Friesen, Senek, Winger, Bailey and Buscumb Winners As Merrittville Kicks Off Year 75

COLUMN BY: Jonathon Howe / MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY – THOROLD, ON  – After Mother nature delayed the start of Merrittville Speedway’s 75th season by two weeks, Southern Ontario was finally ready to welcome stock car racing back to Canada’s oldest dirt track. Despite a brief shower Saturday night evening that delayed the completion of heat racing. However, quick work from the track crew ensured we could continue on and get all feature events in. James Friesen of Niagara On The Lake, ON. scored the opening night win in the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modified feature. Ransomville, NY. native Brett Senek scored his first Baron Roofing/Semenuk’s ESSO DIRTcar Sportsman feature win at Merrittville. Defending track champion Tyler Winger of Ridgeway, ON. picked up where he left winning the Rona Doidge Modified Lite feature. The night marked the first home track event for the APC Duel on the Dirt in Hoosier Stocks and All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders with Dave Bailey of Hagersville, ON. and Leroy Buscumb of Smithville, ON. taking the wins respectively.

The Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds kicked their season off Saturday night with James Friesen and Fred Carleton on the front row. Friesen got out to an early lead but the yellow flag made an appearance on lap three when Brad Rouse and Scott Wood collided and came to a halt in turn three. Lap four saw another yellow flag when Glen Styres and Noah Walker made contact causing an eight car stack up with most able to continue on. As the race settled in, Friesen remained largely unchallenged out front. Justin Sharp drove up to second from eighth but couldn’t keep within striking distance of Friesen, who navigated lap traffic patiently. Gary Lindberg appeared to have the fastest car, but after getting bounced around on the lap four restart, he had to spend the final 30 laps playing catch up. In the end, he could only get to third, coming up a lap or two short of challenging Sharp for the runner up spot. Friesen took the win ahead of Sharp and Lindberg, with Carleton and Boyd Mactavish rounding out the top five finishers.

Despite having track championships and several wins around the northeast, Brett Senek had never conquered the Merrittville clay. Saturday presented him with his best opportunity as he started from pole, alongside Matteo Panunte. Senek led early, largely unchallenged until a caution at lap nine when Nigel Pendykoski and Doug Walsh made contact. On the restart, Senek once again led from Panunte, with Mitch Dumont also in the mix. Cody McPherson, who has been the main reason Senek has not been able to break through for a win at Merrittville, struggled on the restart and failed to maintain his position in the top five. Even with a late single file restart, nobody was able to keep pace with Senek, who finally broke through at Merrittville Speedway. Panunte finished second, with Tyler Puchalski third.

The Rona Doidge Modified Lites class continued to grow in the off season with 25 cars starting the feature. Josh Sliter started on pole with defending track champion Tyler Winger to his outside. Winger took the lead early before a caution on lap two when Tony Kelly went for a slow rollover in turn three. Cautions would come frequently throughout the feature event for mostly low event spins. However, the lack of flow to the race ensured that Winger went largely unchallenged. With three laps to go, Josh Sliter spun out of corner two after something locked up mechanically, setting up a single file dash to the checkered with Brent Begolo on Winger’s back bumper. Begolo could not solve Winger, who went on to take the win and pick up where he left in 2025.

By contrast, the Hoosier Stock feature ran caution free as the field contested the first home track event for the APC Duel on the Dirt. Kyle Pelrine led the opening lap of the race before Dave Bailey took over. Jason Fontaine was the bigger mover in the race early, picking up 10 spots in the opening six laps of the event. The field mostly battled to be on the bottom line of the race track, leading to a freight train behind Bailey. On lap 12, Pete Reid and Kyle Pelrine became hooked together while battling for second. They were able to disconnect, but not without surrendering spots to Mark Fawcett, Jason Fontaine, Gofast Teeple. No one was able to run down Bailey who cruised to win ahead of Fawcett and Fontaine.

Hana Rothwell and Sierra Robison brought the field to green in the All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders. Rothwell led early but surrendered the top spot to Leroy Buscumb on a restart at lap three. Rothwell tangled with Cooper, with both cars getting up out of the groove while Clinton Barrick slipped by on the inside. Meanwhile, Ken Hair mounted a charge seventh, driving up to third by the race’s half way point. He took second with three laps to go, but could not run down Buscumb who picked up the checkered flag in his quest for a Duel on the Dirt title in 2026.

Bobcat of Hamilton Weekly Racing returns for 97.7 HTZ FM Night at the races. It’s a full card of stock car racing as the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds, Baron Roofing/Semenuk’s ESSO 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.

RACE RESULTS –- May 2nd, 2026.

Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds – JAMES FRIESEN, Justin Sharp, Gary Lindberg, Fred Carleton, Boyd MacTavish, Pete Bicknell, Darrell Farraway, Todd Gordon, Tommy Flannigan, Jay Mallory, Glenn Styres, Jacob Chevalier, Noah Walker, Nelson Mason (DNF), Scott Wood (DNF), Shayne Pierce (DNF), Ryan Barrett (DNF), Ken Winfield (DNF), Brian Page (DNF), Brad Rouse (DNF), Gofast Teeple (DNS)

Baron Roofing/Semenuk’s Esso DIRTcar Sportsman – BRETT SENEK, Matteo Panunte, Tyler Puchalski, Mitch Dumont, Noah Mamo, Cody McPherson, Brad Overbeeke, Matt Sharpe, Nigel Pendykoski, Terry Smith, Matthew Jessome, Dave Small, Jeff Panunte, Daniel McKay, Russell Friesen, Tyler Lafantaise, Madyson Rouse, Elijah Knutt, Austin Seburn, Doug Walsh, Bill Gill, John Babion, Trevor Pitt, Carter Gaboury, Cameron Olm (DNF)

Rona Doidge Modified Lites – TYLER WINGER, Brent Begolo, Cohen Corbett, Ashton Anderson, Shawn Sliter, Leroy Buscumb, Anthony Kelly, Dillan Sliter, Ryan Anderson, Sean Iftody, Rob Misener, Dave Cornish, Nick Sarantakos, Chris Watson, Cole Hardy, Fabio Olivieri, Ryleigh Sliter, Chance Kotar, Chris Sherk, Jesse Palmer (DNF), Josh Sliter (DNF), Tony Kelly (DNF), R.J. Pietz (DNF), Dan Kviring (DNF), Travis Ruch (DNS)

Hoosier Stocks  – DAVE BAILEY, Mark Fawcett, Jason Fontaine, Gofast Teeple, Kyle Pelrine, Pete Reid, Zack Bleich, Rob Murray, Chris Crowe, Dustin Duga, Dylan Peckham, Mitch Petta, Spencer Maytum, Jeff Bean, Kevin Kocarik, Nathan MacWhirter (DNS)

All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders – LEROY BUSCUMB, Ken Hair, Clinton Barrick, Hana Rothwell, Sierra Robison, Jeremy Cooper, Austyn Werstroh, Brendan Lefrancois, Dave Wininger, Mason Anderson, Connor Chambers, Nick Bowman, Jonathan Macwhirter, Curtis Wiley, John Trivieri, Savannah Fontaine, Braden Keus, Steven Boverhof, Jay Moulton, Jacob Mamo, Richard Hadler, Tyler Chesniak, Cierra Keus, Joe Stevenson (DNF)