Author: John Davidson

Mosport Speedway New Venue for Unpredictable Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby

January 2, 2017 – Goshen, IN…After a two-week Christmas and New Year holiday break, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), warm things up for the first time of the new year with the 13^th Annual Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby and Can-Am Challenge on January 3, 2017, and for the first time the zany race will be held at Mosport Speedway.

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When the racers  fire up their online sim supermodifieds for the first time of 2017, they will face a format that is completely unpredictable and always provides a rousing good time north of the border.

The competitors will not only be racing against each other but they’ll be paired up into two-man teams where the slowest matches up with the fastest from time trials. Each member of the team will work throughout the night to gain the most points possible as they try to win the overall Snowball Derby Challenge Championship.

The unpredictability of the night is increased this year because this will be the first time the Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby has been run anywhere other than Cayuga Speedway, and only the second time SUPRS has visited Mosport Speedway built by NegB Track Designs.

Time Trials, Canadian Pursuit, Heats, and a 50 lap feature will keep the racers busy all night long on a track that is anything but easy.

As they race for the extra Gold Crest Division Season Championship points that come from being on the winning Snowball Derby Championship team, they’ll have to keep their tires under them on Mosport’s very abrasive surface while they stay mindful of the very tricky turn four with its increasing radius and the big bad concrete wall that comes up quickly as they head onto the long front-stretch.

First Time Snowball Derby Winner Very Likely

It’s very unlikely that fans will see either of the two drivers that have dominated the winners circle at the Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby this year, so there’s a great chance there will be a first time winner of the event.

With four Snowball Derby wins to his name, Ray “The Sandman” Sand, Jr., made a name for himself in this race and last year came from over a second behind to claim his fourth win and third Challenge Championship, while Myles Maxon of Oswego, NY has two Snowball Derby wins and has been on the Snowball Derby Challenge Championship winning team twice.

But with neither of those outstanding SUPRS racers and champions seen on the track this year, and the only other multi-time winner, John Davidson, (2005, 2011), not active, there is but one conclusion, a new winner will come from a deep field of talent, with a few drivers really standing out as potential victors.

Keep Your Eye on These Guys

Of the current top five in the SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Championship standings, none have won this special event, although several have a lot of experience competing for the Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby Challenge Championship.

Like the last several years, Rob Warren is in the midst of an intense battle for the lead of the Gold Crest Wing Championship and of the drivers in the top three in the points standings, has the most Snowball Derby experience. Coming into this year’s race he has the most wins of the season at four.

Warren ran his first Derby in 2008 and has missed just one since then, (in 2011). His worst finish is 16th. He has a 12th, (2010), a third place, (2016), three sixth place finishes (2012, 2013, 2015) and was a part of the Snowball Derby Challenge winning team in 2013.

Keith Powell is just four points behind Warren going into this race, but has run the Snowball Derby just twice with his best finish of fourth coming the first time he raced it in 2011.

While entered to run the Snowball Derby this year, Powell’s name hasn’t been seen north of the border for this race since 2012 when he finished fifth.

Meanwhile, Joe Achzet’s  first run was in 2009 and he finished tenth. He ran the race for the next three years in a row with his best showing the last time he raced the Snowball Derby in 2012.

He finished a close second to winner Sean Gibbs in that race. He crossed the finish line in eleventh in 2010 and fifth in 2011.

Experience Counts

While Powell, Warren and Achzet battle at the top of the point standings, they will need to keep a close watch on the drivers sitting in fourth and fifth overall because both have more experience racing the Snowball Derby.

Steve Callahan has had an up and down season with just one win, but is tenaciously hanging onto fifth place in points.

Callahan’s name is nearly synonymous with starts in the Snowball Derby and has finished no lower than sixth place since 2010.

He was a model of consistency at Cayuga while living up to his “Steady Steve” nickname, making every race but one,(2016), at Cayuga Speedway since becoming a member and placing no lower than 15th place since his first Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby run in 2006.

Missing only one race since the first one in 2005 and the driver with more Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby starts than any other is Bob Gangwer.

Though he’s never won the race, Gangwer does have the distinction of being on the Snowball Derby Championship Team the most often. Gangwer joined with Jim Davidson,(2006), Dan Brigandi, (2007), Jamie Hartley, (2010), and Ed Riley, (2011), for a total of four Snowball Derby Championships.

Don’t Miss The Craziness

The SUPRS  13^th Annual Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby and Can-Am Challenge takes place on January 3, 2017  at Mosport Speedway beginning with practice which starts at 8:00pm. Time Trials will follow at 8:15pm and Racing gets underway at 9:00pm with the  Canadian Pursuit. Heats and the 50 lap feature will follow.

SUPRS fans and friends can follow all the Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby action with timing, scoring and instant track telemetry via the SUPRS LIVE! page.

Learn more about this race on the SUPRS schedule page.  Regular season updates as well as real supermodified and sim racing news are popular features on the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series Facebook page and @SUPRSOnline.

Crazy Canuck Snowball Derby and Can-Am Challenge History

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