By Bill Oldroyd
Ohsweken Speedway – July 9, 2004
The sixth stop on the 2004 Southern Ontario Sprints tour saw Cody Geldart of Mossley, Ontario win his third feature of the season in a dominating drive at Ohsweken Speedway, Friday night. This win was not only his first at this track but has tightened up the battle for the SOS Championship as well. Ohsweken track owner and current point’s leader, Glenn Styres of Ohsweken, Ontario saw his points lead cut in half as Geldart has closed to within 24 points of the leader.
The field took the green with rookie Gary Evans of Thorndale, Ontario on the pole and Bob Crawford from Sutton, Ontario along side. Crawford quickly jumped in to the lead but was soon challenged by a hard-charging Mark Schulz of Newfane, New York. Schultz, who started in the 6th position, was able to get past Crawford to become the second driver of the night to lead the pack.
Meanwhile, Geldart who started in the 11th position was on a mission. During the first few laps, Geldart had already moved into the 5th spot and near the halfway point had taken over the lead from Schulz. Another young standout, Tilbury, Ontario’s Kyle Patrick was also on the move and had taken over third spot, but a mid-race spin in turn two would end any hope of victory on this night.
Once Geldart had taken the lead, he quickly pull away from the field to dominate the balance of the race. Meanwhile, the battle for positions 2 through 5 was intense. Adam West of Ridgetown, Ontario had moved into the third position behind Schulz. The two drivers would do battle for several laps before West was eventually able to take over the runner-up spot, a position he would hold onto for the balance of the night.
Styres and Keith Dempster from Alton, Ontario were also engaged in a side-by-side battle for the 4th and 5th positions. This would go on for several laps during the middle stages of the race with Dempster eventually taking over the 4th position. Dempster then set his sights on Schulz for the 3rd spot. A last lap pass by Dempster gave him the position while Schultz capped of an excellent night with a 4th place finish. Styres came home in the 5th position, which would still keep him in the lead for the SOS Point’s Championship.
Warren Mahoney of Lefroy, Ontario ran a steady race coming home in the 6th position with Vinnie Christiano Jr. from Tonawanda, New York taking 7th place. Patrick battled back from his spin to take the 8th position, followed by Tim Phillips of Grand Island, New York in 9th. Rookie Willy Northcott from London, Ontario also had a fine run coming home in 10th place.
Heat race wins on this night would go to Styres, Geldart and Riegling. Once again the Dash for Cash format was changed to a Rookie Dash. Gary Evans would pick up the win and his first-ever SOS checkered flag. He was so excited with his win; he forgot to stop for victory lane photos and had to be brought back from the pits.
The SOS was also pleased to see two new drivers out for the first time. John Watson of St. Thomas, Ontario and Gregg Haskell of Chatham Ontario made their debuts with the SOS on this night.
The Series will conclude their weekend double-header Saturday, July 10th at Brighton Speedway. The next stop on the tour will then see the Series make their return to South Buxton Speedway July 24th for the first time since 1999. This was the track that hosted the very first SOS event back in 1996.
