By Mike Ferrell and Tommy Goudge (May 17, 2008) - It was cold and windy, but finally a clear night for racing presented itself on Sunday evening at the Brighton Speedway. The fans were ready to see the first round of the Southern Ontario Sprints season, as even with a last minute switch to Sunday night due to inclement weather on Saturday, they came out and packed the stands.

At the start of the 20 lap feature, Keith Dempster got the jump on fellow front row starter Bob Crawford and led the field into a tight turn one. With rain the day before leaving the infield soaked, the large implement tires around the inside line were moved out further than usual, catching April Wilson off guard. Wilson clipped one of the tires while racing through the corner, sending a tire out into the path of Dick Mahoney. The Mahoney machine hit the tire squarely, knocking the front suspension out of the car and ending Dick’s night.

A complete restart ensued, with the #77x of 2008 Rookie of the Year Ryan Hunsinger quickly chasing down Dempster and taking over the lead. Hunsinger took off and stretched out a sizeable lead until Rick Wilson spun in turn four during the sixth lap. Doing a complete 360, Rick was able to continue, however Adam West was following right behind and had to turn sharply to avoid the Wilson machine. West’s mount dug into the soft track surface and flipped, coming to rest against the wall in turn 4. The track crew was on scene quickly to get the car righted, but as they tipped the car back upright, engine oil flowed onto the hot exhaust, igniting a fire which was quickly extinguished by the safety crew. Adam emerged from his car quickly and headed off the track shaken and done for the evening, but otherwise unharmed. 

Ryan Hunsinger continued in the lead on the restart and proceeded to stretch out a gap on the #0 of Glenn Styres and the #25 of Warren Mahoney. At the halfway mark, Jamie Collard - behind the wheel of his new #27 ride owned by Ray Ballentyne - moved low on Mahoney and took over the third position. Chris Jones was following close behind Collard and used the opportunity to get around Mahoney as well. Meanwhile out front Glenn Styres had managed to reel in “The Gunslinger”, and stormed into the lead with the end of the race in sight. With 3 laps to go Keith Dempster, who had been fighting brake problems all feature, finally lost the battle and spun into the infield of turn two with a locked front brake, bringing out the final caution flag of the evening. 

Styres was able to get a good restart and was unchallenged the rest of the way. Ryan Hunsinger came home in second, while Rick Wilson on a last lap flyer passed the Jones #11j and Collard #27 coming out of turn 4 to come home 3rd. Jones and Collard settled for fourth and fifth, respectively. 

NOTES:
- Marlene Scriber won the draw for a pair of travel passes to the World of Outlaws event at Ohsweken Speedway courtesy of Have Bus, Will Travel and the SOS. A second pair will be drawn when the tour returns to Brighton on June 6.

- Jason Martin and Travis Cunningham both made their first appearances in SOS competition on Sunday night, while Tyler Rand and Paul Pekkonen rounded out the rookie contingent after making their first sprint car starts in the ESS/SOS challenge race at Brockville in October. Brother of Justin Martin, Jason got off to a rough start in the second heat race when he got high in turn three and slid off the track all the way out to the parking lot fence, knocking some of the sheet metal off the fence in the process. Martin and Cunningham both began their sprint car careers this past Friday night in weekly action at Ohsweken Speedway.

- Heat races for the sixteen cars signed in for competition on Sunday night were won by Keith Dempster and Warren Mahoney. Both drivers are on a quest this season to match Glenn Styres as three-time champions of the tour after Styres became the first driver to claim three titles last season.

RACE REPORT - Sunday, May 17, 2009
SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS 2009 SEASON Event #1
Brighton Speedway - Brighton, Ontario

ENTRIES
Number Name - Hometown
0 Glenn Styres - Ohsweken
01m Jason Martin - Shedden
5 Keith Dempster - Alton
7m Justin Martin - Shedden
10 Bob Crawford - Sutton
11j Chris Jones - Demorestville
15aw April Wilson - Joyceville
25 Warren Mahoney - Lefroy
27 Jamie Collard - Burford
30 Adam West - Ridgetown
42w Rick Wilson - Joyceville
71 Travis Cunningham - Grimsby
77x Ryan Hunsinger - Brantford
79 Dick Mahoney - Newmarket
84 Tyler Rand - Picton
98 Paul Pekkonen - Brockville

HEAT RACE #1
(8 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 5 Keith Dempster (2)
2. 42w Rick Wilson (6)
3. 0 Glenn Styres (5)
4. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (3)
5. 30 Adam West (4)
6. 79 Dick Mahoney (1)
7. 27 Jamie Collard (7)
8. 84 Tyler Rand (8) DNF

HEAT RACE #2
(8 laps)
Finish.. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 25 Warren Mahoney (3)
2. 11j Chris Jones (5)
3. 7m Justin Martin (4)
4. 10 Bob Crawford (2)
5. 15aw April Wilson (1)
6. 01m Jason Martin (6) DNF
7. 98 Paul Pekkonen (7) DNF
8. 71 Travis Cunningham (8) DNF

'A' FEATURE
(20 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 0 Glenn Styres (6)
2. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (3)
3. 42w Rick Wilson (8)
4. 27 Jamie Collard (13)
5. 11j Chris Jones (7)
6. 25 Warren Mahoney (4)
7. 10 Bob Crawford (2)
8. 7m Justin Martin (5)
9. 15aw April Wilson (10)
10. 84 Tyler Rand (15)
11. 5 Keith Dempster (1)
12. 98 Paul Pekkonen (12)
13. 30 Adam West (9) DNF
14. 01m Jason Martin (14) DNF
15. 79 Dick Mahoney (11) DNF
16. 71 Travis Cunningham (16) DNS

NEXT SOS EVENT:
Saturday, May 23, 2009 @ South Buxton Raceway – Merlin, Ontario
www.SouthBuxtonRaceway.com
www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com