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Lindberg Lands Third Trip to Victory Lane at Merrittville

THOROLD, Ontario (July 19th, 2025) … A packed house of race fans at Merrittville Speedway were treated to another stelar night of racing action and a little destruction as Fastek Inc presented a Small Car Demolition Derby to close out the evening’s action. Ridgeway, ON’s Gary Lindberg won the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modified feature. Cody McPherson of St. Catharines returned to his winning ways in the Semenuk’s ESSO/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman. Tyler Winger of Ridgeway, ON claimed the win in the Rona Doidge Modified Lite event. Hagersville, ON’s Dave Bailey won in the Hoosier Stocks, and Cierra Keus of Beamsville, ON opened the night with a win in the All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders.

In the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modified feature, Ken Winfield jumped out to an early lead over Luke Carleton and Scott Wood, leading the races first 15 laps. The caution was displayed at lap 15 when James Friesen and Dave Flannigan Jr. came together on the back stretch, which caused a suspension failure for Flannigan. Flannigan was unable to steer and collected Martin Polhill and Dylan Davidson, with all three cars ending up tangle on the berm in turns 3 and 4. Luke Carleton was able to secure the lead before the caution fell, and on the restart, Winfield’s night took a turn for the worst when he spun on lap 16, ending his chances for a win. Meanwhile, Gary Lindberg carefully maneuvered his way through the field, finding himself in third with 13 laps to go. By 10 to go, Lindberg was up to second with his sights set on Luke Carleton, who was attempting to become the 10th different feature winner in 2025 in the 358 Modified division. However, with six laps left in the feature, Lindberg, who was four tenths of a second faster than Carleton by that point, took the lead and drove off with the win to become the first driver to three feature wins in the division. Carleton settled for second, with Shayne Pierce, Brad Rouse and Scott Wood rounding out the top five finishers.

Curtis Friesen and Madyson Rouse led the field to green in the Semenuk’s ESSO/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman Feature. After a multi car incident with minimal damage brought out the yellow before the field could complete a lap, Madyson Rouse jumped out to the early advantage. Billy Bleich Jr. then got by Rouse on lap six. By the race's halfway point, Cody McPherson reached the second spot and had his sights on Bleich’s no. 108 ride. The caution came out at lap 16 when Cameron Olm’s car ground to a halt on the front stretch. On the restart, Bleich drove McPherson high into turn one, which McPherson countered by diving low on the exit of turn two, eventually clearing Bleich. McPherson would drive off and collect win number 8 on the campaign ahead of Bleich, Puchalski, Vanderzanden and Rouse.

The Rona Doidge Modified Lites began with Chris Watson and Shawn Sliter up front. On lap three, a multi car incident collected favourites Joe Isabell and Josh Sliter, however both would continue on. The seventh lap of the feature say Tyler Winger take the lead from Shawn Sliter. Winger built an over two second advantage on the field until a caution on lap 13 for a single car spin. By this point, Isabell had worked his way into the top five. On the restart, Shawn Sliter was able to hang with Winger, keeping pressure, while Isabell moved forward to third. Another caution, this time with two laps to go, set up a single restart where Winger would be tasked with holding off Sliter, Isabell, Cohen Corbett and Sean Iftody. Isabell was able to get around Sliter for second, but came up one spot short, with Winger playing great defense on the final lap to win the feature.

In the Hoosier Stocks, John Overholt and Dustin Duga fired off from the front row, with Overholt backing up quickly, while Duga took the lead early. In search of his eighth victory of the year, Dave Bailey worked his way forward to take over the top spot on lap six. Meanwhile, Jason Fontaine showed strong pace driving from 15th to third by lap eight, eventually taking second from Kyle Pelrine. The only caution of the race came at lap 11, when Jeff Larmet went for a solo spin. Bailey was able to control the restart and comfortably drive off from the field, while Fontaine got by Pelrine for second. Fontaine was not the only driver who started deep in the field to move forward, as Rob Murray who started 17th, drove to the top five, eventually catching and passing Fontaine on the final lap for second. No one could touch Bailey, who continues his red hot summer stretch in the Hoosier Stocks.

John Trivieri and Olivier Larocque led the mini stocks to green, with Trivieri leading the open laps. Austyn Werstroh tracked down Trivieri to take the lead on lap three. At lap six, Cierra Keus, who started eighth, was able to wrestle the lead away from Werstroh. At the races halfway point, the caution flew for when Sierra Robison and Conner Chambers tangled. Caution was displayed once again with five laps to go after a small fire broke out in the pits. On the single file restart, Keus was able to cruise away from the field. Keus picked up her second win of the season ahead of Werstroh who held off a hard charging Hana Rothwell for second.

