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Lindberg Lengthens Win String in Mods, McPherson Makes it 11 on Niagara Trailers Night At Merrittville

THOROLD, Ontario (August 9th, 2025) … After a double header weekend at Merrittville Speedway, racing action returned with all five Bobcat of Hamilton Weekly Racing Series in action alongside the NRVRS Vintage Cars and School Bus Racing on a scorching hot Saturday night presented by Niagara Trailers. Gary Lindberg of Ridgeway, ON added to his win streak, making it four in a row in Commercial Auto Electric 358 competition. St. Catharines, ON Semenuk’s ESSO/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman driver Cody McPherson made it 11 wins on the season. Anthony Kelly of Niagara Falls, ON broke through for his first win in the Rona Doidge Modified Lites. Kyle Pelrine of Smithville, ON won in the Hoosier Stock feature. Port Dalhousie, ON native won in the NRVRS Vintage Cars while Ken Hair of Niagara Falls, ON won in the All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders.

The Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modified feature began with calamity when Fred Carleton tried to get to the bottom in turn one, however James Friesen was still to his inside. Friesen spun into the infield while Carleton lost control, crashing with Nelson Mason, Brandon Gruhl and Todd Gordon. Only Gordon and Friesen would continue on, as the race restarted with Brian Page and Paul Gaboury on the front row. Justin Sharp would take the top spot from third on lap four, before Todd Gordon brought out the yellow on lap six. On the restart, Gaboury got by Sharp. On lap 14, it was Lindberg, who started 15th, taking the lead after avoiding the opening lap chaos from Gaboury. Lindberg never looked back, lapping up to eighth place on his way to his fourth straight feature win at Merrittville. Sharp finished second, with Shayne Pierce, Scott Wood and Darrell Faraway completing the top five.

Elijah Knutt and Daniel McKay led the field to green in the Semenuk’s ESSO/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman, with McKay leading early. On lap three, it was Mitch Dumont taking the top spot. Dumont controlled much of the race while the top five fought amongst themselves in multi car pack. On lap 17, Cody McPherson emerged from the battle with second and began to start reeling in Dumont, knocking off three tenths of a second a lap before a caution with four to go erased the gap completely. Dumont restarted with the lead in a single file formation, but McPherson quickly took first with a high side pass into turn one. McPherson led the final four laps on his way to win 11 of the season. Dumont settled for second with Matt Sharpe, Nigel Pendykoski and Taylor Vanderzanden rounding out the top five.

In Rona Doidge Modified Lite action, fans were treated to a lengthy and thrilling battle between Sean Iftody and Anthony Kelly. Both drivers made quick word of early leader Roger Pardis on a lap three restart. After a caution on lap six for a mechanical issue with Brent Begolo’s car, the battle between Iftody and Kelly took a few laps to brew. Iftody ran the high side while Kelly worked down low, with the pair racing side by side for the lead for nearly the entirety of the second half of the 20 lap feature. The tipping point came when the top two encountered lap traffic. Iftody got pinned behind and Kelly cleared to the top spot coming to two laps to go. Kelly held on for the win, his first since moving to the Mod Lite division at Merrittville. Iftody came home a disappointing second, with Leroy Buscumb, Josh Sliter and Dillan Sliter completing the top five finishers.

Dustin Duga and Rob Murray started from the front row of the Hoosier Stock feature. Murray led the opening five laps of the race, before Kyle Pelrine slipped by with Dave Bailey in tow. Bailey, who was seeking his 11th win of the season, hung with Pelrine for a few laps, but began to fall back to Murray. At lap 14, Pelrine drove off and left Bailey and Murray, who was attempting to retake the second spot from Bailey. He was ultimately unsuccessful, but the challenge was enough to keep Bailey from tracking down Pelrine, who went on the win for the second time and took a small chunk out of Bailey’s lead in the track championship standings. Mark Fawcett and Zach Bleich also came home with top five finishes.

The NRVRS Vintage cars began their feature with Bill Profata and Stan Zanchin out front. Doug Gordon took the lead from both drivers on lap one. Zanchin got to the point on lap two before being succeeded by Ryan Ferri. Ferri, no stranger to success at Merrittville in other divisions in the past, looked remarkably comfortable. Ultimately, Ferri would be no match for the field and he won by a sizable margin over Zanchin, Gordon, Bill Montreuil and Profata.

