London, Ontario (November 6, 2011) – The sixteenth season of Southern
Ontario Sprints competition came to a conclusion on Saturday, November
5th as the club honoured 2011 champion Lee Ladouceur at the annual SOS
awards banquet, held once again this season at the Best Western Cairn
Croft Hotel in Niagara Falls.
An energetic group of racers, friends and family gathered together for
an enjoyable evening and to salute the top 10 in 2011 SOS points who
took home point fund money and sponsor products. Special achievements
and awards were also presented to:
Marie White Memorial Award (100 career SOS races) – Bob Crawford
ImageFactor.ca Best Appearing Car Award – Travis Cunningham
The Racers Edge Hard Charger Award – Bob Crawford
Wiseco Piston Perfect Attendance – Brad Lodge
Dave MacLeod Mechanic of the Year Award – Sebastien Chabot
The Founders Rookie of the Year Award went unclaimed in 2011 as there
where no rookies who competed with the club this season.
The Top Ten in 2010 Southern Ontario Sprints Points were:
10th - Doug Banks #45x Banks competed in 6 SOS races this season,
including 7th at Brighton in the season opener in May. He may have had
some problems with directions off the track in 2011 but he is certainly
moving in the right direction on track as Doug continued to show
improvement each night in 2011.
9th - Brad Lodge #2 Brad began his Sprint Car career last season with
the SOS and continued to improve in his sophomore season. Brad was
knocking on the door to the top 10 all season with an 11th place at
Brighton Speedway in July being his best result. Brad hopes his perfect
attendance and hard work will really start paying off next season.
8th - Jim Munsie #9 2011 was a rough ride for “The Ol' Buzzard” in an up
and down season. Jim had a top 10 finishes with a 7th at Brighton in
July but unfortunately ended the season upside down on the Labour Day
Classic Weekend. Jim did score his first ever sprint car victory in the
“Dream come True” Dash at Brighton Speedway. With some work repairing
wings ahead of him over the winter, Jim will be ready to return next season.
7th - Dick Mahoney #79 ”The Pig” competed in all the SOS races this year
and continues to lead the standings for most career SOS races at 162. He
cracked the top 10 early in the season with an 8th place at the season
opener in Brighton. Dick will continue with the SOS in 2012 and is
currently vice-president of the club.
6th - Rick Wilson #42w The Southern Ontario Sprints most winning-est
driver continued to add to his total this season with 4 wins bringing
him to 29 all time wins. “The Joyceville Jet” has won at least 1 SOS
feature each season since 2001, the longest streak of any SOS driver.
5th - Bob Crawford #10 A mainstay on the SOS tour, since 2003 Crawford
once again competed in all SOS races this season. Consistent finishes
and a 4th place in the season opener moved him into the top 5 in points.
Bob has finished in the top 10 in points in every season that he has
competed in the SOS.
4th - Chris Jones #11 A fan favorite at Brighton Speedway. Chris
competed part time with the SOS in 2011 racing in 5 events. A pair of
runner up finishes, in May and July, and only one race out of the top 5
propelled Jones to 4th place in points.
3rd - Warren Mahoney #25 All time SOS points leader with 21,487 points.
“Wiley” Warren continued to add to his total by competing in all SOS
races this season. Warren was the top placing SOS competitor against
cars from ESS, PST, SOD and Ohsweken finishing 5th in the standings for
the co-sactioned events at Ohsweken Speedway and South Buxton Raceway.
Warren was also the winner of the wingless race at Brighton Speedway.
2nd - Travis Cunningham #71 Travis competed in all SOS events for 2011
and also competed weekly at Ohsweken speedway in a very busy race
schedule for the season. Some mechanical issues early in the season held
Travis back. However, Travis really started to come on strong at the end
of the season and finished off with a pair of top 5's for the Labour Day
Classic Weekend in Brighton. Look for Travis to be a strong challenger
for the 2012 Championship next season.
2011 Champion - Lee Ladouceur #51 Prior to 2011 Lee had only one start
with the SOS in 2008 at Brockville Speedway. Lee competed in all of the
SOS events this season, even making the long haul from his home in
Alexandria all the way to South Buxton in Western Ontario. Lee might
have been a fresh face on the SOS tour, however he's been honing his
race craft in the sprint car with the ESS since 2008. Lee's championship
comes without a mark in the win column, not the first time this has
happened in SOS history, however he proved that participation and
consistency is the way to the top spot in the points chase. Lee, Donna
and their team have all been warmly welcomed into the SOS family and we
look forward to Lee's defense of the title in 2012.
Also recognized for their contributions to the Southern Ontario Sprints
in 2011 were:
Competition Director – Cliff Williams
Pit Steward – Loree Ferrell
50/50 – Andrea West, Kathy West, Kristy Munsie, Debi Munsie, Jane Williams
Website / Media – Greg Calnan, Mike Dougherty
Track Marshall/Tech Inspector – Neil McKay
Quad Trailer – Chris Ferrell
Merchandise Tent – Ron Ferrell, Judy Ferrell, Karen Mahoney, Janet Sanderson
2011 SOS Venues – Brighton Speedway, Ohsweken Speedway, South Buxton Raceway
2011 Board of Directors – Mike Dougherty, Bob Crawford, Warren Mahoney,
Tyler Rand, Adam West
2011 Executive – Helen Brown, Loree Ferrell, Mike Ferrell, Dick Mahoney
2011 Tour Sponsors – Wiseco Piston, Triple X Race Co., ASI Racewear, The
Racers Edge, ImageFactor.ca,
The SOS club would like to thank the competitors, fans, officials, and
everyone else involved for making 2011 a great season. Work has already
begun for the 2012 season with the club working on scheduling and
sponsorship opportunities to make next season a fantastic summer of
sprint car racing. Stay tuned to
www.southernontariosprints.com for news
over the off season and we'll see you at the races in 2012!
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