Arbuthnot, Herrington, Moore, MacMillan and Bushey Crowned Champions at Brockville Ontario Speedway

By: Tim Baltz

Forthton – Championship night, an exciting night but also means the end of another season at the Brockville Ontario Speedway. With two of the seven divisions already decided over the previous weeks, five more divisions were on the line, along with a feature win for those trying to close out on a high note.

Jocelyn Roy drew the pole for the start of the Farnham Ale and Lager Pro Stock Series 50 lap event and would lead early over Tyler Bushey and Bruno Richard. The action was intense in the opening 10 laps as Bushey put the pressure on the leader, while also battling to stay in front of Stephane Lebrun and Thomas MacDonald for the track title. On lap 12 Bushey got by bringing Richard to second with Marc Lalonde jumping into the top three. Bushey held a comfortable lead but several cautions slowed the race, allowing several chances for Richard, Lalonde and Yves Hamel to try for the top spot. During a green flag stretch the handling appeared to go away on the Bushey machine as Richard tried many times to get by but Bushey remained in control. Just past halfway, title contender Stephane Lebrun suffered a flat tire but would return to the race. Another title contender Thomas MacDonald also had issues and was involved in many cautions throughout the night. As the laps wound down Bruno Richard took a shot at the lead as Yves Hamel was in the mix for the win as well. With two laps remaining Richard’s bid for a win went away as he spun off the top of turn 4. On the final restart Yves Hamel got close but Tyler Bushey, would march to his 3rd win of the season and take his first PM Promotions DIRTCar Pro Stock championship. Yves Hamel took second with Marc Lalonde, Francois Adam and Jocelyn Roy, who recovered from an early spin to take 5th.

Jessica Power has turned her season around in the last few months, with some strong finishes at her home tracks and on the DIRTCar Sportsman Series. On Greenshield Pest Control night, which is also one of her main sponsors, Power looked like she was heading for a win as she led early over Dylan Kirkland, Kraig Handley, Greg Brinklow and Bobby Herrington. Power built up a big lead in the opening laps leaving everyone scrambling to find some speed to catch her. At halfway Power remained firmly in control as Kirkland and Herrington did all they could do to run her down, but were in need of a yellow flag. A quick yellow did fly for Tyler Stewart who spun in turn three but was able to continue. On the restart, Dylan Kirkland looked to have something for the leader but slipped off turn two going for the top spot allowing Herrington to get by for the runner-up position and the yellow flew again. When the green flew Herrington took the lead as Xavier Andrews and Brennan Moore were able to get into the top 3 with Power fading to 4th. Over the final laps, nobody was catching Bobby Herrington as he closed out his championship year with his 7th win of the season. Xavier Andrews finished second and also claimed the Dutchman Dash earlier in the night. Brennan Moore crossed in third over Jessica Power and Shane Stearns. Herrington mathematically clinched the title the week before but was officially crowned the champion on Saturday night.

The start of the DIRTCar 358 Modified feature saw trouble for title contenders right away. Ryan Arbuthnot was involved in a crash on the backstretch, which involved Danny O’Brien and several others. Arbuthnot’s car suffered heavy damage along with O’Brien. Under the same caution Johnathon Ferguson, who was second in the title chase, also suffered damage and headed for the pits, but later returned. The lap 1 carnage did not phase Kyle Dingwall one bit, as he charged to the lead early with Jarrett Herbison and Madison Mulder right there to challenge. Dingwall was fast all night and continued to get faster as the laps clicked off in the 30-lap event. With the race under a long green flag run, Ryan Arbuthnot made it back to the track, several laps down, but was making up time and trying to secure the championship as title rival Johnathon Ferguson went to the pits with mechanical problems. With the race going all green over the remaining laps, Kyle Dingwall had nothing but a clear race track in front of him as he marched to a dominant win. Jarrett Herbison settled for second with Madison Mulder third. Tristan Draper would edge out younger brother Kalen to round out the top 5. Even being many laps behind, Ryan Arbuthnot had enough points on Ferguson to be crowned the DIRTCar 358 Modified champion for a third time in the last four years.

Paul Donnelly had not won a race in Novice Sportsman since he won on Labour Day weekend one year ago. In the 12 lap even Saturday night, Donnelly was looking for a similar result as he led early on over Melcolm Banks and Trey Ladouceur. Donnelly was able to fend off several challenges from other drivers as behind him Ladouceur took second and was looking for his first Brockville win. On this night, in the Paul Pekkonen tribute car, Paul Donnelly would repeat his win from last year, taking his first win of the season. Trey Ladouceur would finish up second, with Melcolm Banks third and Nick Merkley fourth. Dylan Moore had early race issues but had locked up the title with his win one week ago. Moore was officially crowned the Novice Sportsman champion after a 5th-place finish.

