Emo Speedway Championships facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Emo Speedway Championships

Category	Stock car racing , Dirt track racing
Country	Emo, Ontario
Inaugural season	1954
Engine suppliers	Chevrolet Dodge Ford Chrysler
Drivers' champion	Jeff Davis (WISSOTA Modifieds), Brandon Rehill (WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds), Tylar Wilson (Street Stocks,
Official website	Borderland Racing Association

The Emo Speedway is a cool place for car racing in Emo, Ontario, Canada. It's run by a group called the Borderland Racing Association. This track is one of only three in Ontario that follows the rules of WISSOTA, a big racing organization.

In 2009, the Emo Speedway celebrated a special birthday: its 55th year of racing!

The Borderland Racing Association currently hosts three main types of race cars. These are the Street Stocks (for beginners), the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds (a bit more advanced), and the WISSOTA Modifieds (for experienced racers).

Meet the Race Cars!

Street Stocks: Cars from the Street

Street Stocks are like the cars you see every day, but built for racing! They have a full body and frame, just like a regular passenger car (think of an old 1974 Monte Carlo). These cars must weigh at least 3,200 pounds (about 1,451 kg). They use engines that are mostly "stock," meaning they are similar to what came from the factory.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds: Open-Wheel Fun

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds also use similar engines to Street Stocks. But they look very different! These cars are "open-wheeled," which means they don't have fenders covering their tires. They are also lighter, weighing at least 2,600 pounds (about 1,179 kg). Their suspension and rear-end parts can be adjusted more, which helps drivers fine-tune them for the track.

WISSOTA Modifieds: The Fastest Class

The top racing class at Emo Speedway is the WISSOTA Modifieds. They look a lot like the Midwest Modifieds, but they are even faster! These cars are lighter still, at least 2,450 pounds (about 1,111 kg). They can use special "spec engines" that produce a lot of power, up to 600-650 horsepower! Drivers can also choose to use a manual transmission and even special alcohol fuel for extra speed.

How a Race Season Works

A racing season at Emo Speedway usually has 16 to 18 race nights. On each night, there are "heat races" and one main "feature race" for each car class. Sometimes, if there are many cars, they might have "consolation" races too. Even with all these planned races, bad weather often causes some race nights to be canceled. So, on average, about 12 to 14 races are actually run for the championship each season.

Drivers earn points every weekend based on how well they finish. These points are added up throughout the season. For the WISSOTA classes, points go to the driver. For the Street Stocks, points are given to the car number. The driver with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship for their class!

History of Emo Speedway

Early Days: One Class of Cars (1950s and 1960s)

The very first race season at Emo Speedway began on July 30, 1954. Back then, only one type of car raced. Cars with all sorts of engines competed, including a powerful V12 called "Mathieu's V12 Rocket." The first season started with 13 racers. #411 "King Al" Gerald from International Falls, MN, won the first "Cup" championship. Races were often held on Fridays, sometimes even three times a week!

In 1955, #37 Raoul "The Flying Frenchman" Cayer won his first championship. He was also the fastest in time trials that year. Al McDowell won the championship in 1956. The track closed at the end of the 1959 season.

Emo Speedway reopened in 1965. In 1967, #54 Larry Kennedy won his only championship. In 1968, #33 George Oltsher, who was often seen as an underdog, surprised everyone by winning his first championship. He would go on to win three titles. The 1969 season saw owner Ed Rea and his driver #38 Mike Andrusco win the championship.

Adding More Classes (1970s)

In 1970, #33 George Oltsher won another championship. This was the last year with only one car class. In 1971, "Hobby Stocks" were introduced. These cars had their own special rules to make the races more fair.

The first Hobby Stock Champion was #1 Borden Beeler in 1971. In the top class, #36 Larry Long from International Falls, MN, won. Both classes raced for championship points until 1973. The Emo Speedway then closed again until 1983.

Racing Returns (1980s)

After some exhibition races, the Borderland Racing Association took over Emo Speedway. The first full season under their management was in 1986. Two classes raced: Modifieds and Street Stocks. #38 Dan Rea, son of former owner Ed Rea, won the Modified championship. #35 Harold "Beaker" Duivenvoorden won the Street Stock championship.

In 1989, the Modifieds class joined WISSOTA. This meant they followed WISSOTA's common rules. This allowed drivers to race at other WISSOTA tracks and even compete for a National Championship!

