Ontario Provincial Champs are Crowned

The 3rd Annual NHRA Provincial Championships presented by Real Mortgage Associates/ SteveHayward.ca attracted the best Bracket and Index Drag Racers in Southern Ontario and Western New York last weekend for two days of action at  Toronto Motorsports Park…

DSEAutomotive.ca Super Bike/Sled has seen the tightest points battle out of any of the DSE Championship Classes in 2014 with four riders being separated by only a handful of rounds. Saturday’s NHRA Provincial Championship final featured two of those racers with Points Leader Derek Dwyer facing off against former Points Leader Ray Philp. Dwyer would take a slim starting advantage but would run into problems down track allowing Philps to get around him for the win and the Championship. Philp would go on to win Sunday’s racing action making him the fourth different DSE Racer this season to sweep their class for the weekend.

Hill Racing/ATI Performance Products Modified lured thirty-three of Ontario’s best bottom bulb racers to TMP to go after the coveted NHRA Provincial Championship and the $1000 to win Cash prize. The Final round would see the most recent Modified winner and points leader Andrew Stirk taking on Ryan Boniferro who was coming in hot off his Can-Am Stock/Super Stock Association win just the week previous. Stirk would take the starting advantage and use it to get around Boniferro as both drivers would run dead on their Dial-Ins.
Corriveau Concrete Forming Supplies Jr Dragster found two familiar opponents facing off for the NHRA Provincial Championship with Luke Olsen and Tytus Ziegler squaring off. Tytus and Luke had most recently battled in 2013 at St Thomas for NHRA JDRL “Wally” Hardware with Luke coming out on Top. Unfortunately for Tytus he would again be denied, as Luke would use his starting line advantage to take the Win.

Series primary sponsor Andrew Stirk won in two classes at Cayuga – marking the third time this season he accomplished that.

Renegade Race Fuels Super Pro featured an all doorcar Final round as Joe Passero would take his NHRA Super Street Legal Camaro into the final round to face off against the legendary Claude Loseir and his all Mopar “Ribet” Laser. Claude would take the lead at the tree and use that to force Passero out the back door into a .008 breakout and win his first ever NHRA Provincial Championship and a $1000 cash.

Super Pro winner -Claude Loseir

HeadsUpRacer.com Quick 16 presented by Lowdown Hot Rods produced a rarely seen final round match up of the number 1 and number 2 qualifiers squaring off in an all 6 second Final. Dennis Black would dial his bantam roadster in at 6.99 to Tom Bene’s 6.90 in his Dragster. Bene would get the jump on Black at the starting line by .029, and use that to run a 6.93 on his 6.90 for the win and the NHRA Championship.

Rounding out the categories competing for NHRA Provincial Championships was Stefko Racing Engines Super Gas presented by Guenther Performance which was promoted in a joint effort between the DSE Sportsman Racing Series and the Western New York Super Rod Association (WNYSRA). Saturday’s big final saw a Can-Am match up with American Jason Oldfield driving Phil Harnden’s Camaro taking on Canadian Andrew Stirk and his Corvette Roadster. Both drivers would leave together with only a few thousandths of a second difference in reaction times. At the top end Stirk would prevail in a double break out race with a 9.88 to Oldfields 9.84, which also gave Stirk his third double up (Two class wins in the same Day) in the 2014 Season.

Tom Bene won the HeadsUpRacer.com Quick 16 eliminator

Finally, Performance Improvements Street Eliminator found two brothers squaring off for a coveted DSE Sportsman Series “Iron Tree” Trophy, with Older Brother Darrel Fraser taking on younger brother Wayne Fraser. Like many of the Saturday Finals, the race was decided on the starting line as Darrel would take a .059 lead off the starting line to successfully chase down Wayne and the win.

The next event in the $23,500 DSE Automotive Sportsman Racing Series is the 2nd Annual Sportsman Nationals presented by J&S Collisions and Degroote-Hill Chevrolet-Buick-GMC at historic St Thomas Raceway Park in Sparta Ontario.

More information on the DSE Sportsman Racing Series visit:  www.sportsmanracingseries.ca

Posted by:  Andrew Stirk

Photos by:  Stacee Kenington