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DEMPSTER CAPTURES SEASON FINALE AT BRIGHTON

By Clayton Johns

BRIGHTON – The 19th Southern Ontario Sprints championship was on the line Sunday night at Brighton Speedway in the series’ final points night of 2014. Glenn Styres (No.0 Case IH) entered the night with a 65-point lead over Mitch Brown (No.10B Pro Fit Health Club).

Keith Dempster (No.5 Renway Energy) and Jamie Turner (No.11T Hank’s Discount Smokes) brought the 21-car field to life for the final 25-lap main event of the season. Dempster wasted little time building a convincing lead on an icy slick racetrack.

The race was slowed for the first of two cautions on lap two when Mount Hope, Ont.’s Frank Baranowski (No.66 OTR Filters) spun off the track in turn four. The previous night’s winner, Rick Wilson (No.42W Riverside Bar and Grill) went off on the hook with a broken front end. The restart allowed April Wilson (No.15AW FK Rod Ends) to race past Turner in to second while Dempster held the lead.

Despite a very slick track on the second night of back-to-back races at Brighton, a clean race led to a 21-lap green flag run. Dempster encountered lapped traffic and with most drivers running the bottom groove, and April Wilson closed the gap on the leader.

Brown picked his way methodically through the field from his 12th starting position. He sat fourth when Charlie Sandercock (No.57 Bellevue Fabricating) went up in smoke on the frontstretch with 23 laps complete to cause the second caution of the night.

Dempster held two lapped cars between himself and April Wilson for the restart, with Chris Jones (No.11J Jones Automotive) sitting third. Brown made a daring move entering turn three, moving to the high lane and somehow found enough traction to get by both Jones and Wilson for the second position.

Brown ran out of time as Dempster left little doubt about the victory, grabbing the win by over two seconds and running the fastest overall lap of the race. April Wilson’s third-place finish was her best of the year with the SOS.

Styres, Jones, and Cory Turner (No.19 Alliance Concrete) won the qualifying heats.

Southern Ontario Sprints Championship Banquet

The Southern Ontario Sprints championship trophy and specialty awards will be handed out at the series’ annual awards banquet. A date and location have not yet been finalized. For details on the upcoming year-end banquet, stay tuned to www.southernontariosprints.com.

ULTRAMAR CST Labour Day Classic Weekend Night Two presented by Sanderson’s Tire and Automotive

ENTRY LIST (21 Entries)

0 Glenn Styres – Ohsweken, Ont.
01 Kyle Fraser – White Lake, Ont.
2 Brad Lodge – Stouffville, Ont.
5 Keith Dempster – Alton, Ont.
9 Jim Munsie – Pickering, Ont.
9NZ Havard Daniels – Auckland, NZ
10B Mitch Brown – Brantford, Ont.
10C Bob Crawford – Sutton, Ont.
11J Chris Jones – Picton, Ont.
11T Jamie Turner – Caistor Centre, Ont.
15 Mike Ferrell – London, Ont.
15AW April Wilson – Joyceville, Ont.
19 Cory Turner – Caistor Centre, Ont.
25 Warren Mahoney – Lefroy, Ont.
42W Rick Wilson – Joyceville, Ont.
57 Charlie Sandercock – Carrying Place, Ont.
66 Frank Baranowski – Mount Hope Ont.
67 Chris Durand – Port Stanley, Ont.
71s Shawn Sliter – Port Colborne, Ont.
84 Tyler Rand – Picton, Ont.
98 Paul Pekkonen – Brockville, Ont.

RESULTS

Southern Ontario Sprints A-Main (21 Entries – 25 Laps) [Starting Position]: 1. 5 Keith Dempster [1], 2. 10B Mitch Brown [12], 3. 15AW April Wilson [5], 4. 11J Chris Jones [3], 5. 01 Kyle Fraser [4], 6. 0 Glenn Styres [9], 7. 19 Cory Turner [6], 8. 11T Jamie Turner [2], 9. 67 Chris Durand [7], 10. 10C Bob Crawford [13], 11. 84 Tyler Rand [10], 12. 98 Paul Pekkonen [15], 13. 25 Warren Mahoney [11], 14. 71s Shawn Sliter [18], 15. 2 Brad Lodge [17], 16. 15 Mike Ferrell [16], 17. 9NZ Havard Daniels [14], 18. 9 Jim Munsie [21], 19. 66 Frank Baranowski [20], 20. 57 Charlie Sandercock [8], 21. 42W Rick Wilson [19].

HEAT 1 (8 Laps – Top 3 Redraw)

1. 0 Glenn Styres, 2. 57 Charlie Sandercock, 3. 5 Keith Dempster, 4. 84 Tyler Rand, 5. 10C Bob Crawford, 6. 15 Mike Ferrell, 7. 42W Rick Wilson.

HEAT 2 (8 Laps – Top 3 Redraw)

1. 19 Cory Turner, 2. 67 Chris Durand, 3. 11T Jamie Turner, 4. 25 Warren Mahoney, 5. 9NZ Havard Daniels, 6. 2 Brad Lodge, 7. 66 Frank Baranowski.

HEAT 3 (8 Laps – Top 3 Redraw)

1. 11J Chris Jones, 2. 15AW April Wilson, 3. 01 Kyle Fraser, 4. 10B Mitch Brown, 5. 98 Paul Pekkonen, 6. 71S Shawn Sliter, 7. 9 Jim Munsie.

Southern Ontario Sprints Wingless Dash (7 Entries – 15 Laps): 1. 98 Paul Pekkonen, 2. 15AW April Wilson, 3. 11J Chris Jones, 4. 25 Warren Mahoney, 5. 01 Kyle Fraser, 6. 25M Dick Mahoney, 7. 67 Chris Durand.

The Southern Ontario Sprints 2014 season is proudly presented by Speedway Motors, Wiseco Pistons, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, Imagefactor.ca Motorsport Designs and Photography, Kreitz Oval Track Parts, Canadian Motorsports Expo, Sanderson’s Tire and Automotive, and OnDirtRacingNews.com.

Find the Southern Ontario Sprints online at www.southernontariosprints.com.
For live updates, race results and more, follow the SOS on Twitter @SOSsprints.
Find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SouthernOntarioSprints.

Photos courtesy of Rod Henderson, www.canadianracer.com.

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