By: Nicole Kleinsteuber

Mother Nature was no match for the unwavering determination of the racers and the remarkable resilience of the Brighton Speedway staff on Saturday night.

Despite a rain delay, the team charged through a pulse-pounding Belleville Tirecraft race card that highlighted the Vanderlaan Building Products Late Models, Bainer’s OilGARD Anti Rust Canadian Modified/UMP Challenge, Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks, and Bill’s Johns 4-Cylinders.

Baldwin Brings Checkers Home in Thriller

No. 151 Brian McDonald led a field of 13 Vanderlaan Building Product Late Models to green in the most exhilarating event of the night. No. 5 Steve Baldwin was quick to jump on the lead, but he did not hold it for long. On Lap 3 No. 77 Caley Weese bit down on the inside and slid ahead of Baldwin. Glued to the inside line, Weese was fierce as she fended off her husband, No. 05 James Seymour, leading 17 laps of the 30-lap affair. The teammates went wheel to wheel in an epic battle for first. With 10 laps to go, Seymour rode the cushion into the lead and looked like he was well on his way to securing his career first late model win. On the last lap, a caution slowed the pace. On the restart, Seymour, Baldwin, and Weese roared back to life. Coming through turn four, Baldwin made a late pass to take the checkered flag with Seymour in second, Weese third, No. 57 Charlie Sandercock fourth and McDonald fifth.

Schrader Scores Second Win at Brighton

It only took Ken Schrader three laps to muscle his No. 9 machine from fifth into first in the 25-lap Bainer’s OilGARD AntiRust Canadian Modified/UMP Challenge. After finishing fourth two nights earlier at Ohsweken Speedway, the retired NASCAR veteran was eager to bounce back and secure a win on the Brighton oval for the second time. Following a heat race victory, Schrader was dominant, leaving No. 0 Glenn Styres, No. 1 Shawn Gregory and 16 contenders chasing him in the distance. Schrader crossed the finish line first, with Styres finishing in second place and Gregory in third. No. 29 Phil Potts took fourth place, while polesitter No. 50 Dylan Boyle rounded out the top five in fifth.

Ramsay Rides to Checkers

No. 03 Justin Ramsay took 21 Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks to green in the 20-lap main event. Ramsay was flawless as No. 72 Doug Anderson, No. 97 Dave Barrett and No. Tyler French hunted him down. With 8 laps to go, Mother Nature tried to spoil the fun and brought the action to a standstill. The rain did not deter the track crew, who worked diligently to ensure the night would continue. When the race resumed, Ramsay picked up where he left off and rode to the winner’s circle with French in second. Anderson took third, No. 10 Carter Rhodes finished fourth and Barrett fifth.

Gregory Grabs Double Feature Wins

No. 10X Brandon Gregory quickly snapped up the lead from polesitter No. 42JR Aidan Fletcher in the Bill’s John 4-Cylinder make-up race from May 10. Gregory moved from third to first on the lead lap and never looked back. He drove to the checkered flag with Fletcher in second. No. 22 Tyson Gregory placed third, No. 24 Travis Fox-Connor was fourth and No. 61 Ryan Branscombe finished fifth.
In the second feature, Gregory was just as swift on the lead lap. Driving hard on the outside, he slipped ahead of polesitter No. 20 Cody Sager on the backstretch. On a restart, the pair battled door to door, but again Gregory took off to victory lane. Fletcher earned runner-up again. Sager scored third, Fox-Connor fourth and 3 No. 3 Shawn Knowlton fifth.

Upcoming Events

The season keeps getting hotter with the return of the Gord’s Water Vantastics this Saturday, May 24th. This complete race program also includes the Vanderlaan Building Products Late Models, Bainer’s OilGARD Anti Rust Canadian Modifieds, Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks and the Bill’s Johns 4 Cylinders. Front Gates will open at 5:00 PM, Hot Laps at 6:00 pm and Racing begins at 7:00 PM.
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