The All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders were led to green by Savannah Fontaine and Steven Boverhof. Sierra Robison worked past Fontaine for the lead before a caution for a stopped vehicle slowed the field at lap four. Two laps later, Brendan Lefrancois brought out the yellow after he made contact with another car and slid into infield. Two laps later, it was Hana Rothwell spinning on the back stretch after contact with Mason Anderson the previous lap. The constant cautions allowed Ken Hair to move his way up through the field, eventually restarting alongside on a restart with seven laps to go. Hair worked past Robison and drove to his fifth win of the season at Merrittville Speedway. Robison held off Hair’s championship rival Alex Riley for second, while Josh Dmytrow and Austyn Werstroh rounded out the top five.

Bobcat of Hamilton Weekly Racing returns to Merrittville Speedway with action presented by King Paving. All five regularly scheduled divisions will be in action 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.
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 –- August 9th, 2025.

Commercial Auto Electric 358 Modifieds – GARY LINDBERG (5), Justin Sharp, Shayne Pierce, Scott Wood, Darrell Farraway, Jay Mallory, Dave Flannigan Jr., James Friesen, Pete Bicknell, Tommy Flannigan, Paul Gaboury, Todd Gordon, Brian Page, (DNF) Derek VanMil, (DNF) Bill Gill, (DNF) Jaymie Porter, (DNF) Nelson Mason, (DNF) Brandon Gruhl, (DNF) Fred Carleton

Qualifying Heats – Brian Page, Gary Lindberg, Fred Carleton

Semenuk’s ESSO/Baron Roofing DIRTcar Sportsman – CODY MCPHERSON (11), Mitch Dumont, Matt Sharpe, Nigel Pendykoski, Taylor Vanderzanden, Ryan Barrett, Curtis Friesen, Jacob Chevalier, Daniel McKay, Matteo Panunte, Jeff Panunte, Tyler Puchalski, Brad Overbeeke, Noah Mamo, Matthew Jessome, Doug Walsh Jr., Elijah Knutt, Madyson Rouse, Cameron Olm, (DNF) Billy Bleich Jr.

Qualifying Heats - Nigel Pendykoski, Mitch Dumont, Matt Sharpe

Rona Doidge Modified Lites – ANTHONY KELLY, Sean Iftody, Leroy Buscumb, Josh Sliter, Dillan Sliter, Cohen Corbett, Evan Leonard, Tyler Winger, R.J. Pietz, Rob Misener, Shawn Sliter, Nick Sarantakos, Dave Cornish, Cole Hardy, Ryleigh Sliter, Dan Kviring, Roger Pardis, Bella General, Lance Waldeck, (DNF) Brent Begolo

Qualifying Heats – Josh Sliter, Cohen Corbett, Sean Iftody

Hoosier Stocks – KYLE PELRINE (2), Dave Bailey, Rob Murray, Mark Fawcett, Zack Bleich, Chris Crowe, Dustin Duga, George Grosul, Travis Whittal, Gofast Teeple, Dave Small, John Overholt, Jackson Maytum, (DNF) Jason Fontaine, (DNF) Justin Ramsay

Qualifying Heats – Jason Fontaine, Rob Murray

All Star Concrete 4 Cylinders – KEN HAIR (5), Sierra Robison, Alex Riley, Joshua Dmytrow, Austyn Werstroh, John Trivieri, Cierra Keus, Mason Anderson, Dave Wininger, Olivier Larocque, Clinton Barrick, John Lubeck, Jonathan Macwhirter, Braden Keus, Randy Always, Joe Stevenson, Steven Boverhof, Grayden Lyons, Richard Hadler, James Marshall, Connor Chambers, Jeremy Cooper, (DNF) Ray Cerenzia, (DNF) Pat Burse, (DNF) Hana Rothwell, (DNF) Savannah Fontaine, (DNF) Brendan Lefrancois, (DNF) Aaron Paquet

Qualifying Heats – Savannah Fontaine, Sierra Robison, Brendan Lefrancois

NRVRS Vintage Cars – RYAN FERRI, Stan Zanchin, Doug Gordon, Bill Montreuil, Bill Profata, Mark Shadwell, Tim Natalino, Jens Mortensen, Jeff Larmet, Dave Mamo, Chad Brown

Qualifying Heats - Bill Profata, Stan Zanchin

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