Arbuthnot and Power charge to season opening wins at Brockvile, Power outage
ends the night
By: Tim Baltz
The 2022 season is finally underway at the Brockville Ontario Speedway. Mother
Nature tried her best to end the night early, as a nearby storm just missed the
speedway, allowing for some great racing action to take place.
Jessica Power used the pole starting position to lead the early portion of the 25
lap DIRTcar Sportsman feature. Power had a solid race car as she held off Tyler
Givogue, defending track champion Bobby Herrington, Shane Stearns and
Domonick Merkley. The top 3 began to pull away, however Tyler Givogue was
showing speed early. Givogue would use the top side to grab the lead as he was in
search of his first Brockville win. Givogue was pulling away with Power keeping
pace, but on lap 15 Josh Powers, who was running inside the top 5, was tagged by
another driver collecting Andrew Young, Jamie Young and Trent Wallace. Greg
Brinklow received heavy damage in the accident as he slammed into the Powers
number 73. All drivers were ok and many were done for the night. Once racing
resumed Givogue once again held the lead but Power and new third place driver
Bobby Herrington were closing quickly as the laps wound down. Power’s car got
faster and with 2 laps remaining, took the lead from Givoque, who began to fade
in the late stages. From there Jessica Power would go unchallenged to win for the
6th time in her Brockville career and first since 2020. Givogue held off Herrington
for 2nd with Shane Stearns and Ricky Thompson completing the top 5.
Tristan Draper and Chris Herbison led the field to green to start the 30 lap DIRTcar
358 Modified feature. After a side by side battle it was Herbison taking control of
the race with defending track champion Ryan Arbuthnot 3rd. It wasn’t long before
the defending champion went to work as he took over the top spot on lap 3 and
began to author a dominating performance, as he opened up over a full straight
away advantage on the field. Behind him Kyle Dingwall was on the move taking
2nd from Draper while Chris Raabe moved to 4th as Herbison completed the top
5. A caution flew to bunch the field up at halfway giving Dingwall and others,
another shot at the leader. On the restart Arbuthnot and Dingwall made contact
heading into turn one sending Dingwall spinning. Jeremy LaSalle slammed into
Dingwall’s car ending both drivers nights. LaSalle needed medical attention but
would walk away from the incident. Both cars were done for the night. After the
restart it was a battle between Arbuthnot and one of the top drivers in the region
Chris Raabe. The Alexandria native was closing in on Arbuthnot for the lead and
pulled even at the white flag. The two drivers raced door to door coming off the
turn with Arbuthnot winning by a half car length at the finish. Raabe would finish
2nd with Tristan Draper, Jarrett Herbison and Joe Banks making up the top 5.
The 15 lap 1000 Islands RV Crate Sprints took to the speedway next and Lee
Ladouceur was on a mission. After a top 10 run in the 358 Modified feature,
Ladouceur would go to the front early over Mathieu Bardier and Ryan Poole.
Without the help of a caution flag, Bardier, Poole, Francis Laliberte and Tim Bailey
had little chance of catching the veteran. Ladouceur would cruise on to his first
Brockville Speedway Crate Sprint Car win over Bardier and Poole.
Caution flags slowed the early portion of the 12 lap Novice Sportsman feature but
eventually veteran Sandy MacFarlane would take charge of the field over Holly
Denard and Nathan Lambert. Denard would keep it close in the early laps, as she
battled MacFarlane throughout the entire race. Behind the top 2 Shawn Hodge
was making his debut in this division and moved to the top 3 late in the going. In
the end Sandy MacFarlane was not to be denied as he held off Denard and Hodge
to score the big win. Holly Denard scored a career best 2nd with Shawn Hodge’s
debut resulting in a third place finish.
The Street Stock feature was slated for 12 laps, however something unexpected
was about to change that. Steve Billings led the way early on with Nick Gauvreau
and Brett Horner right there to challenge. Billings had a fast car at the start but
Horner was on the move. The Kingston native took 2nd from Gauvreau using the
bottom, as he charged after Billings. At the half way point Billings spun while
leading which brought out the yellow. While under yellow, a power outage across
the region left the track in the dark. Race officials would deem the race official as
there was no estimated time to fix the problem. With this Brett Horner was
flagged the winner of the race over Billings, Nick Gauvreau, Patrice Foster and
Francis Gauthier.
Next week a full show is back with the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, DIRTcar Sportsman
and Novice Sportsman. The Supernant Truck Shop Mini Stocks will be on hand for
their first appearance of the year. The 1000 Islands RV Crate Sprints will also be
back for a second straight week.
For the remainder of the 2022 schedule, points, news, results and everything
happening at The BOS, check out our website at brockvillespeedway.com.
Remember to give the speedway a follow on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
DIRTcar 358 Modified (30 laps)
RYAN ARBUTHNOT, Chris Raabe, Tristan Draper, Jarrett Herbison, Joe Banks,
Johnathon Ferguson, Jeff Sykes, Ryan Scott, Lee Ladouceur, Chris Herbison, Corbin
Millar, Kalen Draper, Terry McClelland, Brian McDonald, Kyle Dingwall, Jeremy
LaSalle, Madison Mulder, (DNS) Steve Bilow
Heat Winners: Tristan Draper and Chris Herbison
DIRTcar Sportsman (25 laps)
JESSICA POWER, Tyler Givogue, Bobby Herrington, Shane Stearns, Ricky
Thompson, Tyler Stewart, Xavier Perrin, Michael Dillon, Tammy Jalbert, Domonick
Merkley, Andrew Young, Dale Gifford, Brennan Moore, Trent Wallace, Justin
Saunders, Evan Reynolds, Josh Kirkland, Dan Ferguson, Josh Powers, Greg
Brinklow, Jamie Young, Xavier Andrews, Dylan Kirkland, Justin Cyr
Heat Winners: Jessica Power, Domonick Merkley and Tyler Stewart
Novice Sportsman (12 laps)
SANDY MACFARLANE, Holly Denard, Shawn Hodge, Hayden Brown, Paul
Donnelly, Jordan Wood, Nathan Lambert, (DNS) Gavin MacFarlane and Keira
Turner
Heat Winner: Sandy MacFarlane