Next week, Exclusive Imprint and the Jacket Cellar presents the action from Merrittville Speedway. The evening will also feature the rescheduled Big Bike Giveaway presented by Niagara Trail Maintenance and Auto FX Graphics and Signs, where kids aged 3-15 years old will receive a ballot upon entry to win a brand new bike. All five Bobcat of Hamilton Weekly Racing Series will be in action including the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds, Semenuk’s ESSO/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman, Rona Doidge Modified Lites, Hoosier Stocks and All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders. Pit Gates will open at 5pm, with grandstands opening at 5:30pm, and racing will get underway at 7pm. For more information, visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com and can follow the action on My Race Pass.
Follow Merrittville on social media including Facebook (facebook.com/MerrittvilleSpeedway), Twitter (@Merrittville), and now on Instagram (@merrittvillespeedway). For results, point standings, and more, check out www.merrittvillespeedway.com

RACE RESULTS –- July 19th, 2025.

Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds – GARY LINDBERG (3), Luke Carleton, Shayne Pierce, Brad Rouse, Scott Wood, Fred Carleton, Nelson Mason, Justin Sharp, Pete Bicknell, Todd Gordon, Tommy Flannigan, Paul Gaboury, Glenn Styres, Ken Winfield, Derek VanMil, (DNF) Darrell Farraway, (DNF) James Friesen, (DNF) Bill Gill, (DNF) Jay Mallory, (DNF) Dylan Davidson, (DNF) Dave Flannigan Jr., (DNF) Martin Polhill, (DNF) Brian Page

Qualifying Heats – Dave Flannigan Jr., Todd Gordon, Scott Wood

Semenuk’s ESSO/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman – CODY MCPHERSON (8), Billy Bleich Jr., Tyler Puchalski, Taylor Vanderzanden, Madyson Rouse, Noah Mamo, Jacob Chevalier, Curtis Friesen, Mitch Dumont, Matteo Panunte, Brad Overbeeke, Daniel McKay, Tyler Lafantasie, Trevor Pitt, Elijah Knutt, Doug Walsh Jr., (DNF) Cameron Olm, (DNF) Jeff Panunte, (DNF) John Babion

Qualifying Heats - Billy Bleich Jr., Curtis Friesen, Brad Overbeeke

Rona Doidge Modified Lites – TYLER WINGER (4), Joe Isabell, Shawn Sliter, Cohen Corbett, Sean Iftody, Brent Begolo, Leroy Buscumb, Chris Watson, Anthony Kelly, Greg Zack, Ashton Anderson, Dillan Sliter, Ryleigh Sliter, Nick Sarantakos, Dan Kviring, Dave Cornish, Cole Hardy, Roger Pardis, Bella General, Jeffery Bernier-Lacombe, (DNF) Josh Sliter, (DNF) Jacob Ross, (DNF) Anthony Scott, (DNF) Ryan Anderson

Qualifying Heats – Shawn Sliter, Sean Iftody, Joe Isabell

Hoosier Stocks – DAVE BAILEY (8), Rob Murray, Jason Fontaine, Mark Fawcett, Dustin Duga, Zack Bleich, Gofast Teeple, Spencer Smolders, Dave Small, Jeff Larmet, Clinton Nicholls, Jeff Bean, Kyle Pelrine, John Overholt, Kevin Kocarik, George Grosul, (DNF) Chris Crowe

Qualifying Heats – Kyle Pelrine, Mark Fawcett

All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders – CIERRA KEUS (2), Austyn Werstroh, Hana Rothwell, Joshua Dmytrow, Alex Riley, Ken Hair, Randy Always, Mason Anderson, Olivier Larocque, John Lubeck, Braden Keus, John Trivieri, Richard Hadler, Joe Stevenson, Nick Bowman, Connor Chambers, Jesse Duguay, Jeremy Cooper, (DNF) Brendan Lefrancois, (DNF) Ray Cerenzia, (DNF) Steve Robison, (DNF) Dave Wininger, (DNF) Sierra Robison, (DNF) Steven Boverhof, (DNF) Savannah Fontaine, (DNF) Jack Reid, (DNS) Jonathan Macwhirter, (DNS) Clinton Barrick

Qualifying Heats - John Trivieri, Hana Rothwell, Sierra Robison

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