lap endurance contest, in the weekend’s first appearance, Roussakov charged from the tailend of the 19 car pack to be credited with a fourth place result. A pair of ‘breakouts’ cost Dugdale two laps in the middle stanza but he was able to rein in his loud petal to earn a well-deserved sixth place finish in the last race of the weekend.

CELEBRATION OF MOTORSPORTS

The 2022 CASC-OR campaign wrapped up on the first weekend in October with the annual Celebration of Motorsports at CTMP. Again, the GT classes were split with plenty of Detroit grunt at the front of

the GT-1/2 field, including five pick up trucks, along with a few auda cious BMWs keeping the pressure on.

More the most part it was the Blaise Csida/ James Beaton show in GT-1 as Csida put his No. 120 Camaro on the pole and powered away to the win in the opening round with Beaton running in lockstep, the yellow No. 02 Corvette crossing the line a mere 0.119 in arrears of the winning Camaro. Youngster Jack Polito (No. 221 Mustang) finished in a very respectable third spot.

Noticing a bad vibration at high speeds, Csida’s crew changed a variety of parts on his mount for the second race, however the vibration was still evident and the No. 120 retired after the opening lap. Beaton looked apparently free to coast to the twin checkers, al though Rocco Marciello had his No. 53 BMW m235iR within striking distance and John Hansen (No. 30 BMW 328is) was close enough to keep Beaton watching his mirrors. It was another race victory for Beaton in the season finale, but it was Csida who was the show, carving from the tail end of the field to finish in a closing runner-up position after 19 laps of lead foot racing.

In GT-2, it was the No.199 BMW M3 of Daria Khachi who was in control of the class for the opening two races, his absence in the final allowing Fred Roberts (No. 89 Mustang) to enjoy the top step in the trophy dash.

Cornwall, ON’s Marc Lafleur was prepared to put his stamp on the 2022 GT-3 championship and got off to a strong start by guiding his No. 30 BMW M3 to the pole position and then following up with two early wins. Lafleur’s streak came to an unfortunate end however as in the last race of the year as he spun in turn two on the opening lap although he rebounded to be in a challenging position for second place by lap ten. Trying to snatch the runner-up spot from Andrew Danyliw (No. 138 Porsche Cayman), the two made contact and Lafleur was forced to abandon the race with a broken tie rod end. Benefiting from Lafleur’s misfortune was Bruce Wylie who went flagto-flag aboard his No. 67 BMW M3 to claim the win in the finale.

The GT-4 class was sorely under-represented on this weekend, but it was Steve Kent and his No. 69 Camaro who swept the class wins. GT-5 was more unpredictable with Michael Bos (No. 16 Honda), David Dal Bello (No. 135 Porsche Boxster) and Joseph Comacchio (No. 155 BMW) sharing top honours in class.

CELEBRATION NOTES

A glorious assortment of Radicals and open wheeled machinery ran under the Formula Libre banner with the competitive F1200 cars enjoying their final trio of points paying races. As usual, positions were exchanged with alarming regularity and it was now eight-time F1200 champion Phil Wang (No. 173 Caracal C) who captured victories in the first two contests, but finishing in third spot behind Van Peter Hansen (No. 95 Mysterian) and Daniel Demaras (No. 19 BRD) in the incident-shortened last round.

LATE-SUMMER RESULTS

RACE 1: GT-1: 1. No. 120 Blaise Csida, 2. No. 02 James Beaton, 3. No. 706 Leigh Petti pas // GT-2: 1. No. 30 John Hansen, 2. No. 199 Daria Khachi, 3. No. 24 Ed Caranci // GT-3: 1. No. 506 Christopher McCrea, 2. No. 03 Marc Lafleur, 3. No. 67 Bruce Wylie // GT-4: 1. No. 942 Bruno Vendittelli, 2. No. 69 Michael Murrillo // GT-5: 1. No. 155 Joseph Comacchio, 2. No. 16 Michael Bos, 3. 115 Roger Pitter.

RACE 2: GT-1: 1. No. 02 James Beaton, 2. No. 706 Leigh Pettipas, 3. No. 53 Rocco Marciello // GT-2: 1. No. 30 John Hansen, 2. No. 199 Daria Khachi, 3. No. 5 Darren Scott // GT-3: 1. No. 03 Marc Lafleur, 2. No. 43 Ian Law, 3. No. 138 Vince Partap / / GT-4: 1. No. 942 Bruno Vendittelli, 2. No. 69 Michael Murrillo, 3. No. 149 Daniel Dugdale // GT-5: 1. No. 155 Joseph Comacchio, 2. No. 115 Roger Pitter, 3. No. 277 Robert Turner.

RACE 3: GT-1: 1. No. 706 Leigh Pettipas, 2. No. 125 Dan Corcoran, 3. No. 53 Rocco Marciello // GT-2: 1. No. 66 Gary Kwok, 2. No. 30 John Hansen, 3. No. 24 Ed Caranci // GT-3: 1. No. 03 Marc Lafleur, 2. No. 54 Marek Petruczynik, 3. No. 67 Bruce Wylie

// GT-4: 1. No. 942 Bruno Vendittelli, 2. No. 69 Michael Murillo (DNF) // GT-5: 1. No. 16 Michael Bos, 2. No. 115 Roger Pitter, 3. No. 155 Joseph Comacchio.

LATE SUMMER TROPHY ENDURO: 1. No. 77 Radical GT-1- R. Nalbandian/ K. Poitras, 2. No. 28 Radical GT-1- K. Smith/ P. Neely (-1 lap), 3. No. 09 Audi RS3 GT-2- R. Franczak/ J. Woolridge (-5 laps), 4. No. 46 Radical GT-1- G. Kubay/ R. Burgess (-6 laps), 5. No. 238 Audi RS3 GT-1- R. Tomlinson/ M. Tomlinson (-6 laps).

CELEBRATION RESULTS

RACE 1: GT-1: 1. No. 120 Blaise Csida, 2. No. 02 James Beaton, 3. No. 221 Jack Polito // GT-2: 1. No. 199 Daria Khachi, 2. No. 23 Patrick Cyr, 3. No. 89 Fred Roberts // GT-3: 1. No. 03 Marc Lafleur, 2. No. 67 Bruce Wylie, 3. No. 252 Allan Lewis // GT-4: 1. No. 69 Steve Kent, 2. No. 99 Brad Ransom // GT-5: 1. No. 155 Joseph Comacchio, 2. No. 135 David Dal Bello, 3. No. 137 Alexander Wenzel.

RACE 2: GT-1: 1. No. 02 James Beaton, 2. No. 53 Rocco Marciello, 3. No. 30 John Han sen // GT-2: 1. No. 199 Daria Khachi, 2. No. 89 Fred Roberts, 3. No. 23 Patrick Cyr // GT-3: 1. No. 03 Marc Lafleur, 2. No. 67 Bruce Wylie, 3. No. 138 Andrew Danyliw // GT-4: 1. No. 69 Steve Kent // GT-5: 1. No. 135 David Dal Bello, 2. No. 137 Alexander Wenzel, 3. No. 155 Joseph Comacchio.

RACE 3: GT-1: 1. No. 02 James Beaton, 2. No. 120 Blaise Csida, 3. No. 53 Rocco Marci ello // GT-2: 1. No. 89 Fred Roberts, 2. No. 23 Patrick Cyr, 3. No. 96 Walter Bobko // GT-3: 1. No. 67 Bruce Wylie, 2. No. 252 Allan Lewis, 3. No. 961 Marc Hannah // GT-4: 1. No. 69 Steve Kent // GT-5: 1. No. 16 Michael Bos, 2. No. 155 Joseph Comacchio, 3. No. 137 Alexander Wenzel. F1200 RACE 1: 1. No. 173 Phil Wang, 2. No. 95 Van Peter Hansen, 3. No. 19 Daniel Demaras // F1200 RACE 2: 1. No. 173 Phil Wang, 2. No. 49 Nathan Yu, 3. No. 19 Daniel Demaras // F1200 RACE 3: 1. No. 95 Van Peter Hansen, 2. No. 19 Daniel Demaras, 3. No. 173 Phil Wang. IT

(Opposite page) A slew of Maritime racers plumped up the GT classes. (above) Phil Wang won two of three F1200 races at the Celebration of Motorsports. Photos by Richard Coburn

VARAC YIR

A LOOK BACK AT THE 2022 SEASON

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

One of the strongest rebounds from the COVID restrictions has been seen in the vintage motorsports sector. In 2022, well over 125 VARAC-registered drivers, split between the Vintage Historic, Classic and Formula Classic divisions, scored points in this season’s Driver’s Challenge while the VARAC Vintage Grand Prix attracted close to 200 entrants, some coming from as far away as Alberta, Saskatchewan, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, North Caro lina and Pennsylvania.

With the very odd exception, the racing was clean and safe with minimal damage done to the vehicles, the gentlemanly aspect of vintage auto racing living up to its reputation.

At the conclusion of the nine-date 2022 VARAC calendar, 13 com petitors were recognized as best-in-class, with three of those drivers honoured as overall division champions.

VINTAGE / HISTORIC

Catering to the well-ingrained mindset of what a sports car should look like, the Vintage/ Historic class is the VARAC home for such notable marques as MG, Triumph, Lola and Lotus. Small nimble, and capable of close, exciting competition, the small-bore machinery attracts a large amount of interest, both from the budget-conscious racer and their educated fan base.

A long-time GT regional racer in Quebec with an affinity for Mazda models, Phil Cooper switched brands and disciplines in 2008 upon his retirement from the teaching profession.

Taking possession of a pair of Morris Garages MGB street cars, Cooper took it upon himself to fabricate one race-ready car out of the two chassis, eventually guiding his creation to the VH-4 title “a couple of years ago”.

“I was actually looking for a Triumph TR4, but they’re not easy to find and quite expensive to get,” said Cooper. “Then I started con sidering an MG because of the popularity of the car and the handy availability of parts. A teacher friend of mine had an MGB that she wasn’t using and I found another one in Ottawa that the owner had lost interest in, so I bought both, made one track ready and went racing in VARAC.”

Boasting the standard 1800 cc (bored out to 40 thou over), four-cylinder engine, the No. 62 Roadster has a cast iron engine block and crankshaft, but has a modified head, racing cams and an aluminum flywheel. With the powerplant connected to a four-speed, close ratio, straight-cut gearbox, the car showed about 140 bhp when on the dyno.

“This car is relatively easy to drive, it handles nicely and it has good brakes. But it really needed more power,” continued Cooper.

As a way to improve the power-to-weight ration of his car, Cooper purchased another, completely stripped 1963 MGB body shell to drop onto his proven 1974 chassis. Dropping almost 170 pounds of weight has improved the acceleration of his mount and has allowed Cooper to better engage his fellow MG rivals, Joe Lightfoot and Nick Pratt, and the Porsche 911 RS of Anselmo Beretta in proper wheelto-wheel VH-3 competition.

“We had some really great battles this year, the car held togeth er and we were able to win our fair share of the races. I did seven events this year, including two trips to Mont Tremblant, and as luck would have it, I earned enough points to win my VH-3 class and the Vintage/ Historic class Overall championship. That will definitely make the off-season a happier time.”

CLASSIC

The Classic designation in VARAC refers to production-based vehicles constructed between the years of 1973-1989 (G70+) and 1990-1997 (G90). The largest, loudest and fastest machinery is found in Classic with the mainstays of Porsche, BMW, Camaro, Cor vette, and Mustang fronting the charge for class supremacy.

One of the more populated divisions, in the 2022 Vintage Grand Prix, 42 cars took the green flag in a 15 lap race that had only four DNFs.

A relative newcomer to the VARAC racing fraternity, in three short seasons Caledon, ON’s Stephen Di Cesare had made a quick rise through the CL-3 ranks and was proclaimed as the 2022 VARAC class champion while also being recorded as the top scoring driver in the Classic division.

“My dad has been racing since the late 1960s, so racing has kind of always been in my blood,” admitted Di Cesare. “We both attended the Jim Russell school at Tremblant in the mid 90s, and that had me hooked. I became my father’s test day driver in his Ginetta but then I picked up a 1990 Mazda in 2014 that I developed for lapping days.”

“Three years ago, I was trying to decided whether I wanted another street car, a track day car or a full race car but then I found a Mazda Miata in West Virginia. I towed it home, repaired it and prepped it and was ready to go racing in 2020 when Covid hit. I did a day of Time Attack just to familiarize myself with the car and when VARAC opened up again in July 2020, I saw my first real racing action.”

The 2021 season was a development year for Di Cesare and his No. 35 Miata with the car now fully prepared for a run at the cham pionship in 2022.

“We worked on the alignment of the car and the overall set up and I became much more comfortable in the car in both wet and dry conditions.”

Enjoying early season success this year, Di Cesare found him self leading the CL-3 points following a “great weekend of racing with Perry Mason and Tammy Moore” at the Vintage Grand Prix. Continuing to build on his success, by the end of the 2022 campaign, Di Cesare had notched seven wins and 11 podium finishes in 14 starts, sufficient to secure the VARAC CL-3 title as well as the overall Classic championship.

“I had waited a long time before I began to actually race, but the feeling of success has made the wait so worthwhile. I’m motivated and passionate about this vintage racing thing, I’ll be back to try to do even better next season.”

