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DRYDEN DOMINANT AT MERRITTVILLE FOR FIRST SOS WIN

Photo Credit: Steve Ruddy Racing Photos

Article Credit: SOS Media with files from Jonathon Howe

THOROLD, Ont. (September 9, 2023) - Darren Dryden took his first Southern Ontario Sprints series win in dominant fashion on Saturday night at Merrittville Speedway. The victory was worth $3,000 as part of the Nitro 54 Variety Super Series.

Darren Dryden started from the pole position with Tyeller Powless alongside for the 25 lap A-Main. Dryden took the early lead, but Paul Ballantyne brought out the caution when his car lost power on lap four. Dryden continued his pace at the front of the field on the restart, this time driving away from Dylan Westbrook. The two drivers raced closely through traffic, but Dryden was unmatched with a clear track ahead of him. Another caution flag appeared when Powless spun with ten laps to go. Dryden drove away from the field again, while Westbrook had to defend his second position from a hard-charging D.J. Christie.

Despite his unmatched speed out front, Dryden had to nail another restart when Josh Hansen brought a caution with three laps left. Dryden drove away to collect the $3,000 Nitro 54 Super Series victory while Westbrook and Christie traded a flurry of slide jobs. Westbrook prevailed for the runner-up position, while Christie took the final podium spot. Ryan Turner and Mitch Brown completed the top five, while Matt Farnham, Mike Bowman, Nick Sheridan, Liam Martin, and Scott Kreutter took top ten finishes.

Martin earned the $150 Trailer Pros Canada Hard Charger Award for drive from 18th to 9th. Westbrook shattered the track record with a lap of 12.630 seconds around the 1/3 mile D-shaped oval and claimed the $100 Ackland Insurance Quick Time Award. Westbrook also extended his lead in the SOS championship standings to 52 points over Ryan Turner.

The Northern Sprint Car Nationals weekend at Ohsweken Speedway is up next for the SOS series September 15-16. Visit www.ohswekenspeedway.com and www.southernontariosprints.ca for more information.

Southern Ontario Sprints Race Report
Saturday, September 9, 2023
Merrittville Speedway
Thorold, Ontario, Canada

Nitro 54 A-Main [Started] 25 laps

1. 12DD-Darren Dryden[1]; 2. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[3]; 3. 5-DJ Christie[6]; 4. 15-Ryan Turner[4]; 5. 10-Mitch Brown[5]; 6. 7NY-Matt Farnham[10]; 7. 71-Mike Bowman[11]; 8. 45-Nick Sheridan[7]; 9. 9-Liam Martin[18]; 10. 52-Scott Kreutter[8]; 11. 17-Cory Turner[9]; 12. 21-Kyle Phillips[12]; 13. 68-Aaron Turkey[13]; 14. 90-Travis Cunningham[20]; 15. 19-Allan Downey[15]; 16. 70-Baily Heard[17]; 17. 94-Todd Hoddick[14]; 18. 87X-Shone Evans[21]; 19. 0-Glenn Styres[22]; 20. 77T-Tyeller Powless[2]; 21. 46-Kevin Pauls[16]; 22. 11-Jamie Turner[19]; 23. (DNF) 88H-Josh Hansen[24]; 24. (DNF) 27-Paul Ballantyne[23]

Awards
Trailer Pros Canada Hard Charger ($150) - Liam Martin +9
Ackland Insurance Quick Time ($100) - Dylan Westbrook 12.630 NTR

Creative Edge Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps

1. 45-Nick Sheridan[1]; 2. 77T-Tyeller Powless[2]; 3. 15-Ryan Turner[4]; 4. 71-Mike Bowman[6]; 5. 68-Aaron Turkey[3]; 6. 9-Liam Martin[5]; 7. 11-Jamie Turner[9]; 8. (DNS) 88H-Josh Hansen; 9. (DNS) 0-Glenn Styres

Creative Edge Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps

1. 10-Mitch Brown[1]; 2. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[4]; 3. 52-Scott Kreutter[2]; 4. 17-Cory Turner[3]; 5. 21-Kyle Phillips[8]; 6. 70-Baily Heard[5]; 7. 90-Travis Cunningham[7]; 8. 87X-Shone Evans[6]

Creative Edge Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps

1. 5-DJ Christie[2]; 2. 12DD-Darren Dryden[4]; 3. 94-Todd Hoddick[1]; 4. 7NY-Matt Farnham[3]; 5. 19-Allan Downey[5]; 6. 46-Kevin Pauls[7]; 7. 15GG-Garrett Green[6]; 8. (DNS) 27-Paul Ballantyne

Qualifying Flight 1

1. 15-Ryan Turner, 00:13.001[3]; 2. 68-Aaron Turkey, 00:13.097[7]; 3. 77T-Tyeller Powless, 00:13.158[5]; 4. 45-Nick Sheridan, 00:13.172[1]; 5. 9-Liam Martin, 00:13.202[4]; 6. 71-Mike Bowman, 00:13.223[6]; 7. 88H-Josh Hansen, 00:13.380[2]; 8. 0-Glenn Styres, 00:13.485[8]; 9. 11-Jamie Turner, 00:13.676[9]

Qualifying Flight 2

1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, 00:12.630[6]; 2. 17-Cory Turner, 00:12.956[7]; 3. 52-Scott Kreutter, 00:13.022[5]; 4. 10-Mitch Brown, 00:13.023[4]; 5. 70-Baily Heard, 00:13.152[1]; 6. 87X-Shone Evans, 00:13.201[2]; 7. 90-Travis Cunningham, 00:13.286[8]; 8. 21-Kyle Phillips, 00:13.470[3]

Qualifying Flight 3

1. 12DD-Darren Dryden, 00:13.032[3]; 2. 7NY-Matt Farnham, 00:13.071[1]; 3. 5-DJ Christie, 00:13.232[4]; 4. 94-Todd Hoddick, 00:13.247[7]; 5. 19-Allan Downey, 00:13.348[6]; 6. 15GG-Garrett Green, 00:13.469[5]; 7. 46-Kevin Pauls, 00:13.668[8]; 8. 27-Paul Ballantyne, 00:14.495[2]

SOS Media
Website: www.southernontariosprints.com
Twitter: @SOSsprints
Facebook: SouthernOntarioSprints
Instagram: southernontariosprints

About the Southern Ontario Sprints tour: Founded in 1996, the Southern Ontario Sprints series is a traveling winged 360 Sprint Car tour based in Ontario, Canada. Each points-paying event on the 2023 schedule will pay a minimum of $2,000-to-win and $250-to-start, while a dozen events will pay $2,500-to-win or more, including five Nitro 54 Variety Super Series events paying at least $3,000-to-win. A points fund in excess of $16,000 will be divided among competitors thanks to the support of Tammy Ten Media, and selected events will be broadcast live on GForceTV. The fastest qualifier for each SOS event will receive $100 from Ackland Insurance, while the Hard Charger in each A-Main will receive $100 from Trailer Pros Canada. Visit www.southernontariosprints.com for more information.

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