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Category: Featured Other Series

Featured Other Series

Canadian Heroes Racing honor fallen soldiers with each lap

For many of us, it’s all about the racing. Everybody goes to the race track because they’re race fans and it’s something fun to do, whether behind the wheel or not. Though for Canadian Heroes Racing, it’s more than that.

While competiting for race wins, they’re also remembering the soldiers that have died. The drivers carry the colors, paying tribute to those soldiers and encouraging others to do with each lap that they make on track.

The idea came about by Chris Ecklund to remember the soldiers at the track.

“When a soldier is killed in action, they are repatriated via the Highway of Heroes where civilians can pay their respects,” Ray Keeso, the National Team Manager for Canadian Heroes Racing, says. “The racing element was started to allow those regions that cannot make the journey to the overpasses, the opportunity to pay their respects to the fallen hero and the family at the track.”

By doing this, Kesso says that it shows that the sacrifice the person made in the military is not forgotten.

“It is emotional, proud, stressful and satisfying,” Kesso says. “Racing awards trophies for winning and only those who do well receive that. Well we award a trophy at every race, our hood to the family. That is a sense of pride in country, of respect to the fallen soldier and to their family.”

On top of having cars carry their cars, Canadian Heroes Racing, sponsored by Lincoln Electric, runs races some events in memory of a fallen soldier. This weekend, the Canadian Heroes Lucas Oil Sportsman Series car driven by Kevin Trevellin will be racing at Flamboro Speedway in honor of Sgt. Shawn Allen Eades. Born in 1975 in Hamilton Ontario, Eades served with the Canadian Military Engineers 12th Field Squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). Sadly, Eades was killed in action on August 20, 2008 in Afghanistan.

“Sgt. Eades was respected for his outstanding professionalism and remembered as a devoted father who liked to share stories with his children with colleagues and friends,” the Canadian Heroes press release stated. “Sgt. Eades, who was on his third tour of Afghanistan, was remembered by family and colleagues as a dedicated soldier and devoted father. Shawn has worn a uniform almost his whole life. He joined Cadets at 12, then he served in the Reserve Force and he joined the Regular Force when he turned 18. As dedicated as Shawn was to his job, he was even more dedicated to his family. He always had strong family values and it was difficult for him to be away, but he always knew that his family would receive great care from his extended family and from the military’s services.”

At events like this, the Canadian Heroes Racing team brings the family of the fallen solider out to the race and at the end of the night, the family gets to take home the hood that has a picture of the solider out.

He adds events like this mean a lot to the family because “they physically see fans wearing red to show support, they meet people who come up and thank them for their son or daughter’s service. One only has to sit in the grandstand during a race and see the family. Their smiles, their laughter but their tears. We have been told, ‘Thank you for a great night. We really enjoyed ourselves it’s too bad that it was for this reason’.”

Also at the event, they ask the family to provide something that belonged to the fallen solider to have it in the car during the race so the fallen hero can ride with them.

“At Peterborough the driver was given the Military Medal of Valour (MMV),” Kesso says. “The family told us that the medal had never been taken out of its case, only this one time. Words cannot accurately explain how we feel or what this means to us. We truly beliive that ‘Freedom is Never Free’.”

On top of the Lucas Oil Sportsman Series car, Canadian Heroes Racing has four other cars in action.

Lucas Lubin (military reserve) completes weekly in the Mini Stock division at Ohsweken Speedway, driving the No. 29 sponsored by Eggz Custom Fab and Lincoln Eletric. The hood is wrapped in memory of Captain Richard Steven Leary and Trooper Larry John Zuidema Rudd.

Chad Strawn drives the No. 77 Canadian Heroes OSCAAR Open Wheel Modified to honor all fallen soldiers. Recently, Strawn picked up a heat win at Kawartha Speedway a couple weeks ago.

The No. 74 Canadian Heroes CASC-OR Trans Am is not racing this year, but was driven last year by Ian Michael Patterson.

