By: Tim Baltz
It was a battle between the drivers and mother nature this past Saturday night at the Brockville Ontario Speedway. High winds and a threat of rain was in the area, plus a busy night with 7 divisions on the card, which had the drivers up on the wheel every lap.
Brad Taillon got his first career Street Stock win at Brockville last season and on this night would get by early leader Kyle Massey with Francis Gauthier close by in the third spot. Taillon was running the high lane and so was Gauthier, who took over 2nd from Massey and then ran down the leader. Taillon and Gauthier started to drive away from the field and battle for the win, however the caution would fly on lap 12 for Stephane Philippe, who lost a driveshaft in turn 1, ending his bid for three straight wins. On the final restart Brad Taillon was perfect and would go on to record his first win of the season. Francis Gauthier, Kyle Massey, Todd Raabe and two-time track champion Brett Horner completed the top 5.
Up next was the 25 lap DIRTCar Sportsman feature and Cory Lambert paced the field early over Chris Hale and Domonick Merkley. The lead was short lived as Chris Hale used the top side to grab the lead on lap 3 and started to pull away. After a quick yellow, Domomick Merkley took over the top spot with Gavin Eisele charging to the runner up spot. The top two cars started to drive way while behind them Dylan Kirkland was also on the move to third by the halfway point. With 6 to go another yellow flag slowed the field, giving Gavin Eisele an opportunity at the lead. When the green flew Gavin Eisele rolled the bottom lane to the lead but Merkley didn’t back down as he drove back by to take the top spot away and appeared to be on his way to the win. Another quick yellow flew, giving Gavin Eisele one final chance. On the final restart Eisele was able get out front and pull away, while Dylan Kirkland battled for second with Domonick Merkley. In the end Gavin Eisele broke the dry spell scoring his first win since the 2024 season at Brockville. Dylan Kirkland crossed in second with Trey Ladouceur coming from 16th to 3rd. Jessica Power and Shane Pecore completed the top 5.
In the 30 lap DIRTCar 358 Modified feature Lucas Fuller took the outside lane and drove away from the field in the early laps with Shane Stearns and Kyle Dingwall making up the top 3. On lap 6 the first yellow flew for Jarrett Herbison, who clipped an infield tire in turn 2 ending his day. Fuller continued his strong run on the top side to hold the lead but defending track champion Tristan Draper was on the move to the front. Draper took 4th from Bobby Herrington then ran down Shane Stearns for the runner up spot. Draper would eventually clear Stearns for 2nd then tracked down Lucas Fuller. On lap 17 Draper had the leader in his sights and tried several times to get by but Fuller remained in control and was on a mission to clam his 2nd ever Brockville win. On lap 25 Tristan Draper would find the inside lane in turn 4 and take over the lead. The final yellow flew on lap 29 as the skies opened up and the high winds came through the region, forcing the race to be called official, and eventually the end of the racing program. Tristan Draper was declared the winner, his 2nd in a row, with Lucas Fuller. Bobby Herrington, Chris Raabe and Shane Stearns the official top 5 finish.
Race officials will be making a decision as to when the remaining features for the Mini Stock, Novice Sportsman Suprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprints and Eastern Ontario Vintage will be made up. Stay tuned to our website and social media for all the updates.
Next Saturday The DIRTCar Sportsman North Regional Series takes center stage for a 40 lap event plus the first of two appearances for the Empire Super Sprints. Also on the card will be the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds and the Mini Stocks.
To keep up with what’s going on at the speedway, head to our website at brockvillespeedway.com or keep up with us on Facebook, Instagram and “X”. If you can’t make it to the track every week, be sure to add us to your favorites and follow along on My Race Pass.
