THOROLD, ON — The second night of the Inaugural Fall Brawl at Merrittville Speedway ended the racing season at Canada’s oldest dirt track on a high note. Gary Lindberg of Ridgeway, Ont., swept the weekend with a win in the 358 Modifieds in a feature that paid $3,000 to win. Hagersville’s Dave Bailey doubled down, winning both the $1,200 feature and the Duel on the Dirt title. The Southern Ontario Sprints wrapped up their season with a stop at Merrittville, where Dylan Westbrook of Scotland, Ont., won the feature that paid $5,000 to win, while Freelton’s Darren Dryden took home the overall championship. The Modified Lites put on a show with Port Colborne’s Ryan Anderson winning in a photo finish, while Cierra Keus of Port Robinson scored her fifth win to close out the Four Cylinder season.
The 358 Modifieds contested an extended 40-lap feature event as part of the second night of the Fall Brawl. Jay Mallory and Ryan Susice started up front, with Susice grabbing the early lead. That lead grew to nearly four seconds on the field, while Brad Rouse and Gary Lindberg, who finished second and first the night before, worked their way into the top three. On lap 14, a caution erased the lead Susice had built, and Rouse lined up to his outside. Susice led for a few laps before Rouse, using the outside line, took over. Lindberg then caught Susice but had to be patient, battling for several laps to get around him as Susice ran a strong defensive line. Rouse began to catch lapped traffic and lost some pace, while Lindberg, once past Susice, moved smoothly through the slower cars to close in on Rouse. With eight laps to go, Lindberg got enough momentum to clear Rouse and drive to his second win of the weekend. The two victories brought Lindberg’s weekend earnings to $5,500, capping a season that also saw him claim the Merrittville track championship. Rouse and Susice joined him on the podium, with Pete Bicknell and Mallory rounding out the top five.
The final feature for Hoosier Stock racing at Merrittville also served as the conclusion of the Duel on the Dirt combined track championship. Bailey, who had already secured the 2025 Merrittville track title, needed only a top-10 finish to clinch the multi-track crown. The night nearly turned disastrous when Justin Ramsay spun while running inside the top five on lap two, forcing Bailey to make evasive moves to avoid contact. After multiple cautions, Bailey worked his way from seventh to the front by lap nine. Mark Fawcett challenged Bailey for the win, which paid $1,200, but frequent restarts prevented him from making a move in traffic. Bailey took the title and the win ahead of Fawcett, while Merrittville regular Jason Fontaine finished third after a late rally with a damaged car.
Sprint car fans were treated to an instant classic in the Southern Ontario Sprints season finale. The championship came down to Dryden, who held a narrow eight-point margin over Ryan Turner entering the feature. While the title fight was tight, the battle for the $5,000 feature win was even more thrilling. Jordan Poirier, who started from pole, led much of the early going with outside polesitter Kyle Phillips giving chase. Westbrook worked his way into the top five, but hard racing with Todd Hoddick sent Hoddick spinning and brought out a caution on lap seven. Meanwhile, Dryden, who started third, began fading through the top 10 with a brake issue. Turner got around him on the restart to take over seventh and began to chip away at the points gap.
Up front, Poirier continued to lead, but the race heated up midway with Phillips and Westbrook applying pressure. The three engaged in a thrilling multi-lap battle, trading the lead and racing three-wide at times. With three laps to go, Poirier slipped over the cushion in turn four, bringing out a caution and ending what had been one of the best sprint car duels of the year. Westbrook took the top spot and controlled the race on the four-lap dash to the finish. Turner picked up another position and had a shot at the championship if he could break into the top five. Dryden dropped another spot to Scott Kreutter but managed to hang on to eighth place, doing just enough to win the championship by four points.
Joining Saturday’s program were the Modified Lites. Anderson and Brent Begolo started on the front row, with Begolo leading early before a caution for Chris Watson on lap eight. Anderson stayed close on the restart and took the lead on lap 13. Begolo countered with steady pressure, forcing a mistake with four laps to go as Anderson drifted high in turn two. Begolo retook the lead, but Anderson regrouped and set up a crossover move in the final corners, edging Begolo at the line by just .015 seconds. Track champion Tyler Winger finished third, with Sean Iftody and Anthony Kelly completing the top five.
