MITCH BROWN’S STRING OF STRONG RUNS SNAPPED AT OHSWEKEN
Monday - August - 2013
Engine problem brings Brantford driver’s night to an early end
Mitch Brown’s string of four consecutive top-five finishes at Ohsweken Speedway and four of five solid runs in the Southern Ontario Sprints series came to a smoking end on Friday night at his home track.
Brown was running an unusually high line around the 3/8th-mile oval in third spot trying desperately to catch the early leaders Chris Steele and Dain Naida, when smoke suddenly spewed from his #10 Haldex/Pro-Fit Health Club/Strodes BBQ & Deli sprint car on lap10. Before he came to a halt between turns three and four he had laid down oil along the entire back stretch.
“I felt a vibration just before something in the engine broke” reported Brown from the infield where he was forced to watch the balance of the 25-lap A-Main. “At first I thought I had a tire going down but obviously it was a more serious problem when I glanced at the gauges and saw no oil pressure”.
Friday night’s event, billed as the Corr/Pak Vs. Southern Ontario Sprints Challenge, marked the first time this season that both series had competed together at Ohsweken and with several drivers earning valuable points in both championship chases, the DNF spelled double trouble for the Brantford competitor.
He remains third in Ohsweken’s Corr/Pak Merchandising seasonal points’ standings but lost some valuable ground in his chase to close the gap on points’ leader Jim Huppunen of Fenwick and Jamie Collard of Burford who sits second in the track’s standings.
Huppunen started 17th in Friday’s feature race and charged to a fifth-place finish while Collard managed an eleventh place run after starting 19th. Surprisingly both drivers had to qualify through the first of two B-Mains.
Mikey Kruchka of Hamilton came from seventh spot to grab his second feature at Ohsweken this season and was followed by Chris Steele of Vineland and Justin Barger of Montrose, NY. Pole sitter Dain Naida of Tecumseh, MI held on to grab fourth spot.
With his seventh-place finish on Friday, Chris Jones of Demorestville, ON, the current points’ leader in the Southern Ontario Sprints standings, also widened his lead over Jamie Collard and Brown with just four events left in the schedule.
Next Friday, August 23, the Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprints will compete in a full program of qualifying heats and the A-Main along with their postponed B-Main and A-Feature from July 19th.
Jake Brown Has Problems Too
While Mitch Brown was experiencing problems at Ohsweken, younger brother Jake was having problems of his own. He had to qualify for the Thunder Stock feature through the B-Main starting 23rd in the 28-car field and finishing 20th at the end of the 20-lap chase.
Ken Spencer
Marketing and Media Relations
Mitch Brown Racing
Mitch Brown Racing is pleased to acknowledge our Sponsorship/Marketing Partners for 2013
Haldex ● Pro-Fit Health Club ● Leitch Performance Engines ● Strodes BBQ & Deli ● Strodes Express ● APC ● Port Dover Auto Parts & Performance ● Total Oil ● Bicknell Racing Products ● HRP ●Brant County Ford ● Brown Auto Service ● Brown Auto Sales ● Village Pizza & Wings ● 21st Century Signs ● Brochures etc ● Eagle’s Nest Motorsports Park ● Image Factor ● On Dirt Racing ● Be Creative Designs ● Caledonia Pro-Fit Corvairs ● Klotz Canada