7.10.21 Action Sprint Tour Results
By Tommy Goudge
THOROLD, Ont. (July 10, 2021) – Jacob Dykstra moved into a tie atop the all-time Action Sprint Tour win list with a thrilling victory at Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night.
Allan Downey and Nick Sheridan were on the front row for the first AST Crate Sprint Car event of 2021, and Downey opened up an early lead while several drivers began to charge to the front from deep in the pack. Downey was working to get through slower traffic when Dale Curran spun to bring out a yellow flag with 11 laps complete. Dykstra was up to second for the restart after starting eighth, and drove into the lead shortly thereafter.
Dykstra’s lead was short-lived however, as Lucas Smith had used the tricky outside groove to charge through the field from 14th on the grid. Smith and Dykstra swapped the lead several times, but Dykstra was the leader at the stripe when the second yellow flag of the race appeared for a spin by Dave McKnight with 19 laps complete.
Dykstra was able to open a gap on the restart before Smith reeled him back in, but Dykstra stayed ahead to claim his fifth career AST win and tie Josh Hansen atop the all-time list. Smith settled for the runner-up spot, followed by Nick Sheridan, row six starter Jesse Costa, and Steven Beckett.
“I felt pretty strong on the bottom and I was able to roll through (turns) one and two pretty well,” observed Dykstra in victory lane. “I saw (Smith) coming around me and thought I should try it, but I just didn’t like it; I wasn’t too comfortable so went back to the bottom, kind of rolled the middle and kept the wheelspin to a minimum.”
Row eleven starter Brett Stratford, Downey, Darren Dryden, DJ Christie, and Terry Baker rounded out the top ten. Heat race wins were claimed by Steven Beckett, Nick Sheridan, Jacob Dykstra, and DJ Christie, while Derek Miller won the B-Main.
The Action Sprint Tour’s next event is scheduled for Saturday, July 31 at Humberstone Speedway. Visit www.actionsprinttour.com for more information.
Action Sprint Tour
Race Report – Saturday, July 10, 2021
Merrittville Speedway
Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Roster
08 Steven Beckett – Fonthill, Ontario
2 Steve Murdock – Georgetown, Ontario
3S Austin Roes – Mossley, Ontario
4 Jesse Costa – St. Thomas, Ontario
4B Darrell Pelletier – Port Perry, Ontario
5 D.J. Christie – Beachville, Ontario
5D Jacob Dykstra – Port Colborne, Ontario
7 Eric Gledhill – Thamesford, Ontario
MK8 Matthew Hill – Six Nations, Ontario
9C Brian Nanticoke – Ohsweken, Ontario
12DD Darren Dryden – Hamilton, Ontario
14 Larry Gledhill – Thamesford, Ontario
14T Noelle Teal – Springvale, Ontario
19D Allan Downey – Waterloo, Ontario
20 Johnny Miller – Six Nations, Ontario
26X Terry Baker – Ancaster, Ontario
31 Dale Curran – Bowmanville, Ontario
38 Derek Miller – Six Nations, Ontario
BS39 Brett Stratford – Wainfleet, Ontario
45 Nick Sheridan – Mt. Brydges, Ontario
45G Curtis Gartly – Thamesford, Ontario
48 Lance Erskine – Grantford, Ontario
48M Andrew Marshall – Dorchester, Ontario
49C Cody Smith – Delhi, Ontario
49L Lucas Smith – Brantford, Ontario
50LS Adrian Stahle – Kitchener, Ontario
51 Trevor Young – Ancaster, Ontario
56 Dereck Lemyre – Hamilton, Ontario
69 Joshua Hill – Ohsweken, Ontario