FORMULA CLASSIC

There are a wide variety of open wheel cars competing on the VARAC tour and although their numbers may not match the car counts from the GT ranks, they do enjoy their own designated class with separate races.

Virtually any era of open-wheel car is eligible to compete, from the earliest examples such as Doug Elcomb’s 1961 Canada Class Formula Junior Dreossi to Bill Mitchell’s 1999 BRD F1200.

Recently, the car attracting the most attention as a potential race winner has been the No. 77 1998 Star Mazda. Again in 2022, car owner, mechanic and driver Paul Subject rose to the top of the Formula Classic scoring to be announced as a repeat winner of the FC overall championship.

Although he had been racing in go-karts and TQ Midgets since 1978, to celebrate his 50th birthday, Subject attended a three-day driving school at Laguna Seca Raceway.

“That was a strategic mistake,” admitted Subject. “I swore that I’d never get out of a race car again! I spent four years (2006-2010) competing in the Skip Barber championship but in 2010, I bought this Star Mazda and started racing it all over North America. As the years went by, it gradually became a vintage-era car.”

Racing under the VARAC FC-90 classification, Subject can usually be found leading his open wheeled rivals as he pushes the diminutive 1.3L powerplant to the extreme.

“This is a very forgiving race car, easy to drive because of the downforce and very driver friendly. You still need to stay on top of

it because of the speeds it can reach, but that’s what makes it so much fun.”

With his natural talent and years of experience in both competition and coaching, only when he comes up against other Formula Mazda cars does he become ever-so-slightly worried.

“There’s a lot of them out there. I know that Nigel Mortimer has six or seven of them, and he brought a bunch to the VGP. Lew (MacKen zie) gave me a strong run in his Mazda Sports Racer, it’s the same car as mine, but with bodywork. And his daughter Kimm and another Ottawa driver, Steve McCamus, showed very well, too in those cars.”

VARAC CLASS CHAMPIONS

VINTAGE / HISTORIC: V/H-2: Ted Michalos No. 23 1962 Lotus 23b // V/H-3: Phil Cooper No. 62 1974 MGB* // V/H-4: Del Bruce No. 32 1972 Porsche 914 // V/H-5: Chris Rupnik No. 515 1972 Fiat 124 Spider // V/H-6: Lino Baggio No. 49 1956 MGA.

CLASSIC: CL-A: Del Bruce No. 99 1971 Chevrolet Corvette // CL-1: Andrew Atkins No. 71 1987 Ford Mustang // CL-2: Emily Atkins No. 17 1994 BMW M3 // CL-3: Stephen Di Cesare No. 35 1990 Mazda Miata*.

FORMULA CLASSIC: FC-90: Paul Subject No. 77 1998 Star Mazda* // FC-1200: Phil Wang No. 173 1996 Caracal C // FORMULA JUNIOR: Doug Elcomb No. 948 1961 Dreossi // HISTORIC FORMULA FORD: Kevin Young No. 60 1971 Crossle 20F *Overall FC champions. IT

(Opposite page, top to bottom) Ted Michalos won the 2022 VARAC Vin tage / Historic 2 title in his 1962 Lotus 23b and Andrew Atkins was Clas sic CL-1 champion in his 1987 Ford Mustang. (Top) Formula Classic 90 champion Paul Subject in his 1998 Star Mazda. (Above) Doug Elcomb won the Formula Junior class in his iconic 1961 Dreossi. Photos by Richard Coburn

SUPER PRODUCTION CHALLENGE

QUEBEC SERIES CROWNS 2022 CHAMPIONS AT ICAR

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

The final two dates on the Super Production Challenge calendar took place at Circuit ICAR over the final weekend of August. A large, 36-car field rumbled onto the 3.6-km airport circuit with championships remaining to be decided in the Super Production, Production and Compact classes. The resulting intensity provided the expected drama in each of the 30 minute races. Challengers rose to the top while misfortune took its toll on others, but ultimately a trio of deserving champions were recognized.

SUPER PRODUCTION CLASS

For the majority of the SPC season, the fight for Super Production class superiority had been a three-way battle between defending class champion Olivier Bedard, Jimmy Briere (No. 12 Hyundai Genesis) and the No. 11 BMW with its co-drivers Arek Wojciechowski and Eric Hochgeschurz, each team taking turns sitting atop the point stand ings. Although Bedard was unable to set the fastest time in qualifying for the final two contests, this obstacle played no part in his weekend results as the Terrebonne, QC driver guided his No. 1 Nissan 370Z to back-to-back overall and SP class victories. Briere and Gabrile Lacombe (No. 03) took turns filling the remaining two steps on the podium, but the weekend, and the championship, belonged to Bedard. Over the 14 race calendar, Bedard racked up an impressive seven

race victories and added to his totals with a further five podium appearances to outscore class runner-up Briere by 61 points (495434). The No. 11 BMW duo concluded the season another 19 points in arrears, in third place in SP.

Said Bedard about his back-to-back championship successes, “Last year we spent our time developing the car, that was our biggest challenge. We got the car close in 2021, but we managed to find a little more speed in it this year. That was a good thing, because it was much closer competition this year. Jimmy, the No. 11, they were both crazy fast.”

As if to prove his domination, Bedard regarded his third round win on the streets of Trois Rivieres as a turning point.

“We were disqualified for ‘Avoidable Contact’ with the 11 in race two, that meant I had to start at the back for the weekend finale. I came back to win that race and reclaim some of the lost points. The BMW lost its motor in that race and was a DNF. If that hadn’t happened the overall result may have been a bit different.”

Bedard’s closest competition came from Jimmy Briere, a very familiar opponent.

“We’ve raced against each other before, he’s a very respectful driver, someone I know I can trust. Actually, all of the top drivers in this class were good this year. They all had good pace, and that made the racing at every event even more intense.”

PRODUCTION CLASS

It took a rulebook to decide the outcome of the final two races, as well as the championship, in the Production Class this year.

A tight points battle had raged all season between the Octane Racing No. 45 Mini Copper of Nelson Chan and the No. 55x Toyota GR86 of Owen Clarke. Entering into the last doubleheader racing event of the year, Clarke held on to a tenuous six point advantage in the scoring.

As the Octane Racing duo of Chan and Carlos Tesler-Mabe prepared for the ICAR finale, the drivers switched rides. Unfortu nately, Chan was involved in a serious crash, one that destroyed Tesler-Mabe’s No. 47 car and left Chan with multiple injuries. A close examination of the rulebook revealed that it is the car that scores the points in SPC, and not the driver. Thus, Tesler-Mabe was able to slip behind the wheel of the No. 45 Mini in an effort to track down the point leading Toyota of Clarke.

In the weekend’s opening round, Clarke was handily leading his Production class rivals until a mechanical issue forced his retire ment with only ten minutes remaining in the contest. His misfortune opened the door for Nathan Blok (No. 05 Toyota GT86) to record his debut SPC victory. Benefiting from a penalty to Suellio Almeida, Tesler-Mabe was moved up to a third place finish.

Clarke rebounded in the season finale with a race victory, his sixth of the season, but Tesler-Mabe survived late race contact with Clarke’s teammate Alex Brosseau to notch a fifth place finish, just enough to capture the Production Class title for Chan and Octane Racing’s No. 45 Mini.

“It was quite difficult to watch someone else drive my car,” ad mitted Chan. “But Carlos did an amazing job, bringing the car home with so much damage, the back end and back quarter panel were crushed. We won this championship because we were able to finish every race. My name may be on the trophy, but this championship truly belongs to the team. The team gave me a good package for every race and never gave up on me.”

“We spend a lot of time trying to squeeze the most speed out of this car, and we seemed to find a breakthrough at Trois Rivieres. I was able to get two wins, while Carlos took the opener. We rode that

momentum right through until the final.”

Chan concluded, “Every year, the racing is slightly different, with dif ferent drivers, and different conditions. Overcoming these challenges makes for great racing and makes a championship so rewarding.”

COMPACT CLASS

The Compact Class has seen a recent surge in numbers, this entry-level class also producing some of the closest racing in SPC.

“It was not unusual to see five or six cars, nose-to-tail, battling for the win,” noted SPC founder Dominic St-Jean. “The key to success in this class is consistency. You may not be able to outrace your rivals every weekend, but you can always try to outlast them.”

Fittingly, that very attitude is what led to success for the driving tandem of Sylvain Ouellet and Gilles Villeneuve.

Aboard their No. 99 Nissan Micra Cup car, the pair teamed up for only two race wins, both coming at the season opening event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, but followed those achievements up with eight runner-up results and only one finish off of the podium.

“Sylvain has raced for many years in Quebec in both road racing and stock cars, and he wanted to test the SPC waters,” continued StJean. “He is very serious about competition, and he also has enough experience to know how to avoid trouble and finish every race. That combination won him the championship this year.’

Demonstrating the depth of talent in the Compact class, aside from the champions, in 2022 six different drivers recorded victories, led by No. 19 Etienne Samson-Laflamme (5-including back-to-back victories at the ICAR season finale) and No. 93 Patrick Wittmer (4), while Steven Scala (No. 81), Eric Coulombe (No. 83) and Vincent Desautels (67) notched one win apiece.

FINAL POINTS

SUPER PRODUCTION: 1. No. 1 Olivier Bedard (495 pts), 2. No. 12 Jimmy Briere (434), 3. No. 11 Eric Hochgeschurz / Arek Wojciechowski (415), 4. No. 03 Gabrile Lacombe (316), 5. No. 91 Shawn / Christopher Bernier (312).

PRODUCTION: 1. No. 45 Nelson Chan / Carlos Tesler-Mabe (438 pts), 2. No. 55x Owen Clarke (432), 3. No. 05 Nathan Blok (408), 4. No. 30 Connor & Greg Bell (355), 5. No. 35 Yannick Lupien.

COMPACT: 1. No. 99 Sylvain Ouellet / Gilles Villeneuve (485 pts), 2. No. 67 Vincent Desautels (450), 3. No. 93 Patrick Wittmer (426), 4. No. 19 Etienne Samson-Laflamme (419), 5. No. 2 Nathan Mutch (367). IT

(Left) Olivier Bedard won thes 2022 Super Production championship with 495 points, 61 points ahead of runner-up Jimmy Briere. (Above) Nelson Chan and Carlos Tesler-Mabe won the Production class title, beating runner-up Owen Clarke by just six points (438 to 432).

Photos by Paolo Pedicelli

AUSTIN RILEY

Blue Marble Radical Cup North America Champion

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

Building on the momentum from his 2021 Radical Cup Canada champion ship, Austin Riley and his Racing with Autism team set their sights south of the border and made history at Sonoma Raceway in California.

Concluding their 2022 campaign with a final tripleheader weekend in California, the Riley Racing effort was rewarded with not only the USAC-sanctioned Blue Marble Radical Cup North America Pro 1340 Class championship, but also the overall North America title. The 23-year-old from Lindsay, ON was also recognized as the first driver on the autism spectrum to win a major US championship and to win back-to-back titles.

“I was pretty confident going to the US, I felt that I could do well,” noted Austin. “The fields were much bigger than we faced in Canada, and there was a lot of competition wherever you were racing in the field. The racing was clean most of the time, but we did get involved in a couple of crashes.”

Father Jason continued the story, “first race, first lap, first corner, Austin got rear ended to the tune of about $14,000 in damages. That was a financial hit that we really didn’t need, but we pulled together and got the car repaired for the second race. We were on the back foot for most of the weekend, but Austin put his head down and he came through with a fourth place in round two and a win in the Barber (Motor sports Park) final.”

The Radical Cup North America tour then moved on to Road America, where the No. 20 Radical earned a trio of top four results

included a runner-up finish.

The Racing with Autism team finally hit their stride with an early July date at Wat kins Glen International in New York State.

“Austin was on a different level that week end. He qualified on the pole seven/tenths faster than anyone else, set the fastest race lap in all three races and swept the weekend victories,” recalled Jason.

“Watkins Glen is a track I’ve always liked,” said Austin. “I just feel good when I’m racing there. The three wins at Watkins Glen also gave us the points lead in the championship.”

Six more podium finishes, including a win, his fifth of the season, came at the events at Utah Motorsports Campus and at the Circuit of the Americas, setting up a title

showdown in California.

The weekend’s opening round featured a battle at the front of the 1340 cc class be tween Riley and his primary point challenger Mike Anzaldi, a battle that was resolved with both cars contacting Sonoma’s concrete walls. Following another long night of repairs the Riley racer made the grid for Race 2, Austin bringing his car to the checkered flag in second spot.

Now needing to only take the green flag in the season finale to win the class crown, Riley was racing in the lead when he again suffered contact with the No. 61 Anzaldi car and spun off the track. Re-firing his car, Austin rebounded to record a fourth-place result, earning sufficient points to secure his season rewards.

“We’re the smallest team in the paddock,” said Jason Riley post-race. “We have no big hauler, just a trailer towed by a pickup. Aus tin, his mother and I, along with Chase (Pel letier) and Richard (Yin) made up the crew and we all worked together to overcome our issues and win the 1340 Class Trophy, the Team Trophy, and the Overall.”

