Turner, Sopaz, Wadforth, French and Gregory grab wins

By: Nicole Kleinsteuber

 

The Lawns We Do 360 Southern Ontario Sprints invaded Brighton Speedway on Saturday night.

 

The track welcomed the province’s best sprint car drivers for a night of racing in honour of Canada Day that began with the famous four-wide, pre-green flag salute and fireworks.

 

The night presented by Quinte Hydraulic Service and Mystical Distributing featured an action-packed race card with the Late Models, Canadian Modifieds, Thunder Stocks and 4-Cylinders.

 

Turner Takes Checkers in Thriller

 

Fresh off heat wins No. 15 Ryan Turner and No. 70MM Matt Billings led a field of 18 Southern Ontario Sprints to green in the 25-lap main event.  Turner took off at the drop of the green flag and was hooked up on the highside as points leader No. 12DD Darren Dryden tried to hunt him down.  No. 31C Dale Curran, No. Liam Martin and Billings waged an epic three-way battle for third off in the distance.  Determined to score a win, Turner was flawless from start to finish as he flew to victory lane, leaving Dryden to settle for second.  Billings placed third, Martin fourth and Curran finished fifth.

 

Dryden also picked up the Ackland Insurance Quick Time Award during the timed hot laps with a quick time of 12.788 seconds.

 

Sopaz Sails to Victory Lane

 

Polesitter No. 11 Kyle Sopaz was the car to beat in the Vanderlaan Building Products 30-lap feature.  Second starter No. 46 Brandon Mowat proved to be Sopaz’s toughest contender on the night.  Hooked to the inside, Sopaz was unstoppable.  Lapped traffic forced the pair to change lanes and once in the clear, they slid back down to the bottom line.  Leading all 30 laps, Sopaz scored his first season win with Mowat glued to his bumper.  No. David Vandertoorn finished where he started in third, as did No. 77 Caley Weese in fourth.  No. 5 Steve Baldwin picked up fifth place. 

 

Wadforth Wins Again

 

After winning his qualifier No. 40 Ron Wadforth earned pole position in the Bainers Oilgard Anti-Rust Canadian Modified 25-lap main. Wadforth and No. 25 Greg Belyea went wheel to wheel in an exhilarating chase for checkers.  Belyea scooped up the lead on lap 4, but it was short-lived as Wadforth took it back on the inside after a restart on lap 8.   Wadforth took off like a rocket as he rode to victory lane for the second time this year with Belyea in runner-up.  No. 32 Doug O’Blenis finished third, No. 85 Brittany Golden fourth and No. 51 Mike Freeman fifth.

 

Checkers Fly For French

 

No. 16 Kaitlyn O’Blenis took a field of 19 Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks to green in the 20-lap affair.  She was a force to be reckoned with as she led the first 8 laps of the feature.  A caution slowed the pace and on the restart No. 0 Tyler French snapped up the lead on the outside going into turn 3.  French never relinquished the point and flew to victory lane for the second time this year.  No. 26 Brock Gregory drove from seventh to place second.  No. 10 Carter Rhodes charged from 18th to finish third.  O’Blenis earned a hard-fought fourth and No. 72 Doug Anderson placed fifth.

 

Gregory Grabs 4th win  

 

No. 42JR Aidan Fletcher looked like he was well on his way to securing his first feature win of the year in the Bill’s Johns 4-Cylinder 15-lap race.  On a restart on lap 4, Fletcher grabbed the lead as No. 22 Tyson Gregory chased him down on the cushion.  The pair treated fans to a wild battle for the top spot.  With two laps to go, Gregory cruised into the lead and on to victory lane for the fourth time this season.  No. 35 Richard Belair placed second, Fletcher third, No. 47K Karl Lecuyer fourth and No. 3 Shawn Knowlton fifth. 

 

Up Next

The summer keeps getting better with hot temperatures and cool action. Electro Cables & Campbellford Chrysler present the FMX Pro Riders Stunt Bikes!  High flying jumps and edge of your seat acrobatics on dirt bikes will thrill the fans as much as the complete race card featuring the Vanderlaan Building Products Late Models, Bainer’s OilGard Anti Rust Canadian Modifieds, Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks and Bill’s Johns 4 Cylinders.  Front Gates open at 5:00 PM and action begins at 7:00 PM.

 

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 1/3^rd 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. The Lawns We Do 360 Sprints and Southern Ontario Sprints $5000.00 to win feature event on Saturday at Brighton Speedway saw NO. 15 Ryan Turner take the checkered flag.
2. No 11 Kyle Sopaz takes his first feature win of the season during the Quinte Hydraulic Service night at Brighton Speedway Saturday, June 28^th.

