Glenn Styres Jared Zimbardi Jessica Zemken Ryan Hunsinger Gary Eves Photo A Special Edition of The Official Newsletter of Mitch Brown Racing HAROLD BROWN 1934 - 2014 Once again Strodes BBQ & Deli and Strodes Express are thrilled to be a part of Mitch Brown Racing’s Team. To Mitch, Jake, Doug, the extended team members and family of the Brown's . Congratulations... on your terrific achievements during the 2014 racing season and be sure to count on us to be back as friends, fans and sponsors of your teams in 2015. Brian "Big Sid" Witteveen Craig "Woody" Woodrow Editor’s Comments There are many forms of motorsport... and then there's Sprint Car Racing Welcome to our fourth annual year-end tribute to the competitors, tracks and racing series that provide race fans with Editor's Comments some of the most colourful and exciting entertainment value in sports. A Quick Look Back on 2014 2014 Corr/Pak Champion - Glenn Styres The 2014 Sprint Car Racing season here in Ontario and the American Northeast is now in the record books. And once again They Were in the Hunt the competitors and tracks we've covered in this edition of our year-end newsletter provided some of the most electrifying and Rounding Out the Top 10 at Ohsweken colourful entertainment in any form of motorsports. For Mitch Brown it was a rewarding and highly successful season They Added to the Excitement in 360 Sprint Car competition and his younger brother Jake did a The "Gunslinger" Came Back terrific job in his first season in a winged, open-wheel 602 Crate Sprint car. New 602 Crates Sprints Glenn Styres continues to prove he's still got what it takes to win Tops Among Ohsweken's Support Divisions races and championships and Jared Zimbardi certainly cleaned up in winning the Patriot Sprint Tour championships on both sides of Fifth SOS Title for Styres the border. Southern Ontario Sprints 2014 Season Again it was Ohsweken Speedway that provided much of the excitement through its weekly shows featuring the Corr/Pak Northern Summer Nationals Merchandising 360 Sprint Cars and its highly entertaining and competitive new Stricklands GM 602 Crate Sprint Car program. Six Nations Showdown And without question, the Thunder Stocks, Mini Stocks and Bomber divisions provided quality supporting roles throughout the Aussie Wins Summer Nationals season. Behind the Scenes at Ohsweken Speedway Adding to Ohsweken's value as the top short track motorsports venue in Ontario -and possibly Canada - were the special visits by Mitch Brown - Winning Isn't Enough the DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds, DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, TUSA Canada West Mod Lites, Empire Super Sprints and World of Jake Brown Got His Hot Wheels in 2014 Outlaws STP Sprint Car series. MBR Team Gallery With the assistance of some real photo pros and track journalists we've also captured highlights of the 2014 Patriot Sprint Tour and Remembering HB Southern Ontario Sprints series that provided some great entertainment for fans of dirt track racing in our coverage area. Our Sponsors & Teammates Sadly, 2014 was also a season in which we lost two fine racers - "The Juice" Takes It All in PST one a youngster with a bright racing future ahead of him as the result of a tragic on-track accident and the other a retired racing Patriot Sprint Tour Highlights veteran know by many- on the track and off - to cancer. Poirier Caps Lucas Oil ESS Championship Those and others are remembered in this publication. Other Open-Wheelers at Ohsweken In 2014 On behalf of Mitch Brown Racing, we thank our team sponsors, the generous advertisers whose marketing messages appear in this Other Touring Series Add to Summer of Speed publication, the individuals who provided some of the photos captured throughout the 2014 season and the staff of Ohsweken News Makers in 2014 Speedway who once again allowed me access to their fine motorsports complex. Zemken Wins Canadian Sprint Car Nationals As noted in the caption above- " There are many forms of Night Before the Nationals motorsports ...and then there's Sprint Car Racing". Latest News on the Sprint Car Scene For fans who follow the winged, open wheel race cars, they know what is meant by those comments. And for those who have never been to a Sprint Car race on dirt.... You don't know what you are missing...but hey, there's always next year. Front Cover - Mitch Brown (photo by Gary Eves) Ken Spencer A quick Look back on the 2014 dirt track scene ... There is little if any doubt about it. OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY'S OTHER DIVSIONS Sprint Car Racing, especially the winged, open How tight the chase might have been had Jamie Dave Silverthorne Jr. of London squeaked out wheel machines that compete