Lastly, they have a No. 33 Junior Late Model with Canadian Heroes Development driver Austin Fisher behind the wheel. The 11-year-old has impressed already, picking up some impressive finishes in his career.

Some people race for the pure joy. Others race together because that’s what they do as a family. For Canadian Heroes Racing, it’s something totally different. It’s to remember the fallen soldiers, while reminding people that ‘Freedom is Never Free’.

August 23, 2013
Dalton Baldwin Preview – Bristol Motor Speedway Titan Roof 150

Dalton Baldwin is scheduled to compete for the first time at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday August 21^st in the TitanRoof 150. The annual event features drivers from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour in direct competition. This race kicks off a highly anticipated doubleheader that concludes with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series UNOH 200 race.

Dalton will rely heavily on his team and is determined to make the most of this opportunity at the famous short track.

“We have many disadvantages,” he told me. “We’re underfunded and inexperienced. But we’ve had a lot of help from other people on a base setup to take there. I believe in the group of guys we have. Sometimes, it isn’t about being the fastest but being the smartest.”

His primary objective for the race is simply to finish, preferably on the lead lap.

“If we can load the car on the trailer in one piece after the race, that would be a good day for us,” Dalton told me. “On our first time there, just finish. It’s going to be fast and crazy. That’s just how Bristol is. The modified guys, they get rough a lot. Hopefully, when they do, we can avoid the carnage.”

However, with some patience and a little luck, Dalton is confident that they can do better than that. His goal is to race his No. 8 Chevrolet to a top-20 finish.

“We may not always be the fastest in practice and qualifying,” he said, “but we can race our way to the front. I’m looking to be 15th-20th or better as far as practice and qualifying. I think that’s a good and realistic position range for us to be at. Then, we’ll go from there.”

Dalton Baldwin Racing would like to thank their partners, BG Products, SpeedRacer Photos, Eibach Performance, SpeedwayMedia.com and Advance Auto Parts of Dunedin, Fla. for their continued support.

They are also proud to be work with the charitable organizations of Children’s Dream Racer, World Motor Sports Breast Cancer Foundation and Woman 2 Woman Breast Cancer Foundation.

For more information about Dalton Baldwin Racing including driver bio, race schedule, pictures and videos, please visit www.daltonbaldwin.com. You can also find his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/DaltonBaldwinRacing and Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/DaltonBaldwinRacing.

August 20, 2013
Jeff Locke wins ISMA Super Modified feature at Sunset Speedway

Jeff Locke would lead all 75 laps at Sunset Speedway to take the victory in the ISMA Super Modified feature at Sunset International Speedway in Innisfil, Ontario, Canada.

“First of all, great facility; great place,” Locke said afterwards. “I really appreciate Sunset Speedway for having us. I hope we put on a good show for the fans. A good turn-out. Starting out front was a good thing; track position was key. It was really hard to pass. Once you get a lot of laps on the tires, you start slipping and sliding a little bit and we were able to keep it up front and here we are.”

In speaking of the biggest challenge of racing the Super Modified, Locke said, “Trying to maximize your horsepower without driving the tires off of it. Trying to save your tires to the end because you have so much power with these things, it’s hard to keep it stuck to the race track. Trying to balance between the two is the most difficult.”

Locke started the afternoon by winning the first heat ahead of Jon McKennedy, Mike Lichty, Johnny Benson and Ryan Litt.

Lou Cicconi won the second heat ahead of Ben Seitz, Alison Cumens, Tim Ice and Dan Bows. Cicconi also set the quickest time of the day in this heat when he ran a lap of 12.099 seconds, setting a new track record.

Ryan Coniam won the final heat ahead of Moe Lilje, Mark Sammut, Rob Summers and Dave McKnight.

Come feature time, Jeff Locke would start on pole followed by Alison Cumens, Mark Sammut, Ryan Coniam and Lou Cicconi.

