Ohsweken Speedway - Howland & Dinning Take Wins At The Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals

Details: Category: Oval Racing

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Bryan Howland won the 2015 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals at Ohsweken Speedway. (Photo-Dale Calnan/ImageFactor.ca)

By: Ohsweken Speedway
September 21 2015

65 360 Sprint Cars and 25 Affordable Towing & Recovery Thunder Stocks combined for 90 total drivers signed in to race in the 11th annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals at Ohsweken Speedway on Saturday night. Bryan Howland and Ryan Dinning visited Mobil 1 Victory Lane.

OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY RACE REPORT
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
OHSWEKEN, ONTARIO, CANADA
ARROW EXPRESS CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS
TOTAL ENTRIES – 90

360 SPRINT CARS (65 entries)

Bryan Howland made history in the most exciting finish in Canadian Sprint Car Nationals history, becoming the first driver to win the CSCN A-Feature after qualifying from a B-Feature. The 28 year old New Yorker also got some vindication from the track where he received a broken shoulder and fractured leg in 2010, officially leading only laps 33 and 35 to steal the $12,000 prize from Steve Poirier, Parker Price-Miller, and a quickly-closing Mark Smith.

The 35 lap A-Feature began with 3-time CSCN winner Poirier and Jason Barney at the front of the 30 car field, but the race was slowed with just 1 lap complete when Yan Bilodeau coasted to a stop after contact with Brad Loyet in turn one. Bilodeau saw something fly off his car after the contact and suspected that he had broken a suspension part. The debris turned out to be a nerf bar, which the track safety crew retrieved, and Bilodeau was able to restart and eventually be credited with 14th.

The yellow flag wasn't seen again, and the next 34 laps of green flag action produced one of the best races in the 20 year history of Ohsweken Speedway. Poirier led the first lap before the yellow flag, while Dustin Daggett took 2nd from Barney, only to lose that spot to Barney when the race restarted. Parker Price-Miller moved from 8th to 4th on that first lap, while 20th starter Howland started his march to the front by gaining 3 spots.

Poirier maintained his lead after the single file restart, while 5th starter Mark Smith briefly slowed and fell back as far as 14th before mounting a comeback. Barney kept Poirier in sight, with Daggett maintaining 3rd until Price-Miller moved past him on lap 6, followed one lap later by Paul Kinney. Traffic quickly became a factor, with Poirier and Barney initially lapping the slower cars faster than Price-Miller.

Howland moved into the top 10 with 25 laps left, and 5 laps later he was into 5th after passing Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Max Stambaugh, Daggett, Rob Dietrick, and Kyle Sauder in quick succession. 11th row starters Jared Horstman and Chuck Hebing were also moving through the field, but their progress was briefly slowed during the middle portions of the race, while Howland's was not.

Poirier grew his advantage as he continued to race through traffic, but Price-Miller began to close the gap after passing Barney for 2nd on lap 19. Howland passed Kinney for the 4th spot on lap 23, and then got past Barney 5 laps later to set the stage for the electrifying finish.

Price-Miller finally found clear track between himself and Poirier on lap 28 and was on Poirier's tail with 5 laps to go, throwing a slide job at the leader in turns 1 and 2. Somehow Poirier was able to find room between Price-Miller's car and the outside wall to slip back into the lead. Price-Miller set up another slider 2 laps later but was rebuffed again by Poirier, who crossed underneath Price-Miller exiting turn 2, while Howland dove low to make it three-wide for the lead.

Howland led lap 33 at the start/finish line by mere inches, but Poirier drove into turn one with the lead again, and drove through the middle groove attempting to split two slower cars. Howland got a big launch off the bottom of turn 2 and pulled a wheelie down the backstretch, but saw that move thwarted when he was pinned behind a slower car while Poirier again drove through the middle groove in turn 3. Poirier officially led at the start/finish line as the white flag flew, but again it was by inches, while Price-Miller was back in the picture.

The three were nose-to-tail down the backstretch on the final lap with a slower car running the low groove in front of them, and 4th place Mark Smith closing in as well. Poirier and Price-Miller both slid high exiting the 4th turn, while Howland drove through the middle groove and pulled ahead just enough to take his first CSCN win despite contact with Poirier at the finish line.

