STEELE,FERRI, PANUNTE ALL CANADIAN HEADLINE WINNERS

Port Colborne,ON by Les Mawson(humberstonepr@yahoo.ca)

The largest crowd of the year showed up to watch yet another edition of the “All Canadian”, a special race conceived by John Puhl, the original owner of the speedway. Mother Nature tried to steal the show early in the day, throwing rain at the speedway in the morning, but, undaunted, the management and staff worked tirelessly to bring the racing surface back to peak condition and would like to thank all the fans that waited patiently for the show. One hundred and thirty seven cars were signed in the pits,making this show the biggest of 2012 so far.

DIRTcar 358 modifieds: Starting on the pole for the big 50 lap run was Chris Steele with the veteran Rob Pietz along side and on the drop of the green flags from starter John Veach, it was Steele with the early lead coming out of turn two. He would hold the lead for the first six laps until Chad Brachmann charged around him coming up to the start-finish line for lap seven.Brachmann would hold the lead for the next ten laps until he would be involved in a grinding crash in turns three and four. This crash involved Brachmann, Kenny Winfield, Mike Bowman, Paul Ashton, Tommy Flannigan, Travis Braun, Erick Rudolph and Fred Carleton with Carleton and Rudolph done for the night and seemingly so was Brachmann, but quick work by the Mighty Taco crew got him back in the race. This put Steele back in control of the race that he would not relinquish but it wasn’t as easy as it sounds as Chad Chevalier was trying his best to be the first Port Colborne driver to win the modified division portion of the All Canadian in a very long time. At the finish, it was Steele picking up the win, Chevalier was second and Bowman recovered from the wreck to finish third. Tim Jones was fourth and Brachmann came back to finish fifth.

COSCO HAULAGE DIRTcar Sportsman:

Starting on the pole for the big race was Rob Knapp with “the High Plains Drifter” Gary Lindberg along side of him and on the start, Knapp would be the early leader coming off of turn two but it would be Lindberg leading lap one. Lindberg would open up a sizable lead until lap 18 when he found out that if you live by running the high side, you can get bit by it as well, as he and Mark Chiddy ran over the front end of Darrell Ebersole, who was facing the wrong way on the top of turns one and two (just Like Brachmann in the Modified race!)Pat Sonnenberg and Robert Baker also ran into Ebersole,ending everybodies’ night.With Lindberg out, this put Greg Panunte in the lead with B J Willard and Brad Rouse right behind him, setting up a race long battle with these three. Despite hard challenges from Willard, Panunte was able to garner the win and take home the big money. Willard was second and Rouse was third. Fourth was Cody Mcpherson with older brother Tyler fifth. Consi winners were Adam Leslie and Darrell Farraway.

PETERS EXCAVATING FASTRAK Late Models: On the pole was the veteran Don Spiece with Doug Ricotta along side and on the drop of the green, Ricotta shot out to the early lead that he would hang onto for the first seven laps until Adam Ferri flew by him on lap eight. Ferri would then hang on for the win, surviving the lone caution for a spin by Kenny Winfield on lap 17. Winfield was able to resume the race with no damage. At the finish, it was Ferri holding off Ricotta for the win with Paul Grigsby third. Fourth was Jordan Peters with his father Darren fifth. With all Victory Lane celebrations held off until the end of the night, it was an emotional celebration for track promoter and team owner Pete Cosco as both of his cars were in there . (Steele and Ferri)

J C AUTO Street Stocks:This race almost turned out to be an enduro race as less than half of the cars entered finished with nine caution periods and most of those had more than one car involved. It started out innocently enough with Kevin Knapp setting the fast time and starting on the pole with Mark Fawcett along side of him. On the start, Knapp would grab the early lead which turned out to be the only lead change of the race. Fawcett’s night started out bad as he spun on lap two along with Bryce Richardson bringing out caution number one.caution number two would be for Kameron Kocarik slowing in turn four, the easiest one of the night. Caution number three would be for a big wreck in turns three and four involving Billy Hogue, Jason Fontaine, Barry Blanchard, Kenny Sargent and Paul Reichel. Sargent’s night was over with a broken rear axle. Just after the restart for this one, Ohsweken regular Ryan Dinning would spin in front of the pack in the middle of turn four sending sheet metal all over the place. Dinning probably should have packed it in with that wreck as seven laps later, he was involved in the next caution along with Shawn Wilson and Rick Book. Dinning was done with both a broken axle and front suspension damage on the right side, requiring him to be cradled off the track by the expert CAA crew. All the while when the carnage was going on, Knapp was having a good battle with the young gun James Thompson who was keeping Knapp honest and not letting him get too far out in front of everybody. Five laps after the Dinning incident, Blanchard and Fontaine got into another wreck along with Bob McNamara who was losing body panels left, right and center. Fontaine was in his old car tonight as his Camaro had engine problems in his consolation race. A few laps after that, Tyler Anderson, who was having a good run up to this point staying in the top five, spun in turn four, whacking the inside wall and ending his night. At this point, the decision was made to count caution flag laps, even though there was only one caution after that for Jordan Fidler’s spin. At the finish it was Knapp picking up the hard fought win over Thompson, who was making things interesting by trying to make a low groove in turns one and two out of the inner Jersey barrier, Billy Bleich,Jr in the Devin Habiuk Camaro was third with Reichel recovering to finish fourth and Fontaine in fifth. Consi winners were Hogue and Sargent.

