A Few of My Favorite Things about 2010

Greg Cybulski, WINNIPEG, MB (January 1, 2011) This list of some of my favorite things about 2010 is in no particular order. Each holds it's own distinct significance and is equally as important. The only common thread is that they all involve racing. Here we go...

Inaugural Big Al Delaine Memorial Wissota Modified race, Red River Co-op Speedway, Winnipeg, MB. Pat Mooney and the Delaine family carried on the legacy and paid tribute to one of the biggest supporters of the local racing community. This race was created and promoted for all the right reasons.

Ricky Weiss of St. Francis Xavier, MB: 2010 Wissota National Late Model champion. Weiss won 29 of 85 shows he competed in this season, At 22, Ricky is the youngest Canadian driver in the history of Wissota to win the National Late Model championship.

Dana Brandt's IMCA Hobby Stock winning streak at Estevan Motor Speedway, SK. In 11 starts, Dana won 10 Heats and 10 Features!

Chris Unrau's #27 'Harvest for Kids' Lightning Sprint. A beautiful car campaigned for a worthy cause.

Being a part of the Harvest for Kids event in Winkler, MB. When community comes together, good things happen. We need more of this in our society.

Gerald Balcaen Memorial, Red River Co-op Speedway, Winnipeg, MB. The best part of this night was seeing Amber Balcaen pick up the Northern Lightning Sprint Association feature win and deliver an emotional victory lane speech.

Amber Balcaen's Lightning Sprint run for the 2010 NLSA points title. Amber spent the rain-shortened NLSA season inching her way to within striking distance of the reigning NLSA champion. Misfortune on the second last points race would prove to be her undoing and be the difference that gave Roland Bernard his second consecutive championship.

Danny Schatz takes over Red River Valley Speedway in Fargo, ND. The half-mile in Fargo was one of my favorite stops. With the attention it will be getting from Danny, something good will be that much better.

2010 Wolff Pack Run weekend, IMCA Modifieds at Speedy Creek Raceway, Swift Current, SK. $40,000 in prize money. For that kind of money, I would build a car!

Continuing support of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum. These folks are awesome in every sense of the word. Support is a two way street and I have seen this first-hand with the NSCHoF in Knoxville, Ia.

Working with the Northern Lightning Sprint Association. The NLSA went through some sophomore growing pains in 2010. Year 3 will be much better. The on-track product will continue to grow and be awesome for Winnipeg's open wheel fans.

The opening of ALH Motor Speedway in Morden, MB. The locally proclaimed 'Miracle in Morden' ran a few late race dates in 2010. The track is still a work in progress but has a lot of potential. There's something about the atmosphere of a rural community race track that has always been enjoyable.

Super Truck special at Emo Speedway, Emo, ON. Anthony Leek IS the true definition of a promoter. If he wants something, he goes out and he gets it. It isn't easy, but he always appears to find a way to get things done. The Saturday racing community culture that he has helped create in Emo should be a model for others to learn from.

Being invited on to Marty Gold's The Great Canadian Talk Show on 92.9 KICK-FM. I got my first taste of radio from inside the studio. What an awesome experience.

Writing and voicing the Prairie Dirt Racing Report on 1570 CKMW radio in Winkler, MB. I'm going from every Friday at 9:45am in 2010 to a weekly Monday to Friday time slot at 9:45am in 2011. I am so grateful for this opportunity.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards... the final days to vote

Voting for the 2010 Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards closes at midnight on New Year's Eve. So far, we've had an incredible response, far in excess of recent RCA totals. Thank you to everyone who has voted so far!

Click here to register your votes if you haven't yet voted. We will announce the winners in the next issue of Inside Track Motorsport News and they'll be honoured on-stage on the night of Saturday, January 22, 2011 at the Canadian Motorsports Expo.

OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY: Northern Summer Nationals tweaked for 2011

OHSWEKEN, ON - With the emphasis focused directly on solidifying Sprint Car racing in Southwestern Ontario, Ohsweken Speedway near Brantford, ON and South Buxton Raceway near Chatham, ON have assembled a four race miniseries for 2011 that will be sure to provide dirt Sprint Car fans an exciting option for midsummer racing entertainment.

