7-year victory drought ends
It was the best finish of Ryan Sucise’s racing career at Merrittville Speedway, but the driver from Ransomville, N.Y., said he was just along for the ride.
Sucise deflected credit for his first-ever victory at the Thorold track by praising the pit crew. He said an expert setup in sync with track conditions and an engine tuned for full-throttle racing were primarily responsible for ending a seven-year win drought.
“For some reason, we never quite had the luck here, but tonight didn’t have anything to do with luck,” Sucise said. “It was a lot of hard work by an amazing and dedicated crew.
“I think anyone here in the grandstand could have taken this car to a win.”
Rounding out the top five in first points race of the season in the 358 modified racing class were a fellow western New Yorker, Sanborn’s Chad Brachmann; Port Robinson’s Tim Jones, the pacesetter in the 2017 Spring Sizzler last weekend; Ridgeway’s Gary Lindberg; and St. Catharines’ Pete Bicknell, the defending track champion. Jones and Sucise won the heats that set the field for the 35-lap feature that wrapped up a cold and overcast night.
Merrittville’s 66th season, and the first under new owner Don Spiece, opened with Tony Kelly of Niagara Falls holding off Alex Riley of Thorold in a mini stocks feature that went down to the wire.
Except for the engine, transmission, wheels — and the man behind the wheel — Kelly’s car was almost entirely new, a replacement for the VW that was totalled on the final night of the season at New Humberstone Speedway in Port Colborne last September.
“Tonight’s result I am absolutely surprised with,” he said. “At test and tune there was some broken stuff, a broken brake line, a rear strut and a torn CV boot.”
Kelly, one of the three heat winners in the 4-cylinder class Saturday night, set the pace for much of the 15-lap feature.
However, with Riley never too far back in the caution-filled main event, Kelly wasn’t able to breathe a sigh of relief until after he saw the checkered flag. “It was anybody’s race.” Margin of victory was only 0.541 seconds and it was Riley, not Kelly, who posted the fastest lap time in the feature, 20.133 seconds.
Jay Moulton, St. Catharines; Tyler Lafantaisie, Welland; and Olivier Larocque, Port Colborne, rounded out the top five. Leroy Buscumb, Welland; and Jason Coutu, St. Catharines, also won heats.
Hagersville’s Dave Bailey, the reigning 8-cylinder champion at Humberstone and Ohsweken as well as at Merrittville, won the Hoosier stock feature by more than a straightaway less than six hours after replacing the transmission casing to repair a fluid leak.
“I was happy that it worked,” he said of the last-minute repair.
Bailey didn’t decide on replacing the cracked until late Friday.
“I kept trying to epoxy it, but it didn’t work.”
In comparison, everything was working in Bailey’s favour Saturday night. He lost a large lead on a Lap 11 caution only to maintain the front-runner position and regain the lost ground, and then some, over the final nine circuits in the feature.
I think anyone here in the grandstand could have taken this car to a win.” 358 modified racer Ryan Sucise
Bailey beat Billy Bleich Jr. of Port Robinson by 3.8 seconds and recorded the fastest lap time of the 17 drivers who finished the race, 18.732 seconds.
Before placing seventh behind Cody McPherson of St. Catharines in the 25-lap sportsman feature, Brent Begolo of Thorold set the pace in the 20-lap mod lite feature.
Jeffrey May of Port Hope, Ont., near Hamilton; edged Josh Sliter of Ridgeway by 1/100th of second to finish in the first points race of the mod lite season at Merrittville.
Chris Watson of Niagara Falls and Rob Misener of Welland rounded out the top five. Begolo and Sliter were the heat winners.
Trailing McPherson, the defending track sportsman champion, across the finish line Saturday night were Brad Rouse, St. Catharines; Rob Knapp, Niagara Falls; James Michael Friesen, St. Catharines; and Justin Sharp, St. Catharines.
Heat winners were Matt Farnham, Tonawanda, N.Y.; Brett Senek, Ransomville, N.Y.; and Knapp. A three-car field went to the green in sportsman novice. Terry Larmet led Greg Rausher and Dave Mamo across the finish line in the 10-lap feature.