Merlin, Ontario - The third round of the 2015 Southern Ontario Sprints season was contested on Saturday night at the South Buxton Raceway near Chatham, Ontario. 2013 SOS champion Chris Jones took the lead from Cory Turner late in the 25 lap feature to claim his first win of the season.

Jamie Turner and his son Cory drew front row starting positions for the feature race, and Cory used the high side of the track to take an early lead. The red flag came out twice on the first lap - first for a tip-over by Curtis Gartly in turn two, and again for a hard flip for Lee Winger entering turn one. Gartly’s incident also collected Frank Baranowski and John Burbridge, Jr., who both restarted the race but later retired, while Winger’s crash also collected Kris Root. Adam West’s wing supports broke before the green flag came back out, while Justin Martin also made a trip in and out of the pit area.

Cory Turner again held court with Jamie Turner giving chase when the race restarted, while Chris Jones, Mitch Brown, and Glenn Styres were making moves behind them. Jones was up to second as he and Cory Turner raced through traffic with Jamie Turner, Brown, and Styres close behind when a yellow flag came out on lap 14 for a collision between Alex Hill and Warren Mahoney.

The second half of the race ran stoppage free, with the top four drivers racing close together through traffic. Jones tried several different manoeuvres to wrestle the lead away from Turner, and eventually made an inside move stick in turns three and four on lap 23. Jones pulled away over the final two laps to claim the feature win, while Cory Turner settled for the runner-up spot, followed by Brown, Styres, and Jamie Turner.

QUOTES

- Jones and his team made one of the longer trips to compete at South Buxton, having towed more than five hours from their home in the Picton area. The win was extra special for Chris, as he returned to victory lane for the first time since an illness left him hospitalized during the offseason.

“(The win) will make the ride home sweet,” Jones said in victory lane. “We’ll have something to talk about! When you lay in the hospital for a week or two, it sure makes getting back in a race car very sweet…getting to victory lane is even better. I’ve got to thank my dad - he slaves on the car all night.”

- Cory Turner was a bit dejected after coming so close to his first career Sprint Car win, but at the same time the sophomore driver was happy to record his best career Sprint Car finish.

“It was an epic battle,” Turner said afterwards. “I saw Jonesy poking underneath me. The first time I saw him was in lap traffic and that gave me fits, and then I got down to the bottom a couple of times and it just covered my shield and I couldn’t see anything, so I said if they’re going to run two wide I’m going to lose this thing back on the top. Obviously congrats to Chris - he drove a great race. There’s no lap counter here, so I was just looking for the popsicle sticks really, and just tried to use a lot of race track and stand on it. You’ve got to lose a couple before you win your first.”

NOTES

- Mitch Brown unofficially took over the lead in the SOS championship standings, while Chris Jones moved to second, and Ryan Turner took over the lead in the Rookie of the Year standings.

- Jones’ second career South Buxton feature win moved him into a tie with Adam West, John Riegling, Joel Lehman, and Kyle Patrick for third on the all-time South Buxton SOS feature win list. The win was Jones’ 7th career SOS triumph, moving him up to 7th on the all-time SOS feature win list.

- Heat races for the 21 car field were claimed by Jamie Turner, Shawn Sliter, and Cory Turner. Ryan Turner was the hard charger in the feature, as he advanced from 16th to finish 8th.

- The South Buxton event saw Curtis Gartly, John Burbridge, Jr., Adam West, and Kris Root make their first SOS starts of the season. A total of 36 drivers have taken part in at least one of the three SOS races held so far this season.

- Cory Turner, Jamie Turner, Ryan Turner, Lee Winger, Curtis Gartly, James Thompson, and Kris Root all made their first South Buxton Sprint Car starts on Saturday. Alex Hill and Tyler Hendricks made their first South Buxton 360 Sprint Car starts after Crate Sprint Car starts there last season.

- Saturday’s event was the 33rd SOS-sanctioned event at South Buxton Raceway. The first event in SOS club history was held at South Buxton on May 18, 1996.

- The SOS tour will return to South Buxton on Saturday, July 4, with preceding stops at Brighton Speedway on June 20, and Ohsweken Speedway on July 3.

