Hansen Scores First Career Win; Evans Claims Inaugural AST Championship

[CanadianRacingOnline]

Hansen Scores First Career Win;
Evans Claims Inaugural AST Championship
 
Historic Night at Ohsweken Caps Fantastic First Season for Action Sprint Tour

By Clayton Johns

OHSWEKEN, Ont. (September 7, 2018) – Josh Hansen, a 16-year-old driver from Beamsville, Ont., took full advantage of a Lucas Smith misstep on lap 17 and led the final four laps to score his first career Sprint Car win in the final race of the Action Sprint Tour powered by RaceRivalz.com inaugural season at Ohsweken Speedway on Friday, September 7.

Smith and Liam Martin lined up on the front row for the 20-lap championship Feature which saw Shone Evans, Aaron Turkey and Jacob Dykstra all enter with a chance at the inaugural series title. Both Smith and Martin declined to take the Durnin Motors Front Row Challenge and drop to the 12th starting position for a shot at a $500 win bonus.

The opening lap was disastrous for contenders Turkey and Dykstra, who were collected in a backstretch incident that also involved Trevor Young. Both drivers suffered race-ending damage, eliminating them from championship contention and handing the title to Evans.

The ensuing restart saw Martin drive to the inside in a bid for the lead, but Smith held off the challenge with a strong drive up top. Then on lap four it was Baily Heard driving to second past Martin following an excellent multi-lap battle before the caution waved the following lap when Holly Porter spun to bring out the yellow flag.

The restart saw Heard challenge Smith to the inside and the two drivers raced side-by-side until the next caution on lap eight when Brad Herron spun in turn three. The final restart on lap eight saw Heard try to drive outside Smith in turn one, but the challenge was unsuccessful.

Smith opened a considerable lead before ninth-starting Josh Hansen raced past Heard to take second on lap 14. Then, on lap 17, Smith stepped over the banking in turn three, allowing Hansen to use the bottom lane and drive to the lead. Smith held on to the second spot, but the 16-year-old Hansen ran a flawless final three laps to score his first career Sprint Car win while Smith settled for second ahead of Shone Evans.

With his third-place finish, Evans claimed both the Action Sprint Tour powered by RaceRivalz.com title and the Ohsweken Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car 2018 Championship. Evans’ podium finish would have been enough to earn both titles, even if Turkey and Dykstra would have finished first and second. Ryan Hunsinger drove from the 21st starting spot to fourth while Baily Heard took a fifth-place result.

Liam Martin, Jordan Hill and Hannah Ferrell were Heat Race winners earlier in the night while Aaron Turkey won the B-Main.

Stay tuned to www.ActionSprintTour.com for details regarding the Series year-end payouts and banquet information.
_________________

Action Sprint Tour powered by RaceRivalz.com Race Report
September 7, 2018
Ohsweken Speedway – Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada
Total Entries – 28

Entry List
No. Name – Hometown
08 Steven Beckett – Fonthill, Ont.
1 Holly Porter – Delhi, Ont.
1eh Paul Klager – Beamsville, Ont.
3b Blaine Barrow – Welland, Ont.
4 Hannah Ferrell – Vanessa, Ont.
5 DJ Christie – Beachville, Ont.
5d Jacob Dykstra – Port Colborne, Ont.
7 Caleb Wood – London, Ont.
9 Paul Ballantyne – Brantford, Ont.
9c Brian Nanticoke – Ohsweken, Ont.
10 Lofton Schuts – Oakland, Ont.
12 Brad Herron – Waterford, Ont.
24 Jeff Newham – Windsor, Ont.
28 Jordan Hill – Ohsweken, Ont.
29 Liam Martin – Binbrook, Ont.
38 Derek Miller – Ohsweken, Ont.
43h Ryan Hunsinger – Stouffville, Ont.
49L Lucas Smith – Brantford, Ont.
51 Trevor Young – Ancaster, Ont.
56 Dereck Lemyre – Hamilton, Ont.
68 Aaron Turkey – Ohsweken, Ont.
69 Josh Hill – Ohsweken, Ont.
70 Baily Heard – Niagara Falls, Ont.
70mm Dave McKnight Jr. – Brampton, Ont.
74 Rob Neely – Rockwood, Ont.
87x Shone Evans – Scotland, Ont.
88h Josh Hansen – Beamsville, Ont.

A-Feature (20 laps – No Time)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 88h Josh Hansen (9); 2. 49L Lucas Smith (1); 3. 87x Shone Evans (14); 4. 43h Ryan Hunsinger (21); 5. 70 Baily Heard (; 6. 28 Jordan Hill (3); 7. 4 Hannah Ferrell (5); 8. 29 Liam Martin (2); 9. 1 Holly Porter (15); 10. 56 Dereck Lemyre (12); 11. 1eh Paul Klager (16); 12. 5 DJ Christie (10); 13. 08 Steven Beckett (17); 14. 12 Brad Herron (24); 15. 7 Caleb Wood (6); 16. 70mm Dave McKNight Jr. (20); 17. 9c Brian Nanticoke (11); 18. 38 Derek Miller (22); 19. 9 Paul Ballantyne (7); 20. 74 Rob Neely (13); 21. 3b Blaine Barrow (4); 22. 51 Trevor Young (23); 23. DNF 5d Jacob Dykstra (18); 24. DNF 68 Aaron Turkey (19)
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Lucas Smith 1-16; Josh Hansen 17-20
Hard Charger – Ryan Hunsinger +17 (21st to 4th)

