THOROLD, ON – Fans at Merrittville Speedway were treated to a mix of high-flying motocross stunts and five divisions of racing on Saturday night. The racing program saw local drivers return to victory lane, with Fred Carleton of St. Catharines scoring his second 358 Modified win of the season. Other feature winners included Cody McPherson of St. Catharines in the Sportsman, Ridgeway’s Tyler Winger in the Modified Lites, St. Catharines’ Rob Murray in the Hoosier Stocks, and Niagara Falls’ Ken Hair in the 4-Cylinders.
Carleton started on the front row of the 358 Modified main event and jumped out to the early lead. The first caution came on Lap 14 when Gary Lindberg was turned by James Friesen, sending both to the rear. Carleton led the restart over veteran Pete Bicknell, who soon faced pressure from Darrell Farraway.
Cautions on laps 27 and 28 bunched the field, giving Bicknell a chance at the lead, but he slipped out of the groove and faded. Carleton maintained control and held off Farraway for the win. Justin Sharp, Brad Rouse, and Shayne Pierce rounded out the top-five.
The Sportsman feature saw Doug Walsh Jr. and Madyson Rouse swap the lead early, before Nigel Pendykoski took command on Lap 11. Noah Mamo and Walsh battled behind him until a late caution brought Cody McPherson into contention. McPherson charged past Mamo on the restart, then overtook Pendykoski with four laps to go. The victory was McPherson’s 12th of the season and locked up the 2025 track title.
In Modified Lite action, Josh Sliter started fourth and built a large advantage before a flat tire on Shawn Sliter drew a caution. A second yellow quickly followed for a solo spin. On the next restart, Tyler Winger slipped past Sliter and went on to his sixth feature win of the year. The win added to Winger’s championship lead, while Rob Pietz passed Sliter late to claim second.
The Hoosier Stock feature ran caution-free, with Rob Murray seizing the lead from the outside pole. Dave Bailey moved into second but couldn’t match Murray’s pace, surrendering the spot to Kyle Pelrine. Pelrine pressured Murray in traffic but Murray refused to yield, extending his lead to claim his second win of the year.
The 4-Cylinder feature began with a multi-car crash that flipped Hana Rothwell in turn four, but Rothwell was unhurt. After the restart, Ray Cerenzia led most of the way while Ken Hair worked through the field. Despite damage to his car, Hair chased down Cerenzia and made the winning move coming to the white flag. The victory was Hair’s sixth of the season, keeping him within striking distance of points leader Alex Riley.
RACE RESULTS – August 23, 2025
358 Modifieds – Fred Carleton, Darrell Farraway, Justin Sharp, Brad Rouse, Shayne Pierce, Luke Carleton, Scott Wood, Jay Mallory, Tommy Flannigan, Gary Lindberg, James Friesen, Paul Gaboury, Pete Bicknell, Todd Gordon, Boyd MacTavish, Derek VanMil, Bill Gill, (DNF) Brian Page, (DNF) Nelson Mason.
Heats – Gordon, Pierce, Lindberg.
Sportsman – Cody McPherson, Nigel Pendykoski, Noah Mamo, Mitch Dumont, Doug Walsh Jr., Tyler Lafantaise, Matt Sharpe, Matteo Panunte, Tyler Puchalski, Billy Bleich Jr., Jeff Panunte, Daniel McKay, Kyle Rothwell, Austin Seburn, Jacob Chevalier, Madyson Rouse, Ryan Barrett, Cameron Olm, Elijah Knutt, Brad Overbeeke, (DNF) Curtis Friesen, (DNF) Taylor Vanderzanden.
Heats – Barrett, Dumont, McPherson.
Modified Lites – Tyler Winger, Josh Sliter, R.J. Pietz, Rob Misener, Cohen Corbett, Dillan Sliter, Ryan Anderson, Anthony Kelly, Ashton Anderson, Leroy Buscumb, Anthony Scott, Cole Hardy, Sean Iftody, Bella General, Ryleigh Sliter, Lance Waldeck, Chance Kotar, Dave Cornish, (DNF) Roger Pardis, (DNF) Derek Millman, (DNF) Shawn Sliter, (DNF) Brent Begolo.
Heats – Pardis, Sliter, Winger.
Hoosier Stocks – Rob Murray, Kyle Pelrine, Dave Bailey, Mark Fawcett, Gofast Teeple, Zach Bleich, Dustin Duga, Chris Crowe, George Grosul, Jeff Bean, Dave Small, Kacey Huffman, John Overholt, Nathan MacWhirter, Sam Iftody, (DNF) Jason Fontaine, (DNS) Spencer Maytum.
Heats – Duga, Murray.
4-Cylinders – Ken Hair, Ray Cerenzia, Sierra Robison, Alex Riley, Jeremy Cooper, Brendan Lefrancois, Rob Goulding, Austyn Werstroh, John Lubeck, Randy Alway, Olivier Larocque, Cierra Keus, John Trivieri, Dave Wininger, Rogan Monaghan, Mason Anderson, Steven Boverhof, Clinton Barrick, Grayden Lyons, Connor Chambers, Braden Keus, Savannah Fontaine, (DNF) Richard Hadler, (DNF) James Marshall, (DNF) Hana Rothwell, (DNF) Joshua Dmytrow.
Heats – Cerenzia, Alway, Cooper.
