By Clayton Johns (Thorold, ONT) | Jason Barney engineered his outside pole starting position in to his first feature win of the season in the non-stop 25-lap PST Fine Touch Collision Canadian Tour opener at the Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night.
Pole sitter Matt Tanner led the opening three laps before Barney claimed the point position at the exit of turn four on lap four. The two drivers battled side-by-side for two laps before Barney pulled away as the leaders reached lapped traffic.
Tanner handed the second spot to Quebec-native Steve Poirier on lap seven when he went over the berm in turn four. Defending Southern Ontario Sprints champion Mitch Brown didn’t allow Poirier the runner-up spot for long as he took the position on lap 11.
Brown pulled Pennsylvania native Jared Zimbardi along with him as the two drivers battled side-by-side amidst lapped traffic over the final 14 laps of the race. The battle allowed Barney to open a three-second lead over the two runner-up cars.
Barney escaped lapped traffic over the final five laps and cruised to the victory. Zimbardi edged Brown at the line for second as Poirier and Cory Turner completed the top-five. Barney also received the Shuttleworth’s Asphalt “Seals the Deal” winners bonus of $50 for his victorious efforts.
Heat winners were collected by Dane Lorenc, Jason Barney and Steve Poirier. Picking up the Evingham Site Excavation four lap Dash was Cory Turner.
The next event on the Patriot Sprint Tour schedule is next Sunday, May 1 where the series returns to the historic Five Mile Point Speedway for the first time since April of 2005. It will be the first full points show for the A-Verdi Storage Containers PST American Tour.
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The Patriot Sprint Tour is a traveling 360 Sprint Car series that visits facilities in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the Ontario province.
Complete Results – Merrittville Speedway Spring Sizzler
Patriot Sprint Tour A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 87 Jason Barney, 2. 35 Jared Zimbardi, 3. 10 Mitch Brown, 4. 28FM Steve Poirier, 5. 97 Cory Turner, 6. 90 Matt Tanner, 7. 11 Jamie Turner, 8. 14H Jim Huppunen, 9. 22 Jim Porter, 10. 00 Dane Lorenc, 11. 17 Sammy Reakes, 12. 17x Dain Naida, 13. 33k Kyle Patrick, 14. 71s Shawn Sliter, 15. 01 Kyle Fraser, 16. 01k Mikey Kruchka, 17. 51 Lee Ladouceur, 18. 49 Todd Hoddick, 19. 7 Tom Huppunen, 20. 67R Pete Richardson, 21. 11J Chris Jones, 22. 27z Stan Zanchin, 23. 81 Derek Jonathan, 24. 67 Steve Collins.
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 00 Dane Lorenc, 2. 81 Derek Jonathan, 3. 11 Jamie Turner, 4. 71s Shawn Sliter, 5. 67R Pete Richardson, 6. 27z Stan Zanchin, 7. 51L Lee Ladouceur, 8. 7 Tom Huppunen, 9. 3 Denny Peebles, 10. 91 Ryan Turner (DNS).
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 87 Jason Barney, 2. 90 Matt Tanner, 3. 10b Mitch Brown, 4. 33k Kyle Patrick, 5. 22 Jim Porter, 6. 67 Steve Collins, 7. 49 Todd Hoddick, 8. 17x Dain Naida, 9. X Dan Bennett, 10. 77x Alex Hill.
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 28FM Steve Poirier , 2. 35 Jared Zimbardi, 3. 17 Sammy Reakes, 4. 01k Mikey Kruchka, 5. 14h Jim Huppunen, 6. 97 Cory Turner, 7. 47x Dylan Westbrook, 8. 11J Chris Jones, 9. 7m Justin Martin, 10. 01 Kyle Fraser.
Evingham Site & Excavation Dash (4 Laps): 1. 97 Cory Turner, 2. 81 Derek Jonathan, 3. 01k Mikey Kruchka, 5. 33k Kyle Patrick, 6. 22 Jim Porter.
Patriot Sprint Tour B-Main (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer): 1. 51 Lee Ladouceur, 2. 17x Dain Naida, 3. 7 Tom Huppunen, 4. 49 Todd Hoddick, 5. 3 Denny Peebles, 6. 11J Chris Jones (Provisional), 7. 01 Kyle Fraser (Provisional), 8. X Dan Bennett, 9. 7m Justin Martin, 10. 47x Dylan Westbrook, 11. 77x Alex Hill