September 8, 2006
For Immediate Release – Ken Pelkie, SOS Public Relations
The 11th season of the Southern Ontario Sprints is now etched in the history books after the final leg of the 2006 tour was run at Ohsweken Speedway Friday night. Attention was focused on the tightest point battle in the
club’s existence; Warren Mahoney held a slim lead over Bob Crawford and Glenn Styres with the “Rookie of the Year” battle also contending for fourth and fifth on the overall docket. With all eyes on the point battle, defending champion Adam West turned in a dominating performance in his J & J chassis to easily outdistance the rest of the field while reminding everyone that he is a force to be reckoned with. “The car was just so good tonight” exclaimed an excited Adam West as he exited the car in victory lane. “You could just drive it anywhere you wanted and it stuck” he went on. “We have had problems getting the car to work the way we want it all year but lately it has been turning around” he went on.
With 24 cars lined up in the “Invitational” Championship event, Brad Malloy and Jeff Daniels led the pack to the green flag. Malloy quickly jumped out to an early lead as the first circuit was completed with Jeff Daniels and Joe Middlemiss in tow. Middlemiss darted inside Daniels and pulled along side Malloy as the two crossed the finish line at completion of the second circuit with Middlemiss gaining the top spot as the duo exited turn two on the third circuit. Daniels, Craig Downie, and Bob Crawford completed the top five at the end of lap three. By lap seven, West was beginning to make his presence felt as he moved into the third spot, up from his original twelfth
starting position. By lap nine he was second and made a successful bid for the lead on lap eleven. Middlemiss continued the chase but was no match for the lightning fast West as he collected the checkers with a commanding straight away lead over Middlemiss. Rick Wilson, Bob Crawford, and Keith Dempster rounded out the top five in the 25 lap championship affair. Glenn
Styres finished sixth while Jamie Collard, Kevin Job, Warren Mahoney, and Jeff Daniels completed seventh through tenth. With his ninth place finish, Warren Mahoney became the 2006 Southern Ontario Sprint Champion with Bob Crawford falling short by a mere nineteen points. Neither the first or second place drivers notched a feature win during the season but their consistency kept them in the championship chase throughout the season. Rookie of the Year honours went to fourth place finisher in the final point tally, Joe Middlemiss over Kevin Job and Brad Malloy. The race was slowed only once as the red flag flew on lap 22 when Craig Downie jumped a wheel and flipped off turn three. Downie emerged from his Ford powered racer with a head ache but otherwise unharmed.
Heat races were won by Brad MALLOY, Joe MIDDLEMISS, Rick WILSON and Adam WEST while Jamie COLLARD claimed the “B”.
On track activity concludes up next weekend as many of the SOS regulars are set to do battle with the best in the north-east as Ohsweken Speedway hosts the second annual “Canadian Sprint Car Nationals”. Twenty six cars will go thirty laps for a pay cheque of over Six Thousand Dollars in cash and prizes next Saturday night. Gates will open at 3:00PM with time trials scheduled for 5:30PM.
The next order of business for the Southern Ontario Sprints will be the election of a new slate of officers to be held in October along with the annual rules meeting. Then the champion will be officially crowned on November 11th when teams and fans gather at the Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel in Niagara Falls for the annual Awards Banquet.
