Repeat Winners Rule the Night on Surprenant Truck Shop Night at Brockville Speedway

COLUMN BY: Tim Baltz / BROCKVILLE ONTARIO SPEEDWAY – ONTARIO, CANADA  – After a week off because of rain, 5 divisions of racing action were set to go at the Brockville Ontario Speedway this past Saturday on Surprenant Truck Shop night. Repeat winners was the theme on the night.

In the 25 lap DIRTCar Sportsman feature Jessica Power was the driver to beat as she took the lead on the outside lane with Matt Barbour and Gavin Eisele making up the early top 3. Several early race yellow flags slowed the race as Paul Donnelly and Skylar Ladouceur both slowed, but were able to continue. Up front to the lead battle Power remained in control as she pulled away from Matt Barbour but the battle for the 3rd spot was intense as Gavin Eisele and Shane Pecore exchanged positions for several laps with neither driver having a clear advantage as the race approached halfway. Power continued her strong run as Matt Barbour began to close in and made several attempts to grab the lead but wasn’t able to get by. The final yellow flew on lap 19 for a three spin in turns 3 and 4 as Tessa Riemersma, Damien King and Skylar Ladouceur all spun but were able to rejoin the field. On the final restart Jessica Power would time it perfectly as she pulled away from Matt Barbour and the rest of the field to score her 10th career Brockville Sportsman win, tying Lance Willix on the all time list for 11th. Matt Barbour equaled his career best finish of 2nd while Shane Pecore won the battle for third with Gavin Eisele 4th and Dylan Kirkland 5th. 

Defending track champion Tristan Draper was looking for redemption after last week, as he took the lead at the drop of the green flag over Bobby Herrington and opening day winner Chris Raabe. Draper, dubbed as “The Highside Hustler”, was using the outside lane perfectly as he pulled away from Herrington and the rest of the field. Kyle Dingwall made an early race charge from 4th to 2nd on a lap 5 restart and looked to have a car to challenge Draper early on. At the halfway point Draper had built up a lead of over 2 seconds while Herrington, Raabe, Dingwall and Kevin Hamel made up the top 5. Draper looked to be on his was to what looked like an easy win but the yellow flew for Kevin Hamel, who saw a top 5 run go away as he spun in turn 2. On the final restart Draper jumped out front as Raabe tried to keep pace. In the end the defending champion was too much for the field, scoring his 12th career Modified win at Brockville, tying him with Walter Pennock on the all time list. Chris Raabe backed up his opening day win with a runner up finish, with Bobby Herrington, Kyle Dingwall and Kalen Draper the top 5.

The Street Stock 15 lap feature was an exciting finish as two-time track champion Brett Horner was making his return to the division and took the lead early over Stephane Philippe and Francis Gauthier. Horner was running the bottom of the speedway while Philippe was working the top side to perfection on this night. On lap 6 Kyle Massey and Nick Gauvreau both tangled in turn 2 sending both drivers off the speedway but both were able to continue. The lead battle was heating up as Stephane Philippe continued to lead, but Francis Gauthier was on the move to second. One final caution would fly on lap 14 setting up another close finish. On the restart Philippe continued to run the outside lane but Francis Gauthier was on the bottom and charging quickly. The top two raced side by side off turn 4 to the checkers, with Philippe getting the narrow win, his second in a row. Francis Gauthier, Nick Gauvreau, Brett Horner and Kyle Massey completed the top 5.

Guy Gosselin was looking to get his season going with a strong run, as he took the lead in the 20 lap Surprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprint Car event with Andrew Hennessy and Adam Turner close behind. Gosselin would remain up front but Hennessy would grab the lead on lap 7 and author a dominant performance on this night. Behind the leader Adam Turner was able to clear Gosselin for second as the father son duo of Liam and Lee Ladouceur completed the top 5. Over the final laps, Andrew Hennessy was on cruise control and would march on for back to back wins to start the year, and his second win in as many nights having won at Can Am Speedway Friday night. Adam Turner, Guy Gosselin, Liam Ladouceur and Lee Ladouceur completed the top 5.

