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Bill
Oldroyd
Brighton
Speedway Labour Day Classic Weekend
September
4th & 5th, 2004
In
his first full season behind the wheel of a sprint car,
sixteen-year-old Cody Geldart of Mossley is one step
away from being crowned the 2004 Southern Ontario
Sprints Champion. All
he has to do is turn a lap at the Canadian Sprint Car
Championships on September 18th at Ohsweken Speedway and
he will be crowned the 2004 SOS Champion.
At
the Labour Day Classic held at Brighton Speedway this
past weekend, Geldart entered the weekend with a slim
twenty-point lead over the defending SOS Champion, Glenn
Styres from Ohsweken.
Geldart added to his lead by winning the first
feature of the weekend on Saturday and then ran a very
smart race on Sunday with a fourth place finish, enough
to all but assure him the championship.
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| For
the first time in his career Daryl Turford took
the checkered flag in heat race number one at
Brighton on Saturday night. |
After
the race Geldart said: All I wanted to do was stay
out of trouble and when I saw Wilson (Kyle Wilson)
coming, I just let him go.
I didnt want to take any chances.
The
first feature of the double-header, Labour Day Classic
weekend got off to a very disappointing start for Styres,
as he and Geldart came together in turn one on the
opening lap. A
car got out of shape and as everyone checked-up, Styres
and Geldart tangled putting Styres over on his side,
bring out the red flag.
Styres went to the pits and for the second week
in a row, his crew was able to make the necessary
repairs and get him back in time for the restart.
Pole
sitter, rookie Jack Pillon from Belle River jumped into
the early lead but was challenged several times by Daryl
Turford of Stratford
who had just own his first-ever heat race earlier in the
evening. On
lap three, Gary Evens from Thorndale made hard contact
with the wall coming out of turn four causing extensive
damage to his sprinter that he just purchased from
Patrick Racing. With
lots of help from the other competitors, Evans was able
to make repairs in time to make the show on day two.
At
the mid-point of the race, Pillon was still leading but
Geldart had worked his way up to second from his eighth
place starting position and was challenging for the
lead. Kyle
Patrick, who started the feature in scratch position,
was now running third followed by John Riegling from
Chatham and Warren Mahoney of Lefroy.
Styres had worked his way back to sixth at this
point.
Geldart
would take the lead on lap eleven and hold it for the
win however, Patrick was closing fast and at the
checkered, Geldart and Patrick were side-by-side.
Pillon would hold on to take a career-best, third
place finish. Styres,
W. Mahoney, Riegling and Adam West of Ridgetown, who
started second to last, would swap positions several
times during the last ten laps.
W. Mahoney would win the battle taking forth
place followed by Styres, West and Riegling.
Dick
Mahoney from Newmarket would finish in eighth with
Justin Harris from Kingston in ninth and Tim Phillips of
Grand Island, NY in tenth.
The
finale of the Labour Day Classic weekend started off
with Paul Ballantyne from Brantford taking the early
lead from his pole starting position.
Earlier in the night, Ballantyne picked up his
first-ever checkered flag when he won his heat race.
He led for the first two laps however, a
hard-charging Rick Wilson from Joyceville was on the
move from ninth and he took over the point on lap three.
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| Paul
Ballantyne picked up his first ever sprint win in
heat one at the Brighton Speedway Park on Sunday
night. |
Styres
and Patrick were also running very strong and soon the
battle for the lead was a four-car fight as they joined
Wilson and Ballantyne.
Both Styres and Ballantyne were able to pass
Wilson for the top spot but a determined Wilson would
battle back each time taking the lead for good on lap
eight. Styres
would eventually settle for a second place finish.
Patrick spun while trying to avoid a lapped car
putting him to the rear but he fought back to finish
ninth. Ballantyne
was running a very strong third with only a few laps
remaining when he ran out of fuel, ending his night.
Kyle
Wilson of Joyceville had a spin on lap one, sending him
to the tail of the field but he charged back to join his
father on the podium with a third place finish.
Geldart started this feature in sixth place and
was not willing to take any chances with the title on
the line. He eventually moved into forth position but
never made any attempt to challenge the top runners.
Adam
West ran another very steady race coming home fifth.
The
hard-charger of the night was Riegling, who started the
feature in sixteenth and finished sixth.
Once again the top-finishing rookie of the night
was Pillon with a seventh place finish and rounding out
the top ten were W. Mahoney, Patrick and Dick Mahoney
from Newmarket.
Pillon,
with his efforts on the weekend will secure his position
as the 2004 SOS Rookie of the Year.
Congratulations to Jack Pillon!!
