7/8/2024
Merrittville Speedway
DOUBLE FEATURES A HEAVEN-SENT FOR MULTIPLE WINNERS OUT OF PORT COLBORNE AT MERRITTVILLE
THOROLD, Ontario (July 6th, 2024) … On Hot Tub Heaven night at Merrittville Speedway, racing action and a death-defying stunt by Danny Zzzz thrilled fans young and old. Breakthrough performances continued while some drivers took steps to continue to separate themselves from the pack. Due to a medical situation pit side that delayed racing action, the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds were only able to run one of their two scheduled 30 lap features, which served as the make up race from June 8th and was won by Scott Wood of Thorold, Ontario. In the Semenuk’s Esso/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman, Cody McPherson of St. Catharines won the first feature of the night, while Port Colborne’s Tyler Puchalski scored his first career Sportsman Feature win at Merrittville in the second. Another Port Colborne native in Jason Fontaine picked up a win in the Hoosier Stocks, with Dave Bailey of Hagersville, Ontario grabbed the second feature win. A pair of Port Colborne drivers went to victory lane in the Rona Doidge Building Centres Modified Lites with Josh Sliter and Ryan Anderson adding to their win totals in 2024. In the Vansickle Pet Valu/PV on the Lane 4 Cylinders, Randy Alway of St. Anns, Ontario and Cierra Keus of Beamsville, Ontario were the latest to become first time feature winners.
Martin Polhill and Luke Carleton lead the field to green in the lone Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modified Feature of the night. The feature was rescheduled from June 8th when rain forced an early end to night with heat racing already complete. Multiple cautions fell early in the event including a lap six incident where Fred Carleton who entered as the points leader, tangled with Bill Gill. On the restart, Scott Wood drove up to the front from 10th where he started, building a gap ahead of Luke Carleton. The gap was erased with 5 laps to go when Ken Winfield came to a stop on the entry to the pit area. Wood held on through the single file restart to pick up his first feature win of the season. Luke Carleton held off a hard charging Justin Sharp who started 23rd for second, while Paul Gaboury finished fourth and Jay Mallory was fifth.
The Semenuk’s Esso/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman were able to get both features in with the first of which being led to green by Matt Sharpe and Jason VanMil. VanMil would be unable to finish however as after the field completed one lap, he spun while inside the top five, collecting Curtis Friesen, Jacob Chevalier and Doug Walsh Jr. Multiple incidents followed, shuffling the field and allowing Cody McPherson, who had been unbeaten at Merrittville in 2024 thus far, to move up through the field after starting 15th and limiting the amount of chasing he had to do under green flag conditions. Working through the top five slowly, McPherson eventually caught and passed Sharpe for the top spot on his way to win number six on the season and get credit for the June 8th feature. Sharpe held on for second with Jeff Panunte, Nigel Pendykoski and Adam Leslie rounding out the top five finishers.
The second feature began with Jacob Chevalier and Tyler Puchalski on the front row. On lap three, Tyler Lafantaise brought out the caution when he spun, and Puchalski controlled the restart, running out front until another caution came at lap 11. Another caution came out shortly after the restart when Nigel Pendykoski and Billy Bleich tangled. Cody McPherson, who was trying to keep his unbeaten streak alive, drove again from 15th place. However, Puchalski, who had teamed each restart perfectly to stay in the top spot, and second place runner Noah Mamo were too far out in front to be run down. Puchalski led flag to flag to win his first career feature win at Merrittville Speedway in dominant fashion. Mamo settled for second while McPherson finished third. Matteo Panunte and Adam Leslie were fourth and fifth respectively.
Racing action was once again fantastic in the Hoosier Stocks with Jason Fontaine taking the lead from outside polesitter Jim Lampman through the first set of turns. Caution fell lap six when Clinton Nicholls car had a fire start underneath the hood. The final ten laps of the race saw an incredibly spirited battle between some of the class's best. Pete Reid slipped by Fontaine on lap 11, with the two exchanging the lead again on lap 14. Fontaine spent the final five laps under fire from Reid, Dave Bailey, Rob Murray and Mark Fawcett, but Fontaine would not be denied and claimed his first win of 2024. Murray finished second with Bailey third, Reid fourth and Fawcett finished fifth.
Feature two on the night began with Rob Disher and George Grosul out front, with Grosul spinning on the opening lap. After another caution on lap five, Jim Lampman took control of the lead, while Dave Bailey moved forward from his 11th starting position. Bailey eventually found the top spot and went on to win his second feature of the year ahead of Zach Bleich. Donny Lampman who started 16th finished in third, with Kyle Pelrine and Pete Reid rounding out the top five.
