SOS: Bob Crawford 'One Man Army'

By Tommy Goudge - Southern Ontario Sprints.com

The 2008 season will mark Bob Crawford's 6th year of racing with the Southern Ontario Sprints, and if one word were to be used to define the first 5 years of his sprint car career, that word would be 'consistent.'

The 53 year old from Sutton, Ontario has never finished lower than 6th in SOS points standings, and has finished no worse than 4th in each of the last 3 seasons, including a 2nd place in 2006, just 18 points behind that year�s champion, Warren Mahoney.

Crawford came to the sprint cars from the Can-Am TQ Midget series, a division that has produced quite a few present-day SOS front runners. When asked, Bob will say the learning curve changing from asphalt to dirt was a steep, but it should be noted out that he scored a popular victory at Ohsweken Speedway on July 30, 2004, just halfway through his second season on the dirt.

Victory lane has eluded Crawford since that first visit in '04, but it is never a surprise to see Bob up front and in contention at any SOS venue, despite being what he calls a "One man army."

He does much of the work and upkeep on his car himself, and has help from just a single crew member on race days, as well as working with a smaller budget than many other front-running competitors, all of which makes what he has accomplished over the years that much more impressive.

Despite a season-best finish of 2nd at Brighton Speedway during the Labour Day Classic weekend, Crawford recalls another event at Brighton earlier in the season as his favourite moment of 2007: On June 9, Bob had a tough heat and was only able to muster a 6th place finish, but in the feature race things came together and Crawford charged from the 9th row on the grid to finish in 4th. This performance and a charge from 21st to 8th in another Brighton event in July were 2 key moments which helped to solidify his 4th place finish in the SOS points standings last season.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, two of Bob's long-time sponsors will not be returning this season, but Carstar has helped out and have the familiar red #10 looking great and ready for the entire SOS schedule, which begins at the Brighton Speedway in Brighton, Ontario on Saturday, May 10th.

A staunch supporter of the Southern Ontario Sprints since joining the sprint car division, Bob will also represent the club at selected events at Ohsweken Speedway throughout the season, including the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals in September. In what was an impressive performance, Crawford narrowly missed making the feature at the Nationals last season, despite having to repair damage from a rollover earlier in the evening.

To find out when and where to find Bob Crawford and the Southern Ontario Sprints this season, please visit http://www.southernontariosprints.com/.