Howland crossed the line just 0.112 seconds ahead of Poirier, with Price-Miller just 0.159 seconds behind Poirier. Smith finished 4th, 0.692 seconds behind the leader, while Kinney rounded out the top 5. Hebing's run landed him in 6th, followed by Barney, Hafertepe, Horstman, and Dietrick. 2011 CSCN winner Hafertepe had run much of the race with very little air in his right rear tire. Amazingly, all 30 cars were still running at the finish.

65 of the 73 official entries were able to compete on Saturday night. Drivers from 2 Canadian provinces and 8 American states attempted to qualify for the 11th edition of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. 14 drivers competed in the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals for the first time, with Parker Price-Miller the highest finishing first-time competitor. Price-Miller also ran the fastest time overall in group time trials to collect the Fastest Qualifier Award, while fellow CSCN rookie Dylan Westbrook claimed the Fastest Canadian Qualifier award. Jordan Thomas and his crew were given Corr/Pak Merchandising "Bill Peer Memorial" Best Appearing Car Award honours, while Mitch Brown won the Brighton Speedway Highest Finishing SOS Driver award.

A-FEATURE (35 laps)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 51 Bryan Howland (20)
2. 28fm Steve Poirier (1)
3. 97 Parker Price-Miller (8)
4. 55 Mark Smith (5)
5. 19k Paul Kinney (4)
6. 45 Chuck Hebing (22)
7. 87 Jason Barney (2)
8. 67 Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (13)
9. 17 Jared Horstman (21)
10. 10k Rob Dietrick (6)
11. 5b Justin Barger (17)
12. o5 Brad Loyet (18)
13. 10b Mitch Brown (16)
14. 123 Yan Bilodeau (15)
15. 83 Kyle Sauder (9)
16. 49d Shawn Dancer (27)
17. 19 Cory Turner (26)
18. 77 Dain Naida (11)
19. 17h Max Stambaugh (10)
20. 53 Shawn Donath (23)
21. 00 Dane Lorenc (24)
22. 47x Dylan Westbrook (12)
23. 90 Matt Tanner (29)
24. 35 Jared Zimbardi (14)
25. 2m Dustin Daggett (3)
26. 42w Rick Wilson (25)
27. 0 Glenn Styres (7)
28. 49k Scott Kreutter (19)
29. 422 Etienne Girard (30)
30. 79 Jordan Thomas (28)
No Time
A-Feature Lap Leaders - Steve Poirier (1-32, 34), Bryan Howland (33, 35)
Hard Charger - Bryan Howland (+19)

AWARD WINNERS:

Insta-Insulation Fastest Qualifier Award – 97 Parker Price-Miller (14.136 seconds)

Nathan Ackland State Farm Insurance Fastest Canadian Qualifier Award – 47x Dylan Westbrook (14.599 seconds)

Corr/Pak Merchandising “Bill Peer Memorial” Best Appearing Car Award – 79 Jordan Thomas

Brighton Speedway Highest Finishing SOS Driver Award – 10b Mitch Brown (13th)

GROUP TIME TRIAL FLIGHT #1 (4 laps – Top 12 inverted into starting positions for Heat Races #1 and #2)

Rank. # Name, Hometown, Best Lap (Overall Rank)

1. Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo IN, 14.136 (1), 2. 49 Todd Hoddick, Cheektowaga NY, 14.343 (2), 3. 49d Shawn Dancer, Delphos OH, 14.425 (3), 4. 67 Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Sunnyvale TX, 14.436 (4), 5. 16 Ryan Ruhl, Coldwater MI, 14.550 (6), 6. 79 Jordan Thomas, Harding PA, 14.552 (7), 7. o5 Brad Loyet, Imperial MO, 14.600 (9), 8. 28fm Steve Poirier, Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil QC, 14.618 (10), 9. 81 Derek Jonathan, Lewiston NY, 14.666 (11), 10. 35 Jared Zimbardi, Bradford PA, 14.687 (13), 11. 2m Dustin Daggett, Portland MI, 14.688 (14), 12. 22h Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN, 14.701 (15), 13. 51 Bryan Howland, Union Springs NY, 14.705 (16), 14. 53 Shawn Donath, South Onondaga NY, 14.771 (18), 15. 25 Michael Parent, Granby QC, 14.783 (19), 16. 90 Matt Tanner, Stephentown NY, 15.121 (27), 17. 38 Tyler Hendricks, Chatham ON, 15.255 (29), 18. 48jr Darryl Ruggles, Canandaigua NY, 15.809 (42), 19. 121 Steve Glover, Rochester NY, 16.356 (49), 20. 15aw April Wilson, Joyceville ON, 16.495 (55), 21. 2w Lee Winger, Hamilton ON, 16.914 (59), 22. 01 Kyle Fraser, White Lake ON, 17.102 (62)