Riley’s Overall title was not confirmed until the following day at the Radical Cup North America banquet. Going head-to-head in the points with Radical Pro 1500 Class cham pion Palmer Miller, Riley managed to secure the crown in a tiebreaker, the difference be tween Riley’s five season victories to Miller’s four wins. IT

(Above) Austin Riley had five wins during his championship campaign. Photos Courtesy of Racing with Autism

TOYO TIRES F1600 CHAMPIONSHIP

Open-Wheel Series Wraps Up 2022 Season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

The Toyo Tires F1600 series was part of the support roster for the Labour Day Sprints weekend with their trio of 22-minute races setting the stage for a dramatic championship finale two weeks later.

Over the September 3-4 tripleheader, series sophomore Jake Cowden, fresh from a three-race victory sweep on the streets of Trois Rivieres, replicated that feat, using late race passes in each contest to drastically narrow the gap to season long point leader William Ferguson.

“It’s tough,” admitted Ferguson, driver of the No. 2 Brian Graham Racing Piper/ Hon da. “I have the same speed as Jake, Connor (Clubine) and Callum (Baxter), but it’s those three Britain West teammates against me. On a track where the draft makes so much difference, they’re able to work together as a team to keep me away from the front.”

Said Cowden regarding the title chase, “We lost three races when we went to Mont real to race on the F1 weekend, so we’ve been playing catch-up almost all season long. Solid results have now got me in a position to make a challenge for the championship, but I’ve got to keep the pressure on, both on Jake and on myself.”

A mere 34 points separated the two F1600-A class frontrunners as the tour re turned to CTMP on September 17-18 for the annual BEMC Late Summer Trophy Races.

Twenty-nine drivers took time in Satur day’s qualifying session and it was Connor Clubine who pushed his No. 6 Mygale/Hon da to the pole position, with Cowden, Baxter and Ferguson next in the scoring order, the top four separated by less than a second.

Race One was only five laps old when a red flag was thrown to tend to a serious inci dent involving Keith Lobban (No. 12), Connor Janeteas (No. 44) and Chris Evans (No. 33).

Prior to the red, Clubine, Cowden, Fergus on and Baxter had been running nose-to-tail in order to open a gap on the field before they began to seriously battle for positions. The red flag forced the pack onto pit lane where the clock continued to run, time even tually expiring with the running order locked in. Organizers determined that sufficient green flag time had elapsed and deemed the race official with full points awarded.

The championship was ultimately decided on Sunday morning under full-wet track con

ditions. With negligible visibility anywhere be hind the front row of the massive grid, pole sitter Cowden and the No. 51 Spectrum/ Honda of Sam Baker squirted away and into the lead with Cowden immediately beginning to extend his advantage. Appearing through the mist on lap four, Ferguson’s No. 2 Piper made a daring pass on Baker as the pair entered into the first corner.

“I needed to get past Sam before Jake had built up too much of a gap,” noted Fer guson. Unfortunately, Ferguson was carrying too much speed on the wet track and slid wide, burying the orange and black car Piper in the tire wall.

“I was simply too fast, I hit some standing water and hydroplaned into the tires,” ad mitted the 17-year-old Californian. “That was the first time I’ve ever crashed a car on my own and it could not have come at a worse time. It is so very frustrating, to lead the points all season long and throw it all away with one bad mistake.”

Cowden carried on to win the penultimate race of the 2022 campaign and added to his totals with another victory, his eighth of the year, by stealing top spot from Fergus on with a last lap pass. To emphasize the competitiveness of the class, the top four finishers, Cowden, Ferguson, Baxter and Clu bine, accepted the checkered flag covered by just 0.271 seconds.

With the victory, Cowden was also pre sented with the prestigious Al Craighead Memorial Can Am Trophy.

Not all of the competition was seen at the front of the field as the championship chase was as equally intense in the F1600-B class, the division created for older model vehicles.

Despite missed the three rounds at Cala

bogie, Mississauga, ON’s Bill Tebbutt (No. RF90 Van Diemen/ Ford) carried two wins, a pair of runner-up results and a third place finish in the final six races of the year to edge long time friend and racing rival Steve Bodrug (No. 41 ‘91VD/ Ford) by 32 points in the final tally.

“I’ve been racing 1600s since 1992 and this is my first title. I was being patient, it just took a long time for me to build up to the proper mindset,” laughed Tebbutt. “Maybe it had something to do with anger management!”

LABOUR DAY SPRINTS RESULTS

RACE 1: F1600-A: 1 No. 66 Jake Cowden, 2. No. 2 William Ferguson, 3. No. 6 Connor Clubine // F1600-B: 1. No. 82 Bill Tebbutt, 2. No. 24 Mike Dodd, 3. No. 41 Steve Bodrug.

RACE 2: F1600-A: 1. No. 66 Jake Cowden, 2. No. 6 Connor Clubine, 3. No. 2 William Ferguson // F1600-B: 1. No. 82 Bill Tebbutt, 2. No. 8 Sean Johnston, 3. No. 24 Mike Dodd.

RACE 3: F1600-A: 1. No. 66 Jake Cowden, 2. No. 6 Connor Clubine, 3. No. 35 James Lindsay // F1600-B: 1. No. 8 Sean Johnston, 2. No. 82 Bill Tebbutt, 3. No. 41 Steve Bodrug.

LATE SUMMER TROPHY RESULTS

Race 1: F1600-A: 1. No. 6 Connor Clubine, 2. No. 66 Jake Cowden, 3. No. 2 William Ferguson. // F1600-B: 1. No. 99 Craig Willis, 2. No. 41 Steve Bodrug, 3. No. 24 Mike Dodd.

Race 2: F1600-A: 1. No. 66 Jake Cowden, 2. No. 6 Connor Clubine, 3. No. 51 Sam Baker // F1600-B: 1. No. 41 Steve Bodrug, 2. No. 99 Craig Willis, 3. No. 83 Bill Tebbutt.

Race 3: F1600-A: 1. No. 66 Jake Cowden, 2. No. 2 William Ferguson, 3. No. 65 Callum Baxter // F1600-B: 1. No. 99 Craig Willis, 2. No. 82 Bill Tebbutt, 3. No. 41 Steve Bodrug.

FINAL POINTS

F1600-A: 1. No. 66 Jake Cowden (398 pts), 2. No. 2 William Ferguson (391), 3. No. 5 Connor Clubine (305), 4. No. 35 James Lindsay (218), 5 (t). No. 23 Connor Wagland/ No. 65 Callum Baxter (214) // F1600-B: 1. No. 82 Bill Tebbutt (290 pts), 2. No. 41 Steve Bodrug (258), 3 No. 25 Mike Lee (230), 4. No. 32 Andrew Mason (189), 5. No. 99 Craig Willis (174). IT

(Above) 2022 F1600-A champion Jake Cowden Photo by Richard Coburn

SHANNONVILLE FACELIFT

Historic Ontario Road Racing Circuit Receives Upgrades from New Owners

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt

There comes a time when even the grand est of old ladies needs a bit of a facelift, something to brighten the appearance and inspire the masses.

For Shannonville Motorsports Park, the ‘Birthplace of Champions Since 1974’, the decision to upgrade was made in 2019 when The Motorsport Group, fronted by John Bondar and Steve Gidman, completed the purchase of the 146-acre, Shannonville, Ontario-area facility.

“It was a long process to get this deal completed,” admitted Bondar. “We actually began talking with (then owner) Jean Gauth ier in the summer of 2015. I have been in volved in motorsports in many ways, but this was a completely new venture for me and I wanted to learn some of the ‘dos and don’ts’ from other people in the business. Doing our due diligence, I spoke with Steve Nelson (son of SMP founder, John), Jack Boxstrom (former owner) and Alan Labrosse, who was the manager here before he went on to St. Eustache. We put together a list of improve ments that needed to be done, and it was a pretty long list, and then the negotiations began. And I have to say, Mr. Gauthier was a tough negotiator.”

Five years of back-and-forth discussions eventually saw Bondar and Gidman receive the keys to the property in the fall of 2019.

Originally created as a motorcycle racing and training facility in 1974 by John Nelson, the track passed into the hands of competi tor and car builder Jack Boxstrom in 1979 before ownership was then sold to developer Raymond David in 1986. Under David’s ownership, Shannonville Motorsports Park became a must-attend facility, largely in part due to its Spenard-David Racing School. With the financial bottom line of SMP showing well, the track once again changed hands in 1992 when it was purchased by Montreal accountant and businessman, Jean Gauthier.

Over the years, Shannonville Motorsport Park has grown in length from its original 1.8-km track, named the Nelson track in honour of the park’s founder. By combining this original section with another expansive stretch of asphalt, the 10-turn, 2.23-km ‘Fabi Track’, the 4.03-km ‘Long Track’ was creat ed. A shortcut between turns one (Nelson) and seven on the Long Track resulted in a

fourth configuration, the 2.47-km ‘Pro Track’.

A quarter-mile drag strip increased the facility’s appeal by utilizing the long (north) backstraight of the Fabi circuit.

Determined to revitalize their newly acquired “diamond in the rough” venue into an attractive sporting destination, Bondar and Gidman drew up a list of priorities that began with upgrading the Branding and Mar keting. Radio and print ads in local media re-invigorated awareness and enthusiasm of the venue while landscaping across the southern breadth of the property, plus new colourful signage at the entranceway, provided a professional welcome for both competitors and visitors.

Landscaping and grading work was also done around the boundaries of the racing surface, providing larger, smoother and safer runoff areas in many of the turns, while at the same time eliminating drainage issues that had previously resulted in flooded portions of the track.

Bringing in the paving equipment, the western half of the paddock received a layer of asphalt, teams no longer in danger of losing parts and pieces in the grass. Paving was then done to the pre-grid area and in the damaged ninth turn, as well as in other spot locations.

“We were right on schedule with our strategic improvements and looking forward

to continuing our plans in 2020. And then COVID hit,” said Bondar.

He continued, “we are a landlord as well, we have tenants renting portions of the property so that meant we had to keep up with the maintenance. We were able to chip away at the small things until the restric tions began to be lifted.”

Benefiting from a relatively slow re-intro duction to racing activity, Bondar and the SMP staff eased into their new programs.

“It was a soft launch in 2020, there were no large numbers of participants, no spectators. Ironically, it allowed us to get up to speed with the business aspect without being overwhelmed. We built up participa tion as the summer went on and soon our racing schedules were where we wanted them according to our original plan.”

As the on-track numbers increasing in the motorcycle and car road racing fraternity, as well as in lapping days, there was also a growing interest in the drag racing and drifting sectors.

By 2022, the Shannonville daily calendar was booked virtually solid, with five rounds slated for the in-house Super Series motor cycle grassroots racing club, two appear ances for the Vintage (VRRA) bikes, three weekends reserved for automobile road racing and four events on the docket for the drag racers.

(Above) The Nelson event centre, new track signage at the entrance and landscaping on the south end of the property. Photo by Greg MacPherson

The long running Super Series provides championship competition for a wide range of motorcycle categories with two-wheeled action for everything from superbikes to sidecars. For the novice motorcycle riders, the SMP venue is also home to the Learn ing Curves riding school, where people can receive their M2 rider’s licence. For the car racers, there are events for the track’s own SuperCar Pirelli Challenge, a date reserved for the Lucky Dog endurance racing tour plus visits from the CASC-OR regional racers and the VARAC vintage competitors. The drag racers were granted four dates, this year’s events run under the guidance of Chuck Fram and the Race Windsor organizing body.

Noted Bondar, “Chuck has a strong back ground in organizing and promoting drag racing. He reached out to me, and I was extremely pleased to get him involved with our track. He has done an amazing job in at tracting sponsors and participants, the car counts are better than they’ve ever been, and it shows with the numbers of spectators that have come through the gates.”

With track rentals now helping to pay the bills, SMP executives turned their thoughts to refurbishing another on-site venue.

The Spenard David Garage had sat virtual ly empty for several years, and it did not take much imagination to see the possibilities arising from a massive makeover.

Working through the early part of 2021, a new 4,000 square-foot Nelson Event Centre now stands near the entrance to the facility. Up to150 people can enjoy a large lounge enhanced with a fireplace plus a general display area and group meeting amenities.

“Our goal was to attract motorcycle and automotive manufacturers and offer them

a place to showcase their products, host product releases and handle training oppor tunities,” explained Bondar. “We have space for racing clubs to host their banquets, and we’ve already got two weddings booked for the centre.”

He continued, “There are many tourist attractions in this area, everything from wineries to artisan cheese producers and craft breweries. We are looking to build on the area’s attractions that are already in place and make this into an exciting travel destination.”

For 2022 Shannonville Motorsport Park has track bookings running until the end of October. Bondar is content with his calendar and is not currently looking to expand the

racing roster any time soon.

“Sure I’d love a World Superbike race or an IMSA SportsCar event, but that’s not going to happen. Shannonville is known as the Birthplace of Champions for a very good reason, this is the place where racers get their start. The list of SMP graduates is long and very, very impressive. It’s a very inviting circuit and a safe one, with not a lot of concrete walls. With our varied track con figurations, we probably have the best layout in the country for testing and developing skills on both two wheels and four. That’s the aspect that we are working to maintain and develop.”

Having seen the sport of racing from both the participant and executive sides, Bond ar is in the unique position to see what is necessary and attractive from the business and the competitive side of sport.

