by Greg Calnan (June 6, 2009) – The weatherman was finally a friend on a Saturday night at Brighton Speedway. Clear skies and warm temperatures were the order of the day at the 1/3 mile clay oval. The fans again filled the stands in preparation of Round #3 of the 2009 Southern Ontario Sprints season.

At the start of the 20 lap feature, Keith Dempster got the jump on fellow front row starter Adam West and led the field into turn one. Sixth place starter Rick Wilson lost control of his #42w in turn two and caused a chain reaction on the opening lap. Dick Mahoney and Jamie Collard were collected in the incident along with Warren Mahoney who ended up on his side. The red flag was displayed for a short time while the track was cleared. Dick Mahoney was not able to make repairs while the Wilson Racing crew worked feverishly to get their car back on track but, were unsuccessful in their efforts. Warren Mahoney went the the pits for repairs and was able to return while Collard resumed without needing attention from his crew.

A complete restart ensued, with Keith Dempster again pulling away from Adam West. The Alton, Ontario native was hooked up and pulled away from the rest of the field in the opening laps. Glenn Styres worked his way around Adam West for the second spot and set his sights on teammate Dempster.

With his first victory since August of 2007 just laps away for Dempster his car owner Styres closed the gap and made the move for the lead. The "Ohsweken Flyer" grabbed the top spot and set sail towards victory lane. With a half of a lap to go though Adam West came to a rest in corner three bringing out a caution. This set up a green and white flag restart with one lap to settle the 20 lap affair. With the lapped car of Paul Pekkonen lining up between the two leaders Styres was able to pull away on the restart and lead the final lap for his second win of 2009.

Keith Dempster finished in the runner-up position while Justin Martin, Ryan Hunsinger and Jamie Collard rounded out the top five. 

NOTES:
- Southern Ontario Sprints held a members meeting prior to the evenings events. Voting was unanimous to adjust to a pill draw system for starting positions in qualifying heats as well as a redraw of the top 3 finishers from each heat for starting positions in the A-Main.

- #27 Jamie Collard and the Ballantyne Racing Team was a late entry after motor problems the night before at Ohsweken. The team missed hot laps but were able to unload the car, make the final assembly necessary to the engine, recover from an opening lap accident in the feature and end the evening with a fifth place finish.

- Christina Martini 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.

RACE REPORT - Saturday, June 6, 2009
SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS 2009 SEASON Event #3
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
15aw April Wilson - Joyceville
25 Warren Mahoney - Lefroy
27 Jamie Collard - Burford
30 Adam West - Ridgetown
42w Rick Wilson - Joyceville
66 Frank Baranowski - Mount Hope
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. 42w Rick Wilson (1)
2. 0 Glenn Styres (2)
3. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (6)
4. 79 Dick Mahoney (3)
5. 15aw April Wilson (5)
6. 66 Frank Baranowski (4)
7. 01m Jason Martin (7)

HEAT RACE #2
(8 laps)
Finish.. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 30 Adam West (2)
2. 7m Justin Martin (5)
3. 5 Keith Dempster (3)
4. 27 Jamie Collard (8)
5. 25 Warren Mahoney (4)
6. 84 Tyler Rand (6)
7. 10 Bob Crawford (1)
8. 98 Paul Pekkonen (7)

'A' FEATURE
(20 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 0 Glenn Styres (3)
2. 5 Keith Dempster (1)
3. 7m Justin Martin (5)
4. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (4)
5. 27 Jamie Collard (8)
6. 10 Bob Crawford (12)
7. 84 Tyler Rand (13)
8. 15aw April Wilson (9)
9. 30 Adam West (2)
10. 25 Warren Mahoney (10)
11. 98 Paul Pekkonen (15)
12. 01m Jason Martin (14)
13. 66 Frank Baranowski (11)
14. 42w Rick Wilson (6)
15. 79 Dick Mahoney (7)


NEXT SOS EVENT:
Saturday, July 11, 2009 @ Brighton Speedway Brighton, Ontario
www.BrightonSpeedway.com
www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com