NIAGARA AUTO Sales Pro 4 Trucks:Starting on the pole was defending points champion Greg Haegens with Adam Nicholls along side of him and on the start, Nicholls grabbed the early lead with Haegens right behind him. For the first while it was Nicholls and Haegens battling for the top spot closely followed by Lee Sleight, Mike Toovey and Hilary Haegens.Luckily for Toovey, the current point leader, tonight is “show-up” points only as he would drop out early in the race. Just as Greg Haegens was ready to make a move on Nicholls, he would get caught up with Jamie Ayers on the back stretch on lap 16 and bring out the sole caution of the race. This put Sleight right on the tailgate of Nicholls and Sleight would make the best of the opportunity, passing Nicholls and holding on for the win. Nicholls was second with Hilary Haegens third. Fourth was Taylor Vanderzanden and fifth was Andy Imbeault.

WEEKEND MOTORSPORTS Mini Stocks: We had some invaders come in from the Brighton Speedway with some cars that we normally don’t see, Honda Civics, which added a little spice to the class. On the pole was Brandon Iudiciani with one of the invaders on the outside, Jeff Humphrey. On the drop of the green, Humphrey shot out to the lead, leaving iudiciani in his wake. Back in the pack though, on the original start, Nate Monahan got sideways in turn one, with Rob Overholt and Chris Sheppard running into him and bringing out the first caution. On the restart, it was still Humphrey in the lead with Iudiciani behind him, but back in the pack, the guys that Humphrey brought with him were moving towards the front. Seven laps into the run, Overholt’s night got worse as he was spun going down the back stretch by Justin Ramsay, who apparently took offense to some rubbing that Overholt gave him on the front stretch, taking Overholt out in a PIT maneuver that the OPP would be proud of! Overholt was able to continue, however, his teammate, Jay Pietz, was having engine problems and was stalled on the front stretch. He was pushed back to the pits and came back on, many laps later. A little later in the run,the next caution would come out for a jingle in turn four involving Garnet Wilson who lost his right rear wheel and ending his night. Just one more caution would slow Humphrey’s run, that for Ron Loggie losing his right rear, and Humphrey would win in his first trip to the speedway. His team mate, Matt Hatley would get second over Kyle Pelrine with a late charge for third. Fourth was Iudiciani with fifth going to another invader, Mike Taylor.

FRONTIER AUTO DISMANTLERS Pure Stocks:Starting on the pole was the veteran Brad “the Hammer” Booker with Mason Smith along side of him. On the drop of the green, Booker grabbed the early lead, surviving the only caution for a spin by Sam Iftody in turn four. On the restart, Booker would hold off the charges of what turned out to be the”Kyle and Kyle show”, that being Tomaski and Rothwell. For the whole run, it was Tomaski and Rothwell fighting over who was going to pass Booker with no clear cut victor in that battle, allowing Booker to hang on for the apparent win. Booker was later disqualified in post race technical inspection, losing whatever points and money earned for the night, but keeping the win for handicapping purposes later in the year.Tomaski was second with Rothwell third.Iftody would come back from his spin to finish fourth with Oliver Larocque fifth.

Don’t forget, next week ,Tidyman Maintenence and Port Colborne Laundry present a New Humberstone Weekly Series AND the second “Eve of Destruction” Enduro Qualifier!

358 DIRTcar Modifieds

1..17C..CHRIS STEELE..2..12..Chad Chevalier..3..71..Mike Bowman..4..15J..Tim Jones..5..3B..Chad Brachmann..6..72..Tommy Flannigan..7..08..Mark D’Ilario..8..88..Shayne Pierce..9..06..Brandon Easey..10..67..Dave Small..11..82..Kenny Winfield..12..69..Rob Pietz..13..1A..Paul Ashton..14..76..Travis Braun..15..6.. Mat Williamson..16..22..Larry Lampman,Jr..17..25..Erick Rudolph..18..96..Fred Carleton..19..18..Rick Hoctor

