The Infamous School Bus Races Fired Up for a Wild Night at Brighton Speedway 

By Carlin Bedore 

Fans poured through the gates on June 13th, all in search of the thrill the School Bus Races bring to Brighton Speedway twice a year. 15 school buses took to the track for heats and by the end of the feature only 10 remained! The night was action-packed with feature races from the Late Model, Canadian Modified, Thunder Stock, and Mini Stock divisions.  

Brighton Recycling School Bus Feature 

The 15-lap School Bus Feature saw Jack Juby start on the pole in school bus No. 28. To his outside, Dee Waite in the purple beauty No. 22. Starting in the second row, No. 116 Eric Delbianco in third and No. 9 Stu Archer in fourth. Lastly, for the starting top 5, Tommy Grant in school bus No. 44. On lap one, the red flag waved for No. 88 Bryan McColl and No. 81 Justin Terhaar sending the pair to the pits. On the restart, No. 9 Archer pulled ahead to take the lead. Meanwhile, No. 77 Bernie Rhebergen battled through traffic to fight for the second spot and on lap 11 he was able to take the lead. Despite a coolant leak spraying the back of his driver’s seat, No. 77 Rhebergen was able to take the win and secure another School Bus Feature win! The rest of the top five finishers were No. 44 Tommy Grant in second, No. 22 Dee Waite in third, No. 9 Stu Archer in fourth, and No. 98 Kyle Rhebergen in fifth.  

Bill’s Johns Mini Stock Feature 

The 15 lap, Mini Stock Feature had No. 5 Eric Conlin starting on the pole with No. 97 Kyle Gregory to his outside. Starting in third was No. 91 Jack Veenstra, in fourth No. 1 Coleson Gregory, and in fifth No. 5K Matt Knowlton. Lap one saw No. 97 Gregory and No. 91 Veenstra both move past No. 5 Conlin to take the first and second positions. Throughout the race, No. 91 Veenstra attempted to catch No. 97 Gregory. However, when an unexpected issue arose for No. 91 Veenstra, he ultimately pitted and did not finish the race. No. 37 AJ Peters swooped in to take the second position and held his own until the end of the feature. The race finished with No. 97 Kyle Gregory taking the checkered flag for the second time this season. Finishing behind Gregory, we saw No. 37 AJ Peters take second, No. 2 Trevyn McCrillis take third, No. 5 Eric Conlin take fourth, and No. 4 Chris Tufford take the fifth position.  

Bainer’s OilGARD Canadian Modified Feature  

18 Canadian Modifieds took to the track for their 25 lap Feature with No. 51 Mike Freeman starting in the first position. No. 97 Dave Barrett was to his outside followed by No. 2 Leslie Mowat in third, No. 29 Phil Potts in fourth, and No. 40 Ron Wadforth in fifth. Lap one and two saw No. 2 Mowat weave through No. 51 Freeman and No. 97 Barrett to take the lead. However, following closely behind her, No. 40 Wadforth was determined to make it to the top spot and passed No. 2 Mowat on lap 4. Wadforth held his position for the rest of the feature while the rest of the field was battling for second. The feature finished with No. 40 Ron Wadforth in first, No. 29 Phil Potts in second, No. 1 Shawn Gregory in third, No. 25 Greg Belyea in fourth, and No. 2 Leslie Mowat finishing in fifth.  

Vanderlaan Building Products Late Model Feature 

The 30 Lap Late Model Feature started with No. 11 Kyle Sopaz in first, followed by No. 05 James Seymour in second. No. 151 Brian McDonald started in third, followed by No. 46 Brandon Mowat in fourth, and No. 5 Steve Baldwin in fifth. The field went green with No. 11 Sopaz firing first to take the lead. The battle for second was strong with No. 05 Seymour, No. 5 Baldwin, and No. 46 Mowat battling it out in the first eight laps. On lap nine, No. 5 Baldwin took the lead but not for long as No. 46 Mowat made the pass for first on lap 15. Mowat continued to hold the lead for the rest of the feature and took the win. No. 3 Nathan Rinaldi finished second, No. 57 Charlie Sandercock finished third, No. 41 Ryan Lambert finished fourth, and No. 5 Steve Baldwin finished fifth. 