70MM Dave McKnight – Brampton, Ontario
74 Rob Neely – Rockwood, Ontario
77T Tyeller Powless – Ohsweken, Ontario
84 Dan Ferguson – Bloomfield, Ontario
94 Ryan Fraser – Rockwood, Ontario
Heat Race 1 [Started] 8 laps – 2:09.486
1. 08-Steven Beckett [3]; 2. 84-Dan Ferguson [1]; 3. 2-Steve Murdock [2]; 4. 51-Trevor Young [7]; 5. 56-Dereck Lemyre [6]; / 6. 50LS-Adrian Stahle [5]; 7. 7-Eric Gledhill [8]; 8. 69-Joshua Hill[9]; 9. 48M-Andrew Marshall [4]
Heat Race 2 [Started] 8 laps – 2:14.714
1. 45-Nick Sheridan [1]; 2. 19D-Allan Downey [4]; 3. 4-Jesse Costa [3]; 4. 70MM-Dave McKnight Jr [7]; 5. 31-Dale Curran [5]; / 6. 20-Johnny Miller [2]; 7. 3S-Austin Roes [8]; 8. MK8-Matt Hill [9]; 9. 77T-Tyeller Powless [6]
Heat Race 3 [Started] 8 laps – 2:12.393
1. 5D-Jacob Dykstra [4]; 2. 45G-Curtis Gartly [1]; 3. 49L-Lucas Smith [2]; 4. 74-Rob Neely [3]; 5. 48-Lance Erskine [5]; / 6. 38-Derek Miller [7]; 7. 14T-Noelle Teal [6]; 8. 4B-Darrell Pelletier [8]
Heat Race 4 [Started] 8 laps – 2:16.986
1. 5-DJ Christie [1]; 2. 12DD-Darren Dryden [6]; 3. 94-Ryan Fraser [2]; 4. 26X-Terry Baker [7]; 5. 14-Larry Gledhill [3]; / 6. 49C-Cody Smith [4]; 7. BS39-Brett Stratford [5]; 8. (DNS) 9C-Brian Nanticoke
B-Main [Started] 12 laps – 3:32.820
1. 38-Derek Miller [1]; 2. BS39-Brett Stratford [10]; 3. 3S-Austin Roes [3]; 4. 50LS-Adrian Stahle [2]; / 5. 7-Eric Gledhill [4]; 6. 69-Joshua Hill [8]; 7. 77T-Tyeller Powless [12]; 8. 14T-Noelle Teal [7]; 9. 20-Johnny Miller [6]; 10. 4B-Darrell Pelletier [11]; 11. 49C-Cody Smith [5]; 12. MK8-Matt Hill [9]; 13. 48M-Andrew Marshall [13]; 14. (DNS) 9C-Brian Nanticoke
A-Main [Started] 25 laps – NT
1. 5D-Jacob Dykstra [8]; 2. 49L-Lucas Smith [14]; 3. 45-Nick Sheridan [2]; 4. 4-Jesse Costa [12]; 5. 08-Steven Beckett [5]; 6. BS39-Brett Stratford [22]; 7. 19D-Allan Downey [1]; 8. 12DD-Darren Dryden [6]; 9. 5-DJ Christie [7]; 10. 26X-Terry Baker [9]; 11. 45G-Curtis Gartly [11]; 12. 84-Dan Ferguson [10]; 13. 51-Trevor Young [4]; 14. 94-Ryan Fraser [15]; 15. 3S-Austin Roes [23]; 16. 38-Derek Miller [21]; 17. 48-Lance Erskine [19]; 18. 74-Rob Neely [16]; 19. 2-Steve Murdock [13]; 20. 31-Dale Curran [18]; 21. 14-Larry Gledhill [20]; 22. 70MM-Dave McKnight Jr [3]; 23. 56-Dereck Lemyre [17]; 24. 50LS-Adrian Stahle [24]
A-Main Lap Leaders – Allan Downey 1-12; Lucas Smith 17-18; Jacob Dykstra 13-16, 19-25
Margin of Victory – 0.999 seconds
Hard Charger – Brett Stratford +16
Up Next:
Humberstone Speedway – Port Colborne, Ontario – Friday, July 30, 2021
ACTION SPRINT TOUR MEDIA
Website: www.actionsprinttour.com
Facebook: ActionSprintTour
Twitter: @ActionSprints
Instagram: @actionsprinttour
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About the Action Sprint Tour fueled by Pinty’s: Founded in 2018, the Action Sprint Tour is a traveling Winged Crate Sprint Car Series based in Ontario, Canada. Action Sprint Tour cars are powered by GM 602 crate engines modified specifically to fit a Sprint Car chassis. The championship winner will be rewarded with $5,000 and a Pinty’s VIP package for the 2022 Bristol Dirt Race, while 10th place in the championship standings will pay $1,000. The 2021 Action Sprint Tour is made possible with the support of Pinty’s Delicious Foods. Visit www.actionsprinttour.com for more information.