HUNSINGER AND STYRES WIN SATURDAY NIGHT FEATURES AT BRIGHTON

by Tommy Goudge (August 30, 2008) -
A large crowd filled the stands at Brighton Speedway on Saturday night to witness the 6th annual Southern Ontario Sprints Labour Day Classic, with the knowledge that they would see the SOS championship decided at Brighton on Labour Day weekend for the first time ever.  Heading into the evening, Ohsweken's Glenn Styres held a slim 8 point margin in the standings over Warren Mahoney of Lefroy, while Alton driver Keith Dempster and Adam West of Ridgetown were further back, but still in the hunt as well.  With a makeup feature rescheduled for the night after rain halted the program at Brighton on July 12, 3 points-paying features were scheduled for the weekend, creating many possible outcomes in the standings.

The night began with the July 12 makeup feature, with Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Hunsinger and Keith Dempster on the front row to take the green flag from starter Cliff Williams.  Hunsinger quickly jumped out front when the green flag dropped, while Dempster settled into 2nd, and Chris Jones into 3rd.  All eyes were on the machines of title contenders Mahoney and Styres, however, as Mahoney was making his way forward from his starting position outside row 5, while Styres had lost a position to Dick Mahoney and was riding in 7th when the caution flag flew for a spin by Bill Baldwin in turn 3 with 4 laps in the books.

The race restarted with Hunsinger reasserting his lead out front, while Styres and the Mahoneys continued to battle over the 6th position.  Warren Mahoney got by Styres and began to work over his father for the spot while Styres looked for a way around both of them, but disaster struck for Styres with 7 laps complete as he attempted to dive low in turn 4 to pass both Warren and Dick and clipped one of the tractor tire barriers separating the track surface from the infield, which sent the Styres #0 for a spin.  Fortunately for Styres and his crew, the car stayed upright and suffered no damage, but he would have to restart at the rear of the field, putting Mahoney in position to capitalize in the points chase. 

Hunsinger restarted in the lead once again with 13 laps left and Dempster still giving chase, but Rick Wilson had moved around both Jones and Adam West to take the 3rd position and was on the move.  The race was not halted again and quickly reached it's conclusion with Hunsinger keeping a health lead out front while Wilson moved around Dempster for 2nd and Warren Mahoney moved around Dick Mahoney, as well as Jones to take over the 5th position.  Dempster faded in the late going and gave up the 3rd position to Adam West, but held on to 4th ahead of Mahoney.  When the checkered flag fell, it was Hunsinger taking his first career SOS feature win, followed by Wilson, West, Dempster, and Warren Mahoney, while Glenn Styres fought from the tail of the field to finish 8th and minimize the damage in the championship chase.  Styres did however lose the points lead, going from 8 markers ahead to 7 behind, with 2 complete nights of racing left to complete during the weekend, while Dempster and West also gained slightly.

The regularly scheduled feature race for the night began with Derek Jonathan and Dick Mahoney on the front row, but behind them the action got too close between Dave Dykstra and Kyle Wilson.  Dykstra dove low coming out of turn 4 as the field crossed the start/finish line for the first time, and he and Wilson made contact, resulting in damage to both cars and April Wilson and points leader Warren Mahoney were collected in the aftermath.  Mahoney lost his right rear tire in the exchange, but was able to get to the pit area, where his team quickly made a change and got the #25 back on track for the restart, albeit at the rear of the field.

A complete restart saw Jonathan taking the early lead, but 5th starter Glenn Styres was wasting no time getting to the front, and passed the Jonathan #81 before the completion of the 2nd lap while 8th starting Rick Wilson was also making tracks towards the front, and Warren Mahoney was charging from the tail end of the field back into the top 10, along with Chris Jones who had started 18th.  The race went green with Styres out front until the 8th lap, when Ryan Hunsinger spun in turn 2 to bring out a caution flag.

Styres restarted the race in the lead with Rick Wilson, Derek Jonathan, Adam West, and Keith Dempster in tow, while Jones was already up to 6th and looking for more, and Warren Mahoney was up to 9th.  A long period of green flag racing followed, with Styres working his way through lapped traffic and keeping Wilson at bay, while Derek Jonathan continued to keep West behind him, and Mahoney looked to salvage a good finish and keep his championship hopes alive.  Styres took the white flag in the lead with Rick Wilson still giving chase, while Mahoney had worked his way by the machines of Craig Downie and Justin Martin to take over 7th, but a spin by April Wilson brought out a caution flag and bunched the field for a 2-lap dash to the finish.

The lapped machine of Mike Ferrell was between Styres and Wilson for the restart, and although he was able to quickly move around the Ferrell #15, Wilson ran out of time in his attempt to take the feature win away from Styres and settled for 2nd, followed by Jonathan, Jones, and West.  Mahoney made a valiant effort to move up a few more positions before the end of the race, but was nipped at the line by Dempster and settled for 7th.  The win for Styres coupled with the misfortune by Mahoney puts Styres in the points lead by 24 markers heading into the final event of the season on Sunday night, while Dempster is now 38 points behind.

NOTES:
- Heat race victories went to Dick Mahoney, Craig Downie, and Derek Jonathan, while Rick Wilson won the Black's Transport Dash for Cash.  3rd place in the feature was Jonathan's best result in SOS action this season.  The 3rd year driver from Lewiston, NY is on track for his best ever finish in SOS points and still has a shot at a top 5 in the standings heading into the final event of the season tomorrow night.

- A total of 20 cars were in the pits for the 1st of 2 Labour Day Classic nights at Brighton.  Making their first Brighton appearances of the season were Jim Porter, Frank Baranowski, Kyle Wilson, Tim Zack, and Justin Martin, while rookie Dave Dykstra also made his first visit to Brighton in a sprint car.