 

Media Results for 6/28/2025 at Brighton Speedway – Brighton, ON

Vanderlaan Building Products Late Models 14 Entries

A Feature 1 30 Laps | 00:12:02.605

1. 11-Kyle Sopaz[1]; 2. 46-Brandon Mowat[2]; 3. 33-David Vandertoorn[3]; 4. 77-Caley Weese[4]; 5. 5-Steve Baldwin[8]; 6. 05-James Seymour[12]; 7. 89-Austin King[11]; 8. 41-Ryan Lambert[6]; 9. 7-Anthony Rinaldi[10]; 10. 21-Rich Sanders[9]; 11. 4J-Josh Overdulve[14]; 12. 3-Nathan Rinaldi[5]; 13. 57-Charlie Sandercock[7]; 14. 9-Joshua Black[13]

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:13.304

1. 77-Caley Weese[3]; 2. 57-Charlie Sandercock[1]; 3. 11-Kyle Sopaz[4]; 4. 41-Ryan Lambert[2]; 5. 21-Rich Sanders[5]; 6. 89-Austin King[7]; 7. (DNS) 9-Joshua Black

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:08.226

1. 46-Brandon Mowat[1]; 2. 33-David Vandertoorn[2]; 3. 3-Nathan Rinaldi[4]; 4. 5-Steve Baldwin[3]; 5. 7-Anthony Rinaldi[6]; 6. 05-James Seymour[5]; 7. (DNS) 4J-Josh Overdulve

 

Bainer’s OilGARD Anti Rust Canadian Modified 16 Entries

A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:08:49.099

1. 40-Ron Wadforth[1]; 2. 25-Greg Belyea[4]; 3. 32-Doug O’Blenis[7]; 4. 85-Brittany Golden[9]; 5. 51-Mike Freeman[12]; 6. 2-Leslie Mowat[5]; 7. 41-Corey Halbert[10]; 8. 09-Dan Price[2]; 9. 50-Dylan Boyle[8]; 10. 14-Matthew Moore[15]; 11. 7-Rick Phillips[3]; 12. 08-Angie Kirby[14]; 13. 91-Jaiden Miller[16]; 14. 26-Bob Green[13]; 15. 1-Shawn Gregory[6]; 16. 12-Caleb Severin[11]

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:21.136

1. 50-Dylan Boyle[3]; 2. 1-Shawn Gregory[6]; 3. 7-Rick Phillips[2]; 4. 2-Leslie Mowat[5]; 5. 85-Brittany Golden[8]; 6. 12-Caleb Severin[7]; 7. 26-Bob Green[4]; 8. 14-Matthew Moore[1]

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:03:49.730

1. 40-Ron Wadforth[1]; 2. 32-Doug O’Blenis[3]; 3. 25-Greg Belyea[5]; 4. 09-Dan Price[2]; 5. 41-Corey Halbert[7]; 6. 51-Mike Freeman[6]; 7. 08-Angie Kirby[4]; 8. 91-Jaiden Miller[8]

 

Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks 19 Entries

A Feature 1 20 Laps | 00:11:45.880

1. 0-Tyler French[6]; 2. 26-Brock Gregory[7]; 3. 10-Carter Rhodes[18]; 4. 16-Kaitlyn O’Blenis[1]; 5. 72-Doug Anderson[9]; 6. 97-Dave Barrett[3]; 7. 74-Mike Lucas[10]; 8. 44-Tommy Bailey[2]; 9. 18-Kyle Anderson[13]; 10. 73-Jason Preece[4]; 11. 09T-Garren Taylor[15]; 12. 5-Jake Hadley[16]; 13. 99-Rob Murray[8]; 14. 54-Tim Moore[11]; 15. 82-Brad Brooking[12]; 16. 89-Kolby Ellis[5]; 17. 06-Chris Hackett[14]; 18. 7-Josh Toon[19]; 19. 27-Torri Pope[17]

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:30.092

1. 44-Tommy Bailey[1]; 2. 26-Brock Gregory[4]; 3. 97-Dave Barrett[3]; 4. 74-Mike Lucas[5]; 5. 18-Kyle Anderson[6]; 6. 5-Jake Hadley[2]; 7. 7-Josh Toon[7]

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:29.336

1. 0-Tyler French[3]; 2. 16-Kaitlyn O’Blenis[5]; 3. 89-Kolby Ellis[4]; 4. 54-Tim Moore[6]; 5. 06-Chris Hackett[2]; 6. 27-Torri Pope[1]

Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:02:30.327

1. 72-Doug Anderson[2]; 2. 73-Jason Preece[6]; 3. 99-Rob Murray[4]; 4. 82-Brad Brooking[5]; 5. (DNS) 09T-Garren Taylor; 6. (DNS) 10-Carter Rhodes

 

