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