With his wife Dominique handling the marketing and merchandizing aspect and partner Steve Gidman quietly providing business advice, Bondar is able to focus on creating a better and brighter Shannonville Motorsports Park.

“We’ve knocked off the low-hanging fruit, now it’s time to upgrade the spectator amenities, relocate and repair some facilities and work on track repairs and paving.”

“From the responses from our racers and visitors, we know we’re moving in the right direction. It’s an on-going process, but as long as we can keep the smiles on our customers’ faces, we’re assured that our future is looking bright.” IT

(Above) The ribbon cutting ceremony and the unveiling of the Nelson Event Centre, with members of John Nelson’s family in attendance. Nelson founded SMP. (Below) SMP’s John Bondar (middle) and business partner Steve Gidman (right). Photos by Greg MacPherson

Late-Season Rally Proves Tough on Cars, Teams and Drivers

Story and Photo Courtesy Carsrally.ca

Survival was the name of the game at Rallye de Charlevoix, round five of the Canadian Rally Championship. Set on the edge of the Saint Lawrence River in the picturesque town of La Malbaie, the com bination of tricky forest stages and spec tator-lined tarmac super specials caused nearly two-thirds of the 35 teams entered to suffer either off-road excursions or mechan ical failures.

Heading into the event with a 23-point gap to second, Test Racing’s Jerome Mailloux was focused on extending his lead in his pursuit of his first championship. He and co-driver Philippe Poirier quickly set a tre mendous pace, winning the first four stages and opening up a lead of nearly two-and-ahalf minutes. Their progress was hampered when their gearbox began to fail. Unable to make more than temporary repairs and limited to four gears, the team agreed to nurse the car to the finish of the event, looking for as many points as they could muster. Shedding time on each subsequent stage, Mailloux and Poirier managed to push just hard enough to earn their second win of the season.

Mailloux’s drive was made much more difficult by the performance of Jason Bailey. The former two-wheel-drive champion climbed into an all-wheel-drive, open-class Fiesta RC3 for the first time in La Malbaie, intending to test the car ahead of a full season in a similar car in 2023. But instead of slowly building pace, Bailey and co-driver Shayne Peterson found themselves chasing down Mailloux and Poirier half-way through their first day in the car. In the end, they won nine out of fourteen stages, and carved Mailloux’s lead down to 31 seconds to finish second overall.

Making good on the racing adage that in order to finish first, you first must finish, Trevor Pougnet and co-driver Ryan Rou leau took third overall and the Production

All-Wheel-Drive win by running a smart rally. Driving carefully, pushing just hard enough to stay ahead of their competitors, they were rewarded with a clean run that saw the Ottawa-based team spraying champagne on the overall podium.

The two-wheel-drive class looked set for a fantastic duel between Chris Greenhouse and current class points leader Nick Wood. The long-time rivals both started the first tarmac spectator stage full of confidence, Wood with a freshly re-built car, and Green house with three class victories at Rallye de Charlevoix on his resume. But the showdown quickly unraveled as first Greenhouse, and then Wood, suffered crashes. Both teams restarted the rally for the start of the second day, but Greenhouse and co-driver Ryan Scott would not make it to the finish. Wood and co-driver Jennifer Daly earned second place in the class, extending Wood’s

lead in the championship. Kurtis Duddy and co-driver Matthieu Toupin took the two-wheel-drive win, their second National podium finish of the season.

Making a noteworthy appearance on the entry list, professional endurance and road-racing driver Kuno Wittmer decided to try out the rally experience on the stages of Charlevoix. Riding with co-driver Michael Szewczyk and running the 2021 champion ship-winning car, Wittmer approached the rally as if it was a 24-hour endurance race. It was a strategy that worked well for the team, climbing the leaderboard as high as fourth overall, but a gearbox failure ended the fairy tale. Despite the rollercoaster ride, Wittmer indicated that he would like to be back in a rally car again.

Although Jerome Mailloux has extended his lead to 44 points, the title chase is far from over. IT

(Above) Rallye Charlevoix winners Jerome Mailloux and Philippe Poirier.

CASC-OR ICE RACING

Your Motorsports Season Doesn’t Have to End in Fall... Go Ice Racing!

Story Courtesy CASC-OR

Co-efficient of Friction… Also known as grip. So far this fall, we’ve had at least one winter dusting.

The

And in some areas of Ontario, it was con siderably more than a dusting.

The summer racing season is over. Many race cars have been put to bed until next Spring. So with several months until that time, what do you do now?

If you’re adventurous, you go ice racing! And it’s starting sooner than you think.

For decades, people have had a great time racing cars on ice. In days of yore, it was done on frozen rivers and lakes. Now, thanks to the good people at the Minden Kinsmen Club (www.mindenkin.club) it’s all done on terra firma.

In January, the action is returning to the ice racing circuit at the Minden (ON) Fairgrounds. The CASC-OR sanctioned series kicks off January 21-22, running all day Saturday and then again for a half-day on Sunday afternoon. The races take place on six consecutive weekends, if the weather cooperates.

If you’re interested in taking part, there are a few things you’ll need in order to get on the track, including a car, a helmet, a license and to be part of an ice racing club.

There are temporary one-weekend licenses available to those who want to give it a test run, before diving in with both feet. If you go this route, you’ll still need a car and helmet, but if you look online at forums.casc. on.ca, you can probably find a car you can rent, or possibly share, or even buy.

When it comes to ice racing cars, they’re fairly stock. As you might expect, it’s not

about power (they are limited to 3.0 litre engines). It’s all about grip.

If you want to share the fun, as an added bonus, passengers are allowed in ice racing. If you are new to the sport, you can ask an experienced driver to ride shotgun and give you pointers during the race. Or you can take your family and friends on track as long as they have a helmet and sign a waiver.

The vehicles are divided into two major groups: ‘rubber to ice’ and ‘street studs.’

Rubber to Ice cars race on any commer cially available winter tire. Street Studs are a specific make with rounded stubs embedded to improve traction.

It’s quite acceptable to change your tires in between sessions and compete in multiple classes. In fact, doing this is one of the easi est ways to share a car.

Is it competitive? You bet! Is it challen ging? Oh yeah! Will you end up backwards or in a snowbank? Every weekend! And will you have fun? Guaranteed!

Ice Racing is the least expensive way to go ‘door to door’ racing. It’s fun for the whole family, and if you can control a car on a sheet of ice, imagine how much better you’ll be able to control a car on asphalt.

Want to check it out before giving it a shot? Spectating at the Minden Fairgrounds is always free, and the Food Booth is always stocked with warm drinks and great lunches.

This season’s races are scheduled for: January 21-22, January 28-29, February 4-5, February 11-12, February 18-19 and February 25-26. For more information visit casc.on.ca on the web or email iceracedir@ casc.on.ca. What are you waiting for? IT

The 2023 CASC-OR Ice Racing season begins on January 21 in Minden. Photos by Elaine Willis

CANADA HEADS UP SHOOTOUT

Season Wraps Up at Toronto Motorsports Park

In mid-October, the Canada Heads Up – Shootout Series (CHU) made its final appearance of the season at Toronto Motor sports Park. The weekend kicked off Friday, Oct. 14 with a test session, sponsored by Ian Hill Racing Productions.

Following nasty, wet weather on Saturday morning, the TMP staff worked their magic and got the track in shape for the first round of qualifying. But just before the second batch of index racers was set to hit the track, an incident involving a bike took place at the 300-foot mark that resulted in some oil being put down on the track.

Given the time needed to clean up the mess and the dropping, late afternoon temps, the call was made to cancel the rest of qualifying and try again the next morning.

So, on Sunday (Oct. 16), the teams re turned to the track for the fifth and final CHU series race of 2023. The tour is presented by Speedwire Systems, Maxima Racing Oil and Nash Competition Engines.

During Sunday’s Eliminations, Pano Moros ended his season on a winning note by taking the VP Racing Fuels Super Street final over Ricky Carlos. A total of nine Super Street cars were in action at the finale.

“We didn’t compete at all in 2021 after our crew chief passed away,” said Moros, following the win. “Leading up to 2020, we’d won five consecutive championships and we came back this year. We were in fifth place going into the last weekend of the season. We qualified ‘number two’ on the Saturday and won the Final on the Sunday.

“We’d hurt the engine earlier in the season, but before TMP we figured out the engine and transmission issues we’d been having all season, thanks to Nick Agostino, Doug Balsam and the crew from Nash Com petition Engines. With the repairs, we had our fastest runs of the season, at the finale.”

A total of 13 EZ Street cars were on track in the Sokoloff Lawyers-backed division. Rob Orofiamma set a new EZ Street record with a 4.604 second run. He bested Tyler Kran andonk in the final.

Frankie Doldo came out on top of the 4.20 Pro Mod division.

In Five Nine Motorsports Street275 action, Bryon Treveld bested Eric Webber, while it was Dylan Stevens over Jack Vandew iel in the Sokoloff Lawyers 5.0 Warriors final.

Jesse Vanbetlehem defeated David Rego in KOTs Bike action, while John Poretti beat Todd Sills in SWB Bikes.

In Crazy8s, it was Mike Pereira over Murray Lonsbary, while the Low 9s win went to Darrin ‘Bullwhip’ Johnstone, over Korey Staveley.

ICD Insurance sponsored the Index class es. In 5.50 Index, Dan Morrison beat Rob Galati. Mike Thompson ‘broke’ bye in the 6.0 Index final. Joe Muro over Frank Guillaume in 6.50 Index. Chevy Lightheard ‘broke’ bye in the 7.0 Index final, while Jason Jean set a class record of 7.502 seconds while beating Clayton Szram in the Index 7.50 final.

And Kami Scott won Sunday’s Priority Col lision Jr. Dragster main over Mya Kempers.

According to CHU boss Ian Hill, 2023 was the series’ best season yet. “We saw growth in every class, new racers in almost every class and class records being reset for every class. We are having a blast partnering with the TMP and their staff to bring Ontario’s best track prep to our racers during our series’ races. And we look for ward to continuing our forward trend moving

forward into 2023.”

In other weekend news, Otis Gatt’s 500foot monster wheelie earned him bragging rights during the event, which was capped off with the winners receiving their Katie Shaw Realtor big cheques and payouts, at the tower.

The ceremonies concluded with the pres entations to the 2023 CHU Series champs.

2022 SEASON CHAMPIONS

VP Racing Fuels Super Street: Paul Bhwan (Datsun inline 6, single turbo).

Sokoloff Lawyers EZ Street: Rob Orofiamma (Fox Body Mustang, BBC Nitrous).

4.20 Pro Mod: Chris Brohman (‘69 Camaro, BBC Blower).

Five Nine Motorsports Street275: Bryon Treveld (G-Body Olds, SB Nitrous).

Sokoloff Lawyers 5.0 Warriors: Dylan Stevens (Fox Body Mustang, SB Nitrous).

KOTs Bike: Jesse Vanbetlehem (Turbo).

SWB Bike: Nick Kempers (ZX14R Kawasaki Turbo).

Crazy8s: Mike Pereira (GSXR 1000).

Low 9s: Korey Staveley (ZX14R Kawasaki).

ICD Insurance 5.50 Index: Dan Morrison (Corvette).

ICD Insurance 6.0 Index: Mike Thompson (Mustang).

ICD Insurance 6.50 Index: Joe Muro (‘70 Camaro).

ICD Insurance 7.0 Index: Chevy Lightheart (S10).

ICD Insurance 7.50 Index: Peter Spinelli (‘80 Camaro).

Priority Collision Jr. Dragster: Cole Ferri. IT

With files from CHU

(Top) Pano Moros returned to his winning ways by taking the CHU Super Street final at TMP on Oc tober 16. (Above) EZ Street racer Rob Orofiamma set a new division record while winning his final.

Photos by Blake Farnan

CANADIAN CONNECTION

‘The Captain’ Barry Paton Passes Away

Story by John Waldie

The Canadian drag racing community was shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Barry Paton, the patriarch of the Paton Racing team, while the Top Fuel operation was competing at the recent NHRA event in Dallas, TX. He was 78.

Dubbed ‘The Captain’ because of his mil itary and commercial flying background, Pa ton – from Paris, ON – was also a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

A talented drag racer, himself, Paton added to his legend guiding his son, Todd, to NHRA and IHRA success, including a pair of IHRA World Championship trophies.

Barry Paton was truly our country’s ultim ate drag racing ambassador.

In my opinion, there were several factors that made Barry’s contribution to our sport so significant. One was his intense passion to compete in the ultimate Top Fuel elim inator category. The other was his unique ability to support our sport at the local track level. And he did both at the same time.

Just last summer, his team performed at both Toronto Motorsports Park and at Grand Bend Motorplex, at national event levels. I had the pleasure of observing both events from the announcer’s deck and Race Control, seeing his cars perform in the 3-second and 300 mph ranges, at 1,000 feet.

From Barry’s very beginning in Stock and Super Stock – through his journey with his sons Todd and Tony that resulted in IHRA Top Alcohol World Championships – and ultimately competing in the NHRA Top Fuel Eliminator category, Barry never forgot to mentor us all at the local level.

He possessed the unique ability to assemble the very best volunteer crews, and constantly evolve the team’s equipment to achieve record-matching performances south of the border.

