by Tommy Goudge (June 4, 2008) – The first 2 events of the 2008 Southern Ontario Sprints season are now entered into the record books, and after 2 consistent outings Chris Jones of Demorestville, Ontario finds himself atop the SOS point standings for the first time. Jones made his sprint car debut last season with a 4th place finish at the Brighton Speedway on August 11, and has been a consistent threat to finish in the top 5 ever since.

With a 4th place at Brighton Speedway on May 10 and 5th at Brockville Ontario Speedway on Saturday, Jones is the only driver who has recorded a top 5 finish in both SOS events run so far this season. After a difficult opening night at Brighton, Alton driver Keith Dempster was able to salvage a 7th place finish and followed that up with a 3rd place at Brockville, placing him 2nd in the standings, 7 markers behind Jones. Joyceville’s Rick Wilson went into Brockville as the point leader after winning the Brighton opener, but suffered damage and did not finish the feature at “The BOS”, dropping him to 3rd in the standings. Warren Mahoney of Lefroy struggled with mechanical problems at Brighton, but made up for lost time at Brockville by winning his heat and coming close to a return to victory lane in the feature, before Steve Poirier got by Warren for the lead with 2 laps to go. Mahoney’s strong 2nd place finish at Brockville vaulted him from 14th to 4th in the standings. Ridgetown resident Adam West is quietly sitting 5th in points after feature finishes of 5th and 9th to start the season, and figures to be a threat for wins and top 5’s all season as he looks to repeat his championship season of 2005.

6 drivers were on hand at Brockville who did not make the trip to Brighton to open the SOS season. Quebec drivers Steve Poirier and Michael Parent normally race with the Empire Super Sprints tour, but made the trip to Brockville after rain cancelled the Earl Halaquist Memorial at Fonda, NY. Poirier made the most of the trip by taking the feature win, while Parent charged from the inside of row 6 to finish 4th when the checkered flag fell. The Eastern Ontario team of Brian McDonald and Lee Ladouceur were also on hand, and both looked to be in contention for good finishes before McDonald went for a wild ride while racing for 2nd with Rick Wilson. Thankfully McDonald was uninjured, while Ladouceur salvaged the night for the team with a 6th place finish. Bill Baldwin’s car #14 was present at both events, but was piloted by Rick Wilson’s son Kyle at Brockville. Unfortunately Kyle was not able to do much as hired gun as the team spent most of the evening trying to fix a mechanical issue. Hamilton, Ontario driver Ryan Hunsinger also made the trip with teammates Keith Dempster and Glenn Styres, but the #77x’s engine did not fire and Hunsinger was relegated to spectator one night after taking his first career sprint car feature win in weekly competition at the Ohsweken Speedway.

The Southern Ontario Sprints tour will be back in action on Saturday, June 14 at Brighton Speedway for Round 3 of the 2008 season. For more information, visit www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com and www.BrightonSpeedway.com.


SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS 2008 SEASON
POINTS STANDINGS AS OF SATURDAY, MAY 31, 2008
Position. Car# Driver (Hometown) – Total 
(* - feature winners)

1. 11j Chris Jones (Demorestville, ON) - 306

2. 5 Keith Dempster (Alton, ON) - 299

3. 42w Rick Wilson (Joyceville, ON) – 286*

4. 25 Warren Mahoney (Lefroy, ON) - 278

5. 30 Adam West (Ridgetown, ON) - 277

6. 79 Dick Mahoney (Newmarket, ON) - 260

7. 81 Derek Jonathon (Lewiston, NY) - 257

8. 71 Craig Downie (Burlington, ON) - 257

9. 0 Glenn Styres (Ohsweken, ON) - 256

10. 10 Bob Crawford (Sutton, ON) - 248

11. 29 Daryl Turford (Guelph, ON) - 217

12. 15 Mike Ferrell (London, ON) - 215

13. 15aw April Wilson (Joyceville, ON) - 178

14. 28fm Steve Poirier (Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, QC) – 170*

15. 21j John Burbridge (Simcoe, ON) - 166

16. 21x Kevin Job (Campbellville, ON) - 161

17. 25p Michael Parent (Granby, QC) - 154

18. 51 Lee Ladouceur (Alexandria, ON) - 145

19. 151kb Brian McDonald (Cornwall, ON) - 117

20. 20 Jeff Daniels (Chatham, ON) - 116

21. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (Hamilton, ON) - 60

22. 14 Bill Baldwin (Courtice, ON) - 60

23. 14 Kyle Wilson (Joyceville, ON) - 60