From Southern Ontario Sprints
THOROLD, Ont. (April 26, 2025) – The Southern Ontario Sprints series opened the 2025 season at Merrittville Speedway’s Spring Sizzler on Saturday. Mike Bowman took the win on a chilly evening.
Bowman and Baily Heard made up the front row for the 25 lap feature, but only two laps were completed before Joe Trenca and Alex Bergeron tangled to bring out a yellow flag. Bowman stayed up front after two more yellows for spins by Dylan Westbrook and Ashton VanEvery.
Darren Dryden took the second spot away from Heard after the VanEvery spin on lap 12, and stayed with Bowman through the second half of the race. Bowman had to fight off challenges from Dryden as the pair raced through traffic, until a spin by Matt Farnham with two laps remaining brought out the yellow flag. The subsequent single-file restart gave Bowman a chance to lock down the win, and he drove on to claim his first 360 Sprint Car win at Merrittville; all of Bowman’s previous 360 Sprint Car wins had come at Ohsweken Speedway.
Dryden took the runner-up position, while Heard rounded out the podium with his best career finish. Todd Hoddick and DJ Christie took the remaining spots in the top five, while Jordan Poirier, Ryan Turner, Dylan Westbrook, Allan Downey, and Eric Gledhill finished in the top ten.
DJ Christie claimed the Ackland Insurance Quick Time Award, while Travis Cunningham was The Drivers Project Hard Charger Award winner.
14-year-old rookie Skylar Evans made his Sprint Car debut on Saturday, running second fastest in his Timed Hot Lap group and advancing from 20th to finish 14th in the feature.
A total of 22 drivers from Ontario, Quebec, and New York made the trip to Merrittville. The SOS organization would like to thank all the fans, track officials, and race teams who braved cold temperatures and a questionable weather forecast to put on a great show.
Next on the SOS schedule is a Gold Crown Super series race at Buxton Speedway on June 7 paying $5,000-to-win and $500-to-start. Please visit www.southernontariosprints.ca for race results, points standings, and more information about the Southern Ontario Sprints.
2025 Southern Ontario Sprints Season
Statistical Report – Saturday, April 26, 2025
Merrittville Speedway – Thorold, Ontario, Canada
A-Main [Started] 25 laps – NT
1. 71-Mike Bowman[1]; 2. 12DD-Darren Dryden[3]; 3. 70-Baily Heard[2]; 4. 94-Todd Hoddick[6]; 5. 5-DJ Christie[4]; 6. 28-Jordan Poirier[12]; 7. 15-Ryan Turner[8]; 8. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[5]; 9. 19-Allan Downey[13]; 10. 7-Eric Gledhill[10]; 11. 88H-Josh Hansen[9]; 12. 90-Travis Cunningham[19]; 13. 11-Jamie Turner[18]; 14. 87X-Skylar Evans[20]; 15. 94X-Scott Hall[15]; 16. 7NY-Matt Farnham[11]; 17. 12-Alex Bergeron[16]; 18. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[7]; 19. 98-Joe Trenca[14]; 20. (DNS) 68-Aaron Turkey
Awards
The Drivers Project Hard Charger ($150) – Travis Cunningham (+7)
Ackland Insurance Quick Time ($100) – DJ Christie (13.257 seconds)
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 21-Kyle Phillips[1]; 2. 5-DJ Christie[4]; 3. 94-Todd Hoddick[2]; 4. 88H-Josh Hansen[3]; 5. 28-Jordan Poirier[5]; 6. 94X-Scott Hall[6]; 7. 87X-Skylar Evans[8]; 8. (DNS) 17-Cory Turner
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 1:51.290
1. 12DD-Darren Dryden[1]; 2. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[4]; 3. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[2]; 4. 7-Eric Gledhill[5]; 5. 19-Allan Downey[3]; 6. 12-Alex Bergeron[7]; 7. 11-Jamie Turner[6]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 1:49.952
1. 71-Mike Bowman[1]; 2. 15-Ryan Turner[2]; 3. 70-Baily Heard[4]; 4. 7NY-Matt Farnham[5]; 5. 98-Joe Trenca[7]; 6. 68-Aaron Turkey[6]; 7. 90-Travis Cunningham[3]
Timed Hot Laps 1
1. 5-DJ Christie, 00:13.257[2]; 2. 87X-Skylar Evans, 00:13.697[8]; 3. 88H-Josh Hansen, 00:13.699[3]; 4. 94-Todd Hoddick, 00:13.791[4]; 5. 21-Kyle Phillips, 00:13.992[5]; 6. 28-Jordan Poirier, 00:14.022[1]; 7. 94X-Scott Hall, 00:14.247[7]; 8. (DNS) 17-Cory Turner
Timed Hot Laps 2
1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, 00:13.578[1]; 2. 12DD-Darren Dryden, 00:13.663[2]; 3. 77E-Ashton VanEvery, 00:13.719[4]; 4. 19-Allan Downey, 00:13.939[3]; 5. 7-Eric Gledhill, 00:14.053[7]; 6. 11-Jamie Turner, 00:14.303[5]; 7. 12-Alex Bergeron, 00:14.307[6]
Timed Hot Laps 3
1. 70-Baily Heard, 00:13.753[4]; 2. 71-Mike Bowman, 00:13.818[3]; 3. 15-Ryan Turner, 00:13.877[2]; 4. 90-Travis Cunningham, 00:14.065[7]; 5. 7NY-Matt Farnham, 00:14.113[1]; 6. 68-Aaron Turkey, 00:14.125[5]; 7. 98-Joe Trenca, 00:14.211[6]
About: The Southern Ontario Sprints series sanctioned its first race in 1996, making it one of Canada’s longest-running motorsports sanctioning bodies. The Southern Ontario Sprints 2025 schedule will see the organization competing at five racing facilities in Canada. Visit www.southernontariosprints.ca for more information and news for the traveling winged 360 Sprint Car tour based in Ontario, Canada