Likewise, Barry encouraged sponsors and local track facilities to partner in providing fans with the ultimate drag race experiences in their own backyard.

Upon hearing of Barry’s passing, Toronto Motorsports Park’s Neil Armstrong recalled some of his many casual conversations with Barry, and the impact they had on all of us. One thing was clear, once you became Barry’s friend it was a lifetime relationship!

Barry Paton has undoubtedly left our

sport in a much better place than when he found it. And for that – on behalf of myself and the entire Canadian drag racing com munity – I say, ‘Thank you, Captain.’

We offer our heartfelt condolences to Barry Paton’s family and friends.

JUSTIN BOND

In the wake of the recent conclusion to the 2022 FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon season, at Texas Motorplex, we felt it was a most appropriate time to interview Canadian Justin Bond, from Mission, British Columbia.

Asked about his remarkable season and the main highlights he’ll look back upon, he said, “Winning our event in Topeka, Kansas (Heartland Motorsports Park) and defeating the legendary Rickie Smith, in the final, were definite standouts.”

The Topeka win – in his ProChar ger-powered, JBS Motorsports, Bahrain Racing-backed Camaro – was the third of Bond’s career. He ultimately finished fourth in the final NHRA Pro Mod standings, in 2022. But those weren’t his only stellar moments, as he also ran a 5.67 in 2022, and was a solo ‘number 3’ qualifier at another event.

Hearing that stat, I figured that’s how his peers in the inner circle of the Pro Mod wars have tagged him with the nickname “Justin Agent 0056 Bond.”

According to Bond the Pro Mod class is currently in a rebuilding mode, and notes it’s heading the right way. He says the level of competition is the best ever, the class is very

well funded and benefits from having its own television show on Fox Sports 2 (FS2).

Continuing to discuss the highly competi tive nature of the tour, Bond continued, “We have five different power adders – roots and screw blowers, turbos, nitrous and the pro charger combination I currently utilize. The cars compete within the closest of margins ever. We have a variety of contemporary and classic body styles – such as own ‘69 Camaro) – and we have ten different world class facilities to race at.”

Looking ahead to 2023, Bond has a new car in the works. “It’s currently at my shop, in Georgia, for final wiring, plumbing, etc., but I haven’t made a final choice of power adder.”

Discussing the travel that comes with his racing career, Bond and his Bahrain 1 team mate Khalid Al Balooshi travelled across two countries to compete at an event in Bond’s home province of BC, in 2022, and the Canadian hopes to repeat the outing in the future. Bond noted that Al Balooshi travels all around the world to promote the class and sport.

The third teammate is former series champ Steve ‘Fast’ Jackson, who is likely second only to John Force when it comes to entertaining drag racing social media.

Asked about his experiences in the sport, Bond concluded, “Ours is an amazing cat egory with lots of variety, and incredibly fast and exciting competition on a world stage. I certainly appreciate the fans, my fellow competitors and sponsors – local and inter national – that allow me to do this.” IT

(Above) The Canadian drag racing community is honouring the late Barry Paton. ‘The Captain’ passed away a few weeks ago. Photo by Brennan Shortall

RACE CAYUGA SPORTSMAN SERIES

Story by Deryk Stevens

The Race Cayuga Sportsman Series (RCSS) wrapped up its 2022 season on the October 22-23 weekend.

It was a season full of great times and even better racing, with some new faces appearing in the Winner’s Circle, joining some familiar ones.

In Bike/Sled action, the 2021 points champ, Mike Konopacki, continued his success and raced his Kawasaki ZX10 to multiple event wins in 2022 en route to his second championship in as many years.

Konopacki wasn’t the only one to secure back-to-back championships at the final race weekend, as Mark Menicnin pulled off the same feat in the Modified class.

Blake Sutton was able to pull ahead of

the pack to take the top spot in Super Pro, holding off Bob Jennings and Jeff Digman, who were close behind him.

Bob Richards also had a notable season, posting multiple wins in Super Pro, making the finals in Modified (against Sutton), and also putting together a perfect package at one point during season.

From the first race of the season, it looked to be Bill Thompson’s year in Foot brake, as he was in the first three finals of the campaign, winning two of them. He rode that momentum to the end of the season to become the class champ.

The Quick Sportsman division champion ship went to KC Kovacs, while Mya James closed out her Jr. Dragster career on a high note, as a points champion. She has not ‘aged out’ of that division. IT

(Above) Mike Konopacki secured his second consecutive Race Cayuga Sportsman Series title, at the October 23 finale at TMP. (Below) Footbrake racer Bill Thompson blasted out of the starting blocks quickly, in 2022, and cruised to the championship. Photos by Blake Farnan

LOOKING BACK

By Dave Mathers

WHITLOCK STILL GOING STRONG

Three-time CASCAR Super Series Nation al champion Dave Whitlock graduated from high school in 1984 and immediately went to work for his father’s contracting company. In those days, much of their work was done in Wallaceburg, Ontario. In 1990, Dave and his dad Doug became partners, forming D & D Contracting, a company that Dave still operates today.

In 1987, Dave got the racing bug and began racing a Chevelle in Delaware Speed way’s Street Stock class. I watched Dave run that car and was impressed by how smooth he was on the track compared to most of his competitors.

In 1989, with sponsorship help from Todd Clark at Ron Clark Motors in Wyoming (ON), Dave moved up to the CASCAR division at Delaware, now driving a Thunderbird. He also began racing in the CASCAR

Super Series, where he was quite success ful, winning the series championship in 1991, 1997 and 1998. He laments the fact that he never won the Delaware track cham pionship but his other accomplishments more than made up for that.

Along the way, Dave decided, in 1992, to give Tom Curley’s American Canadian Tour (ACT) a shot and did so in a Late Model Thunderbird that I’d sold him the previous year. I supplied Dave with a diesel ‘dually’ crew cab, from Motion, for several years in a sponsorship deal.

Dave experienced success on the ACT circuit and won the famous Milk Bowl (get ting to ‘kiss the cow’) at Curley’s Thunder Road Speedway in Barre, Vermont in both 1994 and 1995. He also won the presti gious Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine. That track is a bad-fast

3/8-mile and the Oxford 250 is one of the hardest races to win, outside of NASCAR.

While running the ACT circuit, Dave won the Jean-Paul Cabana Award for most Sportsmanlike Driver in three of the four years. That says a lot.

Moving forward, Dave had gotten into the ‘Rent A Race Car’ business and had as many as four teams running his cars out of the Wyoming shop, at a time. Those cars ran in what is now known as the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. During those ‘rental’ years, he had various drivers including Mark Dilley, Scott Fraser, Bryan Cathcart, Pierre Bourque and Michael Gold.

Unfortunately, Dave was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2006 and the pres sure of running his business and the race teams eventually proved to be too much to handle. As a result, he eventually sold off

(Above) Dave Whitlock won the 2009 NASCAR season opener, in what was his final season as a racer. The victory came at Montreal’s Autodrome St-Eustache. Kerry Micks (left) and Ron Beauchamp Jr. (right) finished second and third, respectively, in that race. Photo by Greg MacPherson

the cars, haulers and equipment to the Dumoulin brothers, Scott Steckly and Derek White.

Dave retired from driving race cars at the end of the 2009 sea son. He readily admits that he misses the racing but does not miss all the hours involved with the racing. I’m sure most racers would agree with that statement.

After announcing his retirement at the start of the 2009 season, Dave went out and won the first race of the season, at the flat, 4/10ths-mile Autodrome St. Eustache oval, near Montreal.

On the podium was runner-up Kerry Micks, a long-time rival, who beat on Dave’s back bumper right to the end. Micks said to him, “Whit, you aren’t ready to retire,” which Dave took as the ultimate compliment. I used to call Micks ‘Little Earl’ as he and ‘Big Earl’ Ross were Ford teammates!

Fortunately, Dave did not let the disease slow him down and he actually grew D & D to an even bigger and more successful com pany. For the last 10 years, D & D has worked for a major corpor ation in Hamilton, ON that builds commercial malls, strip malls and big box stores.

The company also does renovations for the corporation’s various rental properties. Prior to that, D & D did new builds and reno vations for Tim Hortons, back in the 1990s. The amazing fact is that they’ve done all this with almost the same staff of seven that have been there for much of the past 32 years. That’s a tribute to Dave’s (and Doug’s) management skills. Sadly, Doug died at the young age of 61.

Looking ahead a few years to retirement, Dave has built a state-of-the-art home on Lake Huron, just east of Sarnia. There is a 65-foot walkway down to the dock, at the bottom of the cliff. Using the latest technology, the home is built from Insulated Concrete Forming (ICF) and it utilizes geothermal heating. The result is a very green energy-focused home that is kind to the environment.

In addition, he has a huge separate garage, with an amazing ‘man cave’ on the second floor, that is full of trophies, awards, photos, posters and other memorabilia. Also, Dave’s awesome diesel pusher motorhome sits ready to head to the next NASCAR race when time permits.

Dave and wife Corinne, who just celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary, have three daughters and the girls have graced them with two boys and two girls, with a fifth one ‘in the oven.’ And, yes, Grandma and Grandpa are spoiling the grandkids!

Parkinson’s has affected Dave’s speech slightly, but it has not slowed him down. With his positive attitude and support from his loving family, he still works full-time and drives to Hamilton on a regular basis. A true champion, still winning! IT

(Top) Whitlock’s final race took place in September, 2009, at Kawartha Speedway. Photo by Joe Hamilton (Middle) Whitlock (left) receives a plaque from his long-time friend and teammate Mark Dilley, prior to the Kawartha finale, in 2009. Photo by Joe Hamilton (Above) Up until the time of his passing, Dave’s father, Doug Whitlock, was the other partner in D & D Contracting.

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

By Ernie Saxton

BUBBA’S SUSPENSION

According to FOX Sports Bob Pockrass, one of the most knowledgeable of the media folks covering the sport, NASCAR suspended Bubba Wallace for the Cup race in mid-October at Homestead-Miami Speed way for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson the previous weekend, making Wallace just the fourth driver in the past 11 years to be suspended for an on-track incident.

There was little doubt that NASCAR was going to discipline Wallace after the incident with Larson according to Pockrass. I am not sure everyone had doubts including me. NASCAR has a history of not wanting to suspend drivers for whatever reasons. I did not know that. I do think that some of their penalties are a stretch.

According to Pockrass the Wallace incident (and I agree) had five distinct areas that could be considered violations of the NASCAR rules:

The intentional wrecking of another driver at an especially high-speed area of the track.

The wrecking of a driver in Kyle Larson whose team is still eligible in the owner’s championship. The accident also collected Christopher Bell, who is still in contention for the driver championship.

The walking on a hot track from his car to Larson, instead of walking to the ambulance. I seem to remember this being strictly en forced. The act of physically shoving Larson several times.

The pushing away the hand of a safety worker, who appeared to be trying to direct Wallace toward the ambulance. The rules call for the driver to stick with the wrecked car and go to infield medical center.

In the penalty report, NASCAR cited a rule that states suspension is warranted under five factors: physical confrontations with NASCAR officials, physical violence with another competitor, attempting to manipu late a race or championship, intentionally wrecking another vehicle and any actions that pose a dangerous risk to the safety of competitors. So, in my thinking Wallace covered all those rule infractions.

NASCAR said the suspension was the re sult of the on-track incident with Larson, not the playoff implications or the actions after

ward. So, they, NASCAR, decided to penalize Wallace for disregarding just one rule. The easy way out for NASCAR and Wallace.

“When we look at how that incident oc curred in our minds, really a dangerous act that we thought that was intentional and put other competitors at risk,” NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell said on SiriusXM Radio. “As we look at the sport and where we are today and where we want to draw that line going forward, we thought that definitely crossed the line, and that’s what we focused on in terms of making this call.”

Wallace issued an apology for his actions on Monday, possibly choosing his words carefully to not admit to intentionally wreck ing Larson. Probably something put together by the team PR people.

“I compete with immense passion (some would have other words for that), and with passion at times comes frustration,” he said in his statement. “Upon reflecting, I should have represented our partners and core team values better than I did by letting my frustrations follow me outside of the car. You live and learn, and I intend to learn from this.”

The team announced that it agreed with NASCAR’s punishment.

“23XI is aligned with NASCAR on the onerace suspension issued to Bubba, and we understand the need for the series to take a clear stand on the incidents that took place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,” the team said in its statement. “Bubba’s actions are not in keeping with the values of our team and partners. We have spoken to Bubba and expressed our disapproval of how he han dled the situation. Bubba has made impres sive strides this season, and this experience is an opportunity for him to further learn and grow as a competitor in NASCAR.”

To sum it up I think Bubba got handled with kid gloves and should have suffered much more severe penalties. I do have to say that Kyle Larson handled all the incidents very well, just the way it should have been handled. And NASCAR forgot to throw in the sensitivity classes.

Just adding this note. I’m guessing Bubba was looking to try to make it look like he is a good guy in all this. Christopher Bell said

Bubba Wallace apologized to him on their flight back from Las Vegas after the race and apologized in a Toyota competition meeting.

“He just apologized for what went down and the fact that we got taken out in his un fortunate circumstances,” Bell told reporters.