SOUTHERN ONTARIO SPRINTS RACE REPORT
2015 SEASON EVENT #3 - SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015
SOUTH BUXTON RACEWAY - MERLIN ON

ENTRY LIST
(Number Name - Hometown)
0 Glenn Styres - Ohsweken ON
2w Lee Winger - Mount Hope ON
5 Keith Dempster - Alton ON
6 Curtis Gartly - Thamesford ON
7m Justin Martin - Rodney ON
10b Mitch Brown - Brantford ON
10c Bob Crawford - Sutton ON
11 Jamie Turner - Caistor Centre ON
11j Chris Jones - Picton ON
15 Mike Ferrell - London ON
19 Cory Turner - Caistor Centre ON
21j John Burbridge, Jr. - St. Williams ON
22 James Thompson - St. Catharines ON
25 Warren Mahoney - Lefroy ON
30 Adam West - Ridgetown ON
38 Tyler Hendricks - Pain Court ON
66 Frank Baranowski - Mount Hope ON
69 Kris Root - Delaware ON
71s Shawn Sliter - Port Colborne ON
77x Alex Hill - Ohsweken ON,
91 Ryan Turner - Caistor Centre ON

HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps - Top 3 redrew for A-Feature starting positions)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 11t Jamie Turner (3)
2. 0 Glenn Styres (6)
3. 2w Lee Winger (1)
4. 7m Justin Martin (7)
5. 10 Bob Crawford (4)
DNS. 21j John Burbridge, Jr. (2)
DNS. 25 Warren Mahoney(5)

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps - Top 3 redrew for A-Feature starting positions)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 71s Shawn Sliter (3)
2. 30 Adam West (1)
3. 10b Mitch Brown (7)
4. 6 Curtis Gartly (5)
5. 66 Frank Baranowski (4)
6. 91 Ryan Turner (6)
7. 22 James Thompson (2)

HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps - Top 3 redrew for A-Feature starting positions)
Finish. Number Name (Starting Position)
1. 19 Cory Turner (2)
2. 11j Chris Jones (4)
3. 5 Keith Dempster (7)
4. 77x Alex Hill (3)
5. 15 Mike Ferrell (1)
6. 38 Tyler Hendricks (6)
DNF. 25 Warren Mahoney (8)
DNS. 69 Kris Root (5)

A-FEATURE (25 laps)
Position. # Name (Starting Position)
1. 11j Chris Jones (3)
2. 19 Cory Turner (2)
3. 10b Mitch Brown (5)
4. 0 Glenn Styres (7)
5. 11t Jamie Turner (1)
6. 5 Keith Dempster (8)
7. 71s Shawn Sliter (4)
8. 91 Ryan Turner (16)
9. 7m Justin Martin (10)
10. 38 Tyler Hendricks (17)
11. 10 Bob Crawford (13)
12. 15 Mike Ferrell (15)
13. 22 James Thompson (18)
14. 25 Warren Mahoney (19)
DNF. 77x Alex Hill (12)
DNF. 21j John Burbridge, Jr. (20)
DNF. 30 Adam West (9)
DNF. 69 Kris Root (21)
DNF. 2w Lee Winger (6)
DNF. 66 Frank Baranowski (14)
DNF. 6 Curtis Gartly (11)
A-Feature Lap Leaders – Cory Turner (1-22), Chris Jones (23-25)

UNOFFICIAL TOP 10 IN POINTS
(As of June 6, 2015)
Rank. Number Name - Total
1. 10b Mitch Brown - 492
2. 11j Chris Jones - 463
3. 5 Keith Dempster - 424
t4. 19 Cory Turner - 410
t4. 0 Glenn Styres - 410
6. 11t Jamie Turner - 393
7. 25 Warren Mahoney - 383
8. 71s Shawn Sliter - 362
9. 91 Ryan Turner ® - 351
10.77x Alex Hill ® - 340

UP NEXT:
2015 Season Round #4
Saturday, June 20
Brighton Speedway - Brighton ON (w/World of Outlaws Late Model Series)

2015 marks the 20th year of operation for the Southern Ontario Sprints club, brought to you this season by Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Speedway Motors, The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum, www.ImageFactor.ca, Kreitz Oval Track Parts, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, and www.OnDirt.ca

Website: www.SouthernOntarioSprints.com
Twitter: @SOSsprints
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