GROUP TIME TRIAL FLIGHT #2 (4 laps – Top 12 inverted into starting positions for Heat Races #3 and #4)

Rank. # Name, Hometown, Best Lap (Overall Rank)

1. 17 Jared Horstman, Cloverdale OH, 14.505 (5), 2. 00 Dane Lorenc, Bowmansville NY, 14.683 (12), 3. 17h Max Stambaugh, Lima OH, 14.757 (17), 4. 55 Mark Smith, Sunbury PA, 14.816 (20), 5. 0 Glenn Styres, Ohsweken ON, 14.891 (21), 6. 10b Mitch Brown, Brantford ON, 14.920 (22), 7. 49k Scott Kreutter, Cowlesville NY, 15.088 (26), 8. 77x Alex Hill, Wilsonville ON, 15.234 (28), 9. 10k Rob Dietrick, Farmington NY, 15.295 (30), 10. 75 Tommy Wickham, Constantia NY, 15.544 (36), 11. 38w Dennis Wagner, Pulaski PA, 15.571 (39), 12. 123 Yan Bilodeau, Saint-Christophe-d'Arthabaska QC, 15.707 (40), 13. 61 Parker Evans, Owego NY, 15.974 (44), 14. 19 Cory Turner, Caistor Centre ON, 16.078 (46), 15. 36 Mike Stelter, Webster NY, 16.212 (48), 16. 3r Shane Ross, Thedford ON, 16.391 (50), 17. 91 Ryan Turner, Caistor Centre ON, 16.442 (53), 18. 14h Jim Huppunen, Welland ON, 16.523 (56), 19. 6 Curtis Gartly, Thamesford ON, 16.707 (57), 20. 13 Keith Granholm, Syracuse NY, 16.736 (58), 21. 43 Scott Sherk, Port Colborne ON, 17.082 (61), 22. 10j CJ Jones, Lake Milton OH, 17.538 (64)

GROUP TIME TRIAL FLIGHT #3 (4 laps – Top 12 inverted into starting positions for Heat Races #5 and #6)

Rank. # Name, Hometown, Best Lap (Overall Rank)

1. 47x Dylan Westbrook, Scotland ON, 14.599 (8), 2. 83 Kyle Sauder, Archbold OH, 14.992 (23), 3. 422 Etienne Girard, Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover QC, 14.997 (24), 4. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, Burlington NJ, 15.026 (25), 5. 77 Dain Naida, Tecumseh MI, 15.311 (31), 6. 5b Justin Barger, Montrose NY, 15.401 (32), 7. 42w Rick Wilson, Joyceville ON, 15.414 (33), 8. 10c Paul Colagiovanni, Jr., Cicero NY, 15.561 (34), 9. 87 Jason Barney, Brewerton NY, 15.530 (35), 10. 19k Paul Kinney, Durhamville NY, 15.561 (37), 11. 7c Dylan Swiernik, Port Leyden NY, 15.562 (38), 12. 2 Dave Axton, Port Byron NY, 15.750 (41), 13. 11 Jamie Turner, Caistor Centre ON, 15.832 (43), 14. 10 Jeff Cook, Antwerp NY, 16.047 (45), 15. 69 Kris Root, Delaware ON, 16.146 (47), 16. 5 Keith Dempster, Alton ON, 16.428 (51), 17. 18 Ryan Susice, Ransomville NY, 16.440 (52), 18. 48a Alysha Ruggles, Canandaigua NY, 16.475 (54), 19. 94z Stan Zanchin, Fort Erie ON, 17.061 (60), 20. 7m Justin Martin, Rodney ON, 17.357 (63), 21. 45 Chuck Hebing, Ontario NY, No Time (65)

HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps – Top 3 transferred to A-Feature, winner transferred to Dash)