The opening feature of the night saw the Four Cylinders run their final race for a $500 purse. Although Connor Chambers and Richard Hadler started on the front row, it was Keus, starting third, who took the early lead. After building a large advantage, a caution for her father Shawn’s stalled car erased it on lap eight. Leroy Buscomb briefly took the lead on the restart, but Keus regained it before another yellow on lap 11. From there, she was unchallenged, holding off the field on a late restart to claim her fifth Merrittville win of the season. Buscomb, Kyle and Hana Rothwell, and Pete Reid rounded out the top five.
RACE RESULTS — October 4, 2025
358 Modifieds — Gary Lindberg (9), Brad Rouse, Ryan Susice, Pete Bicknell, Jay Mallory, Darrell Farraway, Tommy Flannigan, Dave Flannigan Jr., James Friesen, Kyle Richner, Tyler Willard, Max McLaughlin, Luke Carleton, Shayne Pierce, Scott Wood, Justin Sharp, Todd Gordon, Derek VanMil, Ken Winfield, Bill Gill, (DNF) Brian Page, (DNS) Fred Carleton
Qualifying Heats — Kyle Richner, Luke Carleton, Gary Lindberg
Hoosier Stocks — Dave Bailey (12), Mark Fawcett, Jason Fontaine, Brock Gregory, Trevor DeBoer, Rob Murray, Steve Shaw Sr., Cameron Thomson, Zack Bleich, George Grosul, Dustin Duga, Kyle Pelrine, Dylan Riley, Brandon Greene-Styres, Chris Hackett, Chris Crowe, (DNF) Jeff Larmet, (DNF) Gofast Teeple, (DNF) Tyler French, (DNF) Keith Dale, (DNF) Bella General, (DNF) John Overholt, (DNF) Dion Riley, (DNF) Kevin Kocark, (DNF) Justin Ramsay
Qualifying Heats — Chris Crowe, Dave Bailey, Jason Fontaine
Southern Ontario Sprints — Dylan Westbrook, D.J. Christie, Josh Hansen, Kyle Phillips, Cory Turner, Ryan Turner, Scott Kreutter, Darren Dryden, Jason Barney, Bailey Heard, Ashton VanEvery, Mike Lichty, Tyeller Powless, Glenn Styres, Aaron Turkey, Nick Sheridan, Mike Bowman, Todd Hoddick, Skyler Evans, Alex Bergeron, Jordan Poirier, Scott Hall, Kevin Pauls, Scott Sherk, (DNF) Jamie Turner, (DNF) Matt Farnham, (DNF) Alan Downey, (DNF) Travis Cunningham, (DNS) Cole MacDonald
Qualifying Heats — D.J. Christie, Kyle Phillips, Darren Dryden, Jordan Poirier
Quick Time — Matt Farnham, 13.622
Modified Lites — Ryan Anderson, Brent Begolo, Tyler Winger, Sean Iftody, Anthony Kelly, Chris Watson, R.J. Pietz, Ashton Anderson, Dave Cornish, Cole Hardy, Nick Sarantakos, Ryleigh Sliter, Dan Kviring, Bella General, Lance Waldeck, (DNF) Cohen Corbett, (DNS) Dillan Sliter
Qualifying Heats — Brent Begolo, Ryan Anderson
Four Cylinders — Cierra Keus (5), Leroy Buscomb, Kyle Rothwell, Hana Rothwell, Pete Reid, Spencer Riddell, Grayden Lyons, Dave Wininger, Connor Chambers, Steven Boverhof, Savannah Fontaine, Ray Cerenzia, Richard Hadler, Randy Alway, Max Trivieri, Sam Iftody, Travis Ruch, Cassie Reynolds, Ken Hair, Austyn Werstroh, Crystal Soules, (DNF) Sierra Robison, (DNF) Olivier Larocque, (DNF) Cameron Lane, (DNF) Shawn Keus, (DNS) Tyler Lafantaise, (DNS) Mason Anderson
Qualifying Heats — Cierra Keus, Leroy Buscomb, Shawn Keus
