Raabe notches second Brockville 358 Modified win, Merkley Scores first in
Sportsman
By: Tim Baltz
Track conditions were totally different this past Saturday at the Brockville Ontario
Speedway. A smooth surface and multiple grooves provided the fans with great
action and exciting finishes, on Polite Sand and Gravel night.
In DIRTcar 358 Modified action Joe Banks paced the field at the start of the 30 lap
event over Kalen Draper and Madison Mulder. Lee Ladouceur moved to the front
quickly and closed in on Banks for the lead. Heading into turn 3 Banks lost control
of his car after slight contact from Ladouceur sent him spinning. On the restart
Ladouceur charged to the lead and was flying around the top side. Meanwhile
Chris Raabe was on the move as he took second from Chris Herbison on lap 15.
Ladouceur continued his run around the outside lane but Raabe was able to close
the gap as the top two pulled away from the field. On lap 28 Raabe made the
winning move in turn 2, taking the lead on the inside lane. From there Chris Raabe
made it look easy as he claimed win number two of the season. Ladouceur held
on for 2nd while Quebec invader Steve Bernier came from the back of the field to
finish third. Chris and Jarrett Herbison finished out the top 5.
Domonick Merkley had struggled since getting into the DIRTcar Sportsman
division but on this night, he would take the lead from the front row over Trent
Wallace and Tyler Stewart. Merkley had a fast race car and was showing no signs
of letting up as he pulled away from the field in the early laps. Behind the leader
Dylan Kirkland was on the charge as he moved to third on lap 13 and closed in on
Trent Wallace for 2nd. Merkley continued his dominance as he ran the bottom
lane, but Kirkland was one of the fastest cars on track, taking 2nd from Wallace,
but still had some ground to make up on the leader. With 5 laps to go the top two
drivers were nose to tail and putting on a great show for the fans. On the final lap
Kirkland charged to the high lane in turn 3 but couldn’t make it stick. Domonick
Merkley finally put all the bad luck behind him as he scored his first ever DIRTcar
Sportsman win in the caution free, 25 lap feature. Dylan Kirkland claimed second
over Bobby Herrington, Trent Wallace and Brennan Moore.
Ryan Poole was the dominant force in the 1000 Islands RV Crate Sprint car
feature. Poole led early on over Lee Ladouceur and Mathieu Bardier. Poole had a
fast car but Ladouceur and Bardier, were making it close as the laps clicked off. On
the final lap of the caution free 12 lap contest, Bardier made his move to take
second in turns one and two, but nobody was catching Ryan Poole and he scored
his 2nd straight win. Mathieu Bardier crossed in 2nd over Lee Ladoucer Rick
Wilson and Tim Bailey.
The 12 lap Novice Sportsman feature saw a thrilling finish between father and son
Sandy and Gavin MacFarlane. Gavin led early on but Sandy was on the charge to
the front taking second from Olivier Boissonneault at half way and tried hard to
catch his son for the lead. On the final lap Sandy would pull even with Gavin, but
on this night the kid got there first, as Gavin MacFarlane scored his second win of
the season. Gavin’s Father, Sandy MacFarlane held on for second. Olivier
Boissonneault, Shawn Hodge and Josh Jock rounded out the top 5.
The Supernant Truck Shop Mini Stock division saw Hayden Brown lead the way
over Matt Boal and Max Steele in the early going. Brown had a fast race car and
would pull away from a quality field in the 15 lap feature. Defending track
champion Jarrod Galway would makes some big moves through the field in the
late going, as he took the second spot from Matt Boal, but still had work to do to
catch the leader. On this night, without the help of a caution flag nobody was
catching Hayden Brown as he marched to his first win of 2022. Galway crossed in
second, over Matt Boal, Jamie Larocque and Max Steele.
The 20 lap Vintage feature took a few restarts to get going, but once the laps
clicked off it was former DIRTcar 358 Modfied and DIRTcar Sportsman driver
Jason Riddell taking the lead over Randy Gaudet and Gavin Riddell. The division,
which also features a 50s and 60s division, that competes in the same race, can
see a lot of traffic as Riddell found out during the race. Gaudet however, was
doing all he could to catch Riddell on this night, but it was not to be. Jason Riddell
didn’t let lapped traffic or his nearest competitor stand in his way, as he grabbed
his first Vintage win of the year over Randy Gaudet, Paul Billings, Gavin Riddell
and Steve Billings.
Next week Draper Doors will be on hand for a full show in all divisions. The
Supernant Truck Shop Mini Stocks and Vintage have the night off, but the Street
Stocks will make their return to action. For further information head to our
website at brockvillespeedway.com, or follow us on our Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram pages.
DIRTcar 358 Modified (30 laps)
CHRIS RAABE, Lee Ladouceur, Steve Bernier, Chris Herbison, Jarrett Herbison,
Kyle Dingwall, Ryan Arbuthnot, Johnathon Ferguson, Tristan Draper, JF Corriveau,
Ryan Scott, Jeff Sykes, Kalen Draper, Joe Banks, Terry McClelland, Corbin Millar,
Madison Mulder, Steve Bilow
Heat Winners: Chris Herbison and Kalen Draper
DIRTcar Sportsman (25 laps)
DOMONICK MERKLEY, Dylan Kirkland, Bobby Herrington, Trent Wallace, Brennan
Moore, Xavier Andrews, Sam Charland, Tyler Stewart, Greg Brinklow, Jessica
Power, Evan Reynolds, Shane Stearns, Fire Swamp, William Racine, Andrew
Young, Donovan Lussier, Dan Ferguson, Dale Gifford, Karl Latendre, Doug Buzzell
Jr., Michael Dillon, Jamie Young, Chris Ferguson, Ricky Thompson, Josh Powers
Heat Winners: Trent Wallace, Tyler Stewart and Domonick Merkley
Novice Sportsman (12 laps)
GAVIN MACFARLANE, Sandy MacFarlane, Olivier Boissonneault, Shawn Hodge,
Josh Jock, Paul Donnelly, Keira Turner, Jordan Wood, Holly Denard, Nathan
Lambert
Heat Winners: Olivier Boissonneault and Shawn Hodge
1000 Islands RV Crate Sprints (15 laps)
RYAN POOLE, Mathieu Bardier, Lee Ladouceur, Rick Wilson, Tim Bailey
Heat Winner: Ryan Poole
Supernant Truck Shop Mini Stocks (15 laps)
HAYDEN BROWN, Jarrod Galway, Matt Boal, Jamie Larocque, Max Steele, Marc
Dagenais, Tyson Slinger, Dakota Boal, Landen Slinger, Dave Watchorn, Robert
MacFarlane, Richard Bartholomew, John Lamarche, Mark Packer
Heat Winners: Max Steele and Hayden Brown
Vintage (20 laps- Overall Finish)
JASON RIDDELL, Randy Gaudet, Paul Billings, Gavin Riddell, Steve Billings, Ian
Gordon, Chad Lackie, Tim Hegarty, Wayne Riddell, Jeff Bode, Brian Billings, Joey
Hilts, Pat Charland, Darrell Wilson, Dexter Billings, Tim Charland, Audy Bedard,
Chris Wilson, Mason Barkley, Randy Simkins, Sheldon Hoogwerf, Kyle Grundy
50s and 60s Feature winner: Joey Hilts
Heat Winners: Tim Hegarty Jason Riddell and Joey Hilts