Justin Barger Chris Steele Scott Kreutter Mitch Brown and his Haldex / Pro-Fit / Strodes BBQ & Deli / Brown Auto Service / Leitch Performance Engines Maxim Sprinter Steve Poirier A collective look back on the 2012 dirt track scene featuring highlights of ● Ohsweken Speedway’s 2012 season ● the Patriot Sprint Tour ● the Northern Summer Nationals ● the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals ● Tony Stewart & the Six Nations Showdown ● Colourful Photo Galleries and much more. A Special Year End Edition of HB Motorsports’ Team Newsletter FULL PAG Editor’s Comments Welcome to… ● Welcome to Chasin’ the Sprints 2012 ● It Was Excitement Plus in 2012 ● Salute to the Safety Crew ● He’s the Real Deal –Chris Steele Once again it is our pleasure to publish t his second annual year-end salute to our fellow competitors, ● Oh So Close in the Championship Race team owners, tracks and promoters who make up the competition and venues of dirt track racing both ● Rounding Out the Top-Ten at Ohsweken here in Ontario and in the neighbouring states - tracks at which HB Motorsports competes. ● Others in the Chase As not ed by the events and competitors featured in ● They Added to the Entertainment this edition of our annual newsletter, it was another exciting and colourful season on the dirt ovals and ● Tony Stewart –Smokin’ Hot at Ohsweken again highlights the intense and entertaining aspects ● the drivers of these winged, open-wheel machines Six Nations Showdown ca n generate be it in heat races, short dashes or in ● The Lighter Side the A-Main features where again this season some new faces appeared in the winner’s circle. ● Shane Stewart – Up for the Challenge Take a look inside and see what happened in 2012 ● Mitch Brown Can’t Wait ‘Til 2013 through the photos and commentaries that we believe will help to gain some new fans to our sport ● Team Pix 2012 =and prove to sponsors that their investment in our team efforts and those of our competitors and tracks is ● Jake Brown Making Moves worthy of their support . ● Team Sponsors and Crew In closing out this recap of the 2012 season, I’d be remiss if I didn’t recognize my fel low photographers ● Patriot Sprint Tour Champions who put up with me each week at the track and supply me with some of their professional shots that ● Barger Tops in Northern Summer Nationals are identified in this publication; to Greg Calnan of ● Image Factor Motorsports Design for his terrific Plenty of Colour and Excitement work in the design and ongoing modif ications to our ● 2012 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals team website www.hbmotorsports.ca ; to Ken and Cheryl Pelkie in providing me with access to one of the finest racing venues in Canada; and to Mike Emhof of Mike Emhof Motorsports, owner/promoter Cover Photo of the #10 Car – Gary Eves of the Patriot Sprint Tour for providing another Other Contributing Photographers Dale Calnan, Phil Armishaw, Peter Anderson and competitive series for our team driver to broaden his Bill Mehlenbacher experience. Hope to see you around the tracks next season. Ken Spencer - With the running of the October 13 th Patriot Sprint Tour event at ● Pierced Parts Bombers Brockville Ontario Speedway, the season –as covered by this Davey Boughton and Max Chechalk entered the evening publication- is now complete. separated by just one point but Boughton quickly got the lead when the feature race began and cruised to the championship- And what a terrific season it was. clinching feature win. It was a season that saw … PATRIOT SPRINT TOUR ♦ Three track and series championships determined on the final nights of their schedules In the off-season leading up to the 2012 Patriot Sprint Tour ♦ A record crowd watch a NASCAR star steal the spotlight from Owner/Promoter Mike Emhof came up with a recipe to attract some of the best Sprint Car drivers in North America more Canadian racers to his New York State-based series by ♦ The first three-time winner of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals formulating a Canadian Championship to align with an ♦ Some new faces in the winner’s circle American Championship. And based on the results, it was a ♦… and a season that was filled with spills, thrills, excitement huge success. and yes, even some disappointments. The American Championships was decided on the final night of OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY the schedule when Scott Kreutter came from 36 points behind The championships in the weekly divisions of Ohsweken leader Brian Howland to win the title by 9 points when Howland Speedway's Friday Night Thunder series were not decided until experienced mechanical problems and failed to finish the race. the final regular event in 2012, and a brief rain shower during Justin Barger won the Canadian