THOROLD, ON – Merrittville Speedway wrapped up the Civic Holiday long weekend with the Canadian Grand Nationals, drawing 122 cars into the pits. The night concluded with a 44-lap 358 Modified feature in honour of injured Niagara-born driver Stewart Friesen, won by Ridgeway’s Gary Lindberg. Cody McPherson of St. Catharines claimed the win in the DIRTcar Sportsman division. Thorold’s Brent Begolo topped the Modified Lites. Dave Bailey of Hagersville took the checkered flag in the Hoosier Stocks, while Cierra Keus of Port Robinson emerged victorious in the 4 Cylinders.
Justin Sharp and Todd Gordon led the 358 Modifieds to green in the Get Well Soon Stew 44, with Gordon taking the early lead. On lap five, Lindberg powered into first place after starting third. A caution on lap 13 briefly paused the action for a three-car tangle involving Luke Carleton, Brad Rouse, and Dave Flannigan Jr. Rouse and Carleton clashed again a few laps later, leading to on-track contact and pit road tensions that brought out a red flag. After the situation calmed, Lindberg pulled away during a long green-flag run, building a nearly 10-second lead on Gordon, who had a comfortable gap over third-place Nelson Mason. Lindberg lapped all but six cars to complete a sweep of the Modified weekend.
In similar fashion, Sportsman points leader Cody McPherson also started third and took the lead on the opening lap. A multi-car spin on lap two, involving Madyson Rouse and Mitch Dumont, triggered a sequence of cautions, prompting race officials to switch to single-file restarts after lap eight. Once the race settled, McPherson remained untouchable, even after a late caution forced a green-white-checkered finish. He led every lap to secure his 10th Merrittville win of the season, ahead of Jacob Chevalier, Billy Bleich Jr., Tyler Puchalski, and Curtis Friesen.
In Modified Lites action, Ashton Anderson and Dillan Sliter led the field early, but Brent Begolo charged from eighth to take over on lap eight. A spin by Josh Sliter, on lap 10, brought out the yellow, but Begolo held strong on the restart and, again, after a late caution with three to go. He cruised to his second win of the season, followed by Shawn and Dillan Sliter. Ashton Anderson finished fourth, with Sean Iftody rounding out the top-five.
The Hoosier Stocks put on a chaotic but entertaining show with a full field. Steve Shaw Sr. led early before Mark Fawcett took control prior to a lap seven caution. On the restart, Dave Bailey – chasing his 10th win of the year – moved to the front. A final caution, on lap nine, came when Brock Gregory turned Rob Murray. From there, Bailey was untouchable, completing his weekend sweep. Kyle Pelrine grabbed second after a late pass on Fawcett. Jason Fontaine stormed through the field to finish fourth, while Shaw Sr. settled for fifth.
The only caution-free feature of the night belonged to the 4 Cylinders, where 28 cars took the green. Josh Dmytrow led early, battling closely with Cierra Keus, Alex Riley, and Rob Goulding. Dmytrow held them off skillfully until the midway point, when Keus made a successful move for the lead. Riley followed her through but couldn’t catch her as Keus captured her third win of the season. Goulding, Dmytrow, and Hana Rothwell completed the top-five.
