Brad Rouse wins at Merrittville (6th August 2026 BLOG)

The last BLOG ended on a wet Sunday the 2nd of August , when my local Cornwall Motor Speedway was cancelled due to heavy rain .

Lucky for me the weather forecast for my ‘Holiday’ Monday plans was still good.

Every year on the August Holiday Weekend the Merrittville Speedway near Niagara Falls puts on a big show on the Monday.

I always try to make it down there if I can , and this year was no exception. Add to that , the Albany-Saratoga Speedway NY had a special Tribute to Lysle Show taking place on the Tuesday , ( postponed from Friday due to rain).

So my plans were to go to Merrittville on Monday then cross into the USA Tuesday morning via Niagara Falls for a drive down the I90 Thru Way to Albany. It looked like a good plan good , so my agenda was set into motion.

I was out of bed early on the Monday morning and left home in Cornwall just after 6-00am .

An early start was made to avoid any hold ups.

First bad news was a 401 road closure at Gannanoque , which meant a detour .

There was a lot of traffic on the road , being a holiday Monday with good weather.

The usual hold ups on the QEW between Oakville and Burlington were worse than normal so I pulled off the highway for a Timmy’s . It was now getting close 11-00 am when I checked my face book messages, and saw one telling me that Albany – Saratoga had been postponed . I hadn’t made concrete plans , so it just meant I’d be returning home on Tuesday instead of Wednesday

The hold-ups on the QEW continued so I exited at Hamilton and took the ‘pretty route’ across country towards Merrittville . By doing so I passed through the small town of Caister Center , famous for being the home of former top Canadian Dirt racer Joe Plazek.

FLASH BACK TO WEEDSPORT 1996

I ‘d just started following dirt Modified racing when he decided to retire from the sport.

His place was easy to spot , PLAZEK RECYCLING is one of the biggest vehicle dismantlers I’ve ever seen.

I was in Niagara Falls before 3-00 pm and was soon checked in to the Howard Johnson hotel that I’ve used in the past. It’s not the cheapest , but still a good price .

It’s handy for a Timmy’s and a Sports Bar that are across the road.

I stopped there last year but didn’t get the same room as before, so imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw this LOL.

I think it was the honey moon suit 🙂

After chilling out for a while in my room , I made the 15 minute drive to the Speedway.

I arrived about 4-00 pm as the pit gates opened .

As I wandered the pits I bumped into one of my ‘Tog’ friends Derek Smith from Toronto , and one of the tracks officials that I know, David Caldwell .

Once on the middle I chatted with race director Doug Leonard and Don Speice the promoter .

The program consisted of the headlining 358 Sail Panel Modifieds, DIRTCAR Sportsman, Street Stocks , Mini Stocks and Mod-Lites

Like just about everywhere else in the North East, Merrittville had received a lot of rain and the infield was a tad muddy.

I’m glad I packed my big boots

I tried a few different shooting spots for the heat races , but then settled for my usual spot on turn four.

It’s a good place to capture the action and one of the Mod Lites performed this flip just for me 🙂

Once the heat races were complete, there was a short intermission before the features.

The Mini Stocks, Street Stocks and Mod Lites had theirs first, and before the two head line divisions .

The Sportsman then took to the track for their main event.

I must admit, I expected Cody McPherson to take this one , but he never managed to pass long time leader Brett Senek .

He was on his tail towards the end but couldn’t get in front.

Before the 50 lap Modified feature , fans were treated to an impressive infield Firework display.

It was Brad Rouse who took command at the start of the race after pulling away from Jay Mallory.

Rouse had built a comfortable lead but Gary Lindberg was catching.

Lindberg eventually pulled up close and they were side by side dicing for a few laps until the pass was made.

Once passed , the gap between them increased and it was Lindberg out there for the certain win .

Then something broke , with just three laps to go and his night was over .

The restart had bunched the pack, so we now had Tommy Flannigan in contention.

Fred Carleton in his newly acquired Mike Bowman car (still in the Bowman number 71 wrap) was right behind them.

So for the remaining laps we had a great race between the three of them.

Rouse stayed out front to take the checkers.

Brad seen here with his daughter Maddy, who races in the Sportsman division

Flannigan came home second and Carleton was third.

Tommy Flannigan also picked up a bonus award, as did Pete Bicknell and James Friesen .

It was close to 11-00 pm when the Victory Lane pics were done so I made my exit .

By 11-15pm, I was back in my room. but before sitting down to edit my pictures I walked across the road to Chip n Charlies Eatery & Bar , for a beer and snack .

Tuesday the 3rd of Aug

So with the races cancelled at Albany Saratoga , I was heading for home .

No big rush, just a relaxing drive up the QEW (if there is such a thing LOL ) and through Toronto to pick up the 401 .

By the time I got to the Big Apple at Coburg it was lunch time and I was getting hungry .

So, I had lunch in their restaurant and stocked up with Apple Pies for my freezer before rejoining the 401.

After a few more stops and a detour into Kingston for some shopping I was back home in Cornwall by 5-00 pm .

I wasn’t done yet !

It was a nice night and the Cornwall Motor Speedway Karting was taking place.

I hadn’t been to the karting for over a year and thought I should rectify that.

Once arrived , I took a few pics in the pits before taking some racing shots

The night was being sponsored by Herbs Towing and their mini – tow truck was being used as the pace-truck .

The driver was Pierre Picard who can regularly be seen winning Mini Stock races on the big track.

By about 8-00pm it was all over and I was heading back to my place.

Wednesday the 5th of August was a day to show a little affection to my Bird , I’ve been neglecting her of late. In the afternoon we had an appointment for an Oil Change , then later it was a ‘date night’ at the Cornwall Olde Car Club Cruise

Thursday the 6th of August was another day without racing. as my local Airborne Park Speedway at Plattsburgh were taking a week off.