by Tommy Goudge
(September 4, 2010) – Chris Jones dominated the first night of the Southern Ontario Sprints Labour Day Classic doubleheader at Brighton Speedway on Saturday night. The win was the local driver’s second career Sprint Car feature victory, the first also coming at Brighton in July. Keith Dempster finished second, while Glenn Styres claimed third and extended his points lead, as he tries to win an unprecedented fourth SOS title.
Keith Dempster and Chris Jones started the twenty lap feature on the front row, and Jones utilized the high groove to take the lead. The field was just crossing the line to complete the first lap when Doug Banks spun to a stop in turn three to bring out a caution flag. The yellow flag quickly turned red when April Wilson tangled with Dick Mahoney as the field slowed. Wilson rolled over and did enough damage to her machine to be done for the night.
Jones led on the restart, while many eyes were on August feature winner Rick Wilson, who moved from eighth to challenge for fifth in the early going. Doug Banks again brought out a caution on lap four when he stopped on the backstretch, and then went to the pit area.
Jones again led on the restart, and started to lap slower traffic on the ninth circuit. Dempster gained on Jones in traffic, but the caution flag flew again on lap eleven for debris on the front straight. Jones took off on the restart and contacted the frontstretch wall with his right rear as he crossed under the green flag, but continued on.
Lap fifteen found Rick Wilson and Dain Naida trading the fourth spot back and forth, with Wilson eventually prevailing. Jones worked traffic successfully over the last four laps and cruised to his second career win, followed by Dempster, Styres, Wilson, and Naida.
“The car felt a little funny, and I eased into the next corner and just felt it out a little bit,” said Jones of his close call with the wall. “The bite was still there, the car felt ok, so I just kept trying to hit my marks.”
The Brighton surface was in great shape on Saturday, and featured fast grooves both top and bottom. Jones commented on the track conditions afterwards.
“I knew the key to the race was getting a good start because I really thought the bottom was going to be the place to be tonight,” said Jones. “But, it was a really nice cushion. You could put the right rear up against the cushion. I kept looking at the scoreboard and I saw it was Dempster behind me every time, so I was thinking there wasn’t a lot of passing going on behind me, so if I could just hold my own and keep hitting my marks, it would be ours!”
Glenn Styres finished third on Saturday, but the finish was as good as a win for the three time SOS champ, who extended his margin in the standings to forty-four over Tyler Rand.
“I was hoping I could stay up front there for awhile,” said Styres afterwards. “That 11 car got hooked up pretty good – he was out of sight, and congratulations to their team. I was trying everything, and it’s just really tough. The competition is so close right now and the fans gotta love it.”
Heat races for the twenty car field were claimed by Dick Mahoney, Rick Wilson, and Dain Naida, while Naida also won the Black’s Transport Dash For Cash.
NOTES
– Michigan driver Dain Naida made his first visit to Brighton a successful one by winning his heat race, dash for cash, and finishing fifth in the feature.
– June feature winner Jamie Collard returned to competition on Saturday night for the first time since a crash at Ohsweken Speedway on July 30 put him out with a back injury. Collard had a solid night in his return, and claimed sixth in the feature.
– Warren Mahoney had trouble with the rear end and drive-shaft on his primary car during heat race action and switched to “Lefty”, his backup car, for the feature. Warren drove from nineteenth on the grid to finish eleventh and claim Hard Charger honours, and the Stealth Racewear “Under The Radar” award.
– The SOS tour gets back to action for round eight of the fifteenth anniversary season and second night of the Labour Day Classic on Sunday, September 5 back at Brighton Speedway.