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2004
Southern Ontario Sprints Rookie of the Year - Jack
Pillon |
Heat
race winners on night one were Turford, Pillon and
Crawford with the Dash for Cash going to Styres.
Night two would see Ballantyne, Patrick and
Geldart each take a heat race win with Patrick also
winning the Dash for Cash.
The
final race of the season for the Southern Ontario
Sprints will be the Canadian Sprint Car Championships to
be held at Ohsweken Speedway on September 18th.
If this race is anything like last years
event, it will be a real thriller as a record number of
cars are expected to compete for the honors.
For more information, go to www.southernontariosprints.com
September
4, 2004 Results
Leaf
Racewear Heat
1.
#93 Daryl Turford, Stratford; 2. #1a John
Riegling, Chatham; 3. #6 Cody Geldart, Mossley; 4.
#27 Paul Ballantyne, Brantford; 5. #21 Tim
Phillips, Grand Island, NY; 6. #17 Gary Evans,
Thorndale
Wiseco
Heat
1.
#18j Jack Pillon, Belle River; 2. #0 Glenn
Styres, Ohsweken; 3. #79 Dick Mahoney, Newmarket; 4.
#4z Joel Lehman, Elora; 5. #12 Willy Northcott,
London; 6. #30 Adam West, Ridgetown
Kenetic
Heat
1.
#10 Bob Crawford, Sutton; 2. #25 Warren Mahoney,
Lefroy; 3. #2j Justin Harris, Kingston; 4. #71
Craig Downie, Burlington; 5. #18 Stephanie
Christiano, Tonawanda, NY; 6. #33k Kyle Patrick,
Tilbury
Pennzoil
Dash
1.
#0 Glenn Styres; 2. #18j Jack Pillon; 3. #93
Daryl Turford; 4. #1a John Riegling; 5. #25
Warren Mahoney; 6. #2j Justin Harris
Signet
Tool Feature
1.
#6 Cody Geldart; 2. #33k Kyle Patrick; 3. #18j
Jack Pillon; 4. #25 Warren Mahoney; 5. #0
Glenn Styres; 6. #30 Adam West; 7. #1a John
Riegling; 8. #79 Dick Mahoney; 9. #2j Justin
Harris; 10. #21 Tim Phillips; 11. #10 Bob
Crawford; 12. #27 Paul Ballantyne; 13. #4z Joel
Lehman; 14. #12 Willy Northcott; 15. #71 Craig
Downie; 16. #93 Daryl Turford; 17. #17 Gary
Evans; 18. #18 Stephanie Christiano
LEAF
RACEWEAR AWARD - Jack Pillon
September
5, 2004 Results
Wiseco
Heat
1.
#27 Paul Ballantyne, Brantford; 2. #16k Kyle
Wilson, Joyceville; 3. #25 Warren Mahoney, Lefroy;
4. #5 Keith Dempster, Alton; 5. #2j Justin
Harris, Kingston; 6. #1a John Riegling, Chatham; 7.
#17 Gary Evans, Thorndale dns
Signet
Tool Heat
1.
#33k Kyle Patrick, Tilbury; 2. #18j Jack Pillon,
Belle River; 3. #30 Adam West, Ridgetown; 4. #79
Dick Mahoney, Newmarket; 5. #71 Craig Downie,
Burlington; 6. #12 Willy Northcott, London
Kenetic
Heat
1.
#6 Cody Geldart, Mossley; 2. #42 Rick Wilson,
Joyceville; 3. #0 Glenn Styres, Ohsweken; 4. #93
Daryl Turford, Stratford; 5. #10 Bob Crawford,
Sutton; 6. #4z Joel Lehman, Elora
Leaf
Racewear Dash
1.
#33k Kyle Patrick; 2. #16k Kyle Wilson; 3. #0
Glenn Styres; 4. #18j Jack Pillon; 5. #27
Paul Ballantyne; 6. #42 Rick Wilson
Pennzoil
Feature
1.
#42 Rick Wilson; 2. #0 Glenn Styres; 3. #16k
Kyle Wilson; 4. #6 Cody Geldart; 5. #30 Adam
West; 6. #1a John Riegling; 7. #18j Jack Pillon;
8. #25 Warren Mahoney; 9. #33k Kyle Patrick; 10.
#79 Dick Mahoney; 11. #10 Bob Crawford; 12. #93
Daryl Turford; 13. #4z Joel Lehman; 14. #12
Willy Northcott; 15. #71 Craig Downie; 16. #2j
Justin Harris; 17. #17 Gary Evans; 18. #27 Paul
Ballantyne; 19. #5 Keith Dempster
LEAF
RACEWEAR AWARD -
Cody
Geldart
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