Brandon MacMillan led by 10 points going into the 15-lap Mini Stock feature and had several drivers to contend with. Title rivals Matt Boal and Hayden Brown would take the top two spots at the drop of the green flag and pull away from everyone in the early laps. Boal would grab the lead as he was still in search of career win number one. Behind them points leader MacMillan was picking his way through the traffic and trying his best to keep Brown, Boal and Marc Dagenais in his sights. With 5 laps to go in traffic, Matt Boal was pinched into the infield allowing Hayden Brown to get by for the lead. With Brown in control, Brandon MacMillan took the opportunity and charged to second as he had the title in his hands. After a long season of struggles, Hayden Brown would finally grab victory number one of the year, with MacMillan taking second, and his first Brockville Mini Stock championship. Marc Dagenais, Dakota Boal and Jamie Larocque completed the top 5.

Following the evening a pair of incidents occurred both on and off track. On the race track, Danny O’Brien was testing another car for his race team. Heading into turn three O’Brien lost control of the car and flipped violently off the turn. Safety crews rushed to the scene to help.

At the same time, Brockville Speedway tow truck driver Corey Porteus was also struck by an ATV that was headed to the scene.

Staff and Management are happy to report that both O’Brien and Porteus were checked and released from Brockville General Hospital and although sore from their injuries, are at home resting and are expected to make a full recovery in a few week’s time.

A major thanks to all the medical and speedway staff, who assisted in these tense situations, which allowed those who were injured to get the care they needed Saturday night.

DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIEDS

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 66-Kyle Dingwall[5]; 2. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[6]; 3. 7M-Madison Mulder[7]; 4. 17-Tristan Draper[14]; 5. 18-Kalen Draper[13]; 6. 88S-Luke Whitteker[12]; 7. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[2]; 8. 64-Terry McClelland[4]; 9. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[10]; 10. 75J-Joe Banks[1]; 11. 08-Chris Ferguson[3]; 12. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[9]; 13. 17D-Danny O’Brien[8]; 14. (DNS) 83-Dylan Evoy

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 17D-Danny O’Brien[5]; 2. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[6]; 3. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[4]; 4. 75J-Joe Banks[1]; 5. 08-Chris Ferguson[2]; 6. 83-Dylan Evoy[7]; 7. 18-Kalen Draper[3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 66-Kyle Dingwall[3]; 2. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[1]; 3. 7M-Madison Mulder[6]; 4. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[5]; 5. 64-Terry McClelland[2]; 6. 88S-Luke Whitteker[7]; 7. 17-Tristan Draper[4]

16 entries

DIRTCAR SPORTSMANS

A Feature 1: 1. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[12]; 2. 0-Xavier Andrews[10]; 3. 35B-Brennan Moore[8]; 4. 52-Jessica Power[2]; 5. 22S-Shane Stearns[7]; 6. 91-Kraig Handley[3]; 7. 92T-Tristan Ladouceur[11]; 8. 707-Greg Brinklow[5]; 9. 16-Matthew Prunner[4]; 10. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[6]; 11. 32-Tyler Stewart[15]; 12. 98-Domonick Merkley[9]; 13. 11J-Justin Saunders[16]; 14. 18J-Jordan Wood[1]; 15. 27D-Mario Dupuis[13]; 16. X41-Xavier Perrin[14]

Heat 1: 1. 52-Jessica Power[2]; 2. 0-Xavier Andrews[3]; 3. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[4]; 4. 98-Domonick Merkley[6]; 5. 35B-Brennan Moore[5]; 6. 16-Matthew Prunner[7]; 7. 27D-Mario Dupuis[8]; 8. X41-Xavier Perrin[1]

Heat 2: 1. 91-Kraig Handley[2]; 2. 707-Greg Brinklow[3]; 3. 22S-Shane Stearns[4]; 4. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[5]; 5. 92T-Tristan Ladouceur[7]; 6. 18J-Jordan Wood[8]; 7. (DNS) 11J-Justin Saunders; 8. (DNS) 32-Tyler Stewart

