Chris Raabe gets a big win
The 2025 season kicked off in a big way with a 50 lap Ogilvie's Triple Crown Series race for small block Modifieds at the Brockville Ontario Speedway Saturday night. Chris Raabe came away with the win and we got his thought safter the race.
Raabe won the race but knew if it weren't for a caution flag, catching runner up Steve Bernier would have been tough.
Raabe had many to thank for the big win.
Jacob Nadeau won the 40 lap Sportsman portion of the Triple Crown Series, Marc Surprenant won his first Crate Sprint Car races while Marc Dagenais won the Mini Stock event and Tessa Riemersma won in her debut in Novice Sportsman. Full details on the event can be found below.
Story by Tim Baltz
The 2025 season opener at the Brockville Ontario Speedway was action packed and full of excitement as the drivers had fans on the edge of their seats this past Saturday night. The Ogilvie’s Triple Crown Series for 358 Modifieds and Sportsman highlighted the night, with plenty of action in Mini Stock, Novice Sportsman and Suprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprints also.
The 15 lap Mini Stock feature saw veteran Marc Dagenais lead the way early on while Hayden Brown was all over Dagenais in the opening laps, while former track champion Jamie Larocque was also in the mix along with Mike Saunders, who debuted a new car and was running strong among the lead drivers. A pair of late cautions with 5 laps to go slowed the race and allowed the rest of the field another chance at Dagenais or the lead. When the green flew Hayden Brown gave it a try but was not able to get by, with Jamie Larocque coming up to challenge for the runner up spot. On this night, Marc Dagenais said good-bye to the rest of the field, as he pulled away to end the long winless drought, claiming the season opener. Hayden Brown crossed in second with Jamie Larocque, Mike Saunders and defending track champion Matt Boal, who recovered from early race issues to finish 5th.
The opening leg of the Ogilvie’s Triple Crown Series for the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds was up next and defending series champion Steve Bernier showed how strong he was in the early going in the 50 lap event, leading the way over Kyle Dingwall, Chris Raabe, Tristan Draper and Kalen Draper. Bernier built up a lead of well over a straight away, while Chris Raabe started to charge forward, taking position number two from Kyle Dingwall. On lap 18 Bernier made a rare mistake sliding off the track on the back stretch, but had a big enough lead to hold the top spot allowing Raabe to close in. At the same time the first yellow flew for Jarrett Herbison, who slid off the top of turns 1 and 2. On the restart Chris Raabe took the lead and began to pull away with Bernier now 2nd and Tristan Draper charging to third. Raabe was in full control of the field, but would also have his struggles in traffic. On the white flag lap, Raabe, with a straightaway lead, got caught behind a car that slowed on the back stretch. However the veteran driver kept his cool and was able to make his way cleanly through turn 3 and 4 to score his second career Ogilvie’s Series win. Steve Bernier finished 2nd with Tristan Draper, Kyle Dingwall and Corey Wheeler the top 5.
It was a feel good story in the 20 lap Surprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprint Car event. Marc Surprenant led the way early on with Ryan Poole and Josh Verne Jr. close by in the opening stages. Verne got by Poole for 2nd, as he chased down the race leader. The top two were well in front of the field by the halfway point putting on a great battle for the lead. On lap 13 Verne made a bid for the lead but slipped up in turn 4 and spun, causing the first yellow of the event. This put former track champion Ryan Poole on Surprenant’s back bumper along with newcomer Jeremy Lafleur. When the green flew Surprenant remained in control with Lafleur taking second with Poole still was running a strong third. Lafleur did all he could do in the final laps, but this night belonged to Marc Surprenant, who scored his first career feature win. Lafleur’s debut resulted in a second place effort with Ryan Poole, Guy Gosselin and defending track champion Lee Ladouceur 5th.
