John Waters Claims RUSH Late Model Tour Event; Tyler Lafantaisie takes Triple Crown and Danny Wurster puts 444 back in Victory Lane

Thorold, Ontario - Third generation driver Erick Rudolph from Ransomville, NY was victorious in the 100 lap Brian Stevens Memorial for the 358 Modified Super DIRTcar Series on Zavitz Financial Strategies and Z.F.S. Benefit Solutions night at Merrittville Speedway. For Rudolph, it was his second win in the event that honored the two time Merrittville Speedway Modified champion.

Whitesville, NY driver John Waters claimed the $2,000 to win Sweeney Chevrolet, Buick, GMC RUSH Late Model Touring Series event. Danny Wurster from Niagara Falls, Ontario took the top prize in winning round one for the Eataly Foods Pro 4 Triple Truck Challenge. Tyler Lafantaisie from Welland, Ontario won the main event for the Van Raine Construction 4 Cylinders in round one of their Triple Crown.

“I found something on the bottom and the car handled well and it was a strong run” stated Rudolph in victory lane after the 100 lap event.

Tyler McPherson and Kenny Wills led the field to the green flag for the Brian Stevens Memorial 100 for the 358 Modified Super DIRTcar Series and it was Wills leading on the opening circuit. McPherson and Wills would battle for the lead as McPherson would regain the lead on lap three, just as Pete Bicknell passed Tommy Flannigan to take over third place. Danny Johnson and Erick Rudolph would battle for fifth place as Bicknell started to reel in race leader McPherson. Gary Lindberg slowed on the back straightaway to bring out the races first caution on lap 12. The restart would happen on lap 16 with McPherson, Bicknell and Tommy Flannigan would take over third as Erick Rudolph moved into fourth with Danny Johnson entering the top five.

At the races 1/5th point it was McPherson, Bicknell, Flannigan, Johnson, and Rudolph running in the top five. Danny Johnson would continue to move towards the front as “The Doctor” was operating on the outside to pass Flannigan to take over third place on lap 22. The caution would come back out on lap 25 as Mark D’llario came to a stop in turn one after suffering a flat left front tire. Erick Rudolph would move into second after passing Bicknell on lap 34 and Mat Williamson moved into third just one lap later, as Bicknell was fading back into fifth. Williamson and Rudolph would battle for second for several circuits with Rudolph holding off Williamson’s advances. McPherson would stretch out his lead over Rudolph near the races halfway point as the lead was 1.151 seconds for the driver of the Niagara Form Works 777. The leaders hit lap traffic on lap 46 as Rudolph would slice McPherson’s lead to just a single car length. The caution would fly as Pete Bicknell slowed on the front stretch and went into the pit area. The lap 52 restart would see McPherson continue to show the way as Rudolph and Danny Johnson moved into third. Rudolph and McPherson would battle for the lead but the caution would fly once again on lap 56 as Wayne Conn spun in turn four after contact with Mark D’llario.

The green flag would fly on lap 61 as Rudolph would take over the lead on lap 62 over McPherson. Johnson would pass McPherson on lap 71 to take over second place, after McPherson held off “The Doctor” for several circuits. Rudolph would hit lap traffic on lap 72 as he led Danny Johnson by a half straightaway with 25 laps remaining.

Rudolph continued to put distance between himself and Johnson as he had a full straightaway lead with 18 laps remaining. The time difference was over two seconds between race leader Rudolph and “The Doctor”. Johnson would start to close in on Rudolph as the leader would hit lap traffic with 15 laps remaining. As the leader pulled away, Mike Bowman would challenge early race leader Tyler McPherson for third place in the late going.

Erick Rudolph would pull away from the field to claim his second consecutive Brian Stevens Memorial. Danny Johnson would finish in second and was followed to the line by Mike Bowman, Tyler McPherson, and Chris Steele.

Bryce Davis and Phil Potts brought the field of RUSH Late Models to the green flag for the second running of the Victoria Day Classic and it was Davis jumping out into the lead with John Waters moving into second with Potts, Dennis Lunger Jr and Mike Pegher Jr running in the top five. Jason Knowles passed Pegher and Lunger to move into fourth as Lunger fell back to fifth on lap five. Will Thomas III went three wide passing Lunger and Pegher to take over fifth place. Travis Martineau brought out the races first caution on lap six, just as John Waters caught race leader Davis.

