"Hot January Nights?"
Many people were surprised by the amount of spectators who turned up for the event, and while the official press release claim that there were 3,000 people there is probably a bit of an overestimation, it is not unreasonable to suggest that between 2,000 - 2,500 were in attendance. The event was far from perfect of course - indoor racing is by nature imperfect, and this event especially so because it had never been done before. Next time, if there is a next time, there are certainly many issues to address and improvements made, but for a first time, it came together quite nicely. The track was very small, there was not much room in the pits, and the building was dusty and smoky, but it was fun, it was racing, and if asked, most who attended would say they enjoyed every minute of it.
Speaking of those who attended, it was a rather interesting crowd that turned up; a virtual who's who of present day Ontario short track open wheel racing, and a few blasts from the past as well. Aside from the requisite huge group of Micro Sprint folks from tracks like Wonderland Speedway, Ohsweken Speedway, and Grand Bend Speedway, at least two Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees, Supermodified legends Warren Coniam and Harvey Lennox, were in attendance. There was also a large contingent of Southern Ontario Sprints club members, drivers, officials and team members, including 2004 Southern Ontario Sprints champ Cody Geldart (not too far removed from micro sprints himself) and SOS club President Peter Turford. Ryan Coniam, Warren's son, and a good racer in his own right, was there, as was a good portion of the Sammut Racing Supermodified team, to say nothing of 2001 ISMA Supermodified Champ Dave McKnight, who was actually competing in the event along with Can-Am Midget regulars like Andy, Craig, and Tyler Mackereth (and their legendary Supermodified racer father Norm who was taking video from the stands), and Jeff Riberdy. Conspicuous by his absence was Ryan Litt, whose picture was actually displayed on the promotional posters for the event, but he had good reason for not being there - he had a ride in a USAC Ford Focus Midget at another indoor event at DuQuoin, Illinois.
The racing action was hot and heavy at times, with lots of contact and lapped traffic because of the tight nature of the track. Good car control was definitely the key to having good results, as quite a few drivers found and exceeded the limits of their cars and skills during the evening, on a challenging track that was actually a little bit too tacky, and then got oiled down during the TQ feature. Jamie Cox, a regular Modified competitor at Delaware Speedway, won the 440cc Micro Sprint Kart class feature, Dan Lamers won the Outlaw Micro feature, and Andy Mackereth won the TQ Midget feature. It was a fun and memorable night....let us hope it wasn't the last...
The 2005 Southern Ontario Sprints 10th Anniversary schedule was released recently, and it looks much like last year's, with a few additions. The two notable additions are; the addition of a June event at the South Buxton Raceway, bringing the number of SOS events at the Chatham-area track to two, and a return to the Humberstone Speedway (formerly Gasport) which was closed last season. The Humberstone event should be quite interesting as the historic Port Colbourne track has been totally redone with hundreds of truckloads of new dirt and the high banks have been put back in the corners, so it will be a whole new ballgame for everybody. The event is scheduled for the Sunday of Victoria Day weekend in May.
As discussed last month, the Canadian Sprint Car Championships (now Nationals) event is no longer an SOS sanctioned event, instead being an Ohsweken Speedway-run event with affiliate sanctions. So far 4 area sprint car clubs have signed on as affiliates for the event - the Michigan-based Sprints on Dirt, the New York-based Patriot Sprint Group and Empire Super Sprint clubs, and of course the Southern Ontario Sprints club which calls Ohsweken it's home. In place of the old championship race, the SOS has created a new 'Invitational' race to decide the points championship and officially end the SOS season, which will take place on Sept. 16 - the night before the Canadian Nationals. The catch is that only drivers who have competed in at least one event at a minimum of three SOS tracks are eligible to compete in the Invitational race, which will feature a larger purse than a regular SOS event. This is a great idea, which will reward the loyal teams who support the SOS all season long, should make for higher car counts at all four of the tracks on this year's SOS schedule, and should encourage a large SOS contingent to enter the Canadian Nationals the next day. Most importantly for the fans, this will provide two major events held on back to back nights at the same track.
The 2005 Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Super Sprints schedule has not yet been released, but some dates have already been confirmed. Most notable for Canadian fans is the news that the AVSS will hold an event at Delaware Speedway, a paved half mile just outside of London, Ontario on Friday, May 20. Unfortunately this event coincides with an already scheduled SOS event at Ohsweken Speedway on the same night, but it is still good news nonetheless. It also begs this question; when was the last time two sprint car events were held in Southern Ontario on the same night, if ever?