Brighton Automotive Thunder Stock Feature 

The last feature of the night saw No. 10 Carter Rhodes start on the pole for the 20 lap Thunder Stock Feature. No. 18 Kyle Anderson started in second, No. 45 Dylan Riley started third, No. 46 Dion Riley started fourth, and No. 16 Kaitlyn O’Blenis started in the fifth position. The race started with No. 10 Rhodes taking the lead, but a yellow flag on lap six sent him to the back of the pack. After that, No. 18 Anderson took the top spot but was feeling the fire of No. 0 Tyler French behind him. On lap 10, No. 0 French made the pass for first and began to lead the group. The feature finished with No. 0 Tyler French taking the checkered flag, followed by No. 26 Brock Gregory, No. 18 Kyle Anderson, No. 16 Kaitlyn O’Blenis, and No. 45 Dylan Riley finishing in fifth. 

Next up! 

On June 20th, the Southern Ontario ModLites are back for their yearly event at Brighton Speedway! They will be joined by the Vanderlaan Building Products Late Models, the Bainer’s OilGARD Canadian Modifieds, the Bill’s Johns Mini Stocks, and the Quinte Septic Stingers. You can also meet the Campbellford Chrysler Driver of the Week, Late Model No. 46 Brandon Mowat, in the courtyard when the gates open at 5pm! Tickets for this event are on sale now at brightonspeedway.ca and will be available in person at the ticket booth when the gates open. The green flag drops at 7pm, do not miss out, race fans!  

About Us  

Racing at Brighton Speedway continues every Saturday until October. Race fans can find a complete schedule and more information by visiting our website at brightonspeedway.ca or by following us on our socials. A 1/3rd mile clay oval, Brighton Speedway is in the municipality of Brighton on the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1967, the Speedway hosts five divisions on a weekly basis, beginning on the first weekend in May and ending on the first weekend in October. With two travelling series, the Lawns We 360 Sprint Cars and the Vanderlaan Building Products Northeast Late Model Division calling Brighton home, other series visit the track each season to impress the fans and challenge the tight turns on the dirt track.  

  

Photos by Rod Henderson, CanadianRacer.com 

1. Brighton Recycling School bus driver No. 77 Bernie Rhebergen captured another School Bus Feature win on June 13th at Brighton Speedway. 

1. Brandon Mowat, No. 46 battled hard during the Late Model Feature on June 13th, to take the checkered flag at Brighton Speedway. 

 

Media Results for 2026-06-13 at Brighton Speedway – Brighton, ON 

Vanderlaan Building Products Late Models 12 Entries 

A Feature 1 30 Laps | 00:23:55.676 

1. 46-BrandonMowat[4]; 2. 3-NathanRinaldi[6]; 3. 57-Charlie Sandercock[8]; 4. 41-Ryan Lambert[10]; 5. 5-Steve Baldwin[5]; 6. 151-Brian McDonald[3]; 7. 77-Caley Weese[9]; 8. 05-James Seymour[2]; 9. 21-Rich Sanders[7]; 10. 50-Dylan Boyle[12]; 11. 7-Anthony Rinaldi[11]; 12. 11-Kyle Sopaz[1] 

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:32.784 

1. 151-BrianMcDonald[1]; 2. 3-NathanRinaldi[3]; 3. 5-Steve Baldwin[5]; 4. 21-Rich Sanders[2]; 5. 77-Caley Weese[6]; 6. 7-Anthony Rinaldi[4] 

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:43.383 

1. 11-KyleSopaz[1]; 2. 57-CharlieSandercock[3]; 3. 05-James Seymour[5]; 4. 46-Brandon Mowat[6]; 5. 41-Ryan Lambert[4]; 6. 50-Dylan Boyle[2] 

Bainer’s OilGARD Anti Rust Canadian Modified 18 Entries 

A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:18:36.228 

1. 40-RonWadforth[5]; 2. 29-PhilPotts[4]; 3. 1-Shawn Gregory[9]; 4. 25-Greg Belyea[6]; 5. 2-Leslie Mowat[3]; 6. 32-Doug O’Blenis[8]; 7. 97-Dave Barrett[2]; 8. 09-Dan Price[12]; 9. 85-Brittany Moon[10]; 10. 7-Rick Phillips[7]; 11. 91-Jaiden Miller[11]; 12. 24-Travis Fox Connor[18]; 13. 212-Adam Whaley[17]; 14. 26-Bob Green[16]; 15. 51-Mike Freeman[1]; 16. 10-Elmer Stevenson[14]; 17. 08-Angie Kirby[13]; 18. (DNS) 12-Caleb Severin 

