SOS’S CUNNINGHAM MEMORIAL

as an SOS rookie, while young D.J. Christie finished third after battling with Heard in the closing laps.

“Every win is special,” said Turner, who had added incentive to win the Gary Cunningham Memorial. “With the tough competition in the 360 Sprint Car division, they are very tough to come by. This race was extra special due to Al on our crew having worked with Gary as an apprentice for two years.”

While Turner is lucky enough to be in a well-funded Sprint Car ride, he still understands the challenges facing racers in these inflationary times.

The re-vamped Southern Ontario Sprint (SOS) tour has had its fair share of challenges since making its return in 2023. New leadership, new race formats and new key partners have given 360 Sprint Car fans and teams a renewed feeling of optimism. While rain, scoring issues and facility problems overshadowed the start of the season, one night in June at Merrittville Speedway finally got the ball rolling in the right direction.

The Gary Cunningham Memorial is an annual race for 360 Sprint Cars that honours the legendary engine builder and Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Famer. This year’s edition saw more than $14,000 in purse and contingency money distributed, including $3,000 to race winner Ryan Turner. This was made possible thanks to the efforts of the SOS and the Cunningham family.

Gary’s son, Travis Cunningham, pilots the No. 90 360 Sprint Car and co-hosts the Southern Ontario Dirt Show (SODS) podcast. He spearheaded an effort to sell lap sponsorships to add to the already increased SOS purses in 2023.

His inspiration to do so came, in part, from his experience on the Empire Super Sprints (ESS) tour. They run at tracks across New York State, with multiple stops in eastern Ontario and Quebec. It’s common for the ESS tour to pay its drivers $350 USD to start each race.

“I’ve always wanted to increase the purse for the Gary Cunningham Memorial,” said Travis, whose last Sprint Car win came with power from an engine built by his late father. “The ESS purse is definitely one I used to model the purse for this year’s race.”

That meant that all 23 drivers who took the green flag on June 24 at Merrittville Speedway would leave the track with at least $300 CAD at the end of the night, which was $50 more than for any other event. While it’s a given that racing is an expensive pursuit, one wonders if the series and tracks can do a better job distributing purses to ensure race fans are paying to see fuller fields of cars.

For Cunningham, the blueprint is there to ensure the future success of the SOS tour.

“Lots of lower budget teams look how a race pays from fifth down, and don’t even look at the winner’s share,” said Travis, himself a low budget racer. Spreading more money through the field will help teams break even, financially, on their race night.”

The early part of the 25-lap feature was led by another low budget team, the No. 70 of Bailey Heard. The Niagara Falls, ON driver and his dad work on their race car in a tiny shed in their backyard. From the outside, running a karting operation in there would seem like a tight squeeze, let alone a Sprint Car. But they do it!

Heard surrendered the lead to Ryan Turner around the halfway mark and was ultimately involved in a crash coming to the checkered flag in search of a podium spot.

Former Merrittville 358 Modified track champion Mike Bowman continued to show his Sprint Car acumen, finishing second

“The cost of racing has continued to increase. And the SOS have done a great job increasing the purses. Every dollar helps and boosted payouts with lap sponsorship money throughout the field was a great idea by Travis. It really showed with the turnout of cars.”

Asked if big payouts for top finishers is the direction the series should go in, Turner advocated for ‘spreading the wealth’ throughout the field.

“The heavy payout up front will bring the big names for one or two races a year, but a heavy payout through the middle will build the class and keep the local racers coming back. No one is making money in our class, but it will keep the costs down and help racers to come back week after week.”

There are still plenty of SOS races left on the 2023 schedule – leading up to the Sept. 16 Canadian Sprint Car Nationals at Ohsweken Speedway. Which means there’s still plenty of time for the new management, led by Peter Turford, to continue to have an open dialogue with drivers and teams about how to make sure the series is sustainable and successful.

Timed hot laps and passing points are ensuring racers give it their all in every session they’re on the track. And big purses look good in post-race write ups. Event broadcasts on the GForceTV YouTube channel are helping fans stay plugged into SOS Sprint Car racing even outside the region.

It’s a great time to be a member of ‘Winged Nation,’ and the Southern Ontario Sprints are finally back to lead the pack. IT

By Erik Tomas