- Many scenarios are possible in the points chase heading into Sunday night's final points event of the 2008 SOS season.  Glenn Styres lost the points lead in the makeup feature early in the night, but retook command after the second feature, and can claim the championship by finishing 3rd or better in tomorrow night's feature, regardless of heat race results.  The heat races, however, figure to play a part in the outcome of the championship as points are awarded for heat race finishes.

- The makeup feature was run with 1 less car than scheduled as Daryl Turford has left the seat of the #29 and gone on the road with the Sam Hafertepe, Jr. crew in the World of Outlaws series.  Turford is with the team at the Skagit Speedway in Washington this weekend, where Hafertepe finished 23rd in the feature tonight, with 41 cars on hand.  The absence of Turford created an opportunity for Mike Ferrell, however, as the racer from London suffered engine problems at South Buxton earlier in the month which looked to end his season, but was able to take the wheel of the Turford machine to finish out the year.  Unofficially, Ferrell holds a narrow 11 point margin over Craig Downie for 10th in the standings heading into the final event, while Rick Wilson is another 13 markers behind Downie.

RACE REPORT - Saturday, August 30, 2008
SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS 2008 SEASON Event #10
Brighton Speedway - Brighton, Ontario

ENTRIES
0 Glenn Styres - Ohsweken
01 Kyle Wilson - Joyceville
5 Keith Dempster - Alton
5d Dave Dykstra - Port Colborne
7m Justin Martin - St. Thomas
9jr Tim Zack - Dain City
10 Bob Crawford - Sutton
11j Chris Jones - Demorestville
14 Bill Baldwin - Courtice
15 Mike Ferrell - London
15aw April Wilson - Joyceville
22 Jim Porter - Grand Island, NY
25 Warren Mahoney - Lefroy
30 Adam West - Ridgetown
42w Rick Wilson - Joyceville
66 Frank Baranowski - Hamilton
71 Craig Downie - Burlington
77x Ryan Hunsinger - Brantford
79 Dick Mahoney - Newmarket
81 Derek Jonathon - Lewiston, NY

JULY 12 MAKEUP FEATURE
(20 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (1)
2. 42w Rick Wilson (5)
3. 30 Adam West (3)
4. 5 Keith Dempster (2)
5. 25 Warren Mahoney (10)
6. 11j Chris Jones (4)
7. 79 Dick Mahoney (8)
8. 0 Glenn Styres (6)
9. 81 Derek Jonathan (7)
10. 71 Craig Downie (12)
11. 10 Bob Crawford (9)
12. 15 Mike Ferrell (13)
13. 15aw April Wilson (11)
14. 14 Bill Baldwin (14) DNF

Lap Leaders: Hunsinger (1-20)
Hard Charger: W. Mahoney (Gained 5 positions)
Caution Flags: 2 (lap 4, lap 7)

LABOUR DAY CLASSIC WEEKEND, NIGHT #1:
HEAT RACE #1
(8 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 79 Dick Mahoney (2)
2. 30 Adam West (3)
3. 5d Dave Dykstra (6)
4. 7m Justin Martin (7)
5. 15aw April Wilson (5)
6. 9jr Tim Zack (4)
7. 15 Mike Ferrell (1)

HEAT RACE #2
(8 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 71 Craig Downie (2)
2. 01 Kyle Wilson (7)
3. 5 Keith Dempster (5)
4. 25 Warren Mahoney (6)
5. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (3)
6. 66 Frank Baranowski (1)
7. 14 Bill Baldwin (7) DNF

HEAT RACE #3
(8 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 81 Derek Jonathan (1)
2. 42w Rick Wilson (6)
3. 0 Glenn Styres (3)
4. 22 Jim Porter (4)
5. 10 Bob Crawford (2)
6. 11j Chris Jones (5)

Black's Transport Dash For Cash
(4 laps)
1. 42w Rick Wilson (2)
2. 79 Dick Mahoney (1)
3. 01 Kyle Wilson (3)
4. 30 Adam West (4)

'A' FEATURE
(20 laps)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 0 Glenn Styres (5)
2. 42w Rick Wilson (8)
3. 81 Derek Jonathan (1)
4. 11j Chris Jones (18)
5. 30 Adam West (4)
6. 5 Keith Dempster (6)
7. 25 Warren Mahoney (11)
8. 71 Craig Downie (3)
9. 22 Jim Porter (12)
10. 7m Justin Martin (10)
11. 77x Ryan Hunsinger (14)
12. 79 Dick Mahoney (2)
13. 10 Bob Crawford (15)
14. 15 Mike Ferrell (19)
15. 66 Frank Baranowski (17)
16. 9jr Tim Zack (16)
17. 15aw April Wilson (13)
18. 5d Dave Dykstra (7) DNF
19. 01 Kyle Wilson (9) DNF
20. 14 Bill Baldwin (20) DNS

Lap Leaders: Jonathan (1), Styres (2-20)
Hard Charger: Jones (Gained 14 positions)
Caution Flags: 3 (lap 1, lap 8, lap 19)

UNOFFICIAL TOP 5 IN POINTS AFTER ROUND #10
Rank. Number Name Total (positions gained/lost)
1. 0 Glenn Styres 1217 (--)
2. 25 Warren Mahoney 1193 (--)
3. 5 Keith Dempster 1179 (--)
4. 30 Adam West 1146 (--)
5. 10 Bob Crawford 1031 (--)

NEXT SOS EVENT:
August 31, 2008 @ Brighton Speedway - Brighton, Ontario
www.BrightonSpeedway.com
www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com

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Tommy Goudge
media officer
www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com