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:21.490 

1. 40-RonWadforth[3]; 2. 1-ShawnGregory[4]; 3. 29-Phil Potts[5]; 4. 85-Brittany Moon[1]; 5. 09-Dan Price[6]; 6. 12-Caleb Severin[2] 

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:04:29.555 

1. 7-RickPhillips[4]; 2. 25-GregBelyea[5]; 3. 51-Mike Freeman[6]; 4. 91-Jaiden Miller[3]; 5. 08-Angie Kirby[1]; 6. (DNS) 26-Bob Green 

Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:02:28.761 

1. 2-LeslieMowat[5]; 2. 97-DaveBarrett[1]; 3. 32-Doug O’Blenis[3]; 4. 24-Travis Fox Connor[6]; 5. 10-Elmer Stevenson[2]; 6. (DNS) 212-Adam Whaley 

Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks 20 Entries 

A Feature 1 20 Laps | 00:10:16.490 

1. 0-TylerFrench[8]; 2. 26-BrockGregory[9]; 3. 18-Kyle Anderson[2]; 4. 16-Kaitlyn O’Blenis[5]; 5. 45-Dylan Riley[3]; 6. 19-Cory White[6]; 7. 44-Tommy Bailey[7]; 8. 89-Kolby Ellis[10]; 9. 5-Jake Hadley[12]; 10. 6-Warren Mowat[11]; 11. 10-Carter Rhodes[1]; 12. 46-Dion Riley[4]; 13. 76-Cody Driscoll[14]; 14. 09T-Garren Taylor[16]; 15. 06-Chris Hackett[15]; 16. 50-Stephen Orr[17]; 17. 9-Cooper McKeown[13]; 18. 12-Nicolas Cormier[18]; 19. (DNS) 22-Tyson Gregory 

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:31.707 

1. 44-TommyBailey[2]; 2. 18-KyleAnderson[6]; 3. 26-Brock Gregory[7]; 4. 89-Kolby Ellis[4]; 5. 9-Cooper McKeown[3]; 6. 09T-Garren Taylor[5]; 7. 72-Doug Anderson[1] 

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:40.291 

1. 10-CarterRhodes[3]; 2. 46-DionRiley[4]; 3. 16-Kaitlyn O’Blenis[6]; 4. 6-Warren Mowat[5]; 5. 76-Cody Driscoll[1]; 6. 50-Stephen Orr[7]; 7. 22-Tyson Gregory[2] 

Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:02:30.882 

1. 0-TylerFrench[2]; 2. 19-CoryWhite[3]; 3. 45-Dylan Riley[4]; 4. 5-Jake Hadley[5]; 5. 06-Chris Hackett[6]; 6. 12-Nicolas Cormier[1] 

Bill’s Johns Mini Stock 16 Entries 

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:06:57.653 

1. 97-KyleGregory[2]; 2. 37-AJPeters[7]; 3. 2-Trevyn McCrillis[8]; 4. 5-Eric Conlin[1]; 5. 4-Chris Tufford[10]; 6. 8-Devon O’Brien[9]; 7. 357-Ethan Lord[11]; 8. 12-Shane Vale[14]; 9. 1-Coleson Gregory[4]; 10. 91-Jack Veenstra[3]; 11. 5K-Matt Knowlton[5]; 12. 92-Robert Sanderson[13]; 13. 25-Lawrence Evenden[15]; 14. (DNS) 22-Keith Dunk; 15. (DQ) 42JR-Aidan Fletcher[6] 

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:03:54.764 

1. 97-KyleGregory[6]; 2. 91-JackVeenstra[3]; 3. 1-Coleson Gregory[5]; 4. 5K-Matt Knowlton[2]; 5. 8-Devon O’Brien[1]; 6. 357-Ethan Lord[4]; 7. 12-Shane Vale[8]; 8. 22-Keith Dunk[7] 

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:38.805 

1. 37-AJPeters[1]; 2. 2-TrevynMcCrillis[3]; 3. 5-Eric Conlin[2]; 4. 42JR-Aidan Fletcher[5]; 5. 4-Chris Tufford[4]; 6. 92-Robert Sanderson[7]; 7. 25-Lawrence Evenden[8]; 8. (DNS) 96-Cole Abrams