The field would start two-wide with Locke grabbing the early lead ahead of Cumens, Mike Litchy and Ryan Coniam. They would quickly sort out to single-file with everyone nose-to-tail, trying to pass. In the process, Litchy and Coniam made contact, resulting in Litchy being done for the night due to leaking fluid. At this point, Locke led Cumens, Coniam, Cicconi, McKennedy, Seitz, Sammut, Ice, Benson, Summers and Lilje.

They would restart single-file with everybody pretty much staying in line all the way as the leader Locke worked his way by the lap car of Bowes. Cumens would start to close the gap between herself and Locke as the laps wound down and would get her shot at passing when a caution flew with eight laps to go for Cicconi stopping in turn two. Locke would restart in the lead, followed by Cumens, Coniam, McKennedy, Seitz, Ice, Sammut, Benson, Summers and Bowes.

Locke would get a good restart, pulling ahead of Cumens and Coniam while Seitz and McKennedy battled for fourth.

Jeff Locke would lead the final seven laps to win the feature for his first ISMA Super Modified feature victory of the season. Alison Cumens would finish second, followed by Ryan Coniam, Ben Seitz and Jon McKennedy. Tim Ice finished sixth, followed by Rob Summers, Moe Lilje, Ontario native Mark Sammut and Bowes.

Lou Cicconi would finish 11^th after his problems while Johnny Benson finished 12^th after pulling off due to mechanical problems. For Benson, the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion, this marked his final career ISMA Super Modified start as he is retiring from racing. Dave McKnight finished 13^th followed by Ryan Litt and Mike Lichty. Both Litt and Lichty were hoping for better showings with being from Ontario.

August 19, 2013
Todd Cresswell picks up Lucas Oil Cam-Am Midget win at Sunset Speedway

Todd Cresswell would start out front and never look back as he would pick up the win in the Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget race at Sunset Speedway on August 18^th.

The first lap saw a small incident when the 94 got into Corey Moesker in turn four. David Balych took the win ahead of Barry Dunn, the 99, the 94 and Rob Divenanzo.

The second heat, Tom Jyle would go for a pair of spins. Cresswell grabbed the win ahead of the 84, Darren McLennan, Rob Neely, Adrian Stahle, Justin Fraser, the 31 and Jyle.

The third heat ran clean till a debris caution, which saw the 20 pull off shortly after. Then the 02 would go for a spin in turn four. Mack Deman grabbed the win ahead of James Grey, Chris Holman, the 4, Chris Bauman and the 02.

In the final sprint before the main, the 02 and the 31 would have an incident on the last lap. Adrian Stahle grabbed the win ahead of Moesker, Jyle, the 20, Fraser, Bauman, Divenanzo and Mike Westwood.

22 Can-Am Midgets would start the feature with Todd Cresswell starting pole followed by the 94, the 84, Barry Dunn and Mack Deman.

Cresswell pulled out the early lead ahead of Dunn and the 94 while the 84 and Balych battled for fourth. The 84 would pass the 94 for third with Deman and McLennan right behind. Deman would slip by the 94 for fourth shortly after.

Over the middle portion of the race, the top seven ran single-file while Balych and Neely battled for ninth. Neely would get the advantage on that battle, then joining Grey as they both slipped past McLennan. Deman would catch up to the 84 for third, but wasn’t able to get by before the caution for the 4 spinning in turn two.

On the restart, it’d be Cresswell leading Dunn, the 84, Deman, Grey, Neely, McLennan, Moesker, Balych and Stahle.

On the restart, there’d be another caution as Neely and the 20 had problems going into turn three.

The second attempt at a restart would be a go with Cresswell grabbing the lead while Dunn, the 84 and Deman battled three-wide for second. Deman would come out on top of that battle, ahead of the 84, Grey and Dunn. Grey and Dunn, along with Moesker, would get by the 84 shortly after to move up a position each.

Todd Cresswell would lead the final laps to take the win ahead of Deman, Grey, Dunn, Moesker, the 84, Balych, Stahle, McLennan, Holman, the 94, the 31, the 88, Jyle, Divenanzo and the 02.