COSCO HAULAGE DIRTcar Sportsman: 1..99P..GREG PANUNTE..2..77..B J Willard..3..18R..Brad Rouse..4..7..Cody Mcpherson..5..777..Tyler Mcpherson..6..15L..Adam Leslie..7..3A..Adam Hilton..8..06..Brandon Easey..9..74..Dave Flannigan,Jr…10..38..Austin Wood..11..66..Darrell Farraway..12..11..Joey Mastroianni..13..12A..Jeff Armstrong..14..5S..Matt Sharpe..15..33..Gregg Rauscher..16..68..Paul Jorgensen..17..34..Ron MacAuley..18..22..Travis Miller..19..23..Larry Czinege,Jr…20..2K..Rob Knapp..21..43…Darrell Ebersole..22..28..Gary Lindberg..23..78..Pat Sonnenberg..24..54..Mark Chiddy..25..40..Robert Baker..26..14..Paul Williamson

PETERS EXCAVATING FASTRAK Late Models 1..17C..ADAM FERRI..2..01..Doug Ricotta..3..14G..Paul Grigsby..4..11P..Jordan Peters..5..1P..Darren Peters..6..99..Dean Ferri..7..15..Tim Gillespie..8..82..Kenny Winfield..9..14F..Sean Frey..10..M5..Paul Milligan..11..49..Bill Gill..88..Don Speice

J C AUTO Street Stocks 1..4K..KEVIN KNAPP..2..00..James Thompson..3..5B..Bill Bleich,Jr…4..711..Paul Reichel..5..1J..Jason Fontaine..6..333X..Kevin Kocarik..7…04..Rick Book..8..32..Mark Fawcett..9..X..Steve Robison..10..11B..John Babion..11..08..Shawn Wilson..12..0..Tim Zack..13..28..Jim Lampman..14..22F..Jordan Fidler..15..333..Kameron Kocarik..16..151..Bob McNamara..17..22MX..Chris Duchesne..18..9…Tyler Anderson..19..31B..Barry Blanchard..20..8..Ryan Dinning..21..48H.. Billy Hogue..22..11R..Bryce Richardson..23..23X..Dave Bitner,Jr..24..25..Kenny Sargent..25…Doug Sutherland

NIAGARA AUTO SALES Pro 4 Trucks 1..11S LEE SLEIGHT..2..55.. Adam Nicholls..3..7..Hilary Haegens..4..74..Taylor Vanderzanden..5..32A..Andy Imbeault..6..23..Craig Vlasic..7..44..Danny Wurster..8..76..Greg Haegens..9..04..Adam Williams..10..10..Jaimie Ayers..`11..19JR..Colton Ledingham..12..2V..Mike Toovey

WEEKEND MOTORSPORTSMini Stocks 1..17H..JEFF HUMPHREY..2..23..Matt Hatley..3..47X Kyle Pelrine..4..79..Brandon Iudiciani..5..02..Mike Taylor..6..03..Justin Ramsay..7..67V..Steve Vanderzanden..8..2EEZ..Evan Curtis..9..48..Rob Overholt..10..Tyler Lafantaisie..11..17..Chris Laskey..12…12..Tony Kelly..13..15S..Chris Sheppard..14..33..Greg Wilson..15..07..Jocelyne Wiley..16..14K..Katie Cosco..17..3G..Mike Giberson..18..705..Nate Monahan..19..114..Ron Loggie..20..9..Bob Gill..21..74..Jason Pietz..22..71..Garnet Wilson..23..31..Dave Bailey..24..4..Jason Coutu..25..88..Brandon Boychuk

FRONTIER AUTO DISMANTLERS Pure Stocks 1..16B..BRAD BOOKER2..54..Kyle Tomaski (DQ)..3..Kyle Rothwell..4..38S..Sam Iftody..5..91..Oliver Larocque..6..8..Mike Greene..7..13..Jackie Giancola..8.14S..Mason Smith..9.5B..Billy Smith..10..16E..Steven Michael Conway..11..2C..?..12..01..Brad Alward..71..Leroy Buscumb

Regular general admission to Humberstone Speedway,at twelve dollars, is still a bargain in today’s economy! Please note,the new start time is 7:45 PM to allow racers and fans more time to get to the speedway. Families of 4 can take advantage of the Humberstone Family Pass Discount. For only 35 dollars you get 2 Adult Admissions,2 Childrens Admissions(ages 8 to 13),4 Hot Dogs and 4 PEPSI products! Watch the Niagara This Week for other specials to be coming soon! You’ll find The New Humberstone Speedway 2 miles East of of Port Colborne on Highway 3, just 17 miles west of the Buffalo / Fort Erie border at the Peace Bridge. Now running Friday nights, the racing starts at 7:45 sharp with the pits opening at 5:30 PM and the grandstands at 6:00 PM. For further information, call Humberstone Speedway at: 905-834-4002 or Cosco Haulage at: 905-935-2886. Visit Humberstone on the web: www.humberstonespeedway.com and join your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Special thanks to our New Humberstone Speedway Weekly Series Sponsors and Divisions: Frontier Auto Dismantler Pure Stocks, Weekend Motorsports Mini Stocks, Niagara Auto Sales Pro 4 Trucks, J.C. Auto Street Stocks, Peters Excavating FASTRAK Late Models and Cosco Haulage DIRTcar Sportsman.