The final event of the night was the 12 lap Novice Sportsman event, which was full of excitement from the drop of the green flag. Justin Lazore set the pace early but opening day winner Drake Cartier was close by to challenge. The lead battle became a physical one as Cartier and Lazore would tangle on the back stretch sending Lazore off turn three as Cartier was somehow able to keep the car pointed straight and keep the lead and the yellow flew. When the green flew Cartier continued to lead as Garin Thompson moved to second and Rhylan Poole no third. Justin Lazore was on the charge from the back and found his way to the top 5 just past halfway. The yellow flew again on lap 9 as Lazore and last years track champion Kyle Kudrinko tangled sending Kudrinko off in turn 1. On the final restart Drake Cartier was able to stay in front of a strong field and a fast closing Garin Thompson and Justin Lazore to claim back to back wins. Landon Ryan and Rhylan Poole rounded out the top 5.

Next week the Mini Stocks return to action along with the first appearance for the Eastern Ontario Vintage Stock Car Club featuring the cars of the 50s and 60s plus cars of the 70s and 80s. DIRTCar 358 Modified and DIRTCar Sportsman will be on hand plus the Novice Sportsman and Suprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprints. Racing begins at 7pm.

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. 

DIRTcar 358 Modifieds

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 17-Tristan Draper[2]; 2. 701-Chris Raabe[4]; 3. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[1]; 4. 96-Kyle Dingwall[6]; 5. 18-Kalen Draper[3]; 6. 74-Lucas Fuller[5]; 7. 13-Kevin Hamel[8]; 8. 31-Tommy Jock Jr[10]; 9. M75-Melcolm Banks[12]; 10. 08-Chris Ferguson[9]; 11. 22S-Shane Stearns[7]; 12. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[11]; 13. 35P-Patrick Kudrinko[13]

Winged Crate Sprints

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 87-Andrew Hennessy[2]; 2. 92-Adam Turner[3]; 3. 93-Guy Gosselin[1]; 4. 77-Liam Ladouceur[4]; 5. 51-Lee Ladouceur[6]; 6. 42W-Rick Wilson[5]; 7. M52-Marc Surprenant[8]; 8. 21L-Eric Laurendeau[9]; 9. 15-Dan Deyo[7]; 10. 37X-Mark Grant[10]

Street Stocks

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 125-Stephane Philippe[2]; 2. 71-Francis Gauthier[4]; 3. 74-Nicolas Gauvreau[5]; 4. 52J-Brett Horner[1]; 5. 18C-Kyle Massey[3]; 6. 87R-JP Tremblay[6]; 7. 07M-Charles Marchand[10]; 8. 66-Thomas Reid[7]; 9. 327-Shawn Willigar[8]; 10. (DNS) 25T-Brad Taillon

Novice Sportsman

A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. FN99-Drake Cartier[4]; 2. 1-Garin Thompson[5]; 3. 74-Justin Lazore[2]; 4. 17R-Landon Ryan[8]; 5. 76-Rhylan Poole[1]; 6. 12K-Kyle Kudrinko[6]; 7. 99-Cody Washer[9]; 8. 11-Magen Cartier[13]; 9. 11R-Shawn Reid[12]; 10. 69’R-Robbey Harper[7]; 11. 76R-Rylan Banks[10]; 12. 333-Chris Wilson[3]; 13. 8-Nick Cordingley[11]

DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds

DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (25 Laps): 1. 52-Jessica Power[2]; 2. 16-Matt Barbour[4]; 3. 0-Shane Pecore[3]; 4. 18E-Gavin Eisele[8]; 5. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[5]; 6. 23-Michael Dillon[12]; 7. 18-Jordan Wood[1]; 8. 48D-Sylvain Dupuis[18]; 9. 72B-Brandon Beauregard[7]; 10. 32-Tyler Stewart[13]; 11. 98H-Domonick Merkley[19]; 12. 14K-Karl Potvin[20]; 13. 17M-Madie Wallace[17]; 14. 18B-Blake Smith[9]; 15. 07T-Tessa Riemersma[21]; 16. 79-Chris Hale[11]; 17. 21L-Skylar Ladouceur[10]; 18. 80D-Damien King[6]; 19. 39-Cory Lambert[14]; 20. M70-Billy Cook[15]; 21. 9-Paul Donnelly[16]