August 18, 2013
Davey Terry looks to turn season around heading to Delaware

After a successful rookie season finishing third in points and winning Rookie of the Year, hopes were high for success for Davey Terry coming into this season. However, it hasn’t gone as well as the Erin, Ontario native would have hoped for.

“It’s been a really up and down season,” Terry said on Sunday at Kawartha Speedway. “We’ve fought handling issues and motor issues and a couple wrecks here and there.”

From dirt getting in the carburetor at Sunset to a hard wreck on Sunset’s front stretch to motor issues taking him out of the running at Peterborough Speedway, just to name a few of the nights, Terry has experienced everything this year. This past weekend at Kawartha, Terry had a solid run, finishing sixth in the feature.

One of the lessons that Terry learned in his rookie year was to “make sure you take care of your equipment and everything else falls into place” as per stated earlier this year at the Canadian Motorsports Expo as part of the Younggun Panel. Terry has done that, able to finish most of the races despite the problems, putting himself third in points, behind Gary and Brent McLean.

(C)Ashley McCubbin

Going into the second half of the season, there is one goal that is still on the mind of the driver of the No. 14 Wasteco Modified and that’s to score his career Modified feature victory.

“That’s proving to be a little tougher than what I expected it to be,” he said. “This year there’s been a lot of really fast cars but we have a lot of new tires saved up. We’re going to come out with them at the end of the year and put them to use.”

The competition in the OSCAAR Modified Series has been close this year with multiple drivers getting to victory lane, including some first time winners. However, even with gaining cars, there is always room for improvement.

“The rules, they need a little bit of an adjustment just to allow a little more diverse field and equally easy for others to bring cars out,” Terry said. “We could do with a lighter season with less races and more crate motors, with more emphasis on the crate motors to keep costs down to bring cars out as well.”

Like other young drivers, Terry got his start in the Waterloo Regional Karting Club, starting at the age of 13. He then moved up to the Mini Stock division for four years before joining the Modifieds last year.

August 15, 2013
How To Improve The Nationwide Series

How can NASCAR turn the yawn fest that has become Nationwide Series Racing into something the fans will enjoy again? My twitter and Facebook time lines both blow up when Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, or even Matt Kenseth take the lead at any point in the race. It quickly becomes a stream of “Anybody but……(fill in Cup Regulars name here).

For the longest time I defended allowing the cup regulars racing in the lower series, mainly because my favorite driver was still doing it from time to time and ran well in that series at points. I even defended it more when NASCAR made the rule that drivers had to declare which series they were going to race for a championship in before the season really began.

The excuse that I often used was, “Well it helps the track promoters out by getting butts in the seats to see their favorite drivers one more time during the race weekend.” Granted this was back before the Cup regulars truly dominated the lower series. Would they win often? Yes, but they would not go on an eight race winning streak, or in the case of this year’s races, winning sixteen of twenty-one races, or a winning percentage of 1.3125 percent of the time. Now, honestly it is keeping people OUT of the seats more than it is putting butts in seats.

I have also heard and understand the argument that having the Cup drivers in the lower series gives the lower series guys a chance to see what they will be up against when they get into the Cup series. For the longest time, I really didn’t have a comeback for this statement, now I do. While the younger driver may learn something about driver etiquette on the track, they are not learning anything else for the most part. The Cup cars are not the same cars the Nationwide series cars are, and therefore the driver in the NNS isn’t learning very much that will help them once they graduate into the Cup series. About the only thing it shows them is that if they want to be successful in the Cup series they will need to land at a top tier team or their hopes of challenging for a win each week is out the window.

The cars in the Nationwide series are great, they look incredible on T.V. and on the track. They afford for some nice side by side racing. Only when the cars that are being raced aren’t from an over funded team with an over talented driver, holding off someone who is simply trying to get a handle on the series. I could actually understand a lower talented Cup driver trying to get extra seat time to try and improve their performance for their main sponsor on Sunday. Take Bliss, Blaney, Stremme, or any other driver, hell even take Danica and put her in the Nationwide series and allow them more seat time to improve the racing on Sunday, and I would get it much better than I do these days.