Third generation driver Colton Ledingham spun in turn two to bring out the caution on lap eight. On the restart, Davis would pull away as Phil Potts looked to go underneath Waters to regain second. Steve Dixon would bring out the races third caution on lap nine, setting up a single file restart as per RUSH Series rules. Jason Knowles, the second generation driver from the Southern Tier region of New York slowed in turn two during the caution, ending his night. Davis and Waters would stretch out their advantage over the rest of the field at the races mid-way point. The leaders would encounter lap traffic at the cross flags just as Waters went three wide with Davis and lap traffic to take over the lead on lap 17. Phil Potts was able to catch Davis through lap traffic but Davis was able to keep the second spot.

Jeff Dayman spun in turn four after making contact with Brady Wonderling to bring out the caution with just three laps remaining. The restart saw Waters take off out front as Mike Pegher moved into third with Potts taking over second, sending Davis back to fourth. Waters would pull away to pick up the win. Potts would finish in second followed by Mike Pegher Jr, Bryce Davis and Brian Knowles.

Kyle Haynes and Mike Sadusek shared the front row for the Van Raine Construction 4 Cylinders Triple Crown 20 lap feature event and it was Haynes showing the way. Tony Kelly went three wide with Haynes and Sadusek and would move into the lead on lap three. Jeff Hill would battle Sadusek and would move into second on lap two. Garnet Wilson would come to a stop on the front straightaway to bring out the races first caution on lap four. On the restart it was Kelly taking off into the lead as the Twisted Metal Racing cars of Tyler Lafantaisie and Kyle Rothwell moving into the top four. Lafantaisie would pass Sadusek to move into second at the conclusion of lap five. Kelly would remain the leader until lap 11 as Tyler Lafantaisie would take over the lead. Early race leader Kyle Haynes came to a stop on the front straightaway to bring out the caution on lap 12. Kyle Rothwell would move into second and would begin to go after teammate Lafantaisie. Tyler Lafantaisie would pull away from Kelly after he passed Rothwell to regain the runner-up position. Jay Moulton lost his steering and broke the front end in turn three to bring out the caution with just three laps to go. Lafantaisie would pull away after the late race restart to claim the victory. Kelly, Rothwell, Sadusek, and Jeff Hill would complete the top five.

“This one is for Brian and for Ray” said race winner Danny Wurster after his 15 lap triumph for the Pro 4 Trucks. “We did this special paint job this year and it’s an honor to win on his memorial night” Wurster added. 13 Pro 4 Trucks hit the track for the Eataly Foods Pro 4 Triple Truck Challenge event number one and it was Dylan Llord and Andy Imbeault on the front row. Llord would dominate most of the event as Craig Vlaisc, Tony Spitery and Kyle Tomaski all had their chance at battling with Llord for the lead but Llord, driving the SOS Towing truck was able to maintain the lead and answer all the challenges that the other competitors were throwing at him. Dylan Llord and Kyle Tomaski spun in turn four, Danny Wurster was able to drive to victory lane on a flat right front tire. Andy Imbeault would finish in second followed by Craig Vlasic, Tony Spiteri and Mitch Dumont completing the top five.

UPCOMING AT MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY

Merrittville will return to action on Saturday May 28th as CAA Niagara presents the David Chevrolet King of the Crates Sportsman Series race number one plus the full card of Pinty’s Delicious Foods 358 Modifieds, Hoosier Stocks, Rev’s Full Throttle Powersports Mod Lites and the Van Raine Construction 4 Cylinders. Showtime next Saturday will be at 7:00pm with grandstand gates opening at 5:30pm.

To reach Merrittville Speedway call 905-892-8266 or via e mail – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Merrittville Speedway is located at 2371 Merrittville Highway in Thorold Ontario. Merrittville Speedway’s Office is open Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM and is located in the Grandstand Area on the ground floor of the Lucas Oil Tower.

