From the SOS
London, ON — (December 10, 2012) – The seventeenth season of Southern Ontario Sprints competition came to a conclusion on Saturday, November 24th as the club honoured 2012 champion Lee Ladouceur at the annual SOS awards banquet held, once again this season, at the Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel in Niagara Falls.
An energetic group of racers, friends and family gathered together for an enjoyable evening and to salute the top 15 in 2012 SOS points who took home point fund money and sponsor products. Special achievements and awards were also presented to:
Four Wide Photos Best Appearing Car Award – Bob Crawford
Klotz Canada Hard Charger Award – Lee Ladouceur
Wiseco Piston Perfect Attendance – Mike Ferrell
Dave MacLeod Mechanic of the Year Award – Sebastien Chabot
The Club Founders Rookie of the Year Award – Charlie Sandercock
2012 Southern Ontario Sprints championship standings 15th to 11th were:
15th – Bob Crawford #10
14th – Dick Mahoney #79
13th – Glenn Styres #0
12th – Brad Lodge #2
11th – Frank Baranowski #66
The Top Ten in 2012 Southern Ontario Sprints Points were:
10th – Jim Munsie #9 The 2010 Rookie of the year had a steady season in 2012 with a top ten finish on May 19th at Brighton Speedway. “The Ol’ Buzzard” is already hard at work for next season and is looking forward to big things for 2013.
9th – Mike Ferrell #15 After a three year hiatus from competition, the SOS President returned to the drivers seat in 2012 and competed in every event on the schedule.
8th – Charlie Sandercock #57 A local stand out in the Late Model field at Brighton Speedway, Charlie Sandercock tried his hand at sprint car racing for the first time in 2012 and showed that he was equally adept at driving without fenders. Charlie won a heat race at the July 14th Brighton Speedway race in front of the home town crowd, had 5 top ten finishes for the year and took home the 2012 SOS Rookie trophy.
7th – Chris Durand #67 Chris started off the year strong with a 3rd place finish at Brighton Speedway May 19th but suffered an up and down season with some trouble at Ohsweken Speedway mid season. Chris came back strong and finished the year with a pair of 6th place finishes Labour Day weekend and looks to be a contender for 2013.
6th – Rick Wilson #42w The Southern Ontario Sprints winning-est driver continued to add to his total this season with 2 wins at Brighton Speedway. “The Joyceville Jet” has won at least 1 SOS feature each season since 2001, the longest streak of any SOS driver.
5th – Warren Mahoney #25 The all time SOS points leader with 22,496 points, “Wiley” Warren started with his season up in the air, literally as he did a tail tank spin May 19th at Brighton Speedway. But he settled in for the long haul to take home a heat race win and 5th place in the championship standings. Warren will also replace his father Dick in the position of Vice-President after being voted in for 2013.
4th – Adam West #30 After finishing outside of the top ten in 2011, the 2005 SOS Champion came back strong with 2 top fives, 4 top tens and 2 heat race wins in 2012 to finish 4th. “Batman” hopes to have more strong finishes in the 2013 season as he goes for a second championship.
3rd – Dain Naida #07x Hailing all the way from Tecumseh, Michigan, Dain had a very successful year driving the 07x for Hill’s Racing. With 2 feature wins in 2012 at Brighton Speedway and 7 top ten finishes, Dain had a very strong season with the Southern Ontario Sprints.
2nd – Keith Dempster #5 The 2000 and 2002 SOS Champion competed once again with the SOS driving for Styres Racing in 2012. A steady performance all season with 1 top five and 5 top ten finishes led Keith to the runner up spot in the championship. 2013 will surely see the former champ looking to add to his win total on his way to regaining the top spot.
2012 Champion – Lee Ladouceur #51 In 2011 Lee Ladouceur came to race with the SOS and quickly made a name for himself as a top driver and consistent finisher. Hard work and determination won him the 2011 Championship. 2012 saw the continuation of that hard work and driving talent rewarded with back to back championship seasons; only the second time in 17 seasons that a champion has been able to successfully defend the title. Sebastien Chabot, the chief mechanic on the 51 team, was awarded the Dave MacLeod Mechanic of the Year Award for 2012. Congratulations to the 2012 SOS Champion Lee, Donna and their team. The SOS looks forward to Lee’s defense of the title in 2013.
Also recognized and thanked for their support and contributions to the Southern Ontario Sprints in 2012 were:
Web Site/Media – Greg Calnan, Mike Dougherty
Competition Director – Cliff Williams
Pit Steward – Loree Ferrell
Track Marshall & Crew – Neil McKay, Bill Mansbridge
Tech Inspector – Neil McKay
Merchandise – Judy & Ron Ferrell, Hailey Sanderson
50/50 – Andrea West, Kathy West, Aric West
2012 SOS Venues – Autodrome Granby, Brighton Speedway, Ohsweken Speedway, South Buxton Raceway
2012 Tour Sponsors – Wiseco, Klotz Canada, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, Image Factor, Sanderson’s Tire & Automotive
2012 Board of Directors – Ed Lodge, Bob Crawford, Warren Mahoney, Adam West
2012 Executive – Helen Brown, Loree Ferrell, Mike Ferrell, Dick Mahoney
The conclusion of the 2012 season saw Helen Brown and Dick Mahoney retire from the club’s executive board after 13 years of service to the club. In their honour a brick will be inscribed at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. The club wishes Dick and Helen all the best and thanks them for their years of service.
Elections held at the annual general meeting prior to the banquet saw some new faces elected to the board of directors for 2013. The SOS welcomes Warren Mahoney as Vice-President, Andrea West as Treasurer and Frank Baranowski and Lee Ladouceur to the Board of Directors.
The SOS club would like to thank the competitors, fans, officials and everyone else involved for making 2012 a great season. Work has already begun for the 2013 season with the club working on scheduling and sponsorship opportunities to make next season a fantastic summer of sprint car racing across Ontario. Stay tuned to www.southernontariosprints.com for news over the off season and we’ll see you at the races in 2013!
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