BRIGHTON, ON – Brighton Speedway’s final fan appreciation night of the 57th season hosted an eager crowd, with 92 cars dialed in for a thriller on the dirt oval Saturday night. The evening featured Wall of Fame inductions, along with six divisions – the Canadian Modified, Thunder Stock, Mini Stocks, Comp 4, Stingers and Vantastics.
Drivers Don O’Blenis and the late Bill O’Hara were inducted into the Wall of Fame, along with Brighton Speedway ambassador Kevin McBride. During intermission, fans had the chance to meet their favourite drivers on the track for autographs, photos and special treats.
Tyson Gregory arguably had the best night, picking up two feature wins in his Mini Stock. Coming off his first season win on August 10, the points leader and Driver of the Week certainly found his groove heading into Saturday night’s main event, which carried through to a make-up race from August 3.
Travis Mclean snapped up the top spot on the opening lap of the Bill’s Johns 15-lap race and was dominant for half of the chase. A crash pushed him to the back of the pack and, on the restart, Gregory pushed out into the lead and never looked back. Hard charger Mclean came through the entire field to place second, with Chris Tufford third, Landon Mutch fourth and Caleb Sererin fifth.
In the make-up race, Gregory led from start to finish. He put the hammer down and left the rest of the field in his dust as he rode to victory lane for the second time on Saturday night. Tufford placed second in a very close battle at the line, with Severin taking third. Mutch placed fourth and Trevyn McCrillis fifth. Travis Chamberlain was black-flagged for aggressive driving.
Ron Wadforth and Wally Alderdice led a full field of 15 Canadian Modifieds to green in the 25-lap event, which had eight cautions and one black flag. Wadforth was hooked up as he took off, with Alderdice, Brittany Moon and Leslie Mowat battling in the rearview to catch him. Doug O’Blenis and Shawn Gregory wasted no time muscling their way into the top-three.
As he tried to make a move for the lead coming into Turn 3, O’Blenis suffered mechanical issues and had to start tail when the race resumed. Shortly after, Mowat was on the hook for a big wreck on the front stretch, with five other mods. She was later black-flagged for driver misconduct. With all of the mayhem, the field was reduced to eight. Wadforth kept his cool as he scored checkers for the sixth time this season. O’Blenis charged through the field to take second. Alderdice was third, Justin Ramsay fourth and Elmer Stevenson fifth.
Justin Ramsay was the car to beat in the Thunder Stock 20-lap event. Ramsay jumped out into the lead on the first lap and looked like he was on his way to scoring his fifth win of the season. Ramsay, Tyler French and Brock Gregory thrilled fans with another exhilarating chase between the points leaders. With four laps to go, Gregory found an opening on the high side as the trio shot down the back shoot. He sailed past Ramsay and French to secure the lead and visit victory lane for the third time this year. Ramsay finished second, Doug Anderson third, Carter Rhodes fourth and Kyle Anderson fifth.
Tommy Bailey jumped out in front on the opening lap of the Bill’s Johns 15-lap Comp 4 main event. He was flawless from start to finish as he booked it to the winner’s circle for the third time this year. Aidan Fletcher and Travis Fox-Connor tossed the second spot back-and-forth, but it was Fletcher who crossed the line ahead of Fox-Conner. Shawn Knowlton placed fourth and Matt Bond fifth.
It took Del McGregor and his passenger Ken Rhodes two laps to move from their seventh starting position into first in the Vantastics 12-lap affair. To fans’ delight, the chase was full of smashing and crashing but no major upsets in the exciting event. McGregor was unstoppable as he flew to victory lane, with Todd Caird and Eric Del Bianco in second. Megan Golden and passenger Lloyd Slack were third, Tyson Gregory and Wendy Dodson fourth, and Chris Lammle and Jake Ackerman fifth.
Jorden Pickell took the Stingers to green for 12 caution-filled laps. Despite multiple restarts and challenges from Chris Lammle, Pickell never lost his edge as he parked it for the second time this year. Lammle was second, Cooper McKeown third, Nicole Deveau fourth and Ray Davies fifth. Black flags were also given to Joshua Whitney, Josh Sparks, Kevin Mutch and R.J. Punchard for contact-related infractions.
- By Nicole Kleinsteuber