These days unless the series is split like it is this weekend with the Cup cars in Michigan and the Nationwide cars in Ohio; it basically takes a catastrophic incident or failure by the Cup regulars team or car for the Nationwide series drivers to even stand a chance to win the race. Which is what leads to my timeline being blown up with people changing the channel, going to the pool, or horror of all horrors heading to the store or mall to get some last minute shopping done.

My solution is a relatively simple and painless one to implement and simply builds upon the declaring which series a driver is running for a championship. Limit the number of starts that a Cup regular can have in the lower series, to five. Which would mean that the track promoters would still be able to promote the fact that Dale Earnhardt Jr will be running both Daytona and Talladega races, without stacking the deck at the races against the Nationwide drivers. It would allow the drivers like Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski to race the Nationwide and Camping World Series trucks, but on a limited basis. Let’s just call it the Mark Martin schedule for simplification purposes.

Let’s face facts, drivers in the Cup series retire, where will that leave fans that still love the sport but don’t have a driver to root for? In my case I know that in the next year to two my driver Jeff Burton will be retiring. I have followed Jeff’s career since I attended my first Cup race and Jeff won for the first time in Texas. I know that I will have to find someone else to root for week in and week out. Are there drivers suitable enough for me to start cheering for already in the Cup series? Of course there are, but I do not want to have to repeat this cycle in another five to ten years. I would much rather have a driver that I can cheer for week in and week out in the Trucks or Nationwide series, see him or her grow into the next series and root for them when they finally reach the Cup series.

Can I realistically do that now? Yes, but I honestly do not get to “KNOW” the driver these days in the lower series. The main focus by main stream media is either how well the cup drivers or doing, or when things are going wrong for them, how badly things are going. I will gladly put a large portion of the blame for the Cup regulars doing double duty on the shoulders of main stream media since it is these same media members that focus so greatly on the Cup drivers. Aside from Kyle Busch I honestly do not think that the other regular drivers would run as many races, of course this isn’t taking into account sponsorship obligations, as they do now if they weren’t almost guaranteed almost unfettered T.V. time each week. Kyle is the lone amalgam in this situation; he in a lot of ways is the same as Tony Stewart.

Tony is a racers racer, and so is Kyle. They both see seating behind the wheel of a vehicle and trying to get something out of it that no one else can as therapeutic. It is their weekend golf game, or shooting hoops with the guys. The difference is this, while Tony does it in a series that doesn’t directly impact the potential for up and coming drivers; Kyle almost relishes in the fact that he is potentially holding back a future driver in the Cup series.

With the limited number of races it would be an excuse for people like Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch to actually MENTOR potential drivers on a weekly basis. Especially when you take into account that two of the five drivers I named own a lower series team. To mentor someone, means teaching not showing someone how to do something, allowing them to fail in their own unique way, and being there to pat them on the back when they succeed. It does not mean, “Step out of my way, let me show you how this is done, and oh by the way don’t even THINK about passing me late to steal a victory away from me,”

We worry about the future of the NASCAR sport, and trying to fix so many things that are wrong with it, how about we start looking at what truly IS the future of the sport in the lower series and attempt to give them something to hope for on their own?

August 15, 2013
Andrew Gresel wins Midas of Orangeville 50 at Kawartha Speedway

Rookie Andrew Gresel would score his second OSCAAR Super Late Model feature victory of the season as he led flag-to-flag at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday evening.

Points leader Brandon Watson won the first heat ahead of Shane Maginnis, Gresel, Derrike Tiemersma, Rudy Oppersma, Tyler Hawn and Craig Stevenson.

Glenn Watson won the second heat ahead of Jesse Kennedy, Dwayne Baker, Wayne Issacs, Ian Bourque, Ethan Cournyea and Todd Campbell.

