6/14/2026
Merrittville Speedway
Mason, Pendykoski, Winger, Pietz and Lefrancois Capture The Checkers On CAA Wall Of Fame Night
THOROLD, Ontario (June 13th, 2026) … On a warm and windy Saturday night, Merrittville Speedway gathered to honor its past as CAA Niagara presented our 2026 Wall Of Fame Ceremony, inducting Larry Czinege and Pat Collins to the CAA Wall of Fame along with our CAA Niagara Dedication To Racing Award Winners Rick Kavanaugh and Rick Agnew. The CAA Wall of Fame Ceremony was hosted by our former Track Announcer Dana Curvin. The fans were treated to a great night of racing from the All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders, Niagara Regional Vintage Car Series, Rona Doidge Modlites, Semunuk Esso/Baron Roofing DirtCar Sportsman and the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds. And featured a night of firsts as 3 of our drivers picked up their first ever win in their respective divisions.
The 358 Modified was wild and wacky at the start with 2 cautions in the first 4 laps. Following the two cautions, Scott Wood maintained a strong showing until the halfway mark until Brad Rouse stopped around in turn 3 but was able to get to the pits quickly. Wood was in command for the majority of the race until the final few laps when Nelson Mason, who showed great pace throughout was able to overtake Wood for the lead and beat Wood in a drag race to the finish line for his 1st career win in the Modified Division. Scott Wood finished just behind Mason for 2nd, and Gary Lindberg finished in 3rd.
The Semunuk Esso/Baron Roofing Dirtcar Sportsman started with a caution two laps in on a spinout by Billy Bleich Jr. and on the following lap, Matthew Jessome who started in the early lead spun out on turn 4. Racing was clean and green until lap 12 when a 4 car dustup involving Trevor Pitt, Brendan Zimmerman, Matt Sharpe and Matt Jessome. This was followed by a 2 car pileup involving Trevor Pitt and Cameron Olm. After the restart, Jeff Panunte, who was in command for the majority of the feature, lost his lead in the last couple laps to Cody McPherson who along with Nigel Pendykoski got themselves to the front of the field, that was until lap 22 until a penalty to Mcpherson for rough driving penalized him two spots. And that penalty enabled Nigel Pendykoski to take the win over McPherson who finished 3rd, and Jeff Panunte finished in 2nd. This was Nigel’s first Sportsman win at Merrittville having picked up a couple of wins previously at Ransomville Speedway.
The Rona Doidge ModLites started with a caution one lap in as Travis Ruch spun around in the middle of turn 4. RJ Pietz was in command for well over half of the race despite two spinouts from Jamie Gilbert and Cohen Corbett. Lap traffic became a factor at the halfway mark of the 20 lap feature and that enabled Tyler Winger to take advantage and the lead with 3 laps to go following another mechanical issue from Travis Ruch. The single file restart proved to be the difference as Winger took the checkered over RJ Pietz who finished 2nd and Chris Watson finishing 3rd.
The Niagara Regional Vintage Cars had a strong showing with Steve Longo and Dave Small taking the early advantage until lap 7 and traded the lead back and forth, until Ryan Ferri spun around on the frontstretch. This enabled Rob Pietz to take the lead on the restart and take the win in convincing fashion over Dave Small and Jens Mortensen who ended up finishing 3rd.
The All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders featured a Clean and Green feature. With Mason Anderson wasting no time getting himself into the lead after rolling off 7th and dominated for most of the race even as lap traffic became a factor holding off Brendan Lefrancois at the end for the win. Josh Dmytrow had a strong showing finishing 3rd after starting the feature in 15th. Unfortunately an illegal motor violation caused Anderson to be DQ’d and put Brendan Lefrancois in victory lane for the very 1st time with Josh Dmytrow finishing 2nd and Hana Rothwell finishing 3rd.
The Bobcat of Hamilton Weekly Racing continues this coming Saturday night, June 20th. Rankin Construction will be our sponsor for the event, featuring the All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders, Hoosier Stocks, Semenuk’s Esso/Baron Roofing Dirtcar Sportsman and the Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds. And as a special attraction, we have our 1st School Bus Race of the year. The pits will open at 5 pm with the gates to open at 530, hot laps to commence at 630 with racing to follow at 7pm.
Follow Merrittville on social media including Facebook (facebook.com/MerrittvilleSpeedway), Twitter (@Merrittville), and now on Instagram (@merrittvillespeedway). For results, point standings, and more, check out www.merrittvillespeedway.com
RACE RESULTS – June 13th, 2026.
Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds – NELSON MASON, Scott Wood, Gary Lindberg, Jacob Chevalier, Shayne Pierce, Darrell Farraway, Mike Bowman, Todd Gordon, Pete Bicknell, Fred Carleton, Brian Page, Jay Mallory, Noah Walker, James Friesen, Ryan Barrett, Tommy Flannigan, Boyd MacTavish, Brandon Gruhl, Ken Winfield, Gofast Teeple, Brad Rouse, Justin Sharp
Qualifying Heats – Scott Wood, Brian Page, Jacob Chevalier
Baron Roofing/Semenuk’s ESSO DIRTcar Sportsman – NIGEL PENDYKOSKI, Jeff Panunte, Cody McPherson, Daniel McKay, Matteo Panunte, Terry Smith, Bill Gill, Tyler Puchalski, John Babion, Madyson Rouse, Brent Begolo, Brad Overbeeke, Bill Bleich, Tyler Lafantaisie, Russell Friesen, Elijah Knutt, Brendan Zimmerman, Dustin Duga, Matthew Jessome, Noah Mamo, Billy Bleich Jr., Cameron Olm, Trevor Pitt, Martin Polhill, Matt Sharpe
Qualifying Heats - Madyson Rouse, Matthew Jessome, Nigel Pendykoski
Rona Doidge Modified Lites – TYLER WINGER (2), R.J. Pietz, Chris Watson, Josh Sliter, Sean Iftody, Leroy Buscumb, Evan Leonard, Jesse Palmer, Dillan Sliter, Brent Begolo, Cole Hardy, Anthony Kelly, Fabio Olivieri, Ryleigh Sliter, Dan Kviring, Max Trivieri, Dave Cornish, Chris Sherk, (DNF) Travis Ruch, (DNF) Jamie Gilbert, (DNF) Cohen Corbett, (DNS) Chance Kotar, (DNS) Shawn Sliter, (DNS) Tony Kelly
Qualifying Heats – Leroy Buscumb, RJ Pietz, Josh Sliter
Vintage Cars – ROB PIETZ, Dave Small, Jens Mortensen, Scott McPhail, Steve Longo, Tim Natalino, Andy Imbeault, Mark Shadwell, Jeff Larmet, Ryan Ferri, Bill Montreuil
Qualifying Heats – Jens Mortensen, Dave Small
All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders Duel On The Dirt – BRENDAN LEFRANCOIS, Joshua Dmytrow, Hana Rothwell, Ken Hair, Dave Wininger, Savannah Fontaine, Rob Goulding, Braden Keus, Sierra Robison, Jeremy Cooper, Jonathan Macwhirter, John Trivieri, Cierra Keus, Clinton Barrick, Richard Hadler, Connor Chambers, Kyle Rothwell, Jacob Mamo, Nick Bowman, Joe Stevenson, Tyler Chesniak, Jacob Mcintyre, (DQ) Mason Anderson
Qualifying Heats – Mason Anderson, Sierra Robison, Connor Chambers
Article Credit: William Morrison
Submitted By: Jonathon Howe