Gary Lindberg Tops Modified Field Saturday At Merrittville; Bleich Jr. Wins Sportsman Stirling Silver Cup

Story By: JONATHAN HOWE / MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY – THOROLD, ONT – Niagara Employment Help Centre presented Bobcat of Hamilton of Weekly Racing Saturday Night at Merrittville Speedway.

James Auto V6’s, Glo & Go Tanning 4 Cylinders, Rona Doidge Building Centres and RM Racing Lubricants Modified Lites, Hoosier Stocks, Rick’s Delivery and RM Racing Lubricants Sportsman and S&W Service 358 Modified’s all were in action in a full night of racing.

Dustin Duga, Austyn Werstroh, Tyler Winger, Dave Bailey, Billy Bleich Jr., and Gary Lindberg all found victory lane.

Tanner Podwinski led the field of S&W Service Centre 358 Modifieds to the green flag and controlled the early portion of the race. Scott Wood climbed from 10th position to challenge for the top spot. After making the pass for the lead, Gary Lindberg would follow in pursuit from his 16th starting spot. A caution would bunch the field up, and Lindberg had a fantastic restart which allowed him to take the lead from Wood. For the rest of the race, Wood would chase Lindberg but not even a green, white checkered finish could stop Lindberg. Gary Lindberg would win over Mike Bowman, Scott Wood, Tim Jones, and Fred Carleton.

It was a special night for the Rick’s Delivery/RM Racing Lubricants Sportsman, as Billy Bleich Jr. captured not only his feature win but also the Bill Willard Sr. Sterling Silver trophy. Bleich Jr. started from the 7th position and showed speed early, quickly jumping into the top 5. After completing the pass on John Babion, Bleich Jr. drove away from the pack in a dominant fashion. 2nd place was a hard-fought battle for several laps between Dave Flannigan, Justin Sharp, Luke Carleton, and Cody McPherson. Though none of them could break away to mount any kind of charge for the lead, Bleich Jr. would cruise to victory.

In Hoosier stock action, it was the same song, different verse with Dave Bailey winning again at Merrittville. Bailey made it 2 for 2 on the weekend after following up a win on Friday night, by coming from the 18th starting spot. Multiple cars suffered flat tires and damage because of close-quarters racing but Bailey negotiated the chaos expertly to win over Jason Fontaine, Rob Murray, Spencer Smolders and Devon Bacher.

In Modified Lites, Tyler Winger captured the win getting some redemption of his own. Winger was in contention for a win earlier in the season but made a mistake to take himself out of it. However, it was Winger’s night who dueled with Jeffery May for much of the race. May took the lead from Winger in the first stint of the race, but after a caution, tides would turn. May lead but as green flag run went, it was Winger’s car who would emerge as the car to beat. Winger slipped by May to take the lead once again and never looked back, beating May, Brent Begolo who rebounding from a spin, Shawn Sliter, and Sean Iftody.

Austyn Werstroh was on a quest for redemption. Werstroh crossed the line first in a feature last weekend at Merrittville, however, his car failed post-race technical inspection and he was disqualified. Tonight, Werstroh wouldn’t be denied. Fighting his way through the field from 9th starting position, the 71w held off multiple contenders including Tyler Lafantasie, Jay Moulton, and Kyle Rothwell. Rothwell would challenge Werstroh’s lead but couldn’t get by, and ended up second, with Lafantasie, Trevor DeBoer, and Olivier Larocque rounding out the top five.

In James Auto V6 action, Dustin Duga survived a wild race that saw nearly half the field go out with damage. Duga shot out to the lead early on the outside lane and would battle Josh Dmytrow for the win. Under green, Dmytrow could not find a way by Duga, who controlled the race in his 14DD. Duga’s marked his third consecutive in the V6 division.

Merrittville is back in action for a second straight doubleheader weekend beginning Friday, August 13 as the Burger Barn presents the 360 Sprints, Crate Sprints, Hoosier Stocks, and 4 Cylinders. The following night, Peters Construction Group presents the Action Sprint Tour along with the 358 Modifieds, Hoosier Stocks, Mod Lites, 4 Cylinders, and V6. Main gates open at 5:30 pm and racing begins at 7 pm.

RACE RESULTS – NIAGARA HELP EMPLOYMENT CENTRE NIGHT AUGUST 7, 2021

S&W Service Center 358 Modifieds: GARY LINDBERG, Mike Bowman, Scott Wood, Tim Jones, Fred Carleton, Chad Chevalier, Shayne Pierce, Austin Wood, Darren Peters, Tyler Willard, Dylan Davidson, Pete Bicknell, Tom Neale, Tanner Podwinski, Glenn Styres, Derek VanMil, Mat Williamson, Dalton Slack, Todd Gordon, Trevor Wright

Qualifying Heats: Chad Chevalier, Scott Wood, Trevor Wright

Rick’s Delivery Sportsman: BILLY BLEICH JR, Dave Flannigan Jr, Justin Sharp, Luke Carleton, Cody McPherson, Brad Rouse, Darrell Farraway, Brent Begolo, Ryan Ferri, Jay Mallory, Greg Panunte, James Friesen, Rob Sauder, John Babion, Rob Knapp, Mitch Dumont, Curtis Friesen, Daniel McKay, Nathan Peattie, Terry Smith, Dave Mamo, Adam Leslie, Noah Mamo, Taylor Vanderzanden, Jason VanMil, Jayme Porter

Qualifying Heats: Billy Bleich Jr, Taylor Vanderzanden, Cody McPherson

Hoosier Stocks: DAVE BAILEY, Jason Fontaine, Rob Murray, Spencer Smolders, Devon Bacher, Evan Curtis, Jeff Larmet, Zach Bleich, Todd Gordon, Mike Thorne, Kevin Knapp, Jim Lampman, Clinton Nicholls, Go Fast Teeple, Ron Loggie, Dave Small. Donny Lampman, Ryan Beagle, Ross Crowe, Kyle Pelrine, Mark Fawcett, Adam Plazek, Cameron Lane, Robbie General, Kacey Huffman

Qualifying Heats: Jason Fontaine, Clinton Nicholls, Mark Fawcett

RONA/Doidge Building Centre Mod Lites: TYLER WINGER, Jeffery May, Brent Begolo, Shawn Sliter, Sean Iftody, Josh Sliter, RJ Pietz, Randy Giroux, Tim Anderson, Ryan Anderson, Ryleigh Sliter, Dylan Sliter, Craig Martin, Dave Cornish, Chris Watson, Gavin Hill

Qualifying Heats: Tyler Winger, Jeffery May

Glo n’ Go 4 Cylinders: AUSTYN WERSTROH, Kyle Rothwell, Tyler Lafantaisie, Trevor DeBoer, Olivier Larocque, Jay Moulton, Fabio Olivieri, Kenny Hair, Rob Shaw, Nick Erskine, Matthew Moore, Kourtney Kocarik, Donny Deagle, Rob Twitchett, Ray Cerenzia, John Lubeck, Danny Wurster, Lyle White, Richard Hadler, Hana Rothwell, Rob Goulding, Clinton Barrick. Braden Keus, Randy Alway, Chris French, Trevor Want

Qualifying Heats: Kyle Rothwell, John Lubeck, Fabio Olivieri

Dave’s Auto V6: DUSTIN DUGA, Josh Dmytrow, John Couture, Jordan Fidler, Tina Ronning, Zach Dmytrow, Rick Beales

Qualifying Heat: Dustin Duga