More Sprint Car success for Dylan Westbrook

Hamilton Spectator

24-07-2025

Dylan Westbrook has been having a good season racing his 360 Sprint Car.
The 26-year-old from Scotland, Ont. took another A-Main at Ohsweken Speedway last week, his fifth win in six races on the dirt oval — a streak that includes a $10,000 payout for his victory in the recent Summer Sprint Showcase.
He also races at the dirt tracks of Merrittville, Buxton and Brighton, where he has made his name in SOS (Southern Ontario Sprints) competition, recently winning on the Buxton oval. With that win, Westbrook secured the all-time A-Main (feature) record of 33 victories, surpassing a decades-old mark set by Rick Wilson. He is a four-time SOS champion, including the last two seasons in a series that began in 1996.
So, what is the secret to his success?
'I guess it's a little bit of everything,' he noted. 'Good car prep, a good crew and some luck.'
Westbrook has been behind the wheel of a 360 Sprint Car (so-called for its engine displacement of 360 cubic inches) for 10 years. The open-wheeled, winged single-seater produces about 800 horsepower and can hit 100 m.p.h. down a track's straight section and is worth about $80,000 in race trim.
Starting with karts, Westbrook has progressed to faster and more powerful cars. He had a stint in a Crate Sprint Car, which resembles his present racer but has a less powerful engine. He has also taken a few laps in the Ultimate Sprint Car (a version with a 410-cubic-inch engine and 200 more horsepower, used in the World of Outlaws series). In 2022, he got the chance to drive a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevy pickup on the Knoxville Iowa dirt oval for Jordan Anderson Racing.
Westbrook said he is content with his present ride and hopes to maintain his winning pace. He mentioned he does not have a favourite track, but added he leans toward Ohsweken for his success there. He thanks his crew, his father, Jim Westbrook, and finance, Julia Fiore, for their support, along with main sponsors Hills Racing and Miska Trailers.
When asked if he has any special pre-race rituals, Westbrook said he doesn't go off in a corner to mentally prepare himself or wear a favourite trinket under his driving suit.
'I just go out there and have fun and hopefully win,' he said.
Bits and Pieces:
Quebec's
Bruno Spengler
, a prominent road racer in European competition, will race in the Nissan Sentra Cup event during the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières in August … Another local driver having a successful season on the dirt tracks is
Dave Bailey
. The Hagersville driver runs a Camaro in the Hoosier Stocks division at Merrittville Speedway and has won eight features so far and leads in points. Although he is third in points at Ohsweken Speedway, he has five feature wins in nine races in the track's Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stock division. Vittoria's
Ryan Beagle
has four wins and leads the points race, and
Trevor DeBoer
of Hagersville is second … Delaware Speedway and the APC Late Model Series have announced some big payouts for the Great Canadian Race Weekend Sept. 26 and 27, including a purse of $90,000 for the Castrol 300 to be run on the half-mile paved oval …
Kyle Steckley
of Milverton won the APC United-London Recreational Late Model 100-lapper at Flamboro Speedway recently. Brampton's
Lane Zardo
won the Dayco Super Stock feature at the Millgrove track and
Rodney Rutherford
of Dundas took the Canadian Vintage Modified feature … Sesame Street's Cookie Monster will serve as Grand Marshal for the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has to be one of the coolest moves in the sport.