Bill Oldroyd
Ohsweken Speedway, May 20, 2005
Ohsweken Speedway was the scene for round two of the Southern Ontario Sprints 10th Anniversary season. Local favourite and track owner Glenn Styres, did not disappoint the large crowd on hand May 20th as he captured his first feature of the season and takes the early points lead in the hunt for the championship.
A total of 26 sprinters were on hand to take on the high-speed Ohsweken Speedway oval. “Cobra” Chuck Hebing from Ontario, NY, who is a regular with the Patriots Sprint Group and currently second in points with that series, was the first to retire for the evening. During hot laps, Hebing was exiting turn-four when a mechanical failure caused him to drive head-on into the front stretch wall and flip several times. His race machine was a write-off as everything from the radiator forward was ripped off his sprinter. Fortunately Hebing escaped without injury.
Craig Downie of Burlington paced the field to the green for the feature event of the evening and jumped into the early lead however two complete restarts were required for minor incidents. The first caution was brought out when Gary Evans from Thorndale had his sprinter come to a stop in turn two with mechanical problems. Jim Porter of Grand Island, NY also spun in turn four at the same time. The second caution flew when Jack Pillon had a spin exiting turn two on the restart.
When the Feature did get underway, Downie held the lead for several laps. This was the first time Downie had lead in a Feature race with the SOS. John Riegling of Chatham quickly jumped into second with Styres coming from his 8th starting position to take 3rd. Styres took over 2nd on lap three and set his sights on Downie. The tow battled for a few laps but Styres was able to dive under Downie in turn four to take the lead on lap six.
After the race Downie said to Styres “I thought I could race with you for a few laps but you quickly got away from me. I just didn’t have enough to stay with you.”
Adam West of Ridgetown who started in 7th made his way towards the front by getting past Riegling and Downie putting him in the 2nd position. Another driver having a good run was Brad Knab from Delevan, NY. Knab started the feature mid-pack and quickly move up in the field running in the top five most of the night.
Styres and West had to negotiate very heavy traffic as the race went green until lap eighteen. Pillon suffered mechanical problems and came to a stop in turn four bringing out the third caution on the night. On the restart, Dick Mahoney from Newmarket cut down a front left tire trying to avoid a spinning Bob Crawford of Sutton in turn two. As a result of the contact, Mahoney stalled, bring out the final caution of the night.
Styres held off a charging West during the last tow laps to take home his first victory of the young season. Riegling finished a strong third, sporting a new eye-catching paint scheme while Downie had a career best 4th place finish in his Ford–powered, JDH Rod and Custom sprinter.
Porter made a fine recovery from his first lap spin to battle back to a 5th place finish.
Heat race winners included Styres, Riegling and Pillon. Jack Pillon, who was teamed up with race fan Hugh McArthur, won the SOS Fan-Dash for Cash.
Results: 26 car field
Leaf Racewear Heat
1. #0 – Glenn Styres, Ohsweken, ON; 2. #25 – Warren Mahoney, Lefroy, ON; 3. #10 – Bob Crawford, Sutton, ON; 4. #22 – Jim Porter, Grand Island, NY; 5. #42s – Ken Swan, Lockport, NY; 6. #31 – Curt Sherwood, Sanborn, NY; 7. #17 – Gary Evans, Thorndale, ON;
dns – #6 – Dave Schulz, Barker, NY; #21c – Chuck Hebing, Ontario, NY
Wiseco Heat
1. #1a – John Riegling, Chatham, ON; 2. #79 – Dick Mahoney, Newmarket, ON; 3. #30 – Adam West, Ridgetown, ON; 4. #13 – Billy Coffey, Avon, NY; 5. #38 – Brad Knab, Delevan, NY; 6. #33 – Jamie Collard, Princeton, ON; 7. #93 – Daryl Turford, Mitchell, ON; 8. #26 – John Watson, St. Thomas, ON; 9. #42 – Fred Cade, Niagara Falls, ON
Kenetic Heat
1. #18j – Jack Pillon, Belle River, ON; 2. #71 – Craig Downie, Burlington, ON; 3. #86 – Jeremy Barnard, Albion, NY; 4. #32 – Mark Schulz, Newfane, NY; 5. #17m – Charlie McCann, London, ON; 6. #75 – Jim Sweers, Westover, ON; 7. #8 – Brian Lee, Kitchener, ON; 8. #20 – Jeff Daniels, Chatham, ON
Pennzoil Dash
1. #18j – Jack Pillon; 2. #0 – Glenn Styres; 3. #1a – John Riegling; 4. #25 – Warren Mahoney; 5. #79 – Dick Mahoney; 6. #71 – Craig Downie
Signet Tool Feature
1. #0 – Glenn Styres; 2. #30 – Adam West; 3. #1a – John Riegling; 4. #71 – Craig Downie; 5. #22 – Jim Porter; 6. #38 – Brad Knab; 7. #86 – Jeremy Barnard; 8. #10 – Bob Crawford; 9. #32 – Mark Schulz; 10. #42s – Ken Swan; 11. #33 – Jamie Collard; 12. #79 – Dick Mahoney; 13. #25 – Warren Mahoney; 14. #42 – Fred Cade; 15. #13 – Billy Coffey; 16. #17m – Charlie McCann; 17. #75 – Jim Sweers; 18. #8 – Brian Lee; 19. #18j – Jack Pillon; 20. #20 – Jeff Daniels; 21. #26 – John Watson; 22. #93 – Daryl Turford; 23. #31 – Curt Sherwood; 24. #17 – Gary Evans
dns #6 – Dave Schulz; #21c – Chuck Hebing
Leaf Racewear Award – Chuck Hebing
Cortland Innovations “Hard Charger” Award – Jeremy Barnard
car # SPORTSMAN FEATURE
1st #20 Jay mallory
2nd #94 Stan zanchin
3rd #15 Martin pohill
4th #56 Dereck lemyre
5th #37 francisco pereira
6th #77 bill willard
7th #7 Steve ruddy
8th #99c nick copolo
9th #11m mark dixon
10th #28 jay bain
11th #44 lee mallory
12th #4j andy imbeault
13th #20j tony cowel
14th #9j tim zack
pos. car # STREET STOCK FEATURE
1st #24a a.j. lewis
2nd #98 brad bacher
3rd #11 michelle par
4th #50 jeff burke
5th #40 terry osmond
6th #45t sean hill
7th #20 daryl randall
8th #1j jason fontaine
9th #18 amanda stoner
pos. Car # MINI STOCK FEATURE
1st #2 lee winger
2nd #86 rick emberson
3rd #265 mike evers
4th #64 doug erskine
5th #9 glen lienen
6th #222 dave magrin
7th #11 mike gieberson
8th #05 david goodacre
9th #79 dan miller
10th #69e Dan Erskine
11th #18 team 18
12th #27 dan stewart
13th #25 roy rinne
14th #mt50 shari turner
15th #88 jesse macdonald
16th #89 sam miller
17th #77 john held
18th #14 shane gowan
19th #81 ryan dinning
20th #48 craig erskine
21st #55 rob slater
22nd #148 jim porter
23rd #28 abel castelein
24th #00 jeff leegstra
pos. Car # MINI STOCK CONSI
1st #18 Team 18
2nd #48 craig erskine
3rd #77 john held
4th #14 shane gowan
5th #00 jeff leegstra
6th #148 jim porter
7th #10 kevin magrin
8th #5 mike robinson
9th #67 larry erskine
10th #191 gord bates
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