Brighton Speedway: Sprints and Late Models kick off their seasons

May 23, 2010  - Anticipation was high as fans filled the stands on the first long weekend of the summer!  There had been a buzz about Brighton Speedway all week long as the excitement grew for the Vanzuylen Tire and Alignment and Rock 107 season opener for the Southern Ontario Sprints and the Vanderlaan Building Supplies Pro Late Models and fans weren’t to be disappointed when the time arrived!

With just a few clouds hanging overhead the first green flag few at 7pm sharp on the Bainer’s Radiator's Canadian Modifieds and the action was non-stop until the final checker flag flew on the Brighton Automotive Pro Stock feature.

Bill's John's Comp 4's were the first feature event of the night and was a closely contested 4 car battle for most of the event. In the end it was Brandon Gregory from Trenton narrowly beating out the 2009 Comp 4 champion Kyle Sopaz.  Next up was the Canadian Modifieds for the 35 lap Rona of Trenton Canadian Modified Triple Crown event.  Dan Ferguson of Bloomfield raced to an early lead and didn't look back to pick up round 1 of the Triple Crown event and the Campbellford Chrysler Driver of the Week honours.

The Southern Ontario Sprints were the third feature to hit the clay track that had now began to slick over, creating a hard packed race surface to contend with.  In the early going it was Ohsweken teammates Glen Styres, Keith Dempster and Joyceville's Rick Wilson battling it out through a few early race cautions. However eventually mechanical problems would end both Styres and Wilson’s night leaving Dempster seemingly on his own and navigating through lapped traffic. 

It appeared Dempster was in the clear for his 8th feature win at Brighton Speedway when a late race charge saw Picton’s Tyler Rand pass Adam West at the white flag and chase down Dempster who was now in some lapped traffic.  Coming out of the final corner it was Demster up high and Rand down low for a photo finish that had Dempster beating out Rand by a foot!  "This is a tough place for lapped traffic," said Dempster from Victory Lane. "We like to come up here and support Brighton Speedway and the fans here. I have to thank the crew - there's about eight of them over there, and they make it easy for us to drive these race cars. These wins are for them."

For the first time in almost a decade, Late Models would take the track as a headline division at Brighton Speedway.  After winning their respective heats Caley Weese of Carrying Place and Andrew Hennessy of Picton lead the cars to the green flag.  The two battled it out for the first few laps as Hennessy took the lead but it wasn’t long before Greg Belyea of Frankford came from his fourth place starting position to take over the lead.  Once there he would set the pace for the remainder of the 25 lap feature taking the checker for the season opener.

The last feature of the night provided some of the most excitement!  Both Kraig Handley of Picton and Doug Anderson of Trenton worked their way through the large field to make their way to the front.  Handley was in control and lead the majority of the 20 lap event until on the last lap when coming out of turn two and trying to avoid a lapped car he opened the door  for Doug Anderson to lead the last half a lap and take his second feature win in as many weeks.

Join the action next week as Town and Country Plumbing presents $25 Car Load Night.  Bring a car, bring a van, bring a bus!  As many people as you can safely get in your vehicle can gain admission for just $25.  Pro Late Models, Pro Stocks and Comp 4’s will be joined by the Gord’s Water Vantastics and the Motorsports of Trenton Flat Track 4 Wheelers for their first appearances of 2010.  Gates open at 5:30, racing action starts at 7:00 pm.  For complete details visit www.brightonspeedway.com.

Attached Photos
Photo #1  - Late Model action as Frankford drivers #25 Greg Belyea and #29 Phil Potts battle it out in qualifier action
Photo #2 – SOS qualifier action has #0 Glen Styers and #42 Rick Wilson has two drivers that hold the most feature flags in Sprint car action at Brighton Speedway.