More Classes Join the Fun (1990s)

In 1992, a new class called the Thunder Class was created. These "Thunders" had smaller engines than Street Stocks and were slower. This made them a great and affordable way for teenagers and young adults to start racing. Drivers #7 Scott Gobeil and Donnie May became the first champions of this new class. However, the Thunder Class was removed in 1995 because not enough cars were racing.

In 1994, the Mini-Sprint class started racing full seasons at Emo Speedway. These cars looked very different! They had a short body, two wings (one on top and one in front), and used snowmobile engines that could produce up to 600cc. In that year, Emo Speedway had four different car classes racing!

New Classes and Records (2000s)

The WISSOTA Midwest Modified class was new to Emo Speedway in 2004. At the end of 2004, after 11 seasons, the Mini-Sprint class was stopped. This was because there weren't enough cars racing in it anymore. Mini-Sprint driver #2X4 Ken Perry won the last championship for the Mini-Sprints. #11 Anthony Visser won the first WISSOTA Midwest Modified Championship. This class became very popular, with an average of 19 cars racing each week in 2009.

Championship Records: Who's the Best?

Some drivers have won many championships at Emo Speedway!

• Most Consecutive Wins:

* 14C Cody Ossachuk won five championships in a row (2015-2019). * 17 Christopher Leek (2011-2014) and #99 Brody Strachan (2016-2019) both won four championships in a row. * Several drivers have won three championships in a row, including 2R Ricky Roche (1996–1998) and #2X4 Ken Perry (1998-2000).

• Most Total Championships:

* 15 Ron Westover holds the record with seven total championships at Emo Speedway (1995, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013). One of his wins was in the Thunder Stocks, and the rest were in Street Stocks. * #16 Gavin Paull and #2X4 Ken Perry both have five championships. * #19 John Hettinga and #33 Kendal Gamsby each have four championships.

• Most Wins by a Car Number:

* The car number 33 has won the most championships, with a total of nine! Three of these were won by George Oltsher (1968, 1970, 1972), and four by Kendal Gamsby (2006, 2007, 2008, 2014).

Champions List

***Note: This list only includes seasons where a championship was officially tallied. Sometimes races happened, but no points championship was run. As more information is found, these records might change!

WISSOTA Super Stocks raced in 1996 and 1997. #5 Steve Boyum was the 1996 Champion. The 1997 Champion is not known yet.