Leaf Racewear Heat
1. #0 – Glenn Styres, Ohsweken, ON; 2. #33k – Kyle Patrick – Tilbury, ON; 3. #10 – Bob Crawford, Sutton, ON; 4. #12 – Willy Northcott, London, ON; 5. #79 – Dick Mahoney, Newmarket, ON; 6. #21h – Gregg Haskell, Chatham, ON; 7. #18 – Stephanie Christiano, Tonawanda, NY
Wiseco Heat
1. #6 – Cody Geldart, Mossley, ON; 2. #18j – Jack Pillon, Belle River, ON; 3. #2 – Vinnie Christiano Jr., Tonawanda, NY; 4. #30 – Adam West, Ridgetown, ON; 5. #25 – Warren Mahoney, Lefroy, ON; 6. #33 – Jamie Collard, Princeton, ON; 7. #93 – Daryl Turford, Stratford, ON; 8. #4z – Joel Lehman, Elora, ON
Pennzoil Heat
1. #1a – John Riegling, Chatham, ON; 2. #5 – Keith Dempster, Alton, ON; 3. #32 – Mark Schulz, Newfane, NY; 4. #17 – Gary Evans, Thorndale, ON; 5. #21 – Tim Phillips, Grand Island, NY; 6. #26 – John Watson, St. Thomas, ON; 7. #99 – Al Gaukel, Cambridge, ON
Kenetic Rookie Dash
1. #17 – Gary Evans; 2. #18j – Jack Pillon; 3. #12 – Willy Northcott; 4. #99 – Al Gaukel; 5. #18 – Stephanie Christiano; 6. #21h – Gregg Haskell; 7. #26 – John Watson
Signet Tool Feature
1. #6 – Cody Geldart; 2. #30 – Adam West; 3. #5 – Keith Dempster; 4. #32 – Mark Schulz; 5. #0 – Glenn Styres; 6. #25 – Warren Mahoney; 7. #2 – Vinnie Christiano Jr., 8. #33k – Kyle Patrick; 9. #21 – Tim Phillips; 10. #12 – Willy Northcott; 11. #10 – Bob Crawford; 12. #33 – Jamie Collard; 13. #17 – Gary Evans; 14. #18j – Jack Pillon; 15. #4z – Joel Lehman; 16. #18 – Stephanie Christiano; 17. #26 – John Watson; 18. #99 – Al Gaukel; 19. #93 – Daryl Turford; 20. #21h – Gregg Haskell; 21. #27 – Paul Ballantyne; 22. #79 – Dick Mahoney; 23. #1a – John Riegling
Curt Sherwood dns
LEAF RACEWEAR AWARD – John Riegling
car # SPORTSMAN FEATURE
1st #19j Rob Ledingham
2nd #8c Wayne Conn
3rd #20 Jay Mallory
4th #14 Greg Wilson
5th #1j Joe Meisel
6th #95 Mike Ward
7th #0x Bernard Nieburg
8th #56 Dereck Lemyre
9th #15 Martin Pohill
10th #13 Dennis Giannola
11th #88x Rob Pietz
12th #44 Lee Mallory
13th #20k Rick St. Pierre
14th #21 Johm Burbidge Sr.
15th #m7 Paul Cunningham
16th #31 John Burbridge
17th #33 Greg Rouscher
18th #01 Mike Kruchka
19th #11Z Allan Blanchard
20th #7 Steve Ruddy
21st #9j Tim Zack
car # STREET STOCK FEATURE
1st #3 Brad Bacher
2nd #5 Jeff Burke
3rd #24A A.J.Lewis
4th #32 Dave Vogt
5th #21 Blake Bombery Sr.
6th #20 Lindsey Riley
7th #38 Terry Martin
8th #11 Michelle Johnson
9th #40 Terry Osmond
10th #14 Amanda Stoner
11th #12 Brad Herron
12th #90 David Brewster
13th #57 Bill Gill
14th #47 Gordon Farnsworth
15th #33 Dean Robillard
16th #31a Paul Plante
17th #98 Leroy Jamison
Car # MINI STOCK FEATURE
1st #265 MIKE EVERS
2nd #13 TED HALLETT
3rd #2 LEE WINGER
4th #64 DOUG ERSKINE
5th #86 RICK EMBERSON
6th #69e Dan Erskine
7th #111 ROBBIE ROUNCE
8th #07 BRAD CRONKWRIGHT
9th #14 MARC HALLETT
10th #79 Dan Miller
11th #222 DAVE MAGRIN
12th #83 Stan Farmer
13th #11 MIKE GIBERSON
14th #mt50 SHARI TURNER
15th #18 Team #18
16th #23 Andrew & Abel Castelein
17th 27eh Dan stewart
18th #56 Kevin Slater
19th #55 Kevin Thorne
20th #05 DAVID GOODACRE
21st #77 John Held
22nd #5 Dave/Rick Robinson
23rd #148 KEVIN MT.PLEASANT
24th #191 Gord Bates 100% DQ
25th #89 Steve Miller 100%DQ
Car # MINI STOCK CONSI
1st #mt50 SHARI TURNER
2nd #79 Dan Miller
3rd #18 Team #18
4th #23 A & A Castelein
5th #55 Kevin Thorne
6th #77 John Held
7th #222 DAVE MAGRIN
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