Cohen Corbett jumped out to an early lead in search of his second Rona Doidge Modified Lites feature win in race one of the night. After a caution on lap four, Josh Sliter ran down the lead under green, getting by Corbett and setting sail. Sliter built up a 5.5 second advantage on the field, but had the lead erased when Ryan Anderson went around on lap 19. The field proved to be no match for Sliter who held on to score the June 8th feature win, good for his third of the season. Corbett was second with Jamie Gilbert third, Tyler Winger fourth and Brent Begolo finished in fifth.
The second feature was an absolute barn burner with the top five drivers all under a blanket with 6 laps to go. Ryan Anderson and Cohen Corbett dueled, each in search of their second career wins while veterans Josh Sliter, Brent Begolo and R.J. Pietz kept both young drivers on their toes with plenty of pressure. With 4 to go, Anderson was able to clear Corbett for good and bring him the win. Corbett faded to fifth in the closing laps as Sliter got by for second, Begolo third and Pietz fourth.
The Vansickle Pet Valu/ PV on the Lane 4 Cylinders have had multiple first-time winners in 2024 and two more added their names to the list. In the first feature event which made up for the fogged-out May 18th feature. Olivier Larocque and Ray Cerenzia lead the field to green, however Larocque would have mechanical issues and be forced to the pits under green five laps in. Randy Always drove up from sixth starting spot to challenge Cerenzia for the top spot. Alway took the lead and never looked back, winning by over two seconds for the first time in his career in Mini Stocks. Cerenzia was second while John Lubeck, Alex Riley and Ken Hair completed the top five finishers.
Tina Ronning and Richard Hadler started on the front row of what was a caution-filled second feature. Five total cautions limited green flag lap runs to just three circuits, which played perfectly into the hands of Cierra Keus, who’s 7C Volkswagen Bug was incredibly fast on restarts. Keus held off her brother Braden on the final restart on lap 13, while Alex Riley slipped past as well for the second spot. However, the short run to the checkered gave Cierra Keus just enough time to stay out front ahead of the defending track champion Riley and score her first career win. Riley who started 13th finished in second with Braden Keus third, Hana Rothwell was fourth and Ken Hair finished in fifth.
Next week, Bobcat of Hamilton weekly racing returns with 2 Cool Automotive presenting a Bone Stock Small Car Demo Derby following racing action. The Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds, Semenuk’s Esso/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman, Hoosier Stocks, Rona Doidge Modified Lites and Vansickle Pet Valu/PV on the Lane 4 Cylinders will all be in action. Pit Gates will open at 5pm, with grandstands opening at 5:30pm, and racing will get underway at 7pm. For more information, visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com and can follow the action on My Race Pass.
Follow Merrittville on social media including Facebook (facebook.com/MerrittvilleSpeedway), Twitter (@Merrittville), and now on Instagram (@merrittvillespeedway). For results, point standings, and more, check out www.merrittvillespeedway.com
RACE RESULTS –- July 6th, 2024.
Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds (June 8th) – SCOTT WOOD, Luke Carleton, Justin Sharp, Paul Gaboury, Jay Mallory, Todd Gordon, Brad Rouse, James Friesen, Shayne Pierce, Kyle Richner, Gary Lindberg, Fred Carleton, Chad Brachmann, Pete Bicknell, Darrell Farraway, Derek VanMil, Dave Flannigan Jr., Brian Page, Bill Gill, Nelson Mason, Ken Winfield, Noah Walker, Trevor Wright, Dylan Davidson, Martin Polhill