The 40 lap Sportsman portion of the Ogilvie’s Triple Crown saw Quebec star Jacob Nadeau led the way with Tyler Stevenson, Shane Pecore, Donovan Lussier and Shane Stearns at the head of the field. The inside lane was the fast place to be with no other drivers attempting to step out of line to make their way to the front. Stevenson tried several times to get by Nadeau but couldn’t get the job done while Pecore stayed close by in the number three spot. At the halfway point of the race the top 5 remained until Tyler Stevenson made an effort to get by Nadeau, but ended up losing 2nd and third to Shane Pecore and Donovan Lussier, but things were about to change in a hurry. On lap 32 the leaders encountered slower traffic on the front stretch, Martin Lessard spun in front of the field trying avoid a slowed Greg Brinklow, collecting Pecore, Lussier, Stevenson and Shane Stearns in a multi-car accident causing a red flag. This created a chain of red flags, as the very next restart, Bobby Herrington and Xavier Andrews battled for 5th but contact between the two drivers sent Herrington into a violent spin off turn 3. The next restart saw another pile up in turn 4 among cars at the tail of the field. Once all the chaos settled down, Gavin Eisele and Jessica Power were now on Nadeau’s back bumper. When the final green flew Eisele made a move to the bottom but Nadeau slammed the door shut. On this wild night, Jacob Nadeau grabbed his first ever Brockville win, despite a right rear tire that was going soft at the finish. Eisele held on for second with Xavier Andrews, Jessica Power and Matt Barbour finishing 5th.
The 12 lap Novice Sportsman feature may have been down in cars but the excitement was ever present. Tessa Riemersma was making her debut on Saturday night and led early over Patrick Kudrinko and Damien King. On lap 4 King made the move getting by both cars to take the lead while Kudrinko followed by in second. The top two were battling hard, but on lap 11 they both tangled in turn two allowing Riemersma to get by. On the final restart Tessa Riemersma would hold off a very determined Damien King to score the upset win in her first ever stock car race. King crossed second with Patrick Kudrinko and Kyle Kudrinko completing the field.
Next week another full program is set to go with DIRTcar 358 Modified, DIRTcar Sportsman, Surprenant Truck Shop Crate Sprints Novice Sportsman and the season opener for the Street Stocks. Gates open at 5pm with racing beginning at 7 o’clock. To keep up with what’s going on at the speedway, head to our website at brockvillespeedway.com or keep up with us on Facebook, Instagram and “X”. If you can’t make it to the track every week, be sure to add us to your favorites and follow along on My Race Pass.
DIRTcar 358 Modifieds