For all the news on Merrittville Speedway’s 65th Consecutive Season in 2016 – visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com. Race fans and Race teams alike can follow Merrittville on Face Book (Facebook.com/Merrittville Speedway) and Twitter (Twitter.com/Merrittville

STATISTICAL REPORT – MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY 5-23-16

100 lap Super DIRTcar Series Main Event for the Pinty’s Delicious Foods 358 Modifieds: ERICK RUDOLPH, Danny Johnson, Mike Bowman, Tyler McPherson, Chris Steele, Chad Brachmann, Mat Williamson, Todd Gordon, Gary Lindberg, Tommy Flannigan, Pete Bicknell, J.F. Corriveau, Mathieu Desjardins, Mark D’llario, Wayne Conn, Randy Chrysler, Tim Jones, Kenny Wills, Lance Willix, Joey Ladouceur, Chris Raabe, Scott Wood, Scott George, Ryan Susice

Qualifying Winners: Ryan Susice, Kenny Wills, Erick Rudolph

Quick Ink Fast Time $200 Awards: Ryan Susice (15.839sec.), Tim Jones (15.879sec.), and Erick Rudolph (15.887sec.)

RUSH Late Model Touring Series (30 lap): JOHN WATERS, Phil Potts, Mike Pegher Jr, Bryce Davis, Brian Knowles, Will Thomas III, Brandon Mowat, Charlie Sandercock, Randy Hall, Zack Carley, Ken Winfield, Brady Wonderling, Paul Grigsby, Andy Mayhew, center including Kala’s Home Hardware, KC Auto Parts and RCM Racing Equipment. Steve Dixon, Colton Ledingham, Travis Martineau, Mike Greene, Brian Swank, Jeff Dayman, Tim Gillespie, Rob Pietz, Eric Wilson, Jason Knowles, Dennis Lunger Jr Did Not Qualify: John Pinsonneault, Brad Simpson

Qualifying Winners: Jason Knowles, Phil Potts, John Waters

B-Main Winner: Andy Mayhew

K&N Dash Winner: Bryce Davis

Fast Time: Jason Knowles (16.031 sec.)

Eataly Foods Pro 4 Triple Truck Challenge #1 (15 laps): DANNY WURSTER, Andy Imbeault, Craig Vlasic, Tony Spiteri, Mitch Dumont, Kyle Tomaski, Rick Book, Terry Ronning, Emily Puchalski, Frank Perry, Dylan Llord, Jaime Ayers, Mike Toovey

Qualifying Winners: Dylan Llord, Andy Imbeault

Van Raine Construction 4 Cylinders Triple Crown #1 (20 laps): TYLER LAFANTAISIE, Tony Kelly, Kyle Rothwell, Mike Sadusek, Jeff Hill, Brandon Iudiciani, Olivier Larocque, Vincent Pagnotta, Jeremy Smith, Cole Hardy, Kourtney Kocarik, Mike Giberson, Gary Hodgson, Sam Iftody, Trevor Want, Austyn Werstroh, Kyle Miller, Teeple, Jason Coutu, Jay Moulton, Alex Riley, Tom Neale, Kyle Haynes, Clinton Nicholls, Garnet Wilson

Qualifying Winners: Kyle Haynes, Mike Sadusek, Tony Kelly

MERRITTVILLE SPEEDWAY SPONSORS The 2016 65th Anniversary Lucas Oil Weekly Racing Series for Merrittville Speedway’s 5 Divisions is brought to race fans and racers by division sponsors – Pinty’s Delicious Foods, Yager Bros Trucking, Rev’s Full Throttle Powersports, Hoosier Tire Canada and Van Raine Construction in addition to many marketing partners Visit them at . http://www.merrittvillespeedway.com/sponsors.htm and visit them when you require their products and/or services.

Lucas Oil Products, Inc., is the world leader in the production high performance oils, fuel treatments and problem solving additives with the largest variety of shelf products of any oil company in North America. Lucas Oil’s premium formulas are marketed worldwide and retail at more than 40,000 auto parts stores across the continent and at virtually every truck stop across Canada.

Race fans can look for Lucas Oil Products at their favourite automotive retailer or maintenance