Rob Clarke won the third heat ahead of Mike Beyore, Jeff Hanley, John Owen, Jim Bowman and Gary Passer.

Derrike Tiemersma won the fourth heat ahead of Gresel, Maginnis, Brandon Watson, Hawn, Oppersma and Stevenson.

Jesse Kennedy won the fifth heat ahead of Glenn Watson, Baker, Issacs, Bourque, Cournyea and Campbell.

Clarke went for the daily double ahead of Beyore, Hanley, Owen and Bowman.

Andrew Gresel would start pole in the feature ahead of Kennedy, Brandon Watson, Glenn Watson, Beyore, Clarke, Maginnis, Tiemersma, Issacs, Baker, Owen, Bourque, Bowman, Oppersma, Hawn, Cournyea, Passer, Campbell and Stevenson.

The initial start wouldn’t be ago as Gresel jumped it. However, the second attempt went off without a hitch as Gresel led Brandon Watson while Kennedy and Glenn Watson battled for third. Glenn Watson would clear Kennedy on lap two before Bowman would spin, collecting Cournyea in the process.

Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin

On the restart, Gresel would hold the lead once again ahead of Brandon Watson while Maginnis would get sideways while running mid-pack through turns one and two due to contact from Clarke, but managed to keep it straight and kept it going. However, there’d still be a caution as Passer would spin off of turn two.

Gresel held the lead on the restart ahead of Brandon Watson, Glenn Watson and Kennedy while Maginnis and Beyore battled for fifth. Maginnis would hold Beyore off.

On lap 19, the third caution flew when Beyore would have problems in turn two. Also at the same time, Derrike Tiemersma would have a rear end let go, resulting in oil around the entire oval. The result was a lengthy clean-up that included a red flag with the cars stopped so they could clean the speedy dry off of the windshields as a result of the dust from the clean-up.

With 41 laps to go, Gresel would lead Brandon Watson, Glenn Watson, Kennedy, Maginnis, Clarke, Baker, Owen, Bourque, Hawn, Campbell, Passer, Cournyea, Issacs and Bowman.

Gresel would hold the lead on the restart ahead of Brandon Watson, Kennedy, Clarke and Glenn Watson. Glenn Watson would then fall back to fifth after being passed by Maginnis before the fourth caution flew for Brandon Watson stalling on the frontstretch.

Brandon Watson would be pushed back to pit road where his team would diagnose an ignition problem. Once it was fixed, Watson rejoined the race later on, a couple laps down.

Brandon Watson had his problems at lap 33 so with 17 laps to go, Gresel leads Kennedy, Clarke, Campbell, Glenn Watson, Baker, Hawn, Bourque, Issacs, Owen, Cournyea, Passer and Bowman.

Gresel got another good start as he got away from the field ahead of Clarke, Kennedy and Maginnis while Glenn Watson and Baker battled for fifth. They’d battle all the way till the caution at lap 34 for Owen having problems in turn four.

The top six remained the same all the way till the next caution for Issacs slowing in turn one.

On that restart, the top four would remain the same with Gresel leading Clarke, Kennedy and Maginnis, however Baker would get by Glenn Watson for fifth. Baker would continue him climb, passing Maginnis for fourth. Baker cracked the podium with a pass on Kennedy while Watson got by Maginnis for fifth. Watson would continue his climb, passing Kennedy for fourth.

However, at the front, Andrew Gresel held serve and picked up his second career victory in the Midas of Orangeville 50 after picking up a win earlier this year at Sauble Speedway. Rob Clarke would finish second in his first start with the series since his problems at Barrie Speedway back in June. Dwayne Baker would round out the podium for his fourth top three in four features run this year. Glenn Watson and Jesse Kennedy rounded out the top five followed by Shane Maginnis and Tyler Hawn.

August 12, 2013
Darren Kearnan scores first career OSCAAR Modified feature victory

The OSCAAR Modiifeds saw yet another new face in victory lane as Darren Kearnan scored his first career OSCAAR Modified victory at Kawartha Speedway. Kearnan marks the sixth different winner this year thus far.