The AVSS last held events in Southern Ontario during the 2002 season, when a two-race Canadian weekend was on the schedule, Friday at Delaware, and Saturday at the historic Flamboro Speedway near Hamilton. The AVSS also held an event at Delaware in 2001. If memory serves, Gary Fedewa was the winner of both AVSS events held at Delaware, 2004 AVSS co-champion Bill Tyler won the only event ever held at Flamboro, and Rick Baker holds the sprint car time trial record at both tracks. Local fans will see a different face in victory lane at Delaware as the legendary Fedewa recently announced his retirement from racing. Rumour has it that Gary's son Tommy, the 2003 AVSS champion, will take over the reigns of the famous #42. Flamboro and the Kawartha Speedway near Peterborough are listed along with Delaware on the AVSS website links page, fueling speculation that a Kawartha/Flamboro weekend, most likely sometime in August, could also be in the cards for the Michigan-based, pavement-only, winged 410 sprint car series.
Local fans could have some hometown drivers to root for when the AVSS comes to town. Mount Brydges, Ontario's Mike Ling, a former SOS driver and winner of 8 SOS feature events, has been a regular on the AVSS circuit for the past four seasons, won (at least) 4 features during that time, and was the 2000 AVSS Rookie of the Year. The aforementioned Ryan Litt, from Lyons, Ontario, will be competing in all 13 of the USAC National Sprint Car series pavement events, and most likely will also strap a wing on the #07 and go AVSS racing on off weekends. Burlington's Ryan Coniam, another SOS alumnus, will be running about 40 dirt sprint car events with his own team based out of All Star champion Chad Kemenah's shop in Ohio, but Coniam is looking for an AVSS ride as well.
"Odds n' Ends"
....The Victoria Day long weekend in May is looking like it's going to be a lot of fun for race fans in Southern Ontario, with AVSS at Delaware and SOS at Ohsweken on the Friday, a variety of options on Saturday night, the SOS back in action on Sunday at Humberstone, and the annual Victoria Day events on the holiday Monday at Merrittville Speedway, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Humberstone. There are quite a few nice conservation areas and provincial parks in the areas around Ohsweken, Humberstone, and Merrittville, which could provide fans with a good, inexpensive way to spend the weekend race chasin'..
....Excuse me for a moment while I do a little bit of shameless self-promoting: I've taken on the duty of doing press releases for Ryan Litt. Keep tabs on the teenage racer's run at 2005 USAC National Sprint car Rookie of the Year and other events and news on his website, www.RyanLitt.com. At his most recent event at the brand new Southern Illinois Centre indoor midget races, he finished a respectable 4th...
...With two nights of action at East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa in the books, Florida Speedweeks are officially underway, and once again this year, Ontario fans have some hometown drivers and teams to root for in the star-studded fields. Current SOS Series Champion, Mossley's Cody Geldart, is competing in the 360 events, and he'll stay around to run in the 410 races as well, including some All Star and World of Outlaws events. Ohsweken's Glenn Styres, the 2003 SOS Champion and 2004 runner-up, will also be competing in the Winternationals. After a great showing last year, he is returning and has the current, and 3 time defending, All Star 410 Champion Chad Kemenah as a team mate driving Styres' second sprinter. Styres may make his inaugural start in a 410 car during his time in Florida. Also making the trip south are both the 2003 and 2004 SOS Rookies of the Year, Kyle Patrick from Tilbury, and Jack Pillon from Belle River. After two nights of action, all have made at least one 'A' feature, and Kemenah, driving the Ohsweken Speedway/Esso #15k, set fast time on the first night and has 5th and 8th place finishes to his credit. To keep tabs on our local teams' results, check out www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com....
...The 2005 Sprints on Dirt schedule has been officially released and of special interest to Ontario fans is the news that the SOD/SOS "Can-Am Challenge" events are back again this year, although slightly different this time around. Unlike last season, which saw some SOS cars heading to Owendale, MI for an SOD sanctioned event, and the following week some SOD cars heading to Ohsweken, Ontario for an SOS sanctioned show, both events will take place on Canadian soil this year. The Challenge will consist of an SOS sanctioned event at South Buxton Raceway on June 18, and an SOD sanctioned event at the Ohsweken Speedway on August 26, with a special point fund set up for the two race mini-series...
....In other South Buxton news, The 2005 All Star Circuit of Champions schedule has been released, and it appears that the series is not returning to the Chatham-area track this coming season. However, with two SOS events and two SOD events on the schedule this season, South Buxton still has a healthy dose of sprint car racing on tap....
....The 28th annual Copper Classic gets underway in Phoenix this weekend, and you just never know who is going to turn up there. Last year Mike Ling had a ride in the USAC Silver Crown portion of the event, and he very well could again this year. Stay tuned.....
Well, that's it for this edition. Expect another one in a week or two as we follow the progress of our local drivers down in sunny Florida. As always, questions and comments are welcome at my website, www.TheRaceChasers.com, or on the new Togo's Corner message board in the forum pages on www.insidecanadianracing.com.