Photo by Dale Calnan (www.imagefactormedia.com)
By Brent Otchere with files from Tommy Goudge
OHSWEKEN, Ont. (July 1, 2022) – The long-awaited 16th Running of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals did not disappoint on Friday night at Ohsweken Speedway. Drivers from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, New York, and Pennsylvania all came together for this special event, which was almost two years in the making. Ryan Turner took the $10,000 prize in the Pinty’s Knights of Thunder 360 Sprint Car Series debut at Ohsweken.
Ryan Turner and Matt Farnham earned front row starting spots in the Pole Dash for the first Knights of Thunder A-Main at Ohsweken. 30 drivers qualified for the 35 lap A-Main, all of them racing to be crowned the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals champion and claim the $10,000 prize. Ryan Turner took an early lead until a caution came out when his father Jamie Turner clipped the wall and ended his race.
Ryan’s brother Cory Turner, Todd Hoddick, and Ryan Coniam made major gains from their starting positions after the green flag reappeared. Paulie Colagiovanni used a slide job to briefly steal the lead, however Turner drove back past him before the lap was complete and pulled away from the pack, lapping two-thirds of the field during an extended green flag run.
The race ended on a green-white-checkered finish after Liam Martin spun to a stop with broken steering and brought out the caution with two laps to go. Ryan Turner once again drove away from the field to secure his first Canadian Sprint Car Nationals win. Colagiovanni took second, followed by Dylan Westbrook in third, Matt Farnham fourth, and Nick Sheridan fifth.
Notes
-Mack DeMan’s quick time in Qualifications earned him both the Qwick Wick Fastest Qualifier Award and the Fastest Canadian Qualifier Award.
-Cory Turner won the new Larry Gartly Memorial Last Chance Hard Charger Award presented by Doddey Creek Agri Services for advancing from the B-Main and gaining the most combined positions between the B-Main and A-Main. Turner won the B-Main from eighth on the grid and then drove from 25th to finish eighth in the A-Main. Turner also won the Nitro 54 Variety Hard Charger Award for his A-Main gain.
-Jared Zimbardi continued his streak of competing at the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals, and is now the only driver to compete in all 16 editions of the event.
-All A-Main starters received a $100 Travel Bonus from DBD Systems (www.dbdsystems.com) in Memory of super fan Brian Dempsey.
The Knights of Thunder series will next be in competition at the 17th Running of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals on Monday, August 15 at Ohsweken Speedway. Visit www.knightsofthunder.com for more information.
Pinty’s Knights of Thunder 360 Sprint Car Series
Race Report – Friday, July 1, 2022
16th Running of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals
Ohsweken Speedway
Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
A-Main [Started] 35 laps – NT
1. 91-Ryan Turner[1]; 2. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[4]; 3. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[6]; 4. 7NY-Matt Farnham[2]; 5. 45-Nick Sheridan[5]; 6. 46C-Ryan Coniam[16]; 7. 01K-Mikey Kruchka[10]; 8. 13-Cory Turner[25]; 9. 20AU-Brayden Cooley[11]; 10. 17X-Mack DeMan[3]; 11. 10-Mitch Brown[9]; 12. 1 10-Jake Brown[8]; 13. 94-Todd Hoddick[24]; 14. 90-Travis Cunningham[20]; 15. 88H-Josh Hansen[12]; 16. 14H-Jim Huppunen[13]; 17. 68-Aaron Turkey[23]; 18. 1-Holly Porter[17]; 19. 87X-Shone Evans[21]; 20. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[14]; 21. 70-Baily Heard[18]; 22. 84-Tyler Rand[26]; 23. 5-DJ Christie[22]; 24. 0-Glenn Styres[29]; 25. 9-Liam Martin[15]; 26. 70MM-Dave McKnight Jr[27]; 27. (DNF) 35-Jared Zimbardi[28]; 28. (DNF) 24-Ben Silliker[30]; 29. (DNF) 11-Jamie Turner[7]; 30. (DNF) 21-John Burbridge Jr[19]
Hard Charger – Cory Turner + 17
Awards:
-Fastest Qualifier Award: Mack DeMan ($300 from Qwick Wick Fire Starter)
-Fastest Canadian Qualifier Award: Mack DeMan ($300 from Ohsweken Speedway)