Chad Strawn won the first heat ahead of Justin Demelo, Shane Stickel, Branden Bullen, Ryan Dick and Darryn Wright.

Defending series champion Gary McLean won the second heat ahead of Kearnan, John Harper, Davey Terry and Mike Westwood.

Brent McLean won the third heat ahead of Max Beyore, Lane Zardo, Brad Pearsall and Ted Patterson.

In the fourth heat, Stickel would go for a spin on lap one in turn three. Dick scored the win ahead of Demelo, Stickel, Bullen, Strawn and Westwood. Dick won the race with a last lap pass on Demelo on the outside coming to the line.

Kearnan won the fifth heat ahead of Gary McLean, Terry, Matt Barton, Harper and Westwood.

Beyore won the final heat ahead of Pearsall, Brent McLean, Zardo and Patterson.

Virtue of their qualifying efforts, Gary McLean started pole ahead of Brent McLean, Darren Kearnan, Max Beyore, Justin Demelo, Chad Strawn, Lane Zardo, Brad Pearsall, Ryan Dick, Shane Stickel, Branden Bullen, Davey Terry, John Harper, Ted Patterson, Mike Westwood, Matt Barton and Darryn Wright.

Gary McLean took the early lead ahead of Kearnan and Brent McLean. Demelo would pass Brent McLean on lap two to move into the third position, with Beyore passing Brent McLean on lap three to bump McLean back to fifth.

Darren Kearnan would get alongside Gary McLean, passing him to take over the lead before the caution flew on lap 10 for Pearsall going around. With 20 laps to go, Kearnan leads Gary McLean, Demelo, Beyore, Brent McLean, Strawn, Zardo, Terry, Stickel, Harper, Bullen, Patterson, Wright, Westwood, Pearsall and Dick.

Kearnan held the lead on the restart ahead of Demelo, Gary McLean and Beyore. Behind them, Brent McLean and Strawn battled side-by-side for fifth with McLean able to hold off Strawn. Terry then got alongside Strawn and passed him to take over the sixth position.

For the rest of the race, the field got strung out single-file as they made their way around the fast Kawartha Speedway oval with Darren Kearnan crossing the finish line first for the win. Justin Demelo finished second, followed by Max Beyore, Gary McLean, Brent McLean, Davey Terry, Chad Strawn, Lane Zardo, Shane Stickel, Matt Barton, Ryan Dick, Brad Pearsall, John Harper, Branden Bullen and Darryn Wright.

August 12, 2013
Greg Belyea wins Vanderlaan DIRTcar Pro Late Model Exhibition Race at Kawartha Speedway

Imagine taking a car that runs on dirt and sticking it on asphalt for a race. Well, that’s what was done this past weekend at Kawartha Speedway. OSCAAR, Kawartha Speedway and Brighton Speedway officials teamed up to put Brighton’s Vanderlaan DIRTcar Pro Late Models on the asphalt Kawartha track as part of the OSCAAR show. The result was a thrilling treat to fans in watching the drivers try to wrestle their cars around Kawartha.

In the end, it was Greg Belyea leading all 15 laps in the exhibition race to take the victory.

Zeke McKeown won the first heat ahead of Norm Mayhew, Matt Vanderlinden, Belyea and Kyle Sopaz.

Brandon Mowat won the second heat ahead of Phill Potts, Greg Peake and Mark Rayner.

Kyle Sopaz would start on pole in the feature and led till Belyea got beside him and took the lead before the first caution came out for Mowat spinning in turn three and then Peake and McKeown making contact behind him.

Belyea would lead on the restart ahead of Vanderlinden, Mayhew, Sopaz and Potts. Potts would then pass Sopaz to move up into the fourth position.

From then on, the field ran single-file with Greg Belyea scoring the win ahead of Matt Vanderlinden, Norm Mayhew, Phill Potts and Brandon Mowat. Kyle Sopaz finished sixth followed by Zeke McKeown, Greg Peake and Mark Rayner.

