By Jonathon Howe
THOROLD, Ont. (July 11, 2026) – The Southern Ontario Sprints made a blistering return to Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night. D.J. Christie scored the victory, leading flag-to-flag in the 25 lap feature.
D.J. Christie and Jacob Dykstra brought the field to the green flag in a race that turned out to be free of caution flags. Christie jumped out to an early lead ahead of Dykstra, Darren Dryden, Josh Hansen, and Travis Cunningham. As Christie paced the field and started to catch traffic, Dykstra started to eat into the second and a half gap that Christie had built between the top two.
The traffic proved just as challenging for Dykstra as it had been for Christie, who found clean air again after lapping past five cars. Hansen ran down Dryden and appeared to have the pace run down the front two, but he sustained damage to his front wing which slowed his progress.
Christie claimed the win and took over at the top of the SOS championship points standings. Dykstra and Hansen rounded out the podium, while Dryden finished fourth, and Kyle Phillips took fifth from Cunningham in the closing laps.
The entire 25 lap feature was run in a little over six and a half minutes. Heat race wins went to Dykstra, Cory Turner, and Hanson, while Aaron Turkey was the fastest driver in qualifications.
Please visit www.southernontariosprints.ca for race results, points standings, and more information about the Southern Ontario Sprints.
2026 Southern Ontario Sprints Season
Statistical Report – Saturday,July 11, 2026
Merrittville Speedway – Thorold, Ontario, Canada
A-Main [Started] 25 laps – 6:36.227
1. 5-DJ Christie[1]; 2. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[2]; 3. 88H-Josh Hansen[5]; 4. 12DD-Darren Dryden[3]; 5. 21-Kyle Phillips[12]; 6. 90-Travis Cunningham[7]; 7. 17-Cory Turner[6]; 8. 87XS-Skyler Evans[9]; 9. 77T-Tyeller Powless[8]; 10. 70-Baily Heard[17]; 11. 68-Aaron Turkey[13]; 12. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[10]; 13. 11-Jamie Turner[11]; 14. 0C-Cole MacDonald[14]; 15. 11H-Jeremy Hughes[15]; 16. 43-Scott Sherk[16]; 17. (DNF) 15-Ryan Turner[4]
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – NT
1. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[1]; 2. 5-DJ Christie[2]; 3. 90-Travis Cunningham[3]; 4. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[5]; 5. 43-Scott Sherk[6]; 6. 68-Aaron Turkey[4]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 01:58.562
1. 17-Cory Turner[1]; 2. 77T-Tyeller Powless[3]; 3. 15-Ryan Turner[4]; 4. 11-Jamie Turner[5]; 5. 0C-Cole MacDonald[2]; 6. 70-Baily Heard[6]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 02:03.676
1. 88H-Josh Hansen[2]; 2. 87XS-Skyler Evans[1]; 3. 21-Kyle Phillips[3]; 4. 12DD-Darren Dryden[4]; 5. 11H-Jeremy Hughes[5]
Qualifications 1
1. 68-Aaron Turkey, 14.073[6]; 2. 5D-Jacob Dykstra, 14.135[5]; 3. 5-DJ Christie, 14.302[1]; 4. 90-Travis Cunningham, 14.335[4]; 5. 77E-Ashton VanEvery, 14.435[2]; 6. 43-Scott Sherk, 15.463[3]
Qualifications 2
1. 15-Ryan Turner, 14.096[1]; 2. 17-Cory Turner, 14.330[5]; 3. 0C-Cole MacDonald, 14.365[3]; 4. 77T-Tyeller Powless, 14.485[2]; 5. 11-Jamie Turner, 14.516[6]; 6. 70-Baily Heard, 14.683[4]
Qualifications 3
1. 12DD-Darren Dryden, 14.324[1]; 2. 88H-Josh Hansen, 14.386[5]; 3. 21-Kyle Phillips, 14.514[4]; 4. 87XS-Skyler Evans, 15.028[2]; 5. 11H-Jeremy Hughes, 15.028[3]
About: The Southern Ontario Sprints series sanctioned its first race in 1996, making it one of Canada’s longest-running motorsports sanctioning bodies. Visit www.southernontariosprints.ca for more information and news for the traveling winged 360 Sprint Car tour based in Ontario, Canada
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