21 entries

DIRTCAR PRO STOCK

A Feature 1: 1. X15-Tyler Bushey[3]; 2. 194-Yves Hamel[8]; 3. 8-Marc Lalonde[7]; 4. 01-Francois Adam[2]; 5. 48-Jocelyn Roy[1]; 6. 15-Guy Viens[11]; 7. 07-Robert Larocque[17]; 8. 72G-Denis Gauvreau[6]; 9. 32-Jonathan Levesque[5]; 10. 35-Jonathan Lemay[9]; 11. 38JR-Justin Chaput[10]; 12. 44X-Bruno Richard[4]; 13. 17-Marc Peladeau[20]; 14. 22-Gabriel Caouette[19]; 15. 1X-Ian Bressette[18]; 16. 6-Stephane Lebrun[12]; 17. 9-Eric Jean Louis[13]; 18. 33-Bruno Cyr[16]; 19. 27-Thomas MacDonald[15]; 20. 97-Etienne Levesque[14]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Marc Lalonde[1]; 2. 194-Yves Hamel[2]; 3. 38JR-Justin Chaput[4]; 4. 35-Jonathan Lemay[3]; 5. 9-Eric Jean Louis[5]; 6. 33-Bruno Cyr[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 48-Jocelyn Roy[1]; 2. 44X-Bruno Richard[3]; 3. 01-Francois Adam[2]; 4. 32-Jonathan Levesque[6]; 5. 97-Etienne Levesque[4]; 6. 07-Robert Larocque[5]; 7. 22-Gabriel Caouette[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 6-Stephane Lebrun[2]; 2. X15-Tyler Bushey[4]; 3. 15-Guy Viens[6]; 4. 72G-Denis Gauvreau[5]; 5. 27-Thomas MacDonald[1]; 6. 1X-Ian Bressette[7]; 7. 17-Marc Peladeau[3]

18 entries

DIRT MINI STOCKS

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 46-Hayden Brown[3]; 2. 23B-Brandon Macmillan[10]; 3. 30-Marc Dagenais[9]; 4. 73-Dakota Boal[5]; 5. 12A-Jamie Larocque[7]; 6. 06J-Jarrod Galway[8]; 7. 7M-Dan Cook[15]; 8. 67-Maxx Steele[11]; 9. 37-Matt Boal[6]; 10. 29-Tyson Slinger[2]; 11. 97-Dave Watchorn[16]; 12. 6-Ian Reid[1]; 13. 16J-Jesse Wolfe[18]; 14. 03C-Colin Chisamore[14]; 15. 7Z-Antoine Dumouchel[12]; 16. 95-Zac Lynch[13]; 17. 66P-Mark Packer[4]; 18. L29-Landen Slinger[17]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 46-Hayden Brown[3]; 2. 30-Marc Dagenais[5]; 3. 06J-Jarrod Galway[4]; 4. 66P-Mark Packer[1]; 5. 95-Zac Lynch[2]; 6. 97-Dave Watchorn[6]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 12A-Jamie Larocque[4]; 2. 23B-Brandon Macmillan[5]; 3. 73-Dakota Boal[3]; 4. 7Z-Antoine Dumouchel[6]; 5. 03C-Colin Chisamore[1]; 6. L29-Landen Slinger[2]

Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. 37-Matt Boal[3]; 2. 29-Tyson Slinger[2]; 3. 6-Ian Reid[1]; 4. 67-Maxx Steele[5]; 5. 7M-Dan Cook[4]; 6. 16J-Jesse Wolfe[6]

10 entries

NOVICE SPORTSMAN

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 98-Paul Donnelly[1]; 2. 21T-Trey Ladouceur[7]; 3. M75-Melcolm Banks[2]; 4. 911-Nick Merkley[8]; 5. 35D-Dylan Moore[6]; 6. 80D-Damien King[10]; 7. 82-Nicolas Mainville[5]; 8. 17M-Madie Wallace[4]; 9. 39-Cory Lambert[3]; 10. (DNS) 20-Nathan Lambert

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 82-Nicolas Mainville[4]; 2. 39-Cory Lambert[2]; 3. 98-Paul Donnelly[1]; 4. 21T-Trey Ladouceur[5]; 5. (DNS) 20-Nathan Lambert

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 35D-Dylan Moore[3]; 2. 17M-Madie Wallace[2]; 3. M75-Melcolm Banks[1]; 4. 911-Nick Merkley[4]; 5. 80D-Damien King[5]

Dutchman’s Dash 358 Modified Winner- Kalen Draper

Dutchman’s Dash Sportsman Winner- Xavier Andrews