THOROLD, Ontario – After Mother Nature got in the way of last week’s racing at Merrittville Speedway, the threat of rain returned Saturday.
This time, the rain would hold off and race fans got a full show of wild racing in that saw Gary Lindberg, Brad Rouse, Dave Bailey, Shawn Sliter, Tyler Lafantaisie, and Dustin Duga all visit victory lane.
Lindberg took domination to a whole other level in the S&W Service Centre 358 Modifieds feature. Lindberg found something special on the outside line and at times was over a half-second faster than any other car in the field throughout the race. Mat Williamson and Tim Jones made great drives from 12th and 13th on the grid up to the top five by races’ end. Even with multiple late restarts and Williamson alongside for a few of them, Lindberg could not be beaten and won handily over Williamson, Mike Bowman, Tim Jones, and Pete Bicknell.
The Rick’s Delivery Sportsman division saw Rouse make his way to victory lane. After an early duel with Jay Mallory, Rouse was able to pull away, putting the number 18 wherever he needed to make time. Cody McPherson made a strong charge up through the field from 16th on the grid. However, the night belonged to Rouse, as he won in dominant fashion.
Bailey and Rob Murray put on another masterful performance in the Hoosier Stocks as both came from the ninth row of the grid to finish first and second. The race was controlled early by Evan Curtis, as he held off challenges from Mike Thorne for much of the early part of the race. As cautions fell, Bailey and Murray took advantage and marched their way forward and it was Bailey who got to Curtis and was able to drive away with another win on the season.
In Rona Doidge Building Centres Modified Lites action, Sliter grabbed the win in the No. 09. Sliter battled with Chris Watson throughout the race. Watson showed a lot of speedrunning the high side but danced a little too close to the edge, putting the No. 07 into the front stretch wall after jumping the cushion on the exit of turn four. Sliter survived a late charge Brent Begolo and Josh Sliter and took the victory.
In Glo & Go Tanning 4-cylinder action, all eyes were on Kyle Rothwell who was something of a marked man. A bounty total of $500 was put up by Glo and Go Tanning, PM Lighting, Supreme Suds, and JL Concrete for someone to end Rothwell’s seven-race win streak. Jay Moulton led early and soon a three-car battle rose between Moulton, Austyn Werstroh and Lafantaisie. Rothwell climbed from mid-pack to the top-six before spinning Dylan Lord which sent them both to the back of the pack. But Rothwell would recover quickly and again entered the mix in the top-five before a late restart. In the end, Lafantaisie would hold off the field in a two-lap dash to the finish and end Rothwell’s win streak at seven.
Duga was a surprise winner in the V6 feature as bad luck found Jordan Fidler on the final lap. After leading much of the race unchallenged, Fidler saw his race come to a heart-breaking end as an axle problem caused him to slow on the backstretch of the last lap. Duga managed to be the best of the rest after dueling with John Couture and Josh Dymtrow throughout the feature. As Fidler broke, Duga found himself in the prime opportunity to take advantage and capture his first feature win.