MILLGROVE, Ontario — With a bit of open-wheel and fender action on-track, it was a great night for the fans in the grandstands as both the Young Drivers of Canada Canadian Vintage Modifieds (CVM) and Southern Ontario Modified Association (SOMA) kicked off their seasons at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night.

Hank Franks Memorial (CVM)

The defending champion continued where he left off, with TJ Marshall taking the lead on Lap 13 of the first feature, pacing the rest of the laps en route to victory. Quinton Murdoch kept his consistency rolling in second, followed by Jeremy Barton, Scott Tonelli, and Jae Pepin. Mike Podd was sixth, ahead of Ricky Willigar, Steve Murdoch, Joey Woolsey, and Ian McIntyre.

Quinton Murdoch returned the favor in the second 25-lap affair, taking the lead at the halfway mark en route to scoring the victory. TJ Marshall was the runner-up this time around in front of Scott Tonelli, Jeremy Barton, and Ricky Willigar. Mike Podd repeated his sixth, followed by Ian McIntyre, Jae Pepin, Steve Murdoch, and Joey Woolsey.

Second Feature Video à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tWT-uk7jDY

SOMA

After wasting no time in grabbing the lead by doing so on the third lap, Shannon Morris led the rest of the way to win the season opening 20-lap feature for the Southern Ontario Modified Association. Robert Mercer was second, followed by Mark Lucas, Dale Cocco, and Cliff Hodgkinson. Ken Mercer, and Rajan Brar would fail to finish. Kelly Martin, Shawn Carey, and Andrew Snyder failed to take the green flag.

Robert Mercer was able to get his turn at success, pacing all 20 laps to win the second feature. Past feature winner Mark Lucas was second, ahead of Shannon Morris, Cliff Hodgkinson, and Ken Mercer. Dario Cocco was sixth in front of Andrew Snyder and Rajan Brar. Kelly Martin and Shawn Carey failed t o finish.

First Feature Video à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb-8wI5Mi8w

Super Stock

Kelsey Lamont led all 15 laps to win the first Super Stock feature in front of Nick Troback, Nic Ramsay, and Roy Wilkie. The second round was shortened with just 10 laps, with Nick Troback pacing all of them for the win ahead of Roy Wilkie, as Nic Ramsay and Kelsey Lamont did not make the call.

First Feature Video à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_XZBxTV8qo

Mini Stock

Putting the No. 33 Mustang out front with 10 laps on the board, Mike Gilmour led the rest of the way en route to winning in front of Tyler Lewis, Mike Thomson, Dale Millard, and Mike Hooper. Eric Stewart’s debut landed him sixth ahead of Michael Kenny, Nikki King, and Mark Grieve, while Brandon Feeney failed to finish.

Mike Gilmour backed up his performance later that night, this time taking the lead at Lap 16 in his drive to grabbing a second checkered flag. Tyler Lewis was the runner-up once again, followed by Dale Millard, Mike Thomson, and Mike Hooper. Michael Kenny was sixth in front of Eric Stewart, Mark Grieve, Brandon Feeney, and Nikki King.

Notably, Kaitlyn Wallace was unable to race due to motor issues with her mustang. Dale Millard ran her No. 45 to get her points towards the championship, though.

Second Feature Video à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1L1d06IEqk

Pure Stock

A past track champion, Gillian Hils wasted no time making her way forward to take the lead on Lap 8, pacing the rest of the way to win the first feature. Veteran Phil Givens finished second, followed by Rodney Rutherford, Nic Ramsay, and Spencer Riddell. Cameron Thomson scored his third straight top-10 in sixth ahead of Chris Pendlebury, Mike Etsell, Brady Cox, and Chance Rogers.

Alex Stewart was 11^th in front of Leo Labarbera, Jordan Fidler, Austin Ellis, Mark Allan, Teegan Ellis, Dan Cornier, and Owen Booker. Nicole Givens failed to finish after a wheel fell of her ride; Gary Slama also did not take the checkered flag.

Despite starting at the back of the top-10 on the invert, Nic Ramsay was able to find his way to the front, taking the lead with just four laps to go to score the victory. Mark Allan crossed the finish line in second, but was disqualified in post-race technical inspection. Alex Stewart rebounded for third, while Brady Cox and Cameron Thomson rounded out the top-five. Phil Givens kept the consistency rolling in sixth, followed by Gillian Hils, Teegan Ellis, Spencer Riddell, and Chance Rogers.

Rodney Rutherford did not back up the podium from the first 20 lapper, placing 11^th this time around in front of Leo Labarbera, Chris Pendlebury, Austin Ellis, Mike Etsell, Dan Cornier, Nicole Givens, and Jordan Fidler. Owen Booker failed to finish, while Gary Slama did not take the green flag.

First Feature Video à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWu1BNbsKFY

Second Feature Video à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-76kZJAhTo

Thanks to Derek Smith (http://www.racepulse.com), Peter Anderson (pandersonphotos@gmail.com), and Zoompics.com for their images of the racing action each week.

Thanks to Ingrid Hartman for filming each week. Be sure to check out her videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/petalpower51/videos.

The next event at Flamboro Speedway is taking place on Saturday, May 27, with the Bill Zardo Memorial for the OSCAAR Hot Rods taking center stage. The action will also include the Just Foam It OSCAAR Modifieds, Pro Late Models, and Ontario Pro Challenge Series. The pit gates will open at 4pm, followed by the front gate at 5pm, with racing kicking off at 6:30pm.

Be sure to keep up with the latest by checking out Flamboro Speedway’s website at http://www.flamborospeedway.ca. You can also keep up via your favorite social networking website by following the speedway on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FlamboroSpdwy and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/flamborospeedway. Fans are encouraged to like the speedway’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Flamboro-Speedway-Authorized-Page-102328664646735/.

Race Report By: Ashley McCubbin