DIRTcar 358 Modifieds
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 17-Tristan Draper[7]; 2. 74-Lucas Fuller[2]; 3. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[5]; 4. 701-Chris Raabe[6]; 5. 22S-Shane Stearns[1]; 6. 18-Kalen Draper[3]; 7. 96-Kyle Dingwall[4]; 8. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[11]; 9. 13-Kevin Hamel[9]; 10. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[12]; 11. M75-Melcolm Banks[10]; 12. 08-Chris Ferguson[13]; 13. K38-Jarrett Herbison[8]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 74-Lucas Fuller[2]; 2. 17-Tristan Draper[4]; 3. 701-Chris Raabe[5]; 4. 22S-Shane Stearns[1]; 5. 13-Kevin Hamel[3]; 6. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[7]; 7. 08-Chris Ferguson[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Kalen Draper[2]; 2. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[4]; 3. K38-Jarrett Herbison[6]; 4. 96-Kyle Dingwall[3]; 5. M75-Melcolm Banks[1]; 6. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[5]
10 entries
Winged Crate Sprints
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 42W-Rick Wilson[1]; 2. 87-Andrew Hennessy[3]; 3. 77-Liam Ladouceur[4]; 4. 51-Lee Ladouceur[5]; 5. 15-Dan Deyo[2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 92-Adam Turner[3]; 2. 21L-Eric Laurendeau[2]; 3. M52-Marc Surprenant[4]; 4. 44-Eric Boisvert[1]; 5. 37X-Mark Grant[5]
32 entries
Dirt Mini Stocks
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 25-Pierre Picard[1]; 2. 48-Carl Gorry[8]; 3. 75-Emily Massy[3]; 4. 67-Maxx Steele[7]; 5. 22R-Eric Roy[2]; 6. 6K-Jonathan Bernier[6]; 7. 68L-John Lamarche[4]; 8. 6-Ian Reid[5]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 07M-Charles Marchand[2]; 2. 93M-Travis Lamarche[4]; 3. 12A-Jamie Larocque[8]; 4. 77D-Danick Seguin[6]; 5. C41-Valaire Lecuyer[1]; 6. 83-Eric Mallon[7]; 7. 86-Richard Bartholomew[3]; 8. 97-Dave Watchorn[5]
Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. M16-Mike Saunders[2]; 2. L29-Landen Slinger[3]; 3. 47K-Karl Lecuyer[5]; 4. 37-Matt Boal[7]; 5. 24-Clayton Celovsky[6]; 6. 69-Mathis Larose[4]; 7. 06J-Jarrod Galway[1]; 8. 76-Daryl Steele[8]
Heat 4 (6 Laps): 1. 46-Hayden Brown[5]; 2. 64-Terry McClelland[1]; 3. 90-Christopher Proulx[7]; 4. 29-Tyson Slinger[6]; 5. 88K-Kathy Pommainville[2]; 6. 16R-Ryan Denique[4]; 7. 66P-Mark Packer[3]; 8. 20-Stephane Belanger[8]
8 entries
Novice Sportsman
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. FN99-Drake Cartier[3]; 2. 17R-Landon Ryan[2]; 3. 11R-Shawn Reid[1]; 4. (DQ) 99-Cody Washer[4]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 1-Garin Thompson[2]; 2. 76-Rhylan Poole[1]; 3. 58J-Shaun Lafave[4]; 4. 8-Nick Cordingley[3]
11 entries
Street Stocks
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 25T-Brad Taillon[9]; 2. 71-Francis Gauthier[3]; 3. 18C-Kyle Massey[7]; 4. 10-Todd Raabe[8]; 5. 52J-Brett Horner[2]; 6. 66-Thomas Reid[1]; 7. *99-Frederic Nicholas[10]; 8. 07M-Charles Marchand[6]; 9. 125-Stephane Philippe[4]; 10. 21-Bruno Boivin[11]; 11. 327-Shawn Willigar[5]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 71-Francis Gauthier[2]; 2. 18C-Kyle Massey[5]; 3. 66-Thomas Reid[1]; 4. 327-Shawn Willigar[3]; 5. 25T-Brad Taillon[4]; 6. 21-Bruno Boivin[6]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 125-Stephane Philippe[2]; 2. 52J-Brett Horner[1]; 3. 10-Todd Raabe[5]; 4. 07M-Charles Marchand[3]; 5. *99-Frederic Nicholas[4]
23 entries
DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds
DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (25 Laps): 1. 18E-Gavin Eisele[11]; 2. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[10]; 3. 12T-Trey Ladouceur[16]; 4. 52-Jessica Power[13]; 5. 0-Shane Pecore[12]; 6. 48D-Sylvain Dupuis[8]; 7. 72B-Brandon Beauregard[14]; 8. 79-Chris Hale[3]; 9. 17M-Madie Wallace[4]; 10. 98-David Andre[17]; 11. 32-Tyler Stewart[22]; 12. 98H-Domonick Merkley[5]; 13. 18B-Blake Smith[7]; 14. M70-Billy Cook[19]; 15. 28-Matt Mould[21]; 16. 39-Cory Lambert[1]; 17. 12K-Patrick Kudrinko[23]; 18. 18-Jordan Wood[9]; 19. 23-Michael Dillon[15]; 20. 07T-Tessa Riemersma[18]; 21. 80D-Damien King[2]; 22. (DNS) 14K-Karl Potvin; 23. (DNS) 9-Paul Donnelly
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 98H-Domonick Merkley[3]; 2. 18E-Gavin Eisele[5]; 3. 48D-Sylvain Dupuis[4]; 4. 72B-Brandon Beauregard[7]; 5. 98-David Andre[8]; 6. 39-Cory Lambert[1]; 7. M70-Billy Cook[2]; 8. 9-Paul Donnelly[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 79-Chris Hale[2]; 2. 52-Jessica Power[5]; 3. 18-Jordan Wood[4]; 4. 23-Michael Dillon[7]; 5. 14K-Karl Potvin[3]; 6. 80D-Damien King[1]; 7. 28-Matt Mould[6]; 8. 12K-Patrick Kudrinko[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[4]; 2. 0-Shane Pecore[5]; 3. 12T-Trey Ladouceur[7]; 4. 17M-Madie Wallace[2]; 5. 18B-Blake Smith[3]; 6. 07T-Tessa Riemersma[1]; 7. 32-Tyler Stewart[6]