Heat Race No.1 (8 laps – Top 6 Transfer – Top 2 Redraw – 2:04.129)
Finish. # Name – Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 29 Liam Martin – Binbrook, ON (1); 2. 49L Lucas Smith – Brantford, ON (5); 3. 9 Paul Ballantyne – Brantford, ON (4); 4. 5 DJ Christie – Beachville, ON (6); 5. 74 Rob Neely – Rockwood, ON (10); 6. 1eh Paul Klager – Beamsville, ON (; 7. 68 Aaron Turkey – Ohsweken, ON (9); 8. 38 Derek Miller – Ohsweken, ON (3); 9. 12 Brad Herron – Waterford, ON (7); 10. 22jr Al Gilletta Jr. – St. Catharines, ON (2)

Heat Race No.2 (8 laps – Top 6 Transfer – Top 2 Redraw –  No Time)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 28 Jordan Hill – Ohsweken, ON (4); 2. 3b Blaine Barrow – Welland, ON (1); 3. 70 Baily Heard – Niagara Falls, ON (2); 4. 9c Brian Nanticoke – Ohsweken, ON (9); 5. 87x Shone Evans – Scotland, ON (; 6. 08 Steven Beckett – Fonthill, ON (3); 7. 51 Trevor Young – Ancaster, ON (7); 8. 24 Jeff Newham – Windsor, ON (5); 9. DNS 10 Lofton Schuts – Oakland, ON (6)

Heat Race No.3 (8 laps – Top 6 Transfer – Top 2 Redraw –  2:06.969)
Finish. # Name, Hometown (Starting Position)
1. 4 Hannah Ferrell – Vanessa, ON (5); 2. 7 Caleb Wood – London, ON (2); 3. 88h Josh Hansen – Beamsville, ON (4); 4. 56 Dereck Lemyre – Hamilton, ON (; 5. 1 Holly Porter – Delhi, ON (7); 6. 5d Jacob Dykstra – Port Colborne, ON (9); 7. 69 Josh Hill – Ohsweken, ON (1); 8. 43h Ryan Hunsinger – Stouffville, ON (6); 9. 70mm Dave McKnight Jr. – Brampton, ON (3)

B-Feature (12 laps – Top 6 Transfer – 3:11.559)
Finish. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 68 Aaron Turkey (1); 2. 70mm Dave McKnight Jr. (; 3. 43h Ryan Hunsinger (6); 4. 38 Derek Miller (4); 5. 51 Trevor Young (2); 6. 12 Brad Herron (7); 7. 69 Josh Hill (3); 8. 22jr Al Gilletta Jr. (9); 9. DNS 24 Jeff Newham (5); 10. DNS 10 Lofton Schuts (10);
_________________

2018 Action Sprint Tour powered by RaceRivalz.com Schedule
Fri. May 18 – Ohsweken Speedway – Ohsweken, Ont. – Winner: Aaron Turkey
Mon. May 21 – Merrittville Speedway – Thorold, Ont. – Winner: Shone Evans
Sat. June 9 – South Buxton Raceway – Merlin, Ont. – Winner: Shone Evans
Sun. June 17 – Humberstone Speedway – Port Colborne, Ont. – Winner: Aaron Turkey
Sat. July 28 – Merrittville Speedway – Thorold, Ont. – Winner: Jacob Dykstra
Fri. Aug. 3 – Ohsweken Speedway – Ohsweken, Ont. – Winner: Jacob Dykstra
Sun. Aug. 12 – Humberstone Speedway – Port Colborne, Ont. – Winner: Shone Evans
Sat. Aug. 18 – Brighton Speedway – Brighton, Ont. – Winner: Mack DeMan
Sun. Sept. 2 – Humberstone Speedway – Port Colborne, Ont. – Winner: Matt Farnham
Fri. Sept. 7 – Ohsweken Speedway – Ohsweken, Ont. – Winner: Josh Hansen

ACTION SPRINT TOUR MEDIA
Website: www.ActionSprintTour.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActionSprintTour
Twitter: @ActionSprints

About the Action Sprint Tour: The Action Sprint Tour is a travelling Winged Sprint Car Series based in Ontario, Canada. The cars on the Action Sprint Tour are powered by GMC 602 Crate Motors modified specifically to fit a Sprint Car chassis. The Series is racing its inaugural season in 2018 and will run 10 races at 5 different Ontario tracks. Drivers will compete for a point fund and bonuses totaling $10,000. For additional information, including rules, event purse and series point fund, visit the Series official website at www.ActionSprintTour.com.

About RaceRivalz.com: The RaceRivalz.com mission is to enhance the fan experience of all things competitive and provide event promoters and sanctioning bodies a valuable and intriguing social media tool by engaging the audience through providing games of skill and chance at various events. RaceRivalz.com provides an opportunity to fans to earn amazing prizes while gaining a greater connection to their passions. It also offers an opportunity to promoters and sanctioning bodies to earn that same connection to their audience. For more information, visit RaceRivalz.com.

What is RaceRivalz.com?
Rivalz is a game of both skill and chance. The object of the game is to predict the outcome of measured events before they happen. By combining numerous sets of options to Rivalz players, the possibility of getting everything right becomes increasingly slimmer. The player able to predict the most outcomes correctly can win exciting prizes and experiences that money can’t buy.

Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=26594.msg119161#msg119161