With a commitment to action packed racing, Ohsweken Speedway has been the scene of a solid field of cars with fast paced, non-stop excitement for the growing legion of fans the past couple of seasons and remains the only weekly dirt track in Canada offering Sprint Car racing as their headline division. On the other hand, South Buxton Raceway which offers UMP sanctioned Late Models and Modifieds as their feature classes has struggled to lure a full field of Sprint Cars to their venue when they offer them as a special event.

With Mike Strevel of ASCS Sprints On Dirt, Mike Emhof of the Patriot Sprint Tour, and Mike Ferrell of the Southern Ontario Sprints agreeing to co-host these events as affiliate sanctioning bodies, and a strong regular field of CORR/Pak Sprints that support Ohsweken, a major step has been made to insuring a stellar field of cars fill the pit areas of both facilities as Ohsweken’s Northern Summer Nationals expands to the miniseries format. Invitations to participate have also been sent out to The Empire Super Sprints and the National Racing Alliance.

“This is a very positive step for Sprint Car fans in Southwestern Ontario” states Ken Pelkie, Ohsweken Director of Racing Operations. “Since 9-11 it has been increasingly difficult for race teams to cross the border and the economy, particularly in the U.S. has also affected the car counts supporting the traveling series. This miniseries will offer an opportunity for the sanctioning bodies to maintain a presence in Southwestern Ontario and provide entertainment and car counts the fans expect to see for special events” Pelkie concluded.

The four race miniseries will be promoted with the cooperation of Ohsweken Speedway’s Glenn Styres and Anne / Blake Outhouse of South Buxton Raceway. Ken Pelkie will act as series director with two events being staged at each of the facilities. Canadian Sprint Car Nationals technical rules will apply, however the racing format will be slightly different. Pill draw for heat race starting positions will take place and “passing points” will be used to determine how cars qualify for the “B” and “A” Main events. Points will be accumulated over the four race series with the top 10 point earners sharing in bonus money. In addition, the point champion of the four race series will be guaranteed a starting position in the 7th Annual CANADIAN SPRINT CAR NATIONALS scheduled to take place at Ohsweken Speedway Saturday, September 17th, 2011.

Ohsweken Speedway will kick off the miniseries June 24th with South Buxton Raceway running the following night, June 25th. The final two stages will take place August 19th at Ohsweken and August 20th at South Buxton where the miniseries champion will be crowned. Plenty of free (primitive) overnight camping is available at both venues.

The miniseries is an open competition event. All sprint car teams which abide by the administrative, technical, and procedural rules as set forth by series officials are welcome. Northern Summer Nationals officials reserve the right to reject any pre-entry / entry for any reason. No entry fee is required however an entry form must be completed before any track time is allowed. Driver changes are allowed as per event rules. All decisions made by Northern Summer Nationals managing officials are final.

Further information along with rules and procedures may be obtained by calling 1-888-720-7223 or emailing Ken Pelkie at pelkiekj@ebtech.net .

Please visit the official website of Ohsweken Speedway at www.ohswekenspeedway.com and South Buxton Raceway at www.southbuxtonraceway.com for all the latest news as preparations for the 2011 season continues.

Information will also be available as Ohsweken Speedway participates in several off season shows including the Canadian Motorsports Expo, January 21, 22, & 23 and Performance World, March 11, 12, &13 in Toronto at the International Centre. The New Speed and Custom Car Show, March 25, 26, & 27 in London at the Western Fair Grounds combining the former CPT Racing Experience with the annual London Autorama is also on the schedule plus a return visit to the Brantford Lynden Park Mall on April 13 to 16.

South Buxton will also be in attendance at the Speed and Custom Car Show in London as well as the Chatham Downtown Center Mall later in the spring where information on the miniseries will be available.

From Ken & Cheryl Pelkie