Ryan Arbuthnot’s BOS: Takes Second-Straight Brockville Ontario Speedway 358-Mod Win

Story By: TIM BALTZ / BROCKVILLE ONTARIO SPEEDWAY – BROCKVILLE, ONT – For the first time in 2024 weather was a non-issue this past Saturday at the Brockville Ontario Speedway, which allowed the drivers to put on yet another fantastic show on an action packed night.

Matt Boal was the class of the field in the 15 lap Mini Stock feature, which began with two yellow flags. Boal was not phased by the cautions and would lead the field over Hayden Brown, Jamie Larocque, Jarrod Galway and Clayton Celovsky. With the race going virtually caution free it allowed Boal to build up a big lead over the rest of the field as behind him it was a great race for 2nd with Brown, Larocque and Galway all in the mix. Boal would prove last week’s win was no fluke as he dominated the entire race to score his 2nd win in a row and 2nd of his career on Saturday night. Hayden Brown would win the battle for second over Jarrod Galway, Jamie Larocque and Clayton Celovsky, who got by Matt Bond and the checkered flag for 5th.

Melcolm Banks was fast in the early laps of the 12 lap Novice Sportsman feature with Patrick Kudrinko there to challenge. Banks had a great car but got loose in turn 1 and spun. Damien King slammed into the front end of the Banks machine, and would be done for the night. Despite the hard hit, Banks would stay on track and rebound for a 4th place finish. This left veteran Nick Merkley to battle with Blake Smith for the top spot. Merkley would grab the lead from Smith and go unchallenged the rest of the way to secure his first ever Novice Sportsman win over Smith and last week’s winner Cory Lambert

The 30 lap feature for the DIRTCar 358 Modifieds hit the track next and Lee Ladouceur took the lead at the drop of the green, with Dylan Evoy, Kalen Draper, Tristan Draper and Ryan Arbuthnot the top 5. The inside lane proved to be the best for Ladouceur, but Kalen Draper would get up to the top side and drive by for the lead on lap 6, bringing Arbuthnot to second and the battle was on. One lap later Draper would lose the lead to Arbuthnot as the reigning track champion started to drive away. By lap 15 Kalen Draper had the leader in his sights and was starting to close back in for the top spot. But in turn 2 Draper would jump the cushion, bringing out the yellow. He would rebound for a 7th place finish. On the restart Arbnuthnot led the way but he would have to now deal with Tristan Draper, wo made the move to the second spot as he got by Lee Ladouceur on lap 17. As the laps wound down Arbuthnot would close in on traffic, allowing Draper to get close and make a run with Johnathon Ferguson closing quickly from 3rd. Despite the effort, Ryan Arbuthnot was once again the dominant force as he cruised to his second straight win in 2024. Tristan Draper crossed in second ahead of Johnathon Ferguson, Jarrett Herbison, who recovered from an early spin to grab 4th and Lee Ladouceur rounded out the top 5.

Over to the 25 lap Sportsman feature it was a 5 car tangle in turn one to kick things off. All drivers were ok and many able to continue. Rookie Matt Barbour was the early leader but Dylan Kirkland was right there with him, ready to make his move. On lap 3 the yellow flew as Shane Stearns night ended with a broken front end in turn two after contact with an infield tire. When the green flew it was Kirkland in front as he brought Jessica Power to second, and the battle was on for the lead. The top two had a great battle with Power grabbing the top spot briefly, only to see Kirkland retake the lead and try to pull away. Gavin Eisele was also strong running in the third spot, while three time and defending track champion Bobby Herrington was also on the move, running in fourth. On lap 17 the yellow flew for Nathan Lambert who spun in turn two. This ended the battle between Power and Kirkland and brought in another contender, Bobby Herrington. When the green flew Herrington went to work, getting by Power for second and then pressured Kirkland for the lead. Herrington got by for the lead with six to go moving Kirkland back to second. In the end Bobby Herrington would drive to victory, his first of 2024. Kirkland took home yet another second place finish, with Jessica Power, Gavin Eisele and Brennan Moore finishing 5th.

The night concluded with the Surprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprint Cars and Adam Turner was looking to win in his track record 5th different division at Brockville. He led the way but on his back bumper was defending track champion Lee Ladouceur. On lap 5 Ladouceur took the lead from Turner, while behind them Josh Verne Jr. made his way to the third spot, but Ladouceur was showing that he was the car to beat. Ladouceur would build up a huge lead leaving Turner and Verne to battle for the runner up spot, while Quebec stars Bruno Richard and opening day winner Mathieu Bardier continued to battle in the top 5. The race went caution free, which was good for Ladouceur, who went on to score his first win of the year and second top 5 effort on the night. Turner finished second over Josh Verne Jr., Bruno Richard and Mathieu Bardier.

Next week the first of two races in the 358 Modified Sail Panel Series will take place. The winner of the series will claim a guaranteed spot in the Outlaw 200 at the Fulton Speedway in the fall. Also on the card a 50 lap Street Stock feature, the DIRTCar Sportsman will be there along with the Surprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprints and the Novice Sportsman. Racing gets underway at 6pm.

