STATEMENT REGARDING JUNE 19 CRATE SPRINT CAR DIVISION TECHNICAL ISSUES
(June 25, 2015) – Ohsweken, Ontario – A meeting was held with officials from Ohsweken Speedway and the two approved engine builders for the Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car division in Brantford, Ontario on Tuesday, June 23. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and resolve the issues which arose in post-race technical inspection at Ohsweken Speedway on the night of Friday, June 19.
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The following officials were in attendance at the meeting:
Glenn Styres – Owner, Ohsweken Speedway
Derek Dean – Crate Sprint Car Division Sponsor (Strickland’s GMC)
Gary Leitch – Approved Engine Builder (Leitch Performance Engines)
Mark Klotz – Approved Engine Builder (Klotz Auto Repair & Engine Machine Shop)
Mike Miller – Head Technical Director, Ohsweken Speedway
Clinton Geoffrey – Director of Race Night Operations, Ohsweken Speedway
Doug Leonard – Director of Race Night Operations, Ohsweken Speedway
Steve Moulton – Technical Advisor
It was determined by all in attendance – including both approved engine builders – that the modifications to the distributors on engines from Leitch Performance Engines were done in the spirit of durability, and not to improve performance.
As a result, June 19 Crate Sprint Car feature winner Mack DeMan, and 3rd place finisher Jake Brown will get credit for those finishes, and receive their championship points and prize money for those finishes.
Going forward, all Strickland’s GMC Crate Sprint Car division teams will be allowed to weld their distributors to improve durability. Any questions about this modification should be directed to the approved engine builders.
Other questions can be directed to Mike Miller (ohswekentech@gmail.com), Clinton Geoffrey (clinton@ohswekenspeedway.com) and Doug Leonard (doug@ohswekenspeedway.com)
Several officials have offered statements on this matter:
Gary Leitch: “Leitch Performance Engines takes full responsibility for the modification of a bolt on part of a sealed crate engine. This modification was done to every engine dyno’d at LPE to improve the durability and life of that part, and was not to improve performance in any way, shape or form. This being said, we did not inform our customers of this because we do not believe this is an advantage nor a rules violation. LPE will accept any penalty for this action, and feel our customers should not be penalized because they knew nothing of this. This class is about saving competitors money, and this modification does this by preventing failures such as what happened to another competitor on the same night.”
Steve Moulton: “On Friday night Josh Shantz (#18) had the distributor come apart because it did not have the mentioned modification. Had his distributor been welded, he would have finished the race.”
Clinton Geoffrey: “Gary Leitch offered to replace all distributors that had been modified, but after looking at what happened to the #18 car, we saw that this was actually something that could help the division in the long run.”
Glenn Styres: “It was a very productive meeting. We have a great thing going here. Communication is the key to making it even stronger.”
About Strickland’s GMC: Strickland’s is a family owned and operated business that has been serving Southwestern Ontario for over 30 years. They have never been afraid to change in order to better serve their customers, but one thing has remained the same – they have always run their company based on the old proverb “Treat others the way you wish to be treated”. Strickland’s is the only full line General Motors dealer in Brantford and the surrounding area, serving the community for over 90 years. Strickland’s returns as the title sponsor of the Crate Sprint Car division for a second consecutive season in 2015. Strickland’s GMC is located at 19-21 Lynden Road in Brantford, at the intersection of Lynden Road and Wayne Gretzky Parkway, and just 15 minutes from Ohsweken Speedway. Visit Strickland’s GMC online at www.Stricklands.com, or call them at 1-800-599-5558.
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About Ohsweken Speedway: Founded in 1996, Ohsweken Speedway is a motorsports complex which includes a 3/8 (0.375) mile clay oval track. The facility is owned by the Styres family, and located in the village of Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada. Ohsweken’s weekly Friday night racing program runs from May to September each year, featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Crate Sprint Cars, Thunder Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Bombers, while the season finishes each year with the annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. Ohsweken Speedway also hosts weekly Micro Sprint racing on Thursday nights, and has been a yearly stop on the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series schedule since 2007.
Visit the official Ohsweken Speedway website at www.OhswekenSpeedway.com, like us on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/
Ohsweken Speedway thanks the following partners for their support: Arrow Express, Corr/Pak Merchandising Inc., Renway Energy, O’Neil’s Farm Equipment, Hoosier Tire Canada, EPIC Racewear, McDonald’s Restaurants of Paris & Brantford, Nathan Ackland State Farm Insurance, Strickland’s GMC, Mobil 1, Burger Barn, Affordable Towing & Recovery, HRW Automotive, and Gale’s Auto Aftermarket.
