Champions Crowned and First-Time Winners Shine at Brockville Speedway

Column By: Tim Baltz / BROCKVILLE ONTARIO SPEEDWAY – BROCKVILLE, ON  – It was championship night at the Brockville Ontario Speedway this past Saturday night. Track titles were decided in all divisions, which brought exciting action for the fans and Eastern Ontario Eavestrough as title sponsor for the night.

The DIRTcar Sportsman track championship was already decided after last week as Bobby Herrington locked up his record 5th consecutive title, but there was still a race win to decide. Sylvain Dupuis took the lead at the start of the 25 lap feature, over Xavier Andrews and Matt Barbour. Dupuis would lead the opening 5 laps until a scary moment occurred on lap 5 when Alex Forcier was forced into an infield tire sending him upside down off turn four. Forcier was able to climb out uninjured. When the green flew it was Dupuis in control but Xavier Andrews was able to get by Dupuis, while at the same time Bobby Herrington, Matt Barbour and Jessica Power were on the charge. Herrington was able to get to 2nd and pressured Andrews for the lead until the yellow flew for Domonick Merkley on the back stretch. When the green flew Herrington went to work and would grab the lead on lap 13 with Andrews and Power making up the top three. From there Bobby Herrington would pull away and cap off the regular season in style with his 6th win of the season along with the track title. Xavier Andrews, Jessica Power, Dylan Kirkland and Sylvain Dupuis completed the top 5.

Tristan Draper needed to have a solid finish to claim his first DIRTcar 358 Modified championship and would battle younger brother Kalen for the lead at the start of the 30 lap feature. Tristan would get the best of Kalen and remain in front with Lucas Fuller trailing the top 2 in third. A pair of cautions slowed the field but didn’t stop Draper as he continued to show the way with Fuller moving to second, while Shane Stearns Jarrett Herbison and Luke Whitteker were also charging forward. On lap 10 Jarrett Herbison’s great run came to a scary end as he slid off turn 1 flipping several times. Herbison was able to climb out uninjured. When the green came back out Draper continued to lead with Lucas Fuller in second, while Luke Whitteker was on the charge to third. On lap 13 the yellow flew again for Shane Stearns as he spun trying to avoid Luke Whitteker, who got out of shape in turn two. When the green flew again Draper continued to lead Fuller but behind him Johnathon Ferguson and last week’s winner Steve Bernier, were able to get by Whitteker for third and fourth, but still had work to do to catch the leader. Over the final laps Tristan Draper put the car on auto-pilot and would charge to his third win of the season and his first career DIRTcar 358 Modified track championship. Lucas Fuller, Johnathon Ferguson, Steve Bernier and William Racine completed the top 5.

Clayton Celovsky and Mike Saunders were the drivers in line for the Mini Stock title with just 13 points separating them at the start of the day. At the drop of the green veteran Marc Dagenais led the way over Maxx Steele and Terry McClelland. Dagenais had a fast car but Steele was able to pull in front on lap 4 and was looking for his first career win. The title was still up for grabs as Saunders ran third for much of the race, while Celovsky had work to do as he was trapped in the back part of the top 10. Steele continued to pull away and appeared to be on his way to his first career win but a caution on lap 12, which bunched the field up giving the title contenders a chance to move forward and everyone one last chance at Steele for the lead. On the final restart Maxx Steele would charge to the lead and would not be stopped on this night, as he marched to his first career win in the Mini Stock division. Marc Dagenais, Mike Saunders, Hayden Brown and Jamie Larocque rounded out the top 5. By 4 points Clayton Celovsky was crowned the 2025 Mini Stock Champion.

Kyle Kudrinko wrapped up the 2025 Novice Sportsman championship by taking the green flag to start the 12 lap feature event, but Garin Thompson was the driver that stole the show. The Mohawk International Raceway regular jumped to the lead on lap four and was in control throughout the entire race. Kyle Kudrinko and Shaun Lafave tried their best to keep pace as they ran second and third. In the end nobody was stopping Thompson on this night as he rebounded from a rough outing the night before at Can Am, to record his first ever win. Kyle Kudrinko held on for second over Shaun Lafave, Tessa Riemersma and Damien King.

The night concluded with one of the closer title battles in the Street Stock division. Points leader Mike Schonauer led Charles Marchand by a slim 9 points coming into the evening and the action was non stop all race long. Kyle Massey would lead the way early over Vincent Charbonneau. That would be short lived as Charbonneau took over the lead and tried to drive away. On lap 4 Charbonneau broke off turn 2 handing the lead back to Massey as Francis Gauthier moved to the runner up spot ahead of Bruno Boivin. For the next four laps Kyle Massey, Francis Gauthier, Brad Taillon, Charles Marchand, Mike Schonauer, Todd Raabe and Bruno Boivin, put on one of the most intense battles for position all year going three and at times trying four wide around the speedway, with nobody giving an inch. On lap 12 that all came to an end as Kyle Massey and Brad Taillon spun off tun four hitting the infield tire ending their nights. On the final restart the drama continued as Francis Gauthier led but Bruno Boivin was determined to get the lead, Boivin tried everything to get by Gauthier on the last lap, but it was not to be. Francis Gauthier finally did it scoring his first career win in a wild Street Stock feature. Bruno Boivin, Charles Marchand, Todd Raabe and Mike Schonauer completed the top 5. Schonauer’s solid night and consistent year would secure the 2025 Street Stock title by 8 points over Charles Marchand.

The evening also featured the annual Dutchman’s Dash for the DIRTCar 358 Modified and DIRTcar Sportsman divisions. A $500 award to the winner of each race was put up by speedway flaggers Nate and Gary Vandermeer. Bobby Herrington got the best of Jessica Power and Dylan Kirkland for the win in the Sportsman side. Steve Bernier drew the pole for the 358 Modified dash and was able to charge out front and never look back, leading all 8 laps for the victory.

The 2025 regular season may now be in the record books, but that isn’t stopping the racing action for the rest of the year. Up next at Brockville is the annual Monster Enduro on Sunday September 14th. For updated information and to enter, check out our website and social media.

To keep up with what’s going on at the speedway, head to our website at brockvillespeedway.com or keep up with us on Facebook, Instagram and “X”. If you can’t make it to the track every week, be sure to add us to your favorites and follow along on My Race Pass.