RACE REPORT – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS
2010 SEASON EVENT #7
Brighton Speedway – Brighton, Ontario
ENTRIES
(Number Name – Hometown)
0 Glenn Styres – Ohsweken
2 Brad Lodge – Stouffville
5 Keith Dempster – Alton
6n Dain Naida – Tecumseh, MI
9 Jim Munsie – Pickering
10 Bob Crawford – Sutton
11 Chris Jones – Demorestville
15aw April Wilson – Joyceville
16k Kyle Wilson – Joyceville
25 Warren Mahoney – Lefroy
30 Adam West – Ridgetown
33j Erin Joyce – Alcove, QC
42w Rick Wilson – Joyceville
45x Doug Banks – Inverary
67 Chris Durand – Port Stanley
71 Travis Cunningham – Grimsby
77x Jamie Collard – Burford
79 Dick Mahoney – Newmarket
84 Tyler Rand – Consecon
98 Paul Pekkonen – Brockville
HEAT RACES
(8 laps each – top 3 finishers in each redraw for feature starting positions)
HEAT RACE #1
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 79 Dick Mahoney (2)
2. 5 Keith Dempster (4)
3. 11 Chris Jones (3)
4. 71 Travis Cunningham (7)
5. 9 Jim Munsie (1)
6. 16k Kyle Wilson (5)
7. 10 Bob Crawford (6)
HEAT RACE #2
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 42 Rick Wilson (2)
2. 0 Glenn Styres (3)
3. 30 Adam West (6)
4. 15aw April Wilson (1)
5. 45x Doug Banks (4)
6. 2 Brad Lodge (5)
7. 33j Erin Joyce (7) DNS
HEAT RACE #3
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 6n Dain Naida (2)
2. 77x Jamie Collard (3)
3. 98 Paul Pekkonen (1)
4. 84 Tyler Rand (4)
5. 67 Chris Durand (6)
6. 25 Warren Mahoney (5) DNF
BLACK’S TRANSPORT
DASH FOR CASH
(6 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 6n Dain Naida (2)
2. 0 Glenn Styres (1)
3. 5 Keith Dempster (5)
4. 77x Jamie Collard (4)
5. 79 Dick Mahoney (3)
6. 42w Rick Wilson (6) DNS
‘A’ FEATURE
(20 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 11 Chris Jones (2)
2. 5 Keith Dempster (1)
3. 0 Glenn Styres (3)
4. 42w Rick Wilson (8)
5. 6n Dain Naida (4)
6. 77x Jamie Collard (6)
7. 71 Travis Cunningham (10)
8. 30 Adam West (5)
9. 84 Tyler Rand (12)
10. 16k Kyle Wilson (16)
11. 25 Warren Mahoney (19)
12. 10 Bob Crawford (18)
13. 67 Chris Durand (15)
14. 98 Paul Pekkonen (7)
15. 79 Dick Mahoney (9)
16. 2 Brad Lodge (17)
17. 9 Jim Munsie (13) DNF
18. 45x Doug Banks (14) DNF
19. 15aw April Wilson (11) DNF
20. 33j Erin Joyce (20) DNS
Lap Leaders – Jones (1-20)
Stealth Racewear “Under the Radar” Award – 25 Warren Mahoney
Hard Charger – 25 Warren Mahoney (Gained eight positions)
UNOFFICIAL TOP 10 IN POINTS AFTER ROUND #7
Rank. Number Name Total (Positions Gained/Lost)
1. 0 Glenn Styres – 920 (–)
2. 84 Tyler Rand – 876 (–)
3. 5 Keith Dempster – 875 (–)
4. 30 Adam West – 823 (–)
5. 79 Dick Mahoney – 756 (+1)
6. 11 Chris Jones – 753 (+2)
7. 9 Jim Munsie (R) – 752 (-2)
8. 10 Bob Crawford – 700 (-1)
9. 2 Brad Lodge (R) – 690 (–)
10. 42w Rick Wilson – 673 (–)
NEXT SOS EVENT:
“SOS Labour Day Classic” Night #2
Sunday, September 5, 2010
@ Brighton Speedway
Brighton, Ontario
www.BrightonSpeedway.com
www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com