For all of the latest news and information on the Southern Ontario Sprints be sure to log on to the official website at www.southernontariosprints.com.
Results: 29 cars in Pit
Heat #1
1/ 5m – Brad MALLOY 2/ 10 – Bob CRAWFORD
3/ 71 – Craig DOWNIE 4/ 94 – Stan ZANCHIN
5/ 0 – Glenn STYRES 6/ 37 – Jamie COLLARD
7/ 24 – Bob McDONALD 8/ 11x – Fred PIGEON (DNF)
Heat #2
1/ 11m – Joe MIDDLEMISS 2/ 21j – John BURBRIDGE
3/ 7 – Jim PRICE 4/ 21x – Kevin JOB
5/ 10m – Rob MIDDLEMISS 6/ 83 – James WHITTAKER
7/ 8 – Brian LEE
Heat #3
1/ 42w – Rick WILSON 2/ 20 – Jeff DANIELS
3/ 25 – Warren MAHONEY 4/ 1a – John RIEGLING
5/ 79 – Dick MAHONEY 6/ 93 (29) – Daryl TURFORD
7/ 33 – Jim PORTER (DNS)
Heat #4
1/ 30 – Adam WEST 2/ 21 – Tim PHILLIPS
3/ 32 – Keith DEMPSTER 4/ 17 – Gary EVANS
5/ 26 – John WATSON 6/ 9JR – Tim ZACK
7/ 15aw – April WILSON
“B” MAIN
1/ 37 – Jamie COLLARD 2/ 33 – Jim PORTER
3/ 11X – Fred PIGEON 4/ 93 (29) – Daryl TURFORD
5/ 24 – Bob McDONALD 6/ 83 – James WHITTAKER
7/ 15aw – James WHITTAKER 8/ 9jr – Tim ZACK
9/ 8 – Brian LEE
“A” MAIN
1/ 30 – Adam WEST (12) 2/ 11m – Joe MIDDLEMISS (6)
3/ 42w – Rick WILSON (11) 4/ 10 – Bob CRAWFORD (5)
5/ 32 – Keith DEMPSTER (8) 6/ 0 – Glenn STYRES (17)
7/ 37 – Jamie COLLARD (21) 8/ 21x – Kevin JOB (14)
9/ 25 – Warren MAHONEY (7) 10/ 20 – Jeff DANIELS (2)
11/ 5m – Brad MALLOY (1) 12/ 11x – Fred PIGEON (23)
13/ 79 – Dick MAHONEY (19) 14/ 21 – Tim PHILLIPS (3)
15/ 21J – John BURBRIDGE (9) 16/ 1a – John RIEGLING (15)
17/ 33 – Jim PORTER (22) 18/ 7 – Jim PRICE (10)
19/ 94 – Stan ZANCHIN (13) 20/ 10m – Joe MIDDLEMISS (18)
21/ 26 – John WATSON (20) 22/ 93(29) – Daryl TURFORD (24)
23/ 71 – Craig DOWNIE (4) DNF 24/ 17 – Gary EVANS (16) DNF
Unofficial Points after SEPTEMBER 8th:
1 Warren Mahoney 1891
2 Bob Crawford 1872
3 Glenn Styres 1853
4 Joe Middlemiss 1758
5 Kevin Job 1732
KENETIC Photos Hard Charger after SEPT 8th:
1 Glenn Styres 72
2 Warren Mahoney 71
2 Rick Wilson 68
4 Kevin Job 55
5 Bob Crawford 50
Post Race Awards:
Ohsweken Speedway Winners Bonus – Adam West
Grisdale Racing Products – Daryl Turford
Leaf Racewear – Jamie Collard
Kenetic Photos Hard Charger – Jamie Collard
RACE RESULTS FROM: SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2006
SPECIAL EVENT: SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS
pos car # DIRT SPORTSMAN
1st P38 ROB PRATT
2nd 108 BILL BLEICH
3rd 71 MIKE BOWMAN
4th 64 DOUG ERSKINE
5th 2K ROB KNAPP
6th 5 DAVE DYKSTRA
7th 11Z DARREN ZUMPE
8th 7X TOMMY FLANNIGAN
9th 11VT JAMES EVANS
10th 21J JOHN BURBRIDGE
11th 7 STEVE RUDDY
12th 11M MARK DIXON
13TH 50 ROGER LAUZON
14TH 3Z ZACK ZUMPE
15TH 77 BJ WILLARD
16TH 6 MAT WILLIAMSON
17TH 18 BRAD ROUSE
18TH 99C NICK CUPOLO
19TH 111 ROBBIE ROUNCE
20TH 68 PAUL JORGENSEN
21ST 88 MARTIN POHILL
22ND 12 CHAD CHEVALIER DNF
23RD 96 GRAHAM MACKAY DNF
pos car # THUNDER STOCK FEATURE
1st 24A A.J. LEWIS
2nd 37 JEREMY BEAN
3rd 12 BRAD HERRON
4th 3 BRAD BACHER
5th 3C RYAN DINNING
6th 7 SCOTT MCPHAIL
7th 40 TERRY OSMOND
8th 18 AMANDA STONER
9th 65 STEVE MARSHALL
10TH 191 GORD BATES
11TH 90 DAVID BREWSTER DNS
12TH 38 TERRY MARTIN DNS
pos Car # MINI STOCK FEATURE
1st 28 ABEL CASTELEIN
2nd 86 RICK EMBERSON
3rd 69E DAN ERSKINE
4th 14 MARC HALLETT
5th MT50 SHARI TURNER
6th 71 GARNET WILSON
7th 72 KEVIN HILBORN
8th 48 CRAIG ERSKINE
9th 18 DAN DEPAGTER
10th 40 JIM SWING
11th 5 DAVID GOODACRE
12th 24K KYLE MAGRIN
13th 23 MATT CASTELEIN
14th 113 MARK THORNE
15th 13 MARK SAUL
16th 9 GLEN LEINEN
17th 79 STEVE MILLER
18th 11 MIKE GIBERSON
19TH 77X CHASE HESS
20TH 62 BRIAN PESCETTI
21ST 777X PAUL GOODALE
22ND 15 MIKE THORNE
23RD 31X DAVE BAILEY
24TH 2 ERINN BAILEY DQ
Car # MINI STOCK CONSI
5TH 265 MIKE EVERS
6TH 148 JIM PORTER
7TH 27 DAN STEWART
8TH 772 JOHNNA MARTIN
9TH 55 ROB SLATER
10TH 50X JOHN BURDICK