-Hard Charger Award: Cory Turner ($300 from Nitro 54 Variety)
-Larry Gartly Memorial Last Chance Hard Charger Award: Cory Turner ($200 from Doddey Creek Agri Services)
Qualifications Flight 1
1. 17X-Mack DeMan – Mississauga – 14.048; 2. 45-Nick Sheridan – Mount Brydges – 14.076; 3. 5D-Jacob Dykstra – Port Colborne – 14.093; 4. 90-Travis Cunningham – Grimsby – 14.114; 5. 01K-Mikey Kruchka – Hamilton – 14.151; 6. 88H-Josh Hansen – Beamsville – 14.286; 7. 1-Holly Porter – Dorchester – 14.287; 8. 13-Cory Turner – Tillsonburg – 14.351; 9. 94-Todd Hoddick – Cheektowaga, New York – 14.357; 10. 10-Mitch Brown – Brantford – 14.418; 11. 46C-Ryan Coniam – Burlington – 14.437; 12. 14H-Jim Huppunen – Welland – 14.445; 13. 0-Glenn Styres – Ohsweken – 14.514; 14. 70-Baily Heard – Niagara Falls – 14.569; 15. 84-Tyler Rand, Picton – 14.587; 16. 70MM-Dave McKnight – Brampton – 14.669
Qualifications Flight 2
1. 9-Liam Martin – Binbrook – 14.094; 2. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni – Cicero, New York – 14.226; 3. 47X-Dylan Westbrook – Scotland – 14.240; 4. 35-Jared Zimbardi – Bradford, Pennsylvania – 14.438; 5. 87X-Shone Evans – Scotland – 14.466; 6. 20AU-Brayden Cooley – Kirkstall, Victoria, Australia – 14.474; 7. 91-Ryan Turner – Dunnville – 14.480; 8. 5-DJ Christie – Beachville – 14.568; 9. 110-Jake Brown – Brantford – 14.611; 10. 7NY-Matt Farnham – Tonawanda, New York – 14.829; 11. 15-Dan Nanticoke – Ohsweken – 14.837; 12. 68-Aaron Turkey – Ohsweken – 14.843; 13. 21-John Burbridge Jr – St. Williams – 15.054; 14. 11 Jamie Turner – Caistor Centre – 15.149; 15. 24 Ben Silliker – Grande Prairie, Alberta – 15.341; 16. 46 Kevin Pauls – St. Catharines – 15.577
Heat Race 1 [Started] 10 laps – 2:36.350
1. 17X-Mack DeMan[4]; 2. 01K-Mikey Kruchka[2]; 3. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[3]; 4. 1-Holly Porter[1]; 5. 46C-Ryan Coniam[6]; 6. 94-Todd Hoddick[5]; 7. 84-Tyler Rand[8]; 8. 0-Glenn Styres[7]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 10 laps – NT
1. 45-Nick Sheridan[4]; 2. 88H-Josh Hansen[2]; 3. 10-Mitch Brown[5]; 4. 14H-Jim Huppunen[6]; 5. 90-Travis Cunningham[3]; 6. 70-Baily Heard[7]; 7. 70M&M-Dave McKnight Jr[8]; 8. (DNF) 13-Cory Turner[1]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 10 laps – NT
91-Ryan Turner[1]; 2. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[3]; 3. 1 10-Jake Brown[5]; 4. 9-Liam Martin[4]; 5. 87X-Shone Evans[2]; 6. 21-John Burbridge Jr[7]; 7. (DNF) 24-Ben Silliker[8]; 8. (DNF) 15-Dan Nanticoke[6]
Heat Race 4 [Started] 10 laps – 2:38.099
1. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[4]; 2. 20AU-Brayden Cooley[2]; 3. 7NY-Matt Farnham[5]; 4. 11-Jamie Turner[8]; 5. 5-DJ Christie[1]; 6. 68-Aaron Turkey[6]; 7. 35-Jared Zimbardi[3]; 8. 46-Kevin Pauls[7]
B-Main [Started] 12 laps – NT
1. 13-Cory Turner[8]; 2. 84-Tyler Rand[3]; 3. 70M&M-Dave McKnight Jr[1]; 4. 35-Jared Zimbardi[4]; 5. 0-Glenn Styres[5]; 6. 24-Ben Silliker[2]; 7. 15-Dan Nanticoke[7]; 8. 46-Kevin Pauls[6]
Up Next:
Monday, August 15, 2022 – Ohsweken Speedway – Ohsweken, Ontario
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 – Ohsweken Speedway – Ohsweken, Ontario
KNIGHTS OF THUNDER MEDIA
Website: www.knightsofthunder.com
Twitter: @KoTSprints
Facebook: KnightsofThunderSprintCars
Instagram: @knightsofthunder
YouTube: GForceTV
About the Pinty’s Knights of Thunder Sprint Car Series: Founded in 2021, the Knights of Thunder series is a traveling winged 360 Sprint Car tour based in Ontario, Canada. Each points-paying event on the 2022 schedule will pay a minimum of $2,000-to-win and $250-to-start, and all events will be broadcast live on GForceTV. The championship winner will be rewarded with $5,000 and a Pinty’s VIP package for the 2023 Bristol Dirt Race, while 10th place in the championship standings will pay $1,000. The 2022 Knights of Thunder Sprint Car Series is made possible with the support of Pinty’s Delicious Foods, Corr/Pak Merchandising, Stoneridge Specialty Insurance, Hoosier Tire Canada, Burger Barn, Nitro 54 Variety, Strickland’s Brantford Chevrolet, and EPIC Racewear. Visit www.knightsofthunder.com for more information.