Olsen and Grennan Take Home NHRA Hardware at Sportsman Nationals
ST. THOMAS, ON – The Inaugural Sportsman Nationals at St Thomas Raceway Park proved to be a giant success as both individual 
class car counts and the overall series car count records were re-set after the two days of racing were completed. A record of 147 total entries Saturday and then 161 entries Sunday topped the charts as the two highest car counts the series has seen in its two years of running.
Saturday and Sunday saw the HeadsUpRacer.com Frantic 14 have stout bump spots on both the Dragster and Door-Car sides of the ladder, and Sunday saw a record 44 Super Pro Cars all take to the track.
Not to be out done, the Corriveau Concrete Jr Dragster category saw a record 28 Jr Dragsters show up to compete for NHRA Jr Drag Racing League “Wally’s” on both Saturday and Sunday.
Luke Olsen (Pictured) took his Jr Dragster through a very stout field of competitors Saturday defeating Mikayla Lepp in round 1, Michael Mccallum in round 2, and 2012 JDRL Challenge winner Hailey Piccuto in round 4. The other half of the final round match-up featured Tytus Ziegler who’s exceptional run to the final included defeating, Nathan Hoskin, Matteo Ramundo, Madison Bishop, and Mike Swick in the semi finals. The finals found Ziegler taking the starting advantage .077 to Olsens .118, however Olsen was able to push Tytus under his dial and collect the main event win.
Sunday’s edition of the Sportsman Nationals gave all competitors only one hit at the track to get dialed in and many of the Jr Dragster competitors were ready with some extremely close first round match-ups. The Final proved to be one of the closest races all day with Sarah Grennan taking her Jr to the final to go up against Courtney Cisterna. Both competitors dialed 7.90 and left the starting line glued together with just a .001 difference in reaction times. At the finish line it was Sarah Grennan taking the finish line by a slim .029, and with it taking home her first NHRA JDRL challenge Wally.
Complete list of Weekend Event winners, Runner-ups, and specialty prize winners were:
Renegade Race Fuels Extreme Bike/Sled Winner: Pete Stewart Runner-up: Jessica Tourloukis #1 Qualifier: Paul Huddleston
HeadsUpRacer.com Frantic 14 Winner: Pete Maudri Jr. Runner-Up: Tim West Doorcar #1 Qualifier: Tim West 5.243 Dragster #1 Qualifier: Pete Maduri Jr. 4.696
Corriveau Concrete Jr Dragster Winner: Luke Olsen Runner-Up: Tytus Ziegler
Jr Dragster Consolation Race Winner: Taityn Summerfield Runner-Up: Mikayla Lepp
Performance Improvement Street Eliminator Winner: Roger Demers Runner-Up: Aaron Vince
Renegade Race Fuels Super Pro Winner: Pete Maduri Jr. Runner-Up: Brandon Barker
DSEAutomotive.ca Super Bike/Sled Winner: Derek Dwyer Runner-Up: Pete Stewart
Dilts Piston Hydraulics Modified Winner: Glen Baker Runner-Up: Jarrod Kolne
Box/No Box Combo Gambler Race Winner: Rob Vanderneer Runner-Up: Chuck Winger
SUNDAY Renegade Race Fuels Super Pro Winner: Jamie Tupper Runner-Up: Bob Jennings Jennings
Motorsports/GPM Bounty Hunter Award: Not awarded due to Saturday winner not racing, rolled over into Labour Day weekend.
Dilts Piston Hydraulics Modified Winner: Mark Menicanin Runner-Up: Gary McDonald Jennings
Motorsports/GPM Bounty Hunter Award: Thomas Schilf defeats Glen Baker Rd 2 $120
Performance Improvements Street Eliminator Winner: John Chittenden Runner-Up: John Persia
D
SEAutomotive.ca Super Bike/Sled Winner: Pete Stewart Runner-Up: Derek Dwyer
Renegade Race Fuels Extreme Bike/Sled Winner: Jessica Tourloukis Runner-Up: Ted Glinny JR Dragster
Consolation Race Winner: Taityn Summerfield Runner-Up: Brandon Mahon
C
orriveau Concrete Jr Dragster Winner: Sarah Grennan Runner-Up: Courtney Cisterna
HeadsUpRacer.com Frantic 14 Winner: Joe Passero Runner-Up: Derick Deboer
Doorcar #1 Qualifier: Michael Pavlov Dragster #1 Qualifier: Pete Maduri Jr.
Renegade Race Fuels and Lubricants “Weekend Double Entry Prize” winner: Bob Jennings – 9 Round wins in Renegade Race Fuels Super Pro and HeadsUpRacer.com Frantic 14 over two days
(***Awarded to Racer who double enters and wins the most rounds over the course of the weekend without winning a main event Race)
The next event in the DSE Automotive Sportsman Racing Series is the 3rd Annual Canadian Funny Car Championships at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga Ontario, the event will feature all five DSE Championship Bracket classes and the HeadsUpRacer.com Frantic 14.
Photo Credit Stacee Kenington
