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For
Immediate Release – Ken Pelkie, SOS Public
Relations
The 11th season of the Southern Ontario
Sprints is now etched in the history books
after the final leg of the 2006 tour was run
at Ohsweken Speedway Friday night. Attention
was focused on the tightest point battle in
the
club's existence; Warren Mahoney held a slim
lead over Bob Crawford and Glenn Styres with
the "Rookie of the Year" battle also
contending for fourth and fifth on the overall
docket. With all eyes on the point battle,
defending champion Adam West turned in a
dominating performance in his J & J
chassis to easily outdistance the rest of the
field while reminding everyone that he is a
force to be reckoned with. "The car was
just so good tonight" exclaimed an
excited Adam West as he exited the car in
victory lane. "You could just drive it
anywhere you wanted and it stuck" he went
on. "We have had problems getting the car
to work the way we want it all year but lately
it has been turning around" he went on.
With 24 cars lined up in the
"Invitational" Championship event,
Brad Malloy and Jeff Daniels led the pack to
the green flag. Malloy quickly jumped out to
an early lead as the first circuit was
completed with Jeff Daniels and Joe Middlemiss
in tow. Middlemiss darted inside Daniels and
pulled along side Malloy as the two crossed
the finish line at completion of the second
circuit with Middlemiss gaining the top spot
as the duo exited turn two on the third
circuit. Daniels, Craig Downie, and Bob
Crawford completed the top five at the end of
lap three. By lap seven, West was beginning to
make his presence felt as he moved into the
third spot, up from his original twelfth
starting position. By lap nine he was second
and made a successful bid for the lead on lap
eleven. Middlemiss continued the chase but was
no match for the lightning fast West as he
collected the checkers with a commanding
straight away lead over Middlemiss. Rick
Wilson, Bob Crawford, and Keith Dempster
rounded out the top five in the 25 lap
championship affair. Glenn
Styres finished sixth while Jamie Collard,
Kevin Job, Warren Mahoney, and Jeff Daniels
completed seventh through tenth. With his
ninth place finish, Warren Mahoney became the
2006 Southern Ontario Sprint Champion with Bob
Crawford falling short by a mere nineteen
points. Neither the first or second place
drivers notched a feature win during the
season but their consistency kept them in the
championship chase throughout the season.
Rookie of the Year honours went to fourth
place finisher in the final point tally, Joe
Middlemiss over Kevin Job and Brad Malloy. The
race was slowed only once as the red flag flew
on lap 22 when Craig Downie jumped a wheel and
flipped off turn three. Downie emerged from
his Ford powered racer with a head ache but
otherwise unharmed.
Heat races were won by Brad MALLOY, Joe
MIDDLEMISS, Rick WILSON and Adam WEST while
Jamie COLLARD claimed the "B".
On track activity concludes up next weekend as
many of the SOS regulars are set to do battle
with the best in the north-east as Ohsweken
Speedway hosts the second annual
"Canadian Sprint Car Nationals".
Twenty six cars will go thirty laps for a pay
cheque of over Six Thousand Dollars in cash
and prizes next Saturday night. Gates will
open at 3:00PM with time trials scheduled for
5:30PM.
The next order of business for the Southern
Ontario Sprints will be the election of a new
slate of officers to be held in October along
with the annual rules meeting. Then the
champion will be officially crowned on
November 11th when teams and fans gather at
the Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel in Niagara
Falls for the annual Awards Banquet.
For all of the latest news and information on
the Southern Ontario Sprints be sure to log on
to the official website at
www.southernontariosprints.com.
Results: 29 cars in Pit
Heat #1
1/ 5m - Brad MALLOY 2/ 10 - Bob CRAWFORD
3/ 71 - Craig DOWNIE 4/ 94 - Stan ZANCHIN
5/ 0 - Glenn STYRES 6/ 37 - Jamie COLLARD
7/ 24 - Bob McDONALD 8/ 11x - Fred PIGEON (DNF)
Heat #2
1/ 11m - Joe MIDDLEMISS 2/ 21j - John
BURBRIDGE
3/ 7 - Jim PRICE 4/ 21x - Kevin JOB
5/ 10m - Rob MIDDLEMISS 6/ 83 - James
WHITTAKER
7/ 8 - Brian LEE
Heat #3
1/ 42w - Rick WILSON 2/ 20 - Jeff DANIELS
3/ 25 - Warren MAHONEY 4/ 1a - John RIEGLING
5/ 79 - Dick MAHONEY 6/ 93 (29) - Daryl
TURFORD
7/ 33 - Jim PORTER (DNS)
Heat #4
1/ 30 - Adam WEST 2/ 21 - Tim PHILLIPS
3/ 32 - Keith DEMPSTER 4/ 17 - Gary EVANS
5/ 26 - John WATSON 6/ 9JR - Tim ZACK
7/ 15aw - April WILSON
"B" MAIN
1/ 37 - Jamie COLLARD 2/ 33 - Jim PORTER
3/ 11X - Fred PIGEON 4/ 93 (29) - Daryl
TURFORD
5/ 24 - Bob McDONALD 6/ 83 - James WHITTAKER
7/ 15aw - James WHITTAKER 8/ 9jr - Tim ZACK
9/ 8 - Brian LEE
"A" MAIN
1/ 30 - Adam WEST (12) 2/ 11m - Joe MIDDLEMISS
(6)
3/ 42w - Rick WILSON (11) 4/ 10 - Bob CRAWFORD
(5)
5/ 32 - Keith DEMPSTER (8) 6/ 0 - Glenn STYRES
(17)
7/ 37 - Jamie COLLARD (21) 8/ 21x - Kevin JOB
(14)
9/ 25 - Warren MAHONEY (7) 10/ 20 - Jeff
DANIELS (2)
11/ 5m - Brad MALLOY (1) 12/ 11x - Fred PIGEON
(23)
13/ 79 - Dick MAHONEY (19) 14/ 21 - Tim
PHILLIPS (3)
15/ 21J - John BURBRIDGE (9) 16/ 1a - John
RIEGLING (15) 17/ 33 - Jim PORTER (22) 18/ 7 -
Jim PRICE (10)
19/ 94 - Stan ZANCHIN (13) 20/ 10m - Joe
MIDDLEMISS (18) 21/ 26 - John WATSON (20) 22/
93(29) - Daryl TURFORD (24) 23/ 71 - Craig
DOWNIE (4) DNF 24/ 17 - Gary EVANS (16) DNF
Unofficial Points after SEPTEMBER 8th:
1 Warren Mahoney 1891
2 Bob Crawford 1872
3 Glenn Styres 1853
4 Joe Middlemiss 1758
5 Kevin Job 1732
KENETIC Photos Hard Charger after SEPT 8th:
1 Glenn Styres 72
2 Warren Mahoney 71
2 Rick Wilson 68
4 Kevin Job 55
5 Bob Crawford 50
Post Race Awards:
Ohsweken Speedway Winners Bonus - Adam West
Grisdale Racing Products - Daryl Turford
Leaf Racewear - Jamie Collard
Kenetic Photos Hard Charger - Jamie Collard
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