August 12, 2013
The Dangers of Sprint Car Racing: Tony Stewart Injured & Kramer Williamson Killed

The racing community woke up to some very shocking news Tuesday morning. Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart broke his right leg in a Sprint Car crash at Southern Iowa Speedway and will miss Watkins Glen. Max Papis has been selected to drive the car in Tony’s absence. Just two days prior, Sprint Car Hall of Famer Kramer Williamson was killed in a crash at Lincoln Speedway; the 7th Sprint Car fatality of this year alone. Deaths like his are a poignant and cruel reminder of just how dangerous racing can be. The sting from the tragic loss of Jason Leffler is still at the forefront of all our minds and these latest incidents have only fueled the fire as people call for immediate action to make Sprint Car racing safer.

There are two kinds of people caught up in this great debate that are doing nothing but making false and inaccurate statements with their bleating comments on social media. You have the ones who believe the proverbial sky is falling and are calling for a ban of the “suicidal” Sprint Cars…those people have little to no knowledge of open-wheel dirt racing and need to stop talking about something they know nothing about. There are also the shortsighted, grass-root race fans who ignorantly deny the dangers and believe that their racing is completely safe. Both contingents refuse to be swayed away from their opinions but fortunately, there are ones that are actually willing to discuss the topic with an open mind and with intelligent remarks.

It’s no secret that Sprint Car racing is among one of the most dangerous forms of professional motorsports out there today but still, they’ve come a long way from what they used to be. I look at Sprint Car racing right now and I see NASCAR back in the late 90’s. NASCAR was frequently losing drivers and mourned their losses but failed to do anything to prevent future tragedy’s. We watched and endured as John Nemechek, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr. and Tony Roper perished due to people who were too close to the forest to see the trees. We were set in our ways and just accepted death as a tragic part of racing without asking the tough questions that could have saved lives.

Then Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 and everything changed. No longer would death be tolerated or an acceptable occurrence. One fatality suddenly became one too many for the racing community and NASCAR decided to act. They were fought every step of the way though by the very drivers they set out to protect. Racers did not like the HANS device and containment seats because they limited their movement and vision. The resistance of the new safety devices eventually ceased and everyone started to embrace the new technology. Not a single national touring driver has died in a NASCAR race since that dark day in Daytona.

USAC and World of Outlaws now face the same challenge that NASCAR did 12 years ago. They must protect these drivers and also satisfy the needs of these daredevils who will be whipping these cars around dirt tracks across the United States for years to come. After we lost Jason Leffler, serious talks began behind closed doors as the men in charge discussed how they can refine their protocols regarding safety. Now that we are burying a Sprint Car legend and a NASCAR superstar has been injured; those talks are becoming much more serious and a bit more incensed. Warnings and theories do not resonate with us like they should but death and injuries do because that unfortunately gives credence to the warnings that we just didn’t want to believe.

There is a great disparity between NASCAR and its open-wheel brethren in regards to safety. Once you get past all the bleating comments, disregard the people who say these cars are innocuous and stop calling for imprudent decisions with remarks backed by beleaguered feelings; one obvious fact becomes clear. The technology to make these cars and the racing safer already exists; it simply needs to be implemented and it will be. Open-wheel dirt racing is on the brink of a new era of safety innovations that will save countless lives and change the landscape of the sport forever.

With these improvements in safety, death will quickly become a stranger who rarely crosses our path instead of a frequent visitor whose presence is awaited with intense trepidation. Death will always return though whether we want it to or not; you can’t run away from it but we can definitely hinder its progress. No matter how many more friends we lose; be assured that these brave men and women will never give up their passion. Racing isn’t a hobby; it’s something that is embedded deep within the DNA of racers and the desire to race supersedes every other emotion including the fear of death itself. We bury the fallen with tears, embrace the ones who escape death’s firm and final grip with relief and race on because that’s what racers do.

August 6, 2013