Bell, a playoff driver, was a victim of Wallace intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bell finished 34th and is last among the playoff drivers heading into Sunday’s Round of 8 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the penalty is specific to “what took place on the racetrack. When we look at how that incident occurred, in our minds it was really a dangerous act. We thought that was intentional and put other competitors at risk. As we look at the sport and where we are, we thought that crossed the line.”

After seeing that quote from O’Donnell I wonder why the penalty wasn’t harsher for Wallace. I have my own thoughts on that.

“NASCAR owner Cliff Stewart says, and I agree, this is the only circus (NASCAR) where the clown pays to perform.” IT

Bubba Wallace's recent suspension is a rare occurrence in NASCAR. Photo by NASCAR / Getty Images

GET A GRIP

By Mary Bignotti Mendez

SUPER LICENSE NEEDS CHANGE

And Andretti wanted Herta as a driver.

IndyCar drivers have been vocal about the FIA unfairly giving more weight to Formula 2 and Formula 3 competition, racing series they sanction, over the highly competitive North American based INDYCAR series.

“Formula 1 is an elitist sport,” tweeted Graham Rahal in response to Herta’s rejec tion by the FIA. “They don’t want us (Amer ican drivers). They want US companies’ money and wealthy US individuals’ money. But they don’t care about the rest. Always has been that way and always will be.”

Just to indicate how tough the competi tion really is in IndyCar I was amazed to see all 25 entries qualify within one second of each other at Portland. I doubt that could ever happen in Formula 1.

Recent

developments and an incredible driver silly season this summer has made it clear it’s time to revamp the FIA Super License rating system. Using a points system, drivers’ accomplishments are evaluated based on their season long results to be eligible to compete in Formula 1. Its purpose is to prevent a ride buyer, who may be well funded but lack the level of talent it takes, to compete at the highest level. The FIA’s recent rejection of Colton Herta has put the system under a spotlight with a call for change.

Colton Herta has only earned 32 points of the required 40 over the past three sea sons. So, when Red Bull showed an interest in putting him in Pierre Gasly’s seat (if the Frenchman joined Alpine) for next year at Alpha Tauri, the FIA denied the request. And no exemption was allowed for COVID.

Although the Super License points system awards 40 points to the INDYCAR series champion, it offers 30 points to the runner-up, and only 20 points to the third ranking driver. It clearly favours the FIA sanctioned series of Formula 2 and Formula 3. The Formula 2 titlist, runner-up and third place ranking drivers each receive 40 points. In Formula 3, the champion earns 30 points, 25 points for second, and 20 points for third. Compare that to the Indy Lights and NASCAR Cup series where the cham

pion earns 15 points, 12 points for second, and ten points for third.

Herta finished seventh in his first full season of IndyCar in 2019. He earned 20 points for ranking third in the championship in 2020 and eight points for fifth overall in 2021, giving him a total of 32 points. But there is no question in my mind that Herta has the necessary talent, is suitable to race in Formula 1, and would not be a risk to others. And it would give the Formula 1 ser ies an American competitor now that there are three such races on the 2023 schedule.

Herta, age 22, has seven IndyCar wins and nine poles to his credit over his four Ind yCar seasons. But he’ll be sitting on the side lines as Alex Palou (age 25, four wins and one pole) and Pato O’Ward (age 23, four wins and five poles) run in Friday practice for the McLaren team at COTA and Abu Dhabi, respectively. Only Palou has the required 40 Super License points from winning the 2021 IndyCar title.

There have always been politics in FOR MULA 1 that can overshadow the racing. I don’t believe it is just coincidence that Mi chael Andretti, whose failed attempt to buy a Formula 1 team, led to him requesting an expansion from 20 to 22 entries in the field. Many Formula 1 team owners were against this as it would dilute their compensation, dividing the pie by 22 entries instead of 20.

“For those who want to say Herta didn’t earn the right, you’re off base,” explained Josef Newgarden. “He’s as talented if not more than the rest. He’s a proven winner. He came to the top and has done exception ally well. Formula 1 has had ride-buyers for years who don’t hold a candle to Herta.”

“IndyCar is the best championship in the world, bar none. There is nothing else that comes close to it. In some ways it’s under credited. You can be with any team and have a shot at winning a race when you show up every single weekend. It’s just the best cham pionship you will find on the planet with the top-line drivers of the world.

“IndyCar is the most challenging place to test yourself. If you really want to take pride in winning a championship, you’re going to want to win it here in this series. Whoever wins it should take an immense amount of pride because it’s very difficult for all the individuals involved and the driver who is able to hoist the trophy.

Mario Andretti, the 1978 Formula 1 World Champion, recently tested the 2013 McLaren MP4-28A at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway, achieving his life-time goal driving a modern Formula 1 car at age 82. He thanked Zak Brown for crossing this item off his bucket list. I couldn’t help but chuckle in an interview following his run when Andretti said, “I’m trying to get points for my Super License.” IT

Colton Herta’s (above) denial of an FIA Super License has caused a stir within the IndyCar community. Photo by Ed Gatner

Speed with Purpose

Since 1992, motorsport has provided Multimatic with a high-speed laboratory where innovative engineering, creative thinking and rapid problem-solving have not only led to multiple championships and outstanding race successes but also significantly enhanced the company’s overall approach to product development.

www.multimaticmotorsports.com www.multimatic.com

OUTLAW MIDGETS

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY

OSCAAR HOT RODS

OSCAAR MODIFIED

SUPER DIRT WEEK

SUPER DIRT WEEK

Jessica James continued her dominant Outlaw Midgets season by winning the October 2 feature race during Flamboro Speedway’s annual Frostoberfest event at the Hamilton area speedway.

Photo by Peter Anderson

St. Catharines, ON racer Cody McPherson continued his incredible 2022 season by winning the Sportsman feature on the Saturday of Super DIRT Week, in Oswego, NY.

Photo by Alex & Helen Bruce

Canadian Mat Williamson picked up a 358 Modified feature win, on October 5 at Brewerton (NY) Speedway, during Super DIRT Week. Williamson finished second in the main event, at Oswego.

Photo by Alex & Helen Bruce

Wayde Thorne (No. 46) emerged victorious following the roughand-tumble Pure Stock race on October 2 during Frostoberfest. Thorne picked up a coveted LRR soapstone Igloo for the win.

Photo by Peter Anderson

Cole Weber started second in the OSCAAR Hot Rod feature at Flamboro Speedway on October 1. He took the lead during a laterace restart and went on to the Frostoberfest win.

Photo by Peter Anderson

Andy Kamrath won the final qualifying heat before going on to Vic tory Lane following the OSCAAR Modified feature on the firest day of Flamboro Speedway’s Frostoberfest, in early October.

Photo by Peter Anderson

Calgary’s

DINOSAUR DOWNS SPEEDWAY

DINOSAUR DOWNS SPEEDWAY

DINOSAUR DOWNS SPEEDWAY

SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES

QUEBEC/ONTARIO CHALLENGE FOR MODIFIEDS

BROCKVILLE FALL NATIONALS

Bobby Herrington won both Sportsman feature races during the Fall Nationals at Brockville Ontario Speedway. His first victory of the weekend secured the Sportsman track championship.

Photo by Rick Young

Racing legend Roger Bonneville wrapped up his 55th consecutive season of racing by winning the IMCA Modified track championship at Dinosaur Downs. Bonneville hails from Strathmore, AB.

Photo by Carol Douglas

On November 4 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (NC), Yamaska, QC racer Mathieu Desjardins scored a stunning Big Block win in the 30-lap feature, to earn a World of Outlaws World Finals trophy.

Photo by Michael Fry / DIRTcar

Bailey Barnes, from Brooks, AB got up to speed quickly, after starting racing in 2000. He is the 2022 Claimer division champion at Drumheller, AB’s Dinosaur Downs Speedway.

Photo by Carol Douglas

David Hebert won the Quebec/Ontario Challenge for 358 Modi fieds at Brockville Ontario Speedway during the track’s annual Fall Nationals event, in mid-October.

Photo by Rick Young

Larry Cramer is the 2022 Hobby Stock track champ at Dinosaur Downs. A former competitor at Race City Speedway, Cramer returned to racing “to have a little fun.”

Photo by Carol Douglas

BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY

Charlie Sandercock was the cream of the 20-car Northeast Late Model Alliance Great Crate Race during Brighton Speedway’s Applefest weekend, leading all 50 laps of the feature race.

BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY

Chris Raabe (No. 01) earned his second career Brighton Speed way Applefest victory when he won the 75-lap DIRTcar Modified main on Sept. 24. Raabe was dominant on his charge to the win.

The

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY

AMERICAN F2000 SERIES

Ste-Thérèse, QC racer Jean-Cristophe Trahan scored two victories en route to clinching the American F2000 Series title in mid-Octo ber at the Pittsburgh (PA) International Race Complex.

OSCAAR Hot Rods were in action at Peterborough’s ACC. Tyler Hawn (middle) won the feature, ahead of legends Bill Zardo Sr. (left) and Stompin’ Tom Walters (right)

Photo by Dave Franks

Peterborough Late Model champ James Townsend won the 67lap Mini Stock race during the Autumn Colours Classic weekend. The race was run in honour of the late Melissa Bullen.

Photo by Dave Franks

Photo courtesy RTD Media and Management

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY

Adam Cuthbertson won the Canadian Legends Car Series feature at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic.

Photo by Dave Franks

Photo courtesy Brighton Speedway

Photo courtesy Brighton Speedway

BRIGHTON SPEEDWAY

September 24, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 01 Chris Raabe, 2. No. 25 Erick Rudolph, 3. 1ONE Dave Hebert, 4. 37s Gary Lindberg, 5. No. 17 Tristan Draper // HEATS: 1. No. 25 E. Rudolph, 2. No. 95 K. Dingwall, 3. No. 47s C. Wheeler.

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 88z Bobby Herrington, 2. No. 94 Gabriel Cyr, 3. No. 18r Brad Rouse, 4. No. 1f Ryan Ferri, 5. No. 17c Jordan Cosco // HEATS: 1. No. 88j J. LalondeCyr, 2. No. 88z B. Herrington, 3. No. 88k D. Kirkland.

NLMA GREAT CRATE RACE: 1. No. 57 Charlie Sander cock, 2. No. 87 Andrew Hennessy, 3. No. 5 Steve Bald win, 4. No. 46 Brandon Mowat, 5. No. 92 Adam Turner // HEATS: 1. No. 57 C. Sandercock, 2. No. 55 B. Rayner, 3. No. 5 S. Baldwin // DASH: No. 57 C. Sandercock.

THUNDER STOCK: 1. No. 03 Justin Ramsay, 2. No. 79 Chris Hale, 3. No. 49 Dave Bailey, 4. No. 17 Jeff Humphry, 5. No. 0 Tyler French // HEATS: 1. No. 49 D. Bailey, 2. No. 52 B. Horner, 3. No. 85 A. Reid, 4. No. 3 J. Fontaine // B-MAINS: 1. No. 84 R. Beagle, 2. No. 19 C. White. CDN MODS vs UMP CHALLENGE: 1. No. 1 Shawn Gregory, 2. No. 40 Ron Wadforth, 3. No. 2 Leslie Mowat, 4. No. 33 Carissa Burrows, 5. No. 50 Dylan Boyle // HEATS: 1. No. 09d J. Dick, 2. No. 32 D. O’Blenis // DASH: No. 09d J. Dick.

COMP 4/ MINI STOCK: 1. No. 25 Pierre Picard, 2. No. 43 Devon Kippen, 3. No. 23 Ethan Dorie, 4. No. 42jr Aiden Fletcher, 5. No. 44 Tommy Bailey // HEATS: 1. No. 42jr A. Fletcher, 2. No. 43 D. Kippen, 3. No. 33 J. French, 4. No. 25 P. Picard // B-MAINS: 1. No. 44 T. Bailey, 2. No. 25 L. Evenden.

BROCKVILLE SPEEDWAY

September 10, 2022

ACTION SPRINT TOUR: 1. No. 5d Jacob Dykstra, 2. No. 52 Matt Billings, 3. No. 51L Lee Ladouceur, 4. No. 77t Tyler Powless, 5. No. 20 Johnny Miller // HEATS: 1. No. 20 J. Miller, 2. No. 00 R. Poole, 3. No. 77t T. Powless.

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 88z Bobby Herrington, 2. No. 22s Shane Stearns, 3. No. 44 David Rogers, 4. No. 18 Robert DeLormier, 5. No. 35b Brennan Moore // HEATS: No. 88z B. Herrington, No. 22s S. Stearns, No. 44 D. Rogers.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 25b Bob Ray, 2. No. 23b Brandon MacMillen, 3. No. 46 Haydon Brown, 4. No. 33 Kevin Sabourin, 5. No. 66p Mark Packer // HEATS: 1. No. 46 H. Brown, 2. No. 67 M. Steele.

CORNWALL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

September 4, 2022

MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 47s Corey Wheeler, 2. No. 1 David Hebert, 3. No. 17 Tristan Draper, 4. No. 01 Chris Raabe, 5. No. m16 Gage Morin // HEATS: 1. No. 14 L. Whit teker, 2. No. m16 G. Morin, 3. 47s C. Wheeler.

SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 41 Samuel Chardland, 2. No. 0 Shane Pecore, 3. No. 1x Robert delormier, 4. No. 92t Tristan Ladouceur, 5. No. 88z Bobby Herrington // HEATS: 1. No. 92t T. Ladouceur, 2. No. 35r W. Racine, 3. No. 0 S. Pecore, 4. No. 51 B. Preville.

NOVICE SPORTSMAN: 1. No. ONE Daphne Hebert, 2. No. 34 Xavier Delormyer, 3. No. 04 Joel Herne, 4. No. 55 Stephane Fournier, 5. No. 15 Matt Pruner // HEATS: 1. No. 27d M. Dupuis, 2. No. 34 X. Delormyer.

PRO STOCK: 1. No. 8 Marc Lalonde, .2 No. 33 Bruno Cyr, 3. No. 72 Bruno Richard, 4. No. 48 Jocelyn Roy, 5. No. 4 Rock Aubin // HEATS: 1. No. 57k K. Fetterly, 2. No. 32 J. Levesque, 3. No. 72g D. Gauvreau.

MINI STOCK: 1. No. 21L Skylar Ladouceur, 2. No. 49 Alexis Charbonneau, 3. No. 93m Travis Lamarche, 4. No. 88c Curtis Lindsay, 5. No. 73 Dakota Bowl // HEATS: 1. No. 25 P. Picard, 2. No. 21L S. Ladouceur.

DELAWARE SPEEDWAY

September 24, 2022

APC UNITED LATE MODELS: 1. No. 3 Shae Gemmell, 2. No. 52 Jake Sheridan, 3. No. 17 Josh Stade, 4. No. 22 Kyle Steckly, 5. No. 32 Treyton Lapcevich.

OSCAAR MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 35 Andy Kamrath, 2. No. 39 Bryan Batty, 3. No. 22 Marshall Schrenk, 4. No. 18 Jason Keen, 5. No. 11 Norman Newman // HEATS: 1. No. 18 J. Keen, 2. No. 34 TJ Edwards.

OSCAAR HOT RODS: 1. No. 26 Dalen Martin, 2. No. 9 Cole Weber, 3. No. 8sr Paul Senior, 4. No. 00 Trevor Thompson, 5. No. 15 Dave Evison Sr. // HEATS: 1. No. 26 D. Martin, 2. No. 46 B. Zardo Sr., 3. No. 9 C. Weber.

EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

September 17, 2022

IMCA MODS: 1. No. 5 Shawn Stevenson, 2. No. 99 Alex Krause, 3. No. 7 Colby McTavish, 4. No. 14 Justin McTavish, 5. No. 81 Tyler Knowles // HEATS: 1. No. 21 M. Reneau, 2. No. 7 C. McTavish.

FUTURE STOCKS: 1. No. 2 Able Befus, 2. No. 6 Lucas Belbeck, 3. No. 29 Laurel Chalifoux, 4. No. 15 Ainslee Russell, 5. No. 7 Melody McNeill // HEATS: 1. No. 6 L. Belbeck, 2. No. 2 A. Befus.

ENDURO: 1. No. 43 Nick Bell, 2. No. 78 Ken Clark, 3. No. 29 Mike Ramm, 4. No. 26 Jaeger Berdahl, 5. No. 13 Ryan Plesman.

FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY

September 24, 2022

CAN AM MIDGETS: 1. Cory Whittam, 2. David Miller, 3. Jaden Riddell, 4. Daniel Hawn, 5. Andrew Whelan // HEATS: 1. D. Miller, 2. D. Hawn.

LEGENDS: 1. Hudson Nagy, 2. Cole McFadden, 3. Kenny McNicol Jr., 4. Jordan Latimer, 5. Wesley Cuthbertson // HEATS: 1. A. Cuthbertson, 2. C. McFadden, 3. W. Cuthbert son, 4. J. Latimer, 5. K. McNicol Jr., 6. W. Cuthbertson.

CANADIAN VINTAGE MODIFIEDS (1): 1. TJ Marshall, 2. Quinton Murdoch, 3. Scott Tonelli, 4. Daryl Henwood, 5. Ricky Willigar // (2): 1. Rodney Rutherford, 2. TJ Marshall, 3. Daryl Henwood, 4. Quinton Murdoch, 5. Scott Tonelli.

MINI STOCK (1): 1. Bobby Mercer, 2. Kaitlyn Wallace. 3. Mike Thomson, 4. Matt Young, 5. Kyle Istead // (2): 1. Mike Thomson, 2. Kyle Istead, 3. Bobby Mercer, 4. Mike Hooper, 5. Kaitlyn Wallace.

PURE STOCK (1): 1. Kyle Lucas, 2. Leo Labarbera, 3. Reece Bourgeois, 4. Spencer Riddell, 5. Rick Mitchell // (2): 1. Kyle Lucas, 2. Alex Stewart, 3. Rick Mitchell, 4. Spencer Riddell, 5. Chance Rogers.

FULL THROTTLE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

September 10, 2022

JUNIOR LATE MODEL: 1. No. 7 Laila Walser, 2. No. 37 Del Freiburger, 3. No. 23 Brandon Magee, 4. No. 9 Mason Grayson, 5. No. 05h Peyton Lewis // (2): 1. No. 7 Laila Walser, 2. No. 9 Grayson Mason, 3. No. 23 Brandon Magee, 4. No. 37 Del Freiburger, 5. No. 05h Peyton Lewis.

MINI TRUCK (1): 1. No. 29s Austin Arnel, 2. No. 11 Rob Broadhurst, 3. No. 20 Mason Collver, 4. No. 15 Kaisha Zimoch, 5. No. 19c Caleb Goertz // (2): 1. No. 20 Mason Collver, 2. No. 29a Austin Arnel, 3. No. 15 Kaisha Zimoch, 4. No. 11 Rob Broadhurst, 5. No. 19c Cleb Goertz.

FUN STOCK: 1. No. 07 Daphne Sullivan, 2. No. 62 Mark Merritt, 3. No. 18 Nathan Detwiler, 4. No. 12 Dustin Johnston, 5. No. 08 Kyle Gareau.

THUNDER TRUCK (1): 1. No. 18 Jason Vale, 2. No. 77 Nick Aballe, 3. No. 66 John Green, 4. No. 78 Zack Payne, 5. No. 63 Luke Dippel // (2): 1. No. 18 Jason Vale, 2. No. 66 John Green, 3. No. 78 Zack Payne, 4. No. 77 Nick Aballe, 5. No. 83 Henk Bos.

HOT RODS: 1. No. 4 Rob Wark, 2. No. 78 Larry Hartley, 3. No. 84 Trevor Critchley, 4. No. 70 Svott Marvin, 5. No. 44 Matt Hopkins // (2): 1. No. 78 Larry Hartley, 2. No. 4 Rob Wark, 3. No. 70 Scott Marvin, 4. No. 84 Trevor Critchley.

GRAND BEND MOTOR SPEEDWAY

September 3, 2022

BONE STOCKS: 1. No. 55 Craig Cole, 2. No. 34 Dan Storey, 3. No. 52r Randy Martin, 4. No. 53 Kara Martin, 5. No. 28 Cierra Graves // HEATS: 1. No. 53 K. Martin, 2. No. 34 D. Storey.

SOUTHERN ONTARIO MODIFIEDS (SOMA): 1. No. 87 Shean Carey, 2. No. 28k Tate O’Leary, 3. No. 84 Vic DeV ries, 4. No. 93 Dan Pettit // HEAT: No. 93 D. Pettit.

MINI TRUCK: 1. No. 29 Austin Arnel, 2. No. 20 Mason Collver, 3. No. 11 Rob Broadhurst, 4. No. 7 James Relou, 5. No. 19 Caleb Goertz // HEATS: 1. No. 29 A. Arnel, 2. No. 20 M. Collver.

ROOKIE TRUCK: 1. No. 18 Quinn Goertz, 2. No. 77 Aus tyn MacLennan, 3. No. 55 Eden Robson, 4. No. 9 Bailey Batty, 5. No. 51 Bryden Martin (DQ) // 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. 17 Callum Lawton, 5. No. 77 Eric Lawton // HEATS: 1. No. 53 K. Martin, 2. No. 17 C. Lawton.

JUNIOR SPRINTS: 1. No. 4 Dylan Graham, 2. No. 7 Hannah Hamilton, 3. No. 6x Maxwell Lloyd, 4. No. 99 Tyson Fucile, 5. No. 2 Blake Watson // HEATS: 1. No. 4 D. Graham, 2. No. 6x M. Lloyd.

PRO STOCK: 1. No. 77 Jeremy Curtis, 2. No. 62 Darryn Wright, 3. No. 22k Tate O’Leary // HEAT: No. 77 J. Curtis.

HUMBERSTONE SPEEDWAY

October 1, 2022

KoT SPRINT CAR SERIES: 1. No. 28 Jordan Poirier, 2. No. 10c Paulie Colagiovanni, 3. No. 45h Chuck Hebing, 4. No. 1 Holly Porter, 5. No. 7ny Matt Farnham // HEATS: 1. No. 1 H. Porter, 2. No. 52 S. Kreutter, 3. No. 11j C. Jones.

ACTION SPRINT TOUR: 1. No. 71 Mike Bowman, 2. No. 19 Mathieu Bardier, 3. No. 31 Dale Curran, 4. No. bs39 Brett Stratford, 5. No. 5d Jacob Dykstra // HEATS: 1. No. 31 D. Curran, 2. No. 12dd D. Dryden, 3. No. 4b D. Pelletier.

MODIFIEDS: 1. Steve Bernier, 2. Tyler Willard, 3. Scott Wood, 4. Chad Chevalier, 4. Gary Lindberg // HEATS: 1. F. Carleton, 2. A. Wood, 3. C. Raabe.

SPORTSMAN: 1. Brad Rouse, 2. Cody McPherson, 3. Justin Sharp, 4. Jay Mallory, 5. Ryan Ferri // HEATS: 1. C. McPherson, 2. A. Leslie, 3. G. Panunte.

STREET STOCKS: 1. Dave Bailey, 2. Jason Fontaine, 3. Pete Reid, 4. Mike Thorne, 5. Blake Bomberry Jr. // HEATS: 1. J. Fontaine, 2. P. Reid.

MINI STOCKS: 1. Tyler Lafantaisie, 2. Jay Moulton, 3. Craig Vlassic, 4. Mike Sarantakos, 5. Chris Laskey // HEATS: 1. J. Denobriga, 2. J. Lubeck, 3. C. Vlasic.

LAKE OF THE WOODS SPEEDWAY

September 11, 2022

MIDWEST MODIFIEDS: 1. No. 99 Glen Strachan, 2. No. 4b Brandon Rehill, 3. No. 25 Brody Strachan, 4. No. 3h Keelan Hall, 5. No. 14 Edward Bell // HEAT: No. 99 G. Strachan.

4 CYLINDERS: 1. No. 17 Kamea Mulholland, 2. No. 177 Dustin Alcock, 3. No. 12 Bruce Berringer, 4. No. 14s Shelden McDonald, 5. No. 71m Madoc Mulholland // HEAT: No. 17 K. Mulholland.

PURE STOCK: 1. No. 28 Alex Mira, 2. No. 25 Alexander Farr, 3. No. 2t Derek Pollock, 4. No. 33 Jake Mazur, 5. No. 23b Bryson McDonald // HEAT: No. 25 A. Farr.

(Above) Bobby Mercer earned a Mini Stock feature win at Flamboro on September 24. Photo by Dave Franks

MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY

September 10, 2022

SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS: 1. Ryan Turner, 2. Mitch Brown, 3. Liam Martin, 4. Cory Turner, 5. Jim Huppunen // HEATS: 1. K. Phillips, 2. L. Martin.

SPORTSMAN: 1. Cody McPherson, 2. Adam Leslie, 3. Brad Rouse, 4. Brent Begolo, 5. Rob Knapp // HEATS: 1. C. McPherson, 2. B. Bleich Jr., 3. A. Leslie.

STOCKS: 1. Dave Bailey, 2. Justini Ramsay, 3. Ryan Beagle, 4. Rob Murray, 5. Ken Sargent // HEATS: 1. Z. Bleich, 2. P. Reid, 3. K. Sargent.

4 CYLINDERS: 1. Clinton Barrick, 2. Trevor DeBoer, 3. Leroy Buscumb, 4. Matt Christie, 5. Austyn Werstroh // HEATS: 1. S. Iftody, 2. L. Buscumb, 3. J. Lubeck. V6: 1. Dustin Duga, 2. Jeff Marsh, 3. Zach Dymtrow, 4. Nick Hoffman, 5. Joe Cushman // HEAT: D. Duga.

OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY

September 17, 2022

ACTION SPRINT TOUR: 1. No. 71 Mike Bowman, 2. No. 5d Jacob Dykstra, 3. No. 2m Steve Murdock, 4. No. 49L Lucas Smith, 5. No. 12dd Darren Dryden // HEATS: 1. No. 51 T. Young, 2. No. 71 M. Bowman, 3. No. 5d J. Dyks tra, 4. No. 12dd D. Dryden // B-MAIN: No. 94 R. Fraser. CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS: 1. No. 15 Ryan Turner, 2. No. 01k Mikey Kruchka, 3. No. 45h Chuck Hebing, 4. No. 28 Jordan Poirier, 5. No. 10 Mitch Brown // HEATS: 1. No. 10c P. Colagiovanni, 2. No. 87x S. Evans, 3. No. 9 L. Martin, 4. No. 01k M. Kruchka // B-MAIN: No. 3g D. Gosselin.

PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY

September 3, 2022

ONTARIO MODIFIEDS: 1. Chad Strawn, 2. Alex Cuzzilla, 3. Shane Pollock, 4. John Baker Jr., 5. Robert Maebrae // HEATS: 1. Ro. Warnes, 2. R. Maebrae, 3. B. Gruntz, 4. J. Baker Jr.

LATE MODEL: 1. James Horner, 2. Ryan Kimball, 3. Jacob Mercer, 4. Bobby Cousineau, 5. James Townsend // HEATS: 1. B. Cousineau, 2. T. Delisle, 3. R. Kimball, 4. D. McHattie.

SUPER STOCK: 1. Brandon Feeney, 2. Jeremy Dobb, 3. Marlie Owen, 4. Bailey Jacobs, 5. Mark Gordon // HEATS: 1. B. Jacobs, 2. B. Feeney.

TRUCKS: 1. Kyle Gordon, 2. Paul Boundy, 3. Stacy Switz er, 4. Shawn Murray, 5. Jordan Desroches // HEATS: 1. J. Desroches, 2. S. Switzer.

MINI STOCK: 1. Nolan Gould, 2. Chris Tubman, 3. Shawn Solomon, 4. Ember Junkin, 5. Tyler Junkin // HEATS: 1. N. Gould, 2. Je. Kelly, 3. N. Gould, 4. C. Tubman.

BONE STOCK: 1. Brad Lavalle, 2. Jacob Kelly, 3. Sean Kennedy, 4. Angelo Novis, 5. Terry Hubbert // HEATS: 1. S. Finnegan, 2. T. Stanley, 3. A. Novis, 4. Ja. Kelly.

PETTY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

September 17, 2022

Mike Stevens Memorial SLM PRO STOCKS: 1. No. 53 Cole Butcher, 2. No. 83 Cory Hall, 3. No. 16 Dylan Gosbee, 4. No. 18 Darren MacKinnon, 5. No. 40 Robbie MacEwen // HEATS: 1. No. 1. R. Messer, 2. No. 23 L. Sommerville, 3. No. 11v J. Veinotte // FAST Q: No. 83 C. Hall // DASH: No. 99 C. Slaunwhite.

LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN: 1. No. 10 Brady Creamer, 2. No. 23 Drew Greenlaw, 3. No. 92 Pete Miller, 4. No. 85 Ken MacKenzie Jr., 5. No. 48 Courtney O’Blenis // FAST Q: No. 23 D. Greenlaw.

MARITIME LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 1. No. 66 Owen Mahar, 2. No. 87 Danny Chisholm, 3. No. 25 Gage Gilby, 4. No. 0 Tanton Wooldridge, 5. No. 44 Nathan Blackburn // HEATS: 1. No. 25 G. Gilby, 2. No. 87 D. Chisholm.

HOT ROD CLASSICS: 1. No. 33 Tylor Hawes, 2. No. 72 Stacey Clements, 3. No. 99 Peter Lawrence, 4. No. 71 Chris Dingle, 5. No. 63 Jim Rankin // HEATS: 1. No. 12 S. Curtis, 2. No. 72 S. Clements.

BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 71 Chase McKay, 2. No. 24 Ayden Christensen, 3. No. 8 Dawson Noble, 4. No. 39 Chase Livingston, 5. No. 19 Landon Pierce // FAST Q: No. 71 C. McKay.

BEGINNER BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 5 Ethan Hicken, 2. No. 27 Hailey Bland, 3. No. 83 Hudson Ruff, 4. No. 44 McKenna Little, 5. No. 22 Tylar Dempsey // HEATS: 1. No. 33 W. Peters, 2. No. 5 E. Hicken.

RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY

September 10, 2022

EAST COAST PRO STOCK TOUR: 1. No. 53 Cole Butcher, 2. No. 41 Mike Rogers, 3. No. 89 Donald Chisholm, 4. No. 54 Jarrett Butcher, 5. No. 99 Craig Slaunwhite // HEATS: 1. C. Reid, 2. G. Proude, 3. R. Smith Jr. MARITIME ALLSTAR SPORTSMAN: 1. Deven Smith, 2. Ronnie MacKay, 3. Dennis Nickerson.

SAUBLE SPEEDWAY

September 4, 2022

UNITED 8s: 1. No. 8 Jason Parker, 2. No. 11 Matt Johnston, 3. No. 63 Mike Ford // HEATS: 1. No. 8 J. Parker, 2. No. 16 Z. Casemore, 3. No. 1s T. Sagan, 4. No. 81 A. Gresel.

COMBINED 4s: 1. No. 46z Wayde Thorne, 2. No. 47 Thomas Wunsch, 3. No. 18 Isaac Dippel // HEATS: 1. No. 08e C. Ecker, 2. No. 63 C. Burrows, 3. No. 46x W. Thorne, 4. No. 47 T. Wunsch.

CAN AM MIDGETS: 1. No. 57 James Stanley, 2. No. 55 Cory Whittam, 3. No. 72 Junior Farley // HEATS: 1. No. 72 J. Farley, 2. No. 55 C. Whittam.

SCOTIA SPEEDWORLD

October 1, 2022

EAST CAOST PRO STOCK TOUR: 1. No. 53 Cole Butcher, 2. No. 2 Ashton Tucker, 3. No. 99 Craig Slaunwhite, 4. No. 23 Lonnie Sommerville, 5. No. 08 Nicholas Naugle // HEATS: 1. No. 89 D. Chisholm, 2. No. 99 C. Slaun white, 3. No. 0 M. Vaughan.

MARITIME LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 1. No. 25 Gage Gilby, 2. No. 0 Tanton Wooldridge, 3. No. 87 Danny Chisholm. EAST COAST MINI STOCK TOUR: 1. No. 99 Dave Mat thews, 2. No. 46 Ryan McKnight, 3. No. 58 Matt Watson.

SPEEDWAY 660

September 3, 2022

PRO STOCK: 1. No. 2 Ashton Tucker, 2. No. 40 Robbie MacEwen, 3. No. 29 Greg Fahey, 4. No. 83 Cory Hall, 5. No. 08 Nicholas Naugle.

STREET STOCK: 1. No. 99 Shawn Hyslop, 2. No. 15 Mar tin Landry, 3. No. 54 Rick Cashol, 4. No. 38 Justin Cole, 5. No. 41 Rob Raynes.

SHARP SHOOTER: 1. No. 68 Ryan Bernard, 2. No. 92 Randy Storey, 3. No. 14 Daniel Atyeo, 4. No. 32 Darren Wilcox, 5. No. 19 Mitchell Harvey.

ATLANTIC MODIFIED TOUR: 1. No. 7 Travis Conroy, 2. No. 2w Chris Wilson, 3. No. 75 Doug Matchett.

MARITIME LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 1. No. 87 Danny Chisholm, 2. No. 27 Austin MacDonald, 3. No. 66 Owen Mahar.

HOT ROD CLASSICS: 1. No. 63 Jim Rankin, 2. No. 194 Patty Lawrence, 3. No. 72 Stacey Clements.

BANDOLEROS: 1. No. 24 Ayden Christensen, 2. No. 8 Dawson Noble, 3. No. 14 Sam MacDonald.

SUNSET SPEEDWAY

September 17, 2022

JUNIOR LATE MODEL: Will Quarrie.

OUTLAW MIDGETS: 1. Mike Bradley, 2. Dave Bradley, 3. Jason Metcalfe // HEATS: 1. D. Bradley, 2. J. Kay, 3. J. James, 4. J. Kay.

ONTARIO PRO SPRINTS: 1. Tyler Cullen, 2. Ryan Wardell, 3. Adrian Kemps.

CANADIAN LEGEND CARS: 1. No. 60 Parker Traves, 2. No. 79 Adam Cuthbertson, 3. No. 90 Jordan Latimer.

OSCAAR HOT RODS: HEATS: 1. No. 47w Tom Walters, 2. No. 96 John Gaunt, 3. No. b48 Dwayne Baker, 4. No. 46 Bill Zardo Sr., 5. No. 8sr Paul Senior, 6. No. b48 Dwayne Baker.

OSCAAR MODIFIEDS: HEATS: 1. No. 14 AJ Emms, 2. No. 34 TJ Edwards, 3. No. 22 Marshall Schrank, 4. No. 35 Andy Kamrath.

SUTHERLAND AUTOMOTIVE SPEEDWAY

September 18, 2022

RUN-YOUR-JUNK: 1. No. 5 Udi Saadon, 2. No. 79 Scott Lebedoff, 3. No. 18 Ava McGuiness, 4. No. 2 Kyle Nelson, 5. No. 54 Curtis Speidel // HEATS: 1. No. 96 C. John son, 2. No. 79 S. Lebedoff.

ENDURO: Round A: 1. No. F51 Dusty Carrier, 2. No. 34 Mike Schroeder, 3. No. 88 Tony Mikulcik, 4. No. 93 Colton Saunders, 5. No. 99 Aaron Ratzlaff // Round B: 1. No. 34 Mike Schroeder, 2. No. F51 Dusty Carrier, 3. No. 12 Brian Karwacki, 4. No. 93 Colton Saunders, 5. No. 38 Kyle Booth // Round C: 1. No. 34 Mike Schoeder, 2. No. 88 Tony Mikulcik, 3. No. 12 Brian Karwacki, 4. No. 15 Dayton VanMeesen, 5. No. F51 Dusty Carrier.

WESTSHORE SPEEDWAY

September 17, 2022

LATE MODEL: 1. No. 16 Rory Smith, 2. No. 81 Darrell Midgley, 3. No. 81f Jason Frost, 4. No. 4 Kyle Cottam, 5. No. 96 Alex Mouner // HEATS: 1. No. 16 R. Smith, 2. No. 72c C. Meeres.

WINGED SPRINTS: 1. No. 14c Chris McInerny, 2. No. 14b Brandon Carlson,3. No. 6 Gary Vantreight, 4. No. 34 Paul Verhagen, 5. No. 14a Aaron Willison // HEAT: No. 14b B. Carlson.

STOCK CARS: 1. No. 16 Brendan Moore, 2. No. 24 Cody Young, 3. No. 55 Jeff Hamstra, 4. No. 8 Jake Podann, 5. No. 88 Greg Sagmoen // HEATS: 1. No. 52 A. Cameron, 2. No. 88 G. Sagmoen.

OTRA: 1. No. 24 Troy Tarbuck, 2. No. 25 George Jensen, 3. No. 04 Tracy Cessford, 4. No. 71 Chris Miller, 5. No. 93 Robin Trotter // HEATS: 1. No. 50 T. Zeinstra, 2. No. 25 G. Jensen.

LITES: 1. No. 55 Jeff Bird, 2. No. 16 Rhett Smith, 3. No. 46 Mike Schott, 4. No. 71 James Miller, 5. No. 88 Brayden Aumen // HEAT: No. 71 J. Miller.

OUTLAW 4s: 1. No. 51 Jason Day, 2. No. 64 Cody Brown, 3. No. 22 Dave Green, 4. No. 72 Bailey Meeres, 5. No. 50 Matthew Chitty // HEAT: No. 51 J. Day.

BOMBERS: 1. No. 27 Brad Dimitrov, 2. No. 74 Mark Zacchigna, 3. No. 15 Ryan Alexander, 4. No. 29 Caleb VanBree, 5. No. 24 Charlie Ackerman // HEATS: 1. No. 34 J. Soberd, 2. No. 39 B. Wakelin.

CLAIMERS: 1. No. 83 Jaxon Vaccher, 2. No. 12 Mike Dash, 3. No. 77 Joanna O’Brien, 4. No. 21 Stephen Green, 5. No. 31 Jon Earl // HEATS: 1. No. 31 J. Earl, 2. No. 12 M. Dash.

HORNETS: 1. No. 72 Don O’Brien, 2. No. 6 Dylan Thorpe, 3. No. 66n Jen New, 4. No. 86 Matthew Chitty, 5. No. 77 Bryce Hobbs // HEATS: 1. No. 6 D. Thorpe, 2. No. 66n J. New.

DWARF CARS: 1. No. 93 Riley Windsor, 2. No. 17 Darian Zeinstra, 3. No. 28 Dave Wright, 4. No. 66 Tyler Yates, 5. No. 14 John Misener // HEATS: 1. No. 14 J. Misener, 2. No. 17 D. Zeinstra. IT

Ryan Turner won the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals at Ohsweken on Sept. 17. Photo by Peter Anderson

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.

Making motorsport history.

2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champions.

The #9 Plaid Porsche raced to victory in the GTD-Pro class with a tremendous five wins in one season – more than anyone has achieved before in the GT classes of the IMSA series. Hard work, talent and passion carried the Canadian Pfaff Motorsports team and drivers Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet through an exhilarating season, earning them a spot in Porsche motorsport history. Congratulations to the team on their triumph and this proud moment in the Porsche Canada legacy.

© 2022 Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of traffic laws at all times. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG is the owner of the Porsche Crest trademark.