The excitement of the ever-popular school bus races drew in thousands of enthusiastic fans, all eager to experience an electrifying night of dirt track racing at Brighton Speedway on Saturday.
The energy in the air was electric as a capacity crowd erupted with cheers, ready to witness an exhilarating and action-packed showdown. The night did not disappoint, as 98 cars dialed in for a complete race card featuring school buses, Canadian Modifieds, Thunder Stocks, 4-Cylinders, and Stingers.
Sousa Sails to Victory in School Bus Showdown
A four-wide-formation start to the school bus feature was a spectacular sight that moved fans to their feet during the wave lap. Twenty buses stocked the field for the 15-lap main event. As soon as the green flag waved, chaos erupted on the track as the massive buses roared into action, tearing through turns one and two.
On lap four, No. 88 Bryan McColl took the lead from polesitter No. 5 Del MacGregor. McColl’s lead was short-lived as he drove hard and crashed head-first into turn two. The fans cheered with delight as he emerged uninjured, but his bus did not survive the dramatic wreck. On the restart, No. 94 Shawn Sousa gained the lead and sailed to the winner’s circle, with No. 98 Kyle Rhebergen in second. No. 9 Stu Archer placed third, No. 116 Jordan Flood fourth, and No. 19 Jim Perry fifth.
Belyea Books it to Winner’s Circle
Second starter No. 32 Doug O’Blenis was quick to snap up the point from polesitter No. 51 Mike Freeman on the lead lap of the 25-lap Canadian Modified feature. O’Blenis was ruthless on the high side and looked well on his way to scoring his first feature win of the season.
With 10 laps to go, a caution slowed the pace and No. 25 Greg Belyea jumped out into the lead on the restart. Belyea was unstoppable as O’Blenis and No. 40 Ron Wadforth hunted him down. When the checkers fell, Belyea was victorious, with Wadforth in second. O’Blenis took third, No. 2 Leslie Mowat fourth, and Freeman fifth.
Ramsay Reels in Another Win
No. 03 Justin Ramsay slid into the lead, ahead of polesitter No. 16 Kaitlyn O’Blenis, on the first lap of the 20-lap Thunder Stock feature. Ramsay was flawless in pursuit of his second feature flag of the season.
Halfway through the race, Ramsay got too wide coming down the backstretch, allowing No. 72 Doug Anderson to slip into the lead. With four laps to go, Ramsay regained the point and went head-to-head with No. 0 Tyler French in a nail-biter to the finish. The pair raced hard to the line with Ramsay finishing first and French close behind.
Officials handed French a penalty for aggressive driving at the end of the race, leaving him with a last-place finish. Anderson placed second, No. 10 Carter Rhodes third, O’Blenis fourth, and No. 97 Dave Barrett fifth.
Checkers Fly for Fletcher Again
It only took No. 42 Aidan Fletcher two laps to pounce on the lead from his fifth-place starting position in the 15-lap 4-Cylinder feature. Fletcher was hooked on the high side as No. 10 Travis McLean charged from his 19th starting spot into second by lap 4.
“The Hammer” tried to reel in Fletcher, but not even lapped traffic could slow the No. 42’s pace. Fletcher scored his second win of the season, with McLean in second. Polesitter No. 20 Cody Sager placed third, No. 3 Shawn Knowlton was fourth, and No. 61 Ryan Branscombe charged from 14th to fifth.
McKeown Picks Up 1st Career Win
No. 93 Jorden Pickell pulled into the lead on the first lap of the 12-lap Stingers main. He appeared to ride to victory lane, with No. 9 Cole McKeown in his rearview. However, Pickell was disqualified following a post-race tech inspection, leaving McKeown to pick up the first victory of his racing career.
No. 95C Chris Lammle was second, No. 21 Michael Storey third, No. 17 Ryder Punchard fourth, and No. 31 Billy O’Hara fifth.