Bill’s Johns 4 Cylinder 19 Entries

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:19:57.795

1. 22-Tyson Gregory[9]; 2. 35-Richard Belair[5]; 3. 42-Aidan Fletcher[8]; 4. 47K-Karl Lecuyer[17]; 5. 3-Shawn Knowlton[10]; 6. 37-AJ Peters[1]; 7. 17E-Evan Minnie[15]; 8. 20-Cody Sager[7]; 9. C41-Valaire Lecuyer[13]; 10. 83-Carlee Gilkes[16]; 11. 5-Eric Conlin[14]; 12. 1-Coleson Gregory[3]; 13. 18K-Matt Knowlton[12]; 14. 25-Lawrence Evenden[11]; 15. 21-Keith Dunk[19]; 16. 04-Owen Chamberlain[18]; 17. 24-Travis Fox Connor[2]; 18. 2-Trevyn McCrillis[4]; 19. 10X-Brandon Gregory[6]

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:31.010

1. 10X-Brandon Gregory[3]; 2. 42-Aidan Fletcher[2]; 3. 35-Richard Belair[1]; 4. 3-Shawn Knowlton[5]; 5. C41-Valaire Lecuyer[7]; 6. 83-Carlee Gilkes[4]; 7. (DNF) 21-Keith Dunk[6]

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:30.969

1. 20-Cody Sager[4]; 2. 2-Trevyn McCrillis[2]; 3. 1-Coleson Gregory[1]; 4. 25-Lawrence Evenden[5]; 5. 5-Eric Conlin[6]; 6. 47K-Karl Lecuyer[3]

Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:02:30.670

1. 22-Tyson Gregory[4]; 2. 24-Travis Fox Connor[2]; 3. 37-AJ Peters[3]; 4. 18K-Matt Knowlton[5]; 5. 17E-Evan Minnie[1]; 6. 04-Owen Chamberlain[6]

 

Lawns We Do 360 Sprints 18 Entries

A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:09:14.777

1. 15-Ryan Turner[1]; 2. 12DD-Darren Dryden[4]; 3. 70MM-Matt Billings[2]; 4. 9-Liam Martin[5]; 5. 31C-Dale Curran[3]; 6. 77T-Tyeller Powless[6]; 7. 70-Baily Heard[8]; 8. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[9]; 9. 13-Evan Reynolds[17]; 10. 12-Alex Bergeron[15]; 11. 42W-Rick Wilson[11]; 12. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[16]; 13. 81-Tyler Reynolds[13]; 14. 84-Tyler Rand[14]; 15. 87XS-Skyler Evans[12]; 16. 94X-Scott Hall[7]; 17. 22-Allen Gilleta[18]; 18. 0C-Cole MacDonald[10]

Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:04.358

1. 70MM-Matt Billings[1]; 2. 12DD-Darren Dryden[4]; 3. 94X-Scott Hall[2]; 4. 0C-Cole MacDonald[3]; 5. 81-Tyler Reynolds[6]; 6. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[5]

Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:01:59.781

1. 15-Ryan Turner[1]; 2. 70-Baily Heard[2]; 3. 42W-Rick Wilson[3]; 4. 31C-Dale Curran[4]; 5. 84-Tyler Rand[5]; 6. 13-Evan Reynolds[6]

Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:04:49.439

1. 9-Liam Martin[1]; 2. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[2]; 3. 87XS-Skyler Evans[3]; 4. 77T-Tyeller Powless[4]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron[5]; 6. 22-Allen Gilleta[6]

Qualifying 1 3 Laps | 00:00:53.403

1. 12DD-Darren Dryden, 00:12.788[1]; 2. 70MM-Matt Billings, 00:13.158[4]; 3. 94X-Scott Hall, 00:13.261[5]; 4. 0C-Cole MacDonald, 00:13.291[2]; 5. 5D-Jacob Dykstra, 00:13.376[3]; 6. 81-Tyler Reynolds, 00:13.817[6]

Qualifying 2 3 Laps | 00:00:52.911

1. 31C-Dale Curran, 00:12.957[6]; 2. 15-Ryan Turner, 00:12.980[1]; 3. 70-Baily Heard, 00:13.212[2]; 4. 42W-Rick Wilson, 00:13.522[4]; 5. 84-Tyler Rand, 00:13.638[3]; 6. 13-Evan Reynolds, 00:14.100[5]

Qualifying 3 3 Laps | 00:03:58.461

1. 77T-Tyeller Powless, 00:13.610[2]; 2. 9-Liam Martin, 00:13.697[1]; 3. 77E-Ashton VanEvery, 00:13.787[6]; 4. 87XS-Skyler Evans, 00:13.822[5]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron, 00:14.293[4]; 6. 22-Allen Gilleta, 00:14.819[3]