DIRTcar 358 Modifieds

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[8]; 2. 17-Tristan Draper[5]; 3. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[7]; 4. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[6]; 5. 88-Lee Ladouceur[1]; 6. 83-Dylan Evoy[3]; 7. 18-Kalen Draper[4]; 8. 64-Terry McClelland[12]; 9. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[2]; 10. 80EH-Doug Buzzell[13]; 11. 08-Chris Ferguson[11]; 12. 66-Kyle Dingwall[9]; 13. SS3-Sandy MacFarlane[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Kalen Draper[4]; 2. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[6]; 3. 88-Lee Ladouceur[1]; 4. 83-Dylan Evoy[3]; 5. 66-Kyle Dingwall[5]; 6. 08-Chris Ferguson[2]; 7. 80EH-Doug Buzzell[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Tristan Draper[4]; 2. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[6]; 3. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[5]; 4. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[1]; 5. SS3-Sandy MacFarlane[2]; 6. 64-Terry McClelland[3]

DIRTcar Sportsman

A Feature 1 (40 Laps): 1. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[10]; 2. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[5]; 3. 52-Jessica Power[4]; 4. 18E-Gavin Eisele[9]; 5. 35B-Brennan Moore[7]; 6. 0P-Shane Pecore[11]; 7. 16-Matt Barbour[2]; 8. 35D-Dylan Moore[3]; 9. 707-Greg Brinklow[12]; 10. 23-Michael Dillon[16]; 11. X41-Xavier Perrin[13]; 12. 18-Jordan Wood[1]; 13. 98-Domonick Merkley[17]; 14. 17M-Madie Wallace[14]; 15. 20-Nathan Lambert[15]; 16. 21T-Trey Ladouceur[6]; 17. 22S-Shane Stearns[8]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[4]; 2. 16-Matt Barbour[2]; 3. 0P-Shane Pecore[6]; 4. 22S-Shane Stearns[5]; 5. 707-Greg Brinklow[3]; 6. 17M-Madie Wallace[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18E-Gavin Eisele[5]; 2. 35D-Dylan Moore[2]; 3. 18-Jordan Wood[1]; 4. 21T-Trey Ladouceur[4]; 5. (DNS) 23-Michael Dillon; 6. (DNS) 25-Pierre Picard

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[5]; 2. 35B-Brennan Moore[4]; 3. 52-Jessica Power[2]; 4. 20-Nathan Lambert[6]; 5. X41-Xavier Perrin[1]; 6. (DNS) 98-Domonick Merkley

Winged Crate Sprints

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 51L-Lee Ladouceur[3]; 2. 9-Adam Turner[1]; 3. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[5]; 4. 72-Bruno Richard[7]; 5. 19-Mathieu Bardier[6]; 6. 00-Ryan Poole[2]; 7. M52-Marc Surprenant[4]; 8. 4K-Jamie Kay[8]; 9. 52J-Brett Horner[9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 00-Ryan Poole[2]; 2. 9-Adam Turner[1]; 3. 51L-Lee Ladouceur[3]; 4. 19-Mathieu Bardier[6]; 5. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[5]; 6. 72-Bruno Richard[8]; 7. M52-Marc Surprenant[4]; 8. 4K-Jamie Kay[7]; 9. 52J-Brett Horner[9]

Dirt Mini Stocks

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 37-Matt Boal[1]; 2. 46-Hayden Brown[4]; 3. 06J-Jarrod Galway[7]; 4. 12A-Jamie Larocque[5]; 5. 24-Clayton Celovsky[3]; 6. 007-Matt Bond[16]; 7. 76-Rylan Banks[10]; 8. 97-Dave Watchorn[11]; 9. L29-Landen Slinger[13]; 10. 16J-Jesse Wolfe[14]; 11. 87-Steven Hennige[15]; 12. 6-Ian Reid[6]; 13. 25X-Justine Stevens[17]; 14. 66P-Mark Packer[12]; 15. 03C-Colin Chisamore[2]; 16. 88-Mike Saunders[8]; 17. 83-Steven Boies[9]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 37-Matt Boal[4]; 2. 24-Clayton Celovsky[2]; 3. 12A-Jamie Larocque[7]; 4. 06J-Jarrod Galway[3]; 5. 83-Steven Boies[5]; 6. 97-Dave Watchorn[1]; 7. L29-Landen Slinger[8]; 8. 25X-Justine Stevens[9]; 9. (DNS) 007-Matt Bond

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 03C-Colin Chisamore[7]; 2. 46-Hayden Brown[8]; 3. 6-Ian Reid[4]; 4. 88-Mike Saunders[1]; 5. 76-Rylan Banks[3]; 6. 66P-Mark Packer[6]; 7. 16J-Jesse Wolfe[5]; 8. 87-Steven Hennige[2]

Novice Sportsman

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 911-Nick Merkley[5]; 2. 18B-Blake Smith[3]; 3. 39-Cory Lambert[7]; 4. M75-Melcolm Banks[1]; 5. 80D-Damien King[6]; 6. 35P-Patrick Kudrinko[2]; 7. 98-Paul Donnelly[4]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. M75-Melcolm Banks[1]; 2. 35P-Patrick Kudrinko[2]; 3. 18B-Blake Smith[3]; 4. 98-Paul Donnelly[5]; 5. 911-Nick Merkley[6]; 6. 80D-Damien King[7]; 7. 39-Cory Lambert[4]