on dirt, is one Collard, Dain Naida, Mikey Kruchka and Chris his first Affordable Towing and Recovery of the most exciting forms of motorsports in Steele been regulars throughout the season? Thunder Stock Division title by only 4 points North America . The Miles Hill Racing stable faced some unusual over defending Champion Lee Winger of The 2014 season typified what the sport is all challenges as the season was about to begin at Caledonia. Wyatt Van Wart of Cambridge about and certainly Ohsweken Speedway was Ohsweken when Collard, a leading challenger made the chase interesting with a solid third centre stage for much of the excitement. So for the Corr/Pak title over the past three place finish in the final standings. As with the too were Brighton Speedway, Cornwall Motor seasons, was seriously injured in a flip at 360 Sprints, the rainout on September 5th Speedway and Brockville Ontario Speedway Selinsgrove (PA) Speedway on May 17th and may have affected the final results. to the east, South Buxton Raceway to the was forced to sit out the 2014 season. Fellow Tyler Lafantaisie of Welland was tops among west along with Merrittville Speedway and Miles Hill teammate, Dain Naida had earlier the HRW Automotive Mini Stock points over Humberstone Speedway in the Niagara area- announced his intentions to compete closer to rookie Mark Bauzin of Caledonia with Dusty tracks that hosted Sprint Car events in Ontario home in the Michigan and Ohio area on most DeBoer of Hagersville the only 2013 driver to this past season. weekends. retain his championship title by winning in the Here's a quick overview of the events, series Kruchka packed it in after only four weeks of Gale's Auto Aftermarket Bombers division. competition -a decision that caught almost and competitors who generated much of that OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY PLAYED HOST FOR everyone who had followed the Sprints at excitement in 2014. SEVERAL SPECIAL EVENTS IN 2014 Ohsweken over the past four seasons by OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY'S CORR/PAK SPRINTS surprise. Chris Steel started the schedule with a NORTHERN SUMMER NATIONALS Once again Ohsweken Speedway's Corr/Pak 16th-place finish in the opener but won the A- James McFadden became the first Australian Merchandising-sponsored 360 Sprint Car Main a week later and had three top-three runs to win a feature race at Ohsweken Speedway championship came down to a three-way before he suffered engine problems that ended by dominating the 25-lap Burger Barn battle with Glenn Styres, Mitch Brown and his Ohsweken regular season schedule on July Northern Summer Nationals A-Feature on July defending Corr/Pak Champion Jim Huppunen 25th. He did return for the Canadian Sprint Car 28th. being the front runners for the title right from Nationals in September. the drop of the green flag back on May 23rd. Fresh off his feature win on Friday night, Kyle Patrick was another driver who looked like Wayne Johnson led the first 5 laps of the For the first time since his three-year stint in a championship contender with a string of Corr/Pak Merchandising 360 Sprint Car 2005, 2006 and 2007, track owner Glenn eleven top-10 runs through July 28th but feature before McFadden took over and drove Styres regained his championship form in missed three events in August that all but away to the win. capturing his fourth 360 Championship. The ended his chances at a title. veteran competitors racked up three A-Main A great race developed for the runner-up wins and an additional four top-five runs in Despite the loss of the drivers noted above, spot, with Jessica Zemken eventually the track's first half of the season. some new faces appeared on the scene in 2014 prevailing over Shane Stewart, Wayne with a trio of "Rookie" drivers Cory Turner, Johnson, and Mitch Brown. The win was The second-half of the season Styres slipped Shane Sliter and Curtis Gartley adding youth worth $3,000 to McFadden and guaranteed enough to allow Brantford's Mitch Brown to to the field of Corr/Pak regulars. him a starting spot in the Canadian Sprint Car close the gap with his own career best Nationals on September 13th. performance since becoming a Sprint Car Veterans Keith Dempster, Dave Dykstra and driver in 2010. John Burbridge Jr. along with second-year driver ARROW EXPRESS SIX NATIONS SHOWDOWN Jeremy Hughes were among those who made Donny Schatz moved into a tie atop the 410 The Brantford driver won two A-Mains in the some major strides over their previous year's Sprint Car win list with Jason Sides by winning final half of the season increasing to eleven performance. his 3rd World of Outlaws Sprint Car series his total of top-five runs for the year but he feature at Ohsweken on July 29th.