Stewart Sweeps Can-Am Challenge For $5,000 Payday
Bixby, Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart has made a habit of coming to Canada and
taking the money in high profile races and this past weekend was no
different as Stewart steered the Scott McClaren owned #21 into the lead
on lap 13 and never looked back on his way to a $5,000 payday in the
Southern Ontario Sprints (SOS) season opening Can-Am Challenge at
Autodrome Granby.
Quebec racer Alain Bergeron delighted the hometown crowd as he blasted
into the lead at the outset of the Saturday night finale. Stewart
pressured Bergeron early in the event and made the winning pass on lap
13 and then held off Montrose, New York racer Justin Barger to score yet
another prestigious win on Canadian soil.
The Saturday night finale was preceded by twin, 15 lap features on
Friday evening. The winner of each event was guaranteed a top 10
starting position in the Saturday night main event. Michigan invader
Dain Naida won the first feature while Stewart got his weekend started
off on the right foot by capturing the second feature.
Naida captured the opening Friday night feature after surviving several
late race restarts and keeping teammate Jamie Collard at bay throughout
the entire 15 lap affair. Stewart let everyone know he would be a force
to be reckoned with as he dominated the closing feature taking the win
comfortably over 2011 Southern Ontario Sprints runner up Travis Cunningham.
While several former SOS regulars competed in The Can-Am Challenge there
were 4 teams that registered with the series as 2012 SOS competitors.
2011 SOS champion Lee Ladouceur, championship contender Chris Jones,
Chris Durand and SOS President Mike Ferrell represented The SOS with
strong performances throughout the week.
Ladouceur got off to a slow start as he was involved in a crash on
Friday night. “General Lee” was back in action Saturday night and made
the feature race but mechanical gremlins forced The 2011 SOS champ to
pull pit side late in the feature event. Jones charged to a 4th place
finish on Friday night and once again qualified for the feature Saturday
night earning a respectable 13th place finish. Durand finished 8th on
Friday night in his feature and actually crossed the line in the B Main
in a qualifying position for the Saturday night finale but a crash after
he crossed the finish line prevented him from competing in the main
event. Following a 3 year hiatus Ferrell returned to the cockpit of his
#15 and was able to crack the top 10 on his preliminary night with a 9th
place run however motor troubles would keep him out of action on
Saturday night.
The SOS championship chase will now head west for a return to Brighton
Speedway this Saturday, May 19th. The tight bull ring has hosted SOS
events since 1997 and has become a cornerstone of the series. In
addition to Ladouceur, Jones, Durand and Ferrell there will be a
competitive field that will include several big names including local
heroes Rick and April Wilson who will no doubt receive a challenge from
several top SOS competitors including 2-time SOS champion Warren
Mahoney, cagey veteran Bob Crawford, ageless racer Dick Mahoney, Jim
Munsie, 3rd year sprint car racer Brad Lodge and Doug Banks.
2012 SOS Event #1
Autodromme Granby – Granby, Quebec
SOS Entries (4 cars)
(Number Name – Hometown)
15 Mike Ferrell - London
51 Lee Ladouceur – Alexandria
67 Chris Durand – Port Stanley
11 Chris Jones – Picton
Saturday Night Heat Races
HEAT RACE #1 TRANSFERS
1st-Alain Bergeron
2nd-Lance Yonge
3rd-Glenn Styres
4th-Dale Gosselin
HEAT RACE #2 TRANSFERS
1st-Shane Stewart
2nd-Bryan Howland
3rd-Keith Dempster
4th-Jason Barney
HEAT RACE #3 TRANSFERS
1st-Kevin Loveys
2nd-Jared Zimbardi
3rd-Jamie Collard
4th-Patrick Vineault
HEAT RACE #4 TRANSFERS
1st-Shawn Donath
2nd-Michael Parent
3rd-Justin Barger
4th-Matt Tanner
B MAIN RESULTS (Top 12 Qualified for A Feature)
1st-Jeff Cook
2nd-Joe Trenca
3rd-Chris Jones
4th-Kayle Robidoux
5th-Anthony Cain
6th-Paul Kinney
7th-Travis Cunningham
8th-Etienne Girard
9th-Mitchell Brown
10th-Lee Ladouceur
11th-Devin Caron
12th-Chris Durand
13th-Dan Douville
14th-Dylan Swiernik
15th-Donald Lemire
16th-Tyler Rand
17th-Mike Ferrell
CAN-AM CHALLENGE $5,000 TO WIN A MAIN RESULTS
1st-Shane Stewart
2nd-Justin Barger
3rd-Alain Bergeron
4th-Lance Yonge
5th-Bryan Howland
6th-Jamie Collard
7th-Kevin Loveys
8th-Jeff Cook
9th-Shawn Donath
10th-Paul Kinney
11th-Patrick Vineault
12th-Glenn Styres
13th-Jared Zimbardi
14th-Chris Jones
15th-Dale Gosselin
16th-Etienne Girard
17th-Joe Trenca
18th-Kayle Robidoux
19th-Devin Caron
20th-Dain Naida
21st-Anthony Cain
22nd-Matt Tanner
23rd-Lee Ladouceur
24th-Mitchell Brown
25th-Keith Dempster
26th-Travis Cunningham
27th-Jason Barney
28th-Michael Parent
The Southern Ontario Sprints would like to thank their 2012 partners:
Wiseco Pistons, XXX Race Co., Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, The Racer’s
Edge, The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, ImageFactor.ca,
Kreitz Oval Track Parts and Ontario Oval.com
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www.southernontariosprints.com
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