OHSWEKEN, ON - June 17, 2011 - Bryan Howland's last visit to Ohsweken Speedway ended on a sour note, with a trip to the hospital. The Auburn, NY driver made his return a good one Friday night by visiting the Engine Pro Racing Winner's Circle at the end of the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car feature.
Young drivers Devin Habiuk and Wyatt Van Wart claimed popular wins in Twin 15 features for the Lighthouse Tattoos Thunder Stocks and got an extra $50 each from Engine Pro Racing, while Mike Evers bested the HRW Automotive Mini Stock division for the first time in 3 years, and Trevor Roszell won a second consecutive Pierced Parts Bombers feature.
CORR/PAK MERCHANDISING SPRINT CARS: Jim Huppunen and Mikey Kruchka started on the front row for the 20 lap feature, but Bryan Howland and round 2 feature winner Jared Zimbardi quickly made their way to the front. Kruchka led the first 9 laps before Zimbardi got by, with Howland into 2nd on lap 11.
The race was stopped 3 times, as Travis Cunningham, Keith Dempster, and Kyle Moffit all got upside down. All drivers walked away uninjured.
Between the stoppages, the racing was intense as Howland and Zimbardi traded the lead several times, and Huppunen tried to get under the invaders from New York. Howland held on for the win, with Huppunen scoring second, and Zimbardi third, while Jamie Turner edged out Kruchka for the 4th spot.
"We've had a real tough year," said Bryan in the Engine Pro Winner's Circle. "I think we've only finished two races this year, so it's good to win one, and to come from mid-pack to win it. I just have to thank my guys. They've stuck in there. Every week we leave the track and we're kind of down after having a bad night."
Along with a case of Z-Alt Muscle Car Oil courtesy of RNB Restorations, and the $1500 winner's cheque, Bryan also got valuable track time heading into next Friday's Northern Summer Nationals event at Ohsweken.
"That's the reason we came up here," Bryan told the crowd. "I know they did some different stuff with the track over the off-season, and it's just a beautiful race track."
LIGHTHOUSE TATTOOS THUNDER STOCKS: Devin Habiuk and Wyatt Van Wart scored the wins on Twin 15 night for the Thunder Stocks. Neither win was easy, as Habiuk had to fight off repeated challenges from Mike Thorne, and Van Wart came from the 16th starting spot to claim his first career feature win at Ohsweken.
"I was playing a song over and over in my head, trying to keep myself calm so I don't screw up," said Devin after his win. "I knew Mike
(Thorne) was on the top. I didn't want to pressure him too much, I stuck to my groove."
"I got pretty lucky at the beginning," said Wyatt Van Wart. "There was a little bit of a bunch-up, so I got right through that. I'd like to thank my father for father's day - without him, none of this would have been possible."
Both Habiuk and Van Wart received $50 on top of the regular feature winner's share of the purse, courtesy of Engine Pro Racing.
HRW AUTOMOTIVE MINI STOCKS: Mike Evers started 15th on the grid, and avoided disaster on the first lap when 4th starter Jamie Goudge got upside down on the backstretch.
Goudge was uninjured, but both he and Steve Hess were out of the race with heavily damaged cars. Evers got to the front and held off Abel Castelein - racing a car borrowed from Dave Bailey - and Karl Sault to get the win, dodging slower traffic, including Mike Gilchrist's smoking car, along the way.
"I can't tell you how good this feels," said the veteran of the Mini Stock division. "It's been 3 years since I won a feature. I didn't see a car go up in smoke, all I saw was somebody trying to get by me."
PIERCED PARTS BOMBERS: Trevor Roszell started 4th and built a large lead before the rest of the field could sort itself out. Dave Patton eventually emerged, but didn't have enough time to run Roszell down. Trevor got his second consecutive Bomber division win, followed by Patton, and Matt Smith.
NEXT WEEK AT OHSWEKEN: Jones Brown Insurance presents the first round of the "Northern Summer Nationals" next Friday, June 24. The Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprints will be joined by the Southern Ontario Sprints, ASCS Sprints on Dirt, and ASCS Patriots for the first of 4 rounds in the miniseries. Lighthouse Tattoos Thunder Stocks, HRW Automotive Mini Stocks, and Pierced Parts Bombers are also part of round 4 of Friday Night Thunder. Gates open at
6:00 with racing starting at 7:45!
From Tommy Goudge / Photo Credits: Peter Anderson - www.pandersonphotos.com
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