Crate Sprints set to wing it at Merrittville
Former Mod Lite regulars Steven Beckett, Paul Klager now racing at Ohsweken
Two familiar faces will be behind the wheel of unfamiliar race cars when the Action Sprint Tour visits Merrittville Speedway this weekend.
Paul Klager, known as The Beamsville Bullett when he was competing regularly in the Mod Lites class at the Thorold track, is now racing Crate Sprint Cars.
Expected to accompany Klager to the green flag Saturday night in one of the winged wonders of the dirt racing circuit is Steven Beckett.
A graduate of Merrittville’s karting program, the Fonthill driver also raced Mod Lites before changing home tracks and becoming a Friday night regular at Ohsweken Speedway.
Beckett, in his first season racing Crate Sprints on a fulltime basis currently is 11th in the Ohsweken standings, with 464 points. Klager is 16th in points, 379.
Topping the competitive division are Jesse Costa, St. Thomas, 643 points; Shone Evans, Scotland, Ont., southwest of Brantford, 608; and Holly Porter, Delhi, 597.
Top five in Action Sprint Tour points after four events and with six remaining in the series are
Costa, Evans, Aaron Turkey, winner of the inaugural event at Ohsweken and the feature at New Humberstone Speedway in Port Colborne; Porter as well Beckett and Ryan Hunsinger of Stouffville, Ont., tied with 260 points.
Jacob Dykstra of Port Colborne and Klager are seventh and 10th in Action Sprint Tour points, respectively.
Evans set the pace in the feature on the Victoria Day weekend on the tour’s first visit to Merrittville this season. He also took the checkered flag at South Buxton Raceway in Merlin, Ont., near Chatham.
“I love this car,” Beckett said on the tour’s first visit to Merrittville this season. “The Mod Lite completely felt like you were trying to chase the car from spinning out.
“With these things, it’s as much traction as you can get out of them.
“The big wing on top and the big tires, you get as much traction as you want with them.”
With the adjustable wing preventing the powerful racers from becoming airborne, Beckett feels much more grounded in his new racing class.
“I’m a lot more comfortable in these cars going around the corner, because it feels like you’re stuck to the track,” he said at the time.
Crate Sprints are “definitely a lot faster” than the motorcycle engine-powered Mod Lites.
“I was definitely a little nervous getting into this last year,” he admitted. “But after the second time out, I was really comfortable with it, comfortable with the speed.
“We’re about as fast as the Modifieds out there.”
At Ohsweken, a hotbed for Sprint Car racing, the Welland Centennial Secondary School graduate is a rookie again, this time against some of the most experienced drivers in a competitive class.
“Most guys probably have about four years on me in this class,” he said. “I’m having no problem keeping up with them.”
The wing and the tires are the most-expensive things to repair in Crate Sprints.
“As far as chassis, motor, that kind of stuff, it’s about the same price,” Beckett said. “We have about as much into this car as we did the Mod Lite.”
Engines generate 425 horsepower compared to the 200-horsepower output of a Mod Lite.
“Same weight, twice the power.”
He likened the wing to a “big mattress.”
“It’s like a big cushion.” At Ohsweken Beckett has a lot more track to work with as he continues adjusting to his new racing class.
“It’s about one and a half times the size of Merrittville,” he said. “We have a little bit longer of a straight (away) and a lot more banking in the corners.
“So you can get up nice and high and come down low and get a lot more speed going down the straight.”
Beckett is finding that the Crate Sprint division at the Brantford-area track is not unlike the close-knit Mod Lite community at Merrittville. “There are groups of people that work together, but I haven’t met anybody who isn’t willing to help someone else in this division.”
In addition to the Action Sprint Tour, a Saturday night program sponsored by Schneider Electric will feature qualifiers and main events in the Pure Stock V6, Mini Stocks, Hoosier Stocks, Sportsman and Modified 358 racing classes.
Mod Lites have the night off. This week’s Mini Stock feature doubles as the final round in the inaugural Hardy’s Racing Triple Crown Series. The 30-lap combined event will have a $500 payout to the winner.
“When it comes to the 4-cylinders, we’ve got several different manufacturers in the field every night,” Merrittville Speedway owner Don Spiece said. “There are some great rivalries between drivers and, with our bonuses, it could be a good night for the winner.”
Welland’s Cole Hardy, the series sponsor, raced his Volkswagen to victory in the opener May 12 with Alex Riley winning Round 2 on May 12, also in a Golf.
“The idea of sponsoring the series gives me a chance to give back to the sport,” Hardy said. “I am pretty excited to see who will be crowned the first Hardy’s Racing Triple Crown Series champion.
Top five in Hardy’s Triple Crown points after two events: 1. Riley, 199; 2. Hardy, 198; 3. Rob Sauder, 147; 4. Anthony Kelly, 140; 5. Tyler Lafantaisie, 139.
Grandstand for the Schneider Electric Event opens at 5:30 p.m. with the first race at 7 p.m.
Vintage cars visit Port Colborne
Clare’s Cycle is sponsoring Sunday’s Motorcycle Night program at Humberstone.
Motorcyclists showing their M licence will get discounted admission to the Port Colborne track for a five-division race card — Sportsman, Late Models, Thunder Stocks, Mini Stocks, Pro 4 Trucks — as well as vintage cars and a bike show.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with racing getting underway two hours later.