MIKE BOWMAN’S MAGIC MONTH

Ifyou follow Sprint Car racing, you’ve likely heard that Mike Bowman has just had a month for the record books, racing his 360 Sprint Car at Ohsweken Speedway.

Bowman’s transition from 358 Modified racing to Sprint Cars has come a long way in a short time. In 2022, he proved his prowess with nine Action Sprint Tour (AST) Crate Sprint feature wins, including victories at Merrittville Speedway, Humberstone Speedway and Ohsweken Speedway, where he swept both races held while NASCAR took over the 3/8-mile mile oval. So how do you improve upon that? By adding a 360 Sprint Car to the program.

Bowman and his crew still have the Crate Sprint Car in top form as they chase the AST title in 2023. Jumping into the higher powered 360 Sprint Car for 2023 has progressed in a similar fashion. Heading into the two-day Shootout at Ohsweken that once again supported the Pinty’s cars, Bowman had two wins in the 360 in weekly competition at Ohsweken, including the Friday that kicked off Speed Week.

For 2023 there was a new format for the Shootout where heat races were eliminated, replaced by a timed hot lap session that locked drivers into the A main. On the Monday, Mike Bowman qualified fastest in his flight in the Crate Sprint and second fastest in the 360.

In the Action Sprint Tour event on Night 1, Bowman started third and quickly moved to the top spot where he raced mainly unchallenged. The caution free race and the experience with the racing surface led to Bowman lapping nearly the entire field on route to a $5,000 win.

In the 360 Sprint Car feature, Bowman started eighth, and by Lap 7 he was in front of the pack. However, he was not the only driver with plenty of Modified experience, as Stewart Friesen was also slicing his way through the field.

Bowman and Friesen have history, having battled it out in 358 Modifieds around Southern Ontario as well as on the Super DIRTcar Series across the Northeast.

Friesen duelled for second with Cory Turner in a Sprint Car prepared by Glenn Styres Racing. But the battle for second meant Friesen ran out of laps to catch Bowman who made it ‘two for two’ on the night, claiming an additional $10,000.

“This track condition, the super slick stuff, it kind of plays right into my wheelhouse,” Bowman said after Night 1. “We learned so much racing the Modifieds, which is 800 pounds more car, and less tire.”

While the experience of running Modifieds helped Bowman with the track conditions, the experience of being in the Crate feature before the 360 gave him another chance to gain an edge.

“... I HAD SOME LINES PICKED OUT”

“Having the opportunity to race the Crate race right before the 360, obviously I had some lines picked out,” said Bowman with almost a chuckle.

A soggy Tuesday pushed Bowman’s quest for the Sprint Car sweep to Wednesday. In the Crate car, he was once again fastest in his group before redrawing the sixth starting spot for the Main.

Following a red flag on Lap 7, the restart was the perfect reset for Bowman, who made the winning move on Jesse Costa with a slide job for the ages. That made it a perfect ‘three for three’ with $20,000 in winnings and one feature to go.

Bowman began that race in sixth. Nick Sheridan did his best to retain lead but after seven laps, Bowman took it away and appeared set for the clean sweep. Even with Friesen once again chasing him down, Bowman earned the win and the big cheque. In two days, Bowman won a total $30,000 and boosted his profile in Sprint Car racing.

He took a commanding lead in the AST West standings and closed the gap on the Ohsweken Speedway track title in his rookie season in 360’s with just a handful of races to go. Bowman entered the Sept. 8 season finale at Ohsweken with momentum fully on his side. After another Friday night victory, the week prior, Bowman held a 23-point margin over Ryan Turner. A solid podium finish was enough to clinch the 360 Sprints track championship, in his rookie season at Ohsweken.

‘The Big O’ wrapped its season Sept. 16 with its 19th annual Northern Sprint Car Nationals. With Canada’s biggest 360 Sprint Car event set to pay $30,000 to the winner, Bowman had the opportunity to double down on his big money win, in August. He had already scored $5,000 for winning the Crate Sprint Nationals event the day before, for the second year in a row.

After winning his heat, Bowman qualified for the Pole Dash where he was bested by Sam Hafertepe Jr., the Texas based driver who is widely considered the best 360 Sprint Car driver in North America right now, and young guns Nick Sheridan and Liam Martin who both showed bravery, bombing it around the outside line.

Come feature time, it looked as though Bowman might not have the pace, as Hafertepe Jr. took the lead back from Jordan Poirier after the two swapped places on an early restart.

A caution near halfway reset the field. Hafertepe found lapped traffic and Bowman took the lead. He led the final 15 laps, fending off a late charge from Hafertepe, completing a late summer stretch that saw Bowman amass over $70,000 in winnings.

“Just unbelievable that we were able to take the Sprint Car Nationals home,” said a shocked Bowman, after the race. “You just don’t roll into a rookie season thinking all this is going to go down.” IT