Media Results for 5/17/2025 at Brighton Speedway – Brighton, ON

Vanderlaan Building Products Late Models 13 Entries
A Feature 1 30 Laps | 00:16:27.473
1. 5-Steve Baldwin[2]; 2. 05-James Seymour[4]; 3. 77-Caley Weese[3]; 4. 57-Charlie Sandercock[12]; 5. 151-Brian McDonald[1]; 6. 11-Kyle Sopaz[7]; 7. 41-Ryan Lambert[10]; 8. 9-Joshua Black[8]; 9. 46-Brandon Mowat[5]; 10. 7-Anthony Rinaldi[6]; 11. 21-Rich Sanders[9]; 12. 4J-Josh Overdulve[13]; 13. 3-Nathan Rinaldi[11]

Bainer’s OilGARD Anti Rust Canadian Modified 19 Entries
A Feature 1 25 Laps | 00:08:19.096
1. 9-Ken Schrader[5]; 2. 0-Glenn Styres[3]; 3. 1-Shawn Gregory[6]; 4. 29-Phil Potts[2]; 5. 50-Dylan Boyle[1]; 6. 40-Ron Wadforth[8]; 7. 32-Doug O’Blenis[12]; 8. 2-Leslie Mowat[7]; 9. 85-Brittany Golden[11]; 10. 09-Dan Price[15]; 11. 12-Caleb Severin[18]; 12. 51-Mike Freeman[4]; 13. 41-Corey Halbert[10]; 14. 7-Rick Phillips[13]; 15. 26-Bob Green[16]; 16. 14-Matthew Moore[17]; 17. 08-Angie Kirby[14]; 18. 25-Greg Belyea[9]; 19. 10-Zack Kiltz[19]

Brighton Automotive Thunder Stocks 21 Entries
A Feature 1 20 Laps | 00:14:00.486
1. 03-Justin Ramsay[1]; 2. 0-Tyler French[6]; 3. 72-Doug Anderson[5]; 4. 10-Carter Rhodes[8]; 5. 97-Dave Barrett[2]; 6. 26-Brock Gregory[9]; 7. 74-Mike Lucas[15]; 8. 11-Cole McKeown[12]; 9. 23X-Adam Whaley[4]; 10. 17-Ethan Humphry[14]; 11. 73-Jason Preece[11]; 12. 45-Mike Schonauer[7]; 13. 06-Chris Hackett[16]; 14. 16-Kaitlyn O’Blenis[3]; 15. 89-Kolby Ellis[20]; 16. 54-Tim Moore[18]; 17. 44-Tommy Bailey[10]; 18. 76-Cody Driscoll[19]; 19. 7-Josh Toon[21]; 20. 5-Jake Hadley[17]; 21. 27-Torri Pope[13]

Bill’s Johns 4 Cylinder 21 Entries
Make up May 10 15 Laps | 00:08:51.293
1. 10X-Brandon Gregory; 2. 42-Aidan Fletcher; 3. 22-Tyson Gregory; 4. 24-Travis Fox Connor; 5. 61-Ryan Branscombe; 6. 2-Trevyn McCrillis; 7. 20-Cody Sager; 8. 3-Shawn Knowlton; 9. 41-Landon Mutch; 10. 5-Eric Conlin; 11. 1-Coleson Gregory; 12. 18K-Matt Knowlton; 13. 37-AJ Peters; 14. 21-Keith Dunk; 15. 54-Josh Hillier; 16. 77T-Travis Chamberlain; 17. 77-Matthew Welch; 18. 27-Mike Fletcher; 19. (DNS) 04-Owen Chamberlain

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:09:37.129
1. 10X-Brandon Gregory[2]; 2. 42-Aidan Fletcher[7]; 3. 20-Cody Sager[1]; 4. 24-Travis Fox Connor[9]; 5. 3-Shawn Knowlton[3]; 6. 61-Ryan Branscombe[4]; 7. 41-Landon Mutch[10]; 8. 2-Trevyn McCrillis[12]; 9. 5-Eric Conlin[8]; 10. 37-AJ Peters[17]; 11. 21-Keith Dunk[11]; 12. 77T-Travis Chamberlain[15]; 13. 54-Josh Hillier[18]; 14. 1-Coleson Gregory[6]; 15. 22-Tyson Gregory[5]; 16. 71-Alesha Gerrard[13]; 17. (DNS) 8-Devon O’Brien; 18. (DNS) 27-Mike Fletcher; 19. (DNS) 18K-Matt Knowlton; 20. (DNS) 77-Matthew Welch