Qualifying Race (July 6th) – SHAYNE PIERCE, Kyle Richner, Bill Gill, Brian Page, Darrell Farraway, Billy Bleich Jr., Derek VanMil, Nelson Mason, Martin Polhill, Ken Winfield, Trevor Wright
Semenuk’s Esso/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman (June 8th) - CODY MCPHERSON (6), Matt Sharpe, Jeff Panunte, Nigel Pendykoski, Adam Leslie, Matteo Panunte, Taylor Vanderzanden. Noah Mamo, Billy Bleich Jr., Mitch Dumont, Tyler Puchalski, Curtis Friesen, Daniel McKay, Chris Hawkins, Doug Walsh Jr, Elijah Knutt, Terry Smith, Nathan Peattie, Wayne Swinson, Jacob Chevalier, Jason VanMil
Semenuk’s Esso/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman – TYLER PULCHALSKI, Noah Mamo, Cody McPherson, Matteo Panunte, Adam Leslie, Curtis Friesen, Jacob Chevalier, Terry Smith, Mitch Dumont, Matt Sharpe, Jeff Panunte, Taylor Vanderzanden, Doug Walsh Jr., Daniel McKay, Graeme Toth, Nigel Pendykoski, Nathan Peattie, Kyle Rothwell, Elijah Knutt, Chris Hawkins, Billy Bleich Jr., Wayne Swinson, Tyler Lafantaise, Matthew Jessom, Jason VanMil
Qualifying Race – DOUG WALSH Jr., Daniel McKay, Graeme Toth, Elijah Knutt, Nathan Peattie, Kyle Rothwell, Tyler Lafantaise, Chris Hawkins, (DNS) Matthew Jessom, (DNS) Jason VanMil
Hoosier Stocks (June 8th) – JASON FONTAINE, Rob Murray, Dave Bailey, Pete Reid, Mark Fawcett, Kyle Pelrine, Zach Bleich, Donny Lampman, Kyle Haynes, Gofast Teeple, George Grosul, John Couture, Chris Crowe, Dustin Duga, Rob Disher, Nick Masi, Jim Lampman, Clinton Nicholls
Hoosier Stocks – DAVE BAILEY (2), Zach Bleich, Donny Lampman, Kyle Pelrine, Pete Reid, Mark Fawcett, Jim Lampman, Gofast Teeple, Dustin Duga, John Couture, George, Grosul, Rob Murray, Rob Disher, Chris Crowe, Kyle Haynes, Clinton Nicholls, Nick Masi, Jason Fontaine
Rona Doidge Modified Lites (June 8th) – JOSH SLITER (3), Cohen Corbett, Jamie Gilbert, Tyler Winger, Brent Begolo, R.J. Pietz, Anthony Kelly, Sean Iftody, Leroy Buscumb, Ashton Anderson, Greg Zack, Dave Cornish, Ryan Anderson, Chance Kotar, Cole Hardy, Tyler Colbert, Craig Martin, Dan Kviring, Chris Watson, Ryleigh Sliter, (DNS) Evan Leonard
Rona Doidge Modified Lites – RYAN ANDERSON (2), Josh Sliter, Brent Begolo, R.J. Pietz, Cohen Corbett, Sean Iftody, Chris Watson, Greg Zack, Anthony Kelly, Jamie Gilbert, Dave Cornish, Chance Kotar, Cole Hardy, Craig Martin, Tyler Colbert, Tyler Winger, Leroy Buscumb, Ashton Anderson, (DNS) Ryleigh Sliter, (DNS) Evan Leonard, (DNS) Dan Kviring
Qualifying Race – COHEN CORBETT, Evan Leonard, Chance Kotar, Craig Martin, Dan Kviring, Jamie Gilbert
Vansickle Pet Valu/PV on the Lane 4 Cylinders (May 18th) – RANDY ALWAYS, Ray Cerenzia, John Lubeck, Alex Riley, Ken Hair, Mason Anderson, Joshua Dmytrow, Austyn Werstroh, Cierra Keus, Clinton Barrick, Dave Wininger, Sam Iftody, Mark Deagle, Hana Rothwell, Braden Keus, Richard Hadler, Sierra Robison, Matt Christie, Jay Moulton, John Trivieri, Tina Ronning, Joe Stevenson, Brendan Lafrancois, Kaillie Akins, Olivier Larocque, James Marshall
Vansickle Pet Valu/PV on the Lane 4 Cylinders – CIERRA KEUS, Alex Riley, Braden Keus, Hana Rothwell, Ken Hair, Mason Anderson, Ray Cerenzia, Dave Wininger, Mark Deagle, John Lubeck, Mark Thorne, Sam Iftody, Clinton Barrick, Richard Hadler, Connor Chambers, Randy Alway, Jay Moulton, Joe Stevenson, James Marshall, Austyn Werstroh, Olivier Larocque, Sierra Robison, Kaillie Akins, Joshua Dmytrow, Tina Ronning, John Trivieri, (DNS) Matt Christie, (DNS) Brendan Lefrancois
Qualifying Race – DAVE WININGER, Mark Deagle, Clinton Barrick, Mark Thorne, Sierra Robison, Jay Moulton, Kaillie Akins, Connor Chambers, James Marshall, Joe Stevenson, Joe Trivieri, Matt Christie, (DNS) Brendan Lefrancois
Article Credit: Jonathon Howe
Submitted By: Jonathon Howe