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NEWS HEADLINES :. |
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SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS RETURN TO OHSWEKEN THIS FRIDAY NIGHT |
by Tommy Goudge (July 15, 2008) – A tradition which began in 1996 continues this Friday, July 18 at Ohsweken Speedway when the Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel presents Round 6 of the Southern Ontario Sprints 2008 season. Joining the SOS tour for the evening will be 3 of Ohsweken's regular Friday Night Thunder divisions, including the ESSO Thunder Stocks, ESSO Mini-Stocks, and Friday Night Fun Stocks, while many of the weekly Corr/Pak Merchandising Sprint Car division competitors will also be in attendance to defend home turf against the traveling SOS drivers.
Ohsweken Speedway co-owner and weekly Corr/Pak competitor Glenn Styres is also the defending Southern Ontario Sprints tour champion, and currently stands tied in for the SOS points lead with Chris Jones of Demorestville, Ontario as the series heads back to Ohsweken. Much has changed at Ohsweken and with the SOS since the dusty Sunday afternoon in June 1996 when Michigan driver Jerry Whitney won the first sprint car event held at Ohsweken, which was also the second event in SOS history. More than 60 SOS-sanctioned events have been held at Ohsweken since that time, with Kyle Patrick of Tilbury the most recent SOS winner at Ohsweken, as he took home feature honours last September, while Rick Wilson and Keith Dempster also took SOS feature wins at Ohsweken last season. Dempster currently leads the Corr/Pak sprint car division standings by just 5 markers over rookie teammate Ryan Hunsinger, followed by Kevin Job, Glenn Styres, and Bob Crawford. In the SOS standings, Styres and Jones who are tied at the top, followed by Adam West, Warren Mahoney, and Dempster, with Crawford 6th.
In ESSO Thunder Stock action, Terry Osmond of Cambridge took home his 2nd feature win of the season last week after a tech infraction resulted in the disqualification of original winner Bernard Neiberg. Current points leader Cody McPherson has 5 Thunder Stock feature wins at Ohsweken this season and appeared to be well on his way to win number 6 on Friday night before a flat tire ended his race. Jeremy Bean was late getting out this year, but is making up for lost time, as he charged from 16th on the grid to a 2nd place finish on Friday night after starting 16th and finishing 6th during his first action of the season 2 weeks ago. Ryan Dinning sits 2nd in points behind McPherson, but was not able to capitalize on McPherson's misfortune last week as he failed to finish the feature race as well. Osmond is currently 3rd in the standings, followed by Glen Leinen and and June 27 winner Brian Pescetti.
Abel Castelein survived a wild ESSO Mini Stock feature race last Friday night and came home with his first feature win at Ohsweken since opening night in May, extending his points lead to 48 over Rick Emberson in the process. Emberson's season may be over, unfortunately, as his #86 was severly damaged in a spectacular rollover on Friday night. Emberson emerged uninjured, but is unsure if he will be able to compete during the 2nd half of the season. Despite a disqualification earlier in the season, Mitchell Brown has made his way back into 3rd in points, and finished 2nd to Castelein last Friday. Kevin Hilborn sits 4th in the standings, followed by Mark Thorne, who dropped all the way to 5th in the standings after an unfortunate DNF 18th place finish on Friday. A heavy crash involving Mike Evers, A.J. Castelein, and Rick Haimerl on Friday night ended with A.J. making a precautionary trip to the hospital, and Ohsweken fans will be glad to hear that he is doing fine, and in fact was planning to compete at Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night before rain canceled the action! A.J. plans to be back in action at Ohsweken next week during the World of Outlaws Sprint Car events.
The Friday Night Fun Stocks division has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few weeks, and the division's best feature race of the season entertained the fans last Friday night. Karl Sault was able to hold on for an emotional victory on Friday night after fighting off the challenges of Jesse McDonald and Trevor Deboer late in the event. Karl's father David passed away last week, and Karl was able to take a memorial victory lap for his father after visiting victory lane. In the points standings, Lee Hils leads Chris Hils by just 2 markers, followed by the team of Sault/Ron Larkin, Jr., Steven Hils, and Kacey Huffman.
Advanced reserved seat tickets for the World of Outlaws events on Tuesday, July 22 and Wednesday, July 23 are still available. All the stars of the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car series return to Ohsweken for 2 separate full points-paying race nights, culminating in the 2nd Annual 6 Nations Showdown on Wednesday, July 23. The broadcast crew from Speed Channel will be on hand each night to record every lap for broadcast on the following 2 weekends. Advanced reserved seat tickets for each night remain available. Visit www.OhswekenSpeedway.com and call 1-888-720-RACE to reserve your seat!
Ohsweken Speedway Friday Night Thunder resumes this Friday, July 18 when Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel presents the Southern Ontario Sprints, with the ESSO Thunder Stocks, ESSO Mini-Stocks, and Friday Night Fun Stocks, plus autograph night! Friday Night Thunder at Ohsweken offers affordable family entertainment just a short drive away from most Mid-Western Ontario locations. Friday Night Thunder Adult General Admission is $10, while Seniors and Students are $8, and Kids age 12 and under are FREE! Please visit HYPERLINK http://www.OhswekenSpeedway.com for more information. Spectator gates open @ 6:00p.m., with the first race taking the green flag at 7:45p.m. this Friday, July 18!
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CORR/PAK
SPRINT CARS
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Final
2008 Standings |
| 1. |
5 |
Keith
Dempster |
939 |
| 2. |
35 |
Jared
Zimbardi |
-3 |
| 3. |
77x |
Ryan
Hunsinger |
-6 |
| 4. |
21x |
Kevin
Job |
-17 |
| 5. |
0 |
Glenn
Styres |
-23 |
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ESSO
THUNDER
STOCKS
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Final
2008 Standings |
| 1. |
777 |
Cody
McPherson |
794 |
| 2. |
8 |
Ryan
Dinning |
-196 |
| 3. |
9 |
Glen
Leinen |
-233 |
| 4. |
17 |
Rob
Disher |
-289 |
| 5. |
3 |
Brad
Bacher |
-307 |
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ESSO
MINI
STOCKS
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Final
2008 Standings |
| 1. |
28 |
Abel
Castelein |
630 |
| 2. |
10 |
Mitchell
Brown |
-70 |
| 3. |
86 |
Rick
Emberson |
-76 |
| 4. |
72 |
Kevin
Hilborn |
-96 |
| 5. |
397 |
Brent
Hill |
-118 |
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FUN
STOCKS
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Final
2008 Standings |
| 1. |
181 |
Lee
Hils |
692 |
| 2. |
818 |
Chris
Hils |
-66 |
| 3. |
81 |
Sault/Larkin
Jr. |
-68 |
| 4. |
72 |
Mike
Taylor |
-276 |
| 5. |
13 |
Kacey
Huffman |
-310 |
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Check
out Lap Times at: |
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