Championship by a more qualifying couldn't keep the racers from settling things on the comfortable margin over Jamie Collard track. ● Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Cars NORTHERN SUMMER NATIONALS Four drivers entered the final night of Ohsweken Speedway’s The battle for the championship in the four-race Northern regular season points’ schedule with very good chances to take Summer Nationals, co-hosted by Ohsweken Speedway and the Sprint Car championship and the standings got even tighter South Buxton Raceway, also went down to the final race of the after the heat races were complete with Tom Huppunen, Chris series where Justin Barger of Montrose NY took the title by 9 points over a hard charging Dustin Daggett of Grand Ledge, MI. Steele, Glenn Styres, and Travis Cunningham all in the mix separated by just five points. Daggett had won the last two events of the series in August but By the end of the evening, Chris Steele had vaulted past Styres couldn’t overcome the 11-point lead Barger held after the first and Huppunen to win his first Championship by a mere 4 points. two races in June. Dain Naida slipped past a faltering Cunningham to finish fourth TONY DEFENDED HIS TITLE with Cunningham a disappointing fifth. And if the naysayers still think Tony Stewart doesn’t draw attention outside of his NASCAR Sprint Cup programs, they Steele hadn’t won a Sprint Car A-Main prior to the 2012 season weren’t at Ohsweken for the Six Nations showdown on July but won two in pursuit of the title. 31st. On that night Stewart not only defended his title against Travis Cunningham, despite his late drop in the standings, was the World of Outlaws, but that show, with Stewart in the line-up attracted the largest crowd in the track’s history. another racer to win his first feature in 2012 then added two more before the season was over. CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS ● Lighthouse Tattoos Thunder Stocks With seventy-six cars in the pit area for the eighth annual Jack Myers entered the night trailing Mike Thorne by just six Canadian Sprint Car Nationals picking a winner was like points in the Thunder Stock standings, but trouble found him in choosing the winning numbers in a lottery. And what are the both his heat race, and the B-Main. When the Season odds you can pick a winner for the third time? Championship feature began, Myers could only sit and watch as If you placed your bets on Steve Poirier you made a great Mike Thorne clinched the title. Thorne didn't just cruise to the choice as the Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec competitor championship though, as he made his way to the front from row copped his third title in the leading Sprint Car Championship on seven, and took the feature win. Wyatt Van Wart, Cory Turner, September 15 th . Aaron Turkey, and Ryan Turner rounded out the top five. THERE WERE UPS, DOWNS AND EVEN OVERS IN 2012 ● HRW Automotive Mini Stocks Racing can be an unforgivable sport or it can be an uplifting Karl Sault entered the evening with a twenty-point advantage experience and in 2012 there were plenty of moments with both for over Mike Evers, and only needed to keep the retiring veteran Sprint Car and even the Thunder Stock, Mini Stock and Bomber driver in sight to claim his second Mini Stock title in succession. competitors in 2012- far too many in fact to list in this publication. Sault was not content with that though, and gave chase to eventual feature winner Jeremy Hughes, while John Cote was WHAT’S IN STORE IN 2013? also in the mix. Hughes took his sixth win of the season at Still too early for any forecasts but it can only get better for Ohsweken, followed by Cote, Sault, Dan Stewart, and Jason followers of dirt track racing. Lungaro. So be sure to get in on the excitement in 2013 They are trained, experienced and at the ready… and they are often unheralded. They are the men and women who form the safety team at Ohsweken Speedway On behalf of HB Motorsports and our fellow competitors, THANK YOU for providing us with the most important service we rely on throughout the season. “Your Trackside Supplier of HRP and Bicknell Racing Products, Hoosier Tires and Racing Fuel for HB MOTORSPORTS Sprint Car teams at Ohsweken 401 Erie Avenue Brantford, Ontario N3T 5L9 Speedway throughout the Season” (519) 752-9531 www.hbmotorsports.ca 2012 Champion Ohsweken Speedway’s Corr/Pak Sprint Car Division MAKE NO MISTAKES ABOUT CHRIS STEELE… HE IS THE REAL DEAL Just check out his 2012 season performance and you’ll see why he’s lived up to his moniker. Fenwick Ontario’s Chris Steele had one of those seasons a lot of racers only dream about – 11 top-five finishes and two added top-tens in Ohsweken Speedway’s 15-night program of racing enroute to the 2012 Corr/Pak Sprint Car Championship.