THOROLD, Ont. (September 17, 2021) – Jacob Dykstra continued his dominant season in the Pinty’s Action Sprint Tour Crate Sprint Car series with another win on Friday night at Merrittville Speedway. Dykstra led just two laps of the 25 lap A-Main – the first lap and the last lap – but it was enough to earn his ninth win of the season.
Dyksta and Dale Curran made up the front row for the A-Main, but row two starter Eric Gledhill took the lead away from Dykstra on lap two and began to pull away. A pair of red flags slowed the race – one for a tipover by Larry Gledhill, and one for a very hard crash for Lucas Smith after he hopped Brett Stratford’s right rear tire and flipped over the turn one wall. Smith had to go through the B-Main and had charged into the top ten in the A-Main at the time of the crash; he was shaken up, but otherwise unhurt in the incident.
Eric Gledhill held the lead through both the stoppages along with a yellow flag for Matt Hill, but Dykstra stayed close behind the leader and stole the win when Gledhill got held up in traffic in the last set of corners. The win was Dykstra’s ninth in 11 AST races this season. Gledhill settled for the runner-up spot, followed by Nick Sheridan, Darren Dryden, and Curran. The top ten was rounded out by Dereck Lemyre, row eight starter Steve Murdock, Curtis Gartly, Dave McKnight, and Ryan Fraser. Heat race wins went to Lemyre, Dykstra, Eric Gledhill, and Brian Nanticoke, while Smith won the B-Main.
Jacob Dykstra’s lead in the championship standings now stands at 76 points over Allan Downey, while Nick Sheridan is a further 21 points back in third. Eric Gledhill and Darren Dryden are fourth and fifth, followed by Lucas Smith, Brett Stratford, Rob Neely, Dereck Lemyre, and Dale Curran.
The Action Sprint Tour will next be in competition on Friday, October 1 at Humberstone Speedway. Visit www.actionsprinttour.com for more information.
Pinty’s Action Sprint Tour Crate Sprint Car Series
Race Report – Friday, September 17, 2021
Merrittville Speedway
Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Heat Race 1: 1. 56-Dereck Lemyre
Heat Race 2: 1. 5D-Jacob Dykstra
Heat Race 3: 1. 7-Eric Gledhill
Heat Race 4: 1. 9C-Brian Nanticoke
B-Main: 1. 49L-Lucas Smith
A-Main: 1. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[1]; 2. 7-Eric Gledhill[3]; 3. 45-Nick Sheridan[8]; 4. 12DD-Darren Dryden[9]; 5. 31-Dale Curran[2]; 6. 56-Dereck Lemyre[7]; 7. 2M-Steve Murdock[16]; 8. 45L-Curtis Gartly[10]; 9. 70MM-Dave McKnight Jr[4]; 10. 94-Ryan Fraser[15]; 11. 74-Rob Neely[14]; 12. 26X-Terry Baker[18]; 13. 3S-Austin Roes[11]; 14. 19D-Allan Downey[17]; 15. 9C-Brian Nanticoke[6]; 16. 20-Johnny Miller[24]; 17. BS39-Brett Stratford[13]; 18. 38-Derek Miller[22]; 19. 48-Lance Erskine[23]; 20. 14-Larry Gledhill[20]; 21. 4B-Darrell Pelletier[5]; 22. 99-Joshua Hill[19]; 23. (DNF) 49L-Lucas Smith[21]; 24. (DNF) MK8-Matt Hill[12]
A-Main Lap Leaders – Jacob Dykstra 1, 25; Eric Gledhill 2-24
Margin of Victory – 0.372 seconds
Hard Charger – Steve Murdock +9
Up Next:
Friday, October 1, 2021 – Humberstone Speedway – Port Colborne, Ontario
Report from Tommy Goudge
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