Year	WISSOTA Modifieds	WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds	Street Stocks	Mini-Sprints	Thunder Stocks	Modified/Late Model Class	Hobby Stocks
2022	#85 Jeff Davis (Devlin, ON)	#Brandon Rehill (St. Andrews, MB)	#55 Tylar Wilson (Fort Frances, ON)
2021	#85 Jeff Davis (Devlin, ON)	#59x James Lambert (Fort Frances, ON)	#15w Raice Westover (Fort Frances, ON)
2020 (Covid-19, 5 Events)	#48 Jerome Guyot (Fannystalle, MB)	#33c Cole Chernosky (Thunder Bay, ON)	#96w Darren Wolframe (Thunder Bay, ON)
2019	#99 Brody Strachan (Emo, ON)	#14C Cody Ossachuk (Pinewood, ON)	#15R Raice Westover (Fort Frances, ON)
2018	#99 Brody Strachan (Emo, ON)	#14C Cody Ossachuk (Pinewood, ON)	#55 Tylar Wilson (Fort Frances, ON)
2017	#99 Brody Strachan (Emo, ON)	#14C Cody Ossachuk (Pinewood, ON)	#86 Kevin Desserre (Dryden, ON)
2016	#99 Brody Strachan (Emo, ON)	#14C Cody Ossachuk (Pinewood, ON)	#54X A.J. Kellar (Fort Frances, ON)
2015	#85D Jeff Davis (Devlin, ON)	#14C Cody Ossachuk (Pinewood, ON)	#55 Tylar Wilson (Fort Frances, ON)
2014	#4 Steve Nordin (Stratton, ON)	#17 Christopher Leek (Emo, ON)	#33 Kendal Gamsby (Stratton, ON)
2013	#16 Gavin Paull (Fort Frances, ON)	#17 Christopher Leek (Emo, ON)	#15 Ron Westover (Fort Frances, ON)
2012	#16 Gavin Paull (Fort Frances, ON)	#17 Christopher Leek (Emo, ON)	#500 Libby Wilson (Fort Frances, ON)
2011	#16 Gavin Paull (Fort Frances, ON)	#17 Christopher Leek (Emo, ON)	#38 Don Bowman (Bemidji, MN)
2010	#99 Glen Strachan (Emo, ON)	#50 Brady Caul (Fort Frances, ON)	#15 Ron Westover (Devlin, ON)
2009	#14 Greg Ferris (Finland, ON)	#99C Tridell Champlin (Deer River, MN)	#18M Scott Messner (Bemidji, MN)
2008	#14 Greg Ferris (Finland, ON)	#33 Kendal Gamsby (Atikokan, ON)	#500 Tylar Wilson (Fort Frances, ON)
2007	#16 Gavin Paull (Fort Frances, ON)	#33 Kendal Gamsby (Atikokan, ON)	#15 Ron Westover (Devlin, ON)
2006	#8 Curtis Kamm (Dryden, ON)	#33 Kendal Gamsby (Atikokan, ON)	#25 Richard Visser/Trudy Engels (Emo, ON)
2005	#85 Jamie Davis (Devlin, ON)	#19 John Hettinga (Emo, ON)	#04 Gary Grimes (Balmertown, ON)
2004	#91 Victor Larson (Dryden, ON)	#11 Anthony Visser (Emo, ON)	#19 John Hettinga (Emo, ON)	#2X4 Ken Perry (Fort Frances, ON)
2003	#91 Victor Larson (Dryden, ON)		#15 Ron Westover (Devlin, ON)	#2X4 Ken Perry (Fort Frances, ON)
2002	#16 Gavin Paull (Fort Frances, ON)		#15 Ron Westover (Devlin, ON)	#15 Kyle Ridlon (Aurora, MN)
2001	#00 Steve Arpin (Fort Frances, ON)		#14 Jake Hasbargen (ON)	#77 Ken Perry Jr. (Fort Frances, ON)
2000	#85 Mark Davis (Devlin, ON)		#77 Mark Kangas (Mountain Iron, MN)	#2X4 Ken Perry (Fort Frances, ON)
1999	#00 Steve Arpin (Fort Frances, ON)		#71 Gary Mintinen Jr. (Bemidji, MN)	#2X4 Ken Perry (Fort Frances, ON)
1998	#2R Ricky Roche (International Falls, MN)		#15 Ron Westover (Devlin, ON)	#2X4 Ken Perry (Fort Frances, ON)
1997	#2R Ricky Roche (International Falls, MN)		#2 Don Wilson (Emo, ON)	Unknown
1996	#2R Ricky Roche (International Falls, MN)		#35 Colin Johnson (Barwick, ON)	#14 Robin Woolsey (Barwick, ON)
1995	#14 Greg Ferris (Finland, ON)		#45 Wade Kennedy (International Falls, MN)	Unknown	#15 Ron Westover (Devlin, ON)
1994	#39 Mark Rea (Devlin, ON)		#35 Colin Johnson (Barwick, ON)	Unknown	#3 Dale Faragher (Devlin, ON)
1993	#69 Kelly Steele (International Falls, MN)		#35 Colin Johnson (Barwick, ON)		#33 Scott Gobeil (Fort Frances, ON)
1992	#39 Mark Rea (Devlin, ON)		#19 John Hettinga (Emo, ON)		#7 Don May/Scott Gobeil (Emo, ON)
1991	#23 Chuck Arpin (Fort Frances, ON)		#19 John Hettinga (Emo, ON)
1990	#23 Chuck Arpin (Fort Frances, ON)		#91X Rudy Anderson (Devlin, ON)
1989	#21P Dwayne Pihulak (Crozier, ON)		#91X Rudy Anderson (Devlin, ON)
1988	#39 Mark Rea (Devlin, ON)(1)		#850 Dwayne "Stubby" DeGagne (Emo, ON)
1987	#6 Gary Wilson (Devlin, ON)(1)		#500 Tylar Wilson (Fort Frances, ON)
1986	#38 Dan Rea (Devlin, ON)(1)		#035 Harold "Beaker" Duivenvoorden (Devlin, ON)
1973						#13 Al Weir (International Falls, MN)	#41 Roy Korpi (Fort Frances, ON)
1972						#33 George Oltsher (Barwick, ON)	#10 Don Potter (International Falls, MN)
1971						#36 Larry Long (International Falls, MN)	#1 Borden Beeler (Emo, ON)
1970						#33 George Oltsher (Barwick, ON)
1969						#38 Mike Andrusco (Fort Frances, ON)
1968						#33 George Oltsher (Barwick, ON)
1967						#54 Larry Kennedy (International Falls, MN)
1956						Al McDowell (Fort Frances, ON)
1955						#37 Raoul Cayer (Nestor Falls, ON)
1954						#411 Al Gerald (International Falls, MN)

(1) Modifieds were not sanctioned by WISSOTA in these years.