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A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 01-Chris Raabe[3]; 2. 1*-Steve Bernier[2]; 3. 17-Tristan Draper[5]; 4. 1-Kyle Dingwall[1]; 5. 47S-Corey Wheeler[8]; 6. 35R-William Racine[6]; 7. 18-Kalen Draper[7]; 8. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[9]; 9. 52-Jessica Power[15]; 10. 94-Gabriel Cyr[14]; 11. 41-Samuel Charland[13]; 12. 88-Lee Ladouceur[12]; 13. 26-Michael Mandigo[11]; 14. K38-Jarrett Herbison[10]; 15. 64-Terry McClelland[16]; 16. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[17]; 17. 77E-Ryan Stabler[4]; 18. M75-Melcolm Banks[18]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Kyle Dingwall[2]; 2. 77E-Ryan Stabler[1]; 3. 18-Kalen Draper[3]; 4. K38-Jarrett Herbison[5]; 5. 41-Samuel Charland[6]; 6. 64-Terry McClelland[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1*-Steve Bernier[2]; 2. 17-Tristan Draper[1]; 3. 47S-Corey Wheeler[3]; 4. 26-Michael Mandigo[4]; 5. 94-Gabriel Cyr[5]; 6. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane[6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 01-Chris Raabe[1]; 2. 35R-William Racine[2]; 3. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[3]; 4. 88-Lee Ladouceur[4]; 5. 52-Jessica Power[5]; 6. M75-Melcolm Banks[6]
Qualifying 1: 1. 77E-Ryan Stabler, 00:14.703[2]; 2. 1-Kyle Dingwall, 00:14.816[5]; 3. 18-Kalen Draper, 00:14.870[4]; 4. 64-Terry McClelland, 00:15.089[1]; 5. K38-Jarrett Herbison, 00:15.145[3]; 6. 41-Samuel Charland, 00:15.157[6]
Qualifying 2: 1. 17-Tristan Draper, 00:14.575[2]; 2. 1*-Steve Bernier, 00:14.589[3]; 3. 47S-Corey Wheeler, 00:14.597[6]; 4. 26-Michael Mandigo, 00:14.895[5]; 5. 94-Gabriel Cyr, 00:15.124[4]; 6. 17M-Gavin MacFarlane, 00:15.183[1]
Qualifying 3: 1. 01-Chris Raabe, 00:14.231[4]; 2. 35R-William Racine, 00:14.576[5]; 3. 44-Johnathon Ferguson, 00:14.705[1]; 4. 88-Lee Ladouceur, 00:14.866[6]; 5. 52-Jessica Power, 00:14.944[3]; 6. M75-Melcolm Banks, 00:15.399[2]
11 entries
Winged Crate Sprints
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A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. M52-Marc Surprenant[2]; 2. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[5]; 3. 00-Ryan Poole[1]; 4. 93-Guy Gosselin[3]; 5. 51L-Lee Ladouceur[7]; 6. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[6]; 7. 55-Jeffrey Weare[9]; 8. 92-Adam Turner[11]; 9. 77-Liam Ladouceur[8]; 10. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[4]; 11. 15-Dan Deyo[10]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1V-Josh Verne Jr[2]; 2. M52-Marc Surprenant[1]; 3. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[4]; 4. 51L-Lee Ladouceur[3]; 5. 55-Jeffrey Weare[6]; 6. 92-Adam Turner[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 93-Guy Gosselin[1]; 2. 00-Ryan Poole[3]; 3. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[5]; 4. 77-Liam Ladouceur[2]; 5. 15-Dan Deyo[4]
16 entries
Dirt Mini Stocks
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A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 66-Marc Dagenais[1]; 2. 64-Hayden Brown[2]; 3. 12A-Jamie Larocque[4]; 4. M16-Mike Saunders[6]; 5. 37-Matt Boal[3]; 6. 67-Maxx Steele[14]; 7. 06J-Jarrod Galway[9]; 8. 24-Clayton Celovsky[5]; 9. 71S-Jon Saunders[15]; 10. 5-Brandon Bagnato[7]; 11. L29-Landen Slinger[16]; 12. 03C-Colin Chisamore[11]; 13. 29-Tyson Slinger[8]; 14. 76-Rylan Banks[10]; 15. 73-Dakota Boal[13]; 16. 68L-John Lamarche[12]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 66-Marc Dagenais[4]; 2. 12A-Jamie Larocque[6]; 3. 5-Brandon Bagnato[2]; 4. 76-Rylan Banks[5]; 5. 73-Dakota Boal[3]; 6. L29-Landen Slinger[1]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 64-Hayden Brown[2]; 2. 24-Clayton Celovsky[1]; 3. 29-Tyson Slinger[3]; 4. 03C-Colin Chisamore[4]; 5. 67-Maxx Steele[5]
Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. 37-Matt Boal[4]; 2. M16-Mike Saunders[2]; 3. 06J-Jarrod Galway[1]; 4. 68L-John Lamarche[5]; 5. 71S-Jon Saunders[3]
5 entries
Novice Sportsman
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A Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 07T-Tessa Riemersma[3]; 2. 80D-Damien King[2]; 3. 35P-Patrick Kudrinko[4]; 4. 12K-Kyle Kudrinko[1]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 12K-Kyle Kudrinko[4]; 2. 80D-Damien King[2]; 3. 07T-Tessa Riemersma[3]; 4. 35P-Patrick Kudrinko[5]; 5. (DNS) 11R-Shawn Reid
26 entries
DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds
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DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (40 Laps): 1. 95JR-Jacob Nadeau[2]; 2. 18E-Gavin Eisele[6]; 3. ZERO-Xavier Andrews[12]; 4. 52-Jessica Power[8]; 5. 16-Matt Barbour[7]; 6. 61L-Donovan Lussier[5]; 7. 03-Joshua Jock[17]; 8. 88-Jeffrey Lapalme[14]; 9. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[9]; 10. 12T-Trey Ladouceur[25]; 11. 48D-Sylvain Dupuis[21]; 12. 79-Chris Hale[19]; 13. 18B-Blake Smith[20]; 14. 18-Jordan Wood[22]; 15. 28-Matt Mould[26]; 16. 44-Raphael Gougeon[18]; 17. 14K-Karl Potvin[10]; 18. 29D-Justin Desrosiers[23]; 19. 0-Shane Pecore[3]; 20. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[1]; 21. 22S-Shane Stearns[4]; 22. 88H-Bobby Herrington[15]; 23. 707-Greg Brinklow[11]; 24. 2X-Martin Lessard[16]; 25. 98H-Domonick Merkley[13]; 26. 17M-Madie Wallace[24]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[1]; 2. 22S-Shane Stearns[2]; 3. 16-Matt Barbour[3]; 4. 14K-Karl Potvin[5]; 5. 98H-Domonick Merkley[4]; 6. 2X-Martin Lessard[8]; 7. 79-Chris Hale[6]; 8. 18-Jordan Wood[9]; 9. 12T-Trey Ladouceur[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 95JR-Jacob Nadeau[1]; 2. 61L-Donovan Lussier[2]; 3. 52-Jessica Power[4]; 4. 707-Greg Brinklow[3]; 5. 88-Jeffrey Lapalme[6]; 6. 03-Joshua Jock[7]; 7. 18B-Blake Smith[5]; 8. 29D-Justin Desrosiers[8]; 9. 28-Matt Mould[9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 0-Shane Pecore[1]; 2. 18E-Gavin Eisele[2]; 3. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[3]; 4. ZERO-Xavier Andrews[4]; 5. 88H-Bobby Herrington[5]; 6. 44-Raphael Gougeon[6]; 7. 48D-Sylvain Dupuis[7]; 8. 17M-Madie Wallace[8]
TT Hot Lap G1 (2 Laps): 1. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson, 00:15.260[2]; 2. 22S-Shane Stearns, 00:15.356[9]; 3. 16-Matt Barbour, 00:15.445[7]; 4. 98H-Domonick Merkley, 00:15.495[4]; 5. 14K-Karl Potvin, 00:15.529[3]; 6. 79-Chris Hale, 00:15.611[8]; 7. 12T-Trey Ladouceur, 00:15.683[5]; 8. 2X-Martin Lessard, 00:15.781[1]; 9. 18-Jordan Wood, 00:15.793[6]
TT Hot Lap G2 (2 Laps): 1. 95JR-Jacob Nadeau[7]; 2. 61L-Donovan Lussier[3]; 3. 707-Greg Brinklow[5]; 4. 52-Jessica Power[9]; 5. 18B-Blake Smith[2]; 6. 88-Jeffrey Lapalme[6]; 7. 03-Joshua Jock[1]; 8. 29D-Justin Desrosiers[8]; 9. 28-Matt Mould[4]
TT Hot Lap G3 (2 Laps): 1. 0-Shane Pecore[2]; 2. 18E-Gavin Eisele[6]; 3. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[8]; 4. ZERO-Xavier Andrews[3]; 5. 88H-Bobby Herrington[1]; 6. 44-Raphael Gougeon[7]; 7. 48D-Sylvain Dupuis[5]; 8. 17M-Madie Wallace[4]