Merrittville Memories by the Reunion Committee

09/03/2026

This weeks Throw Back Thursday is a bit different since Not only did I want to turn the clock back almost 60 years ago to the era of the 1960s when Merrittville Speedway ran on Saturdays & its sister Track Speedway Park ran on Fridays but look at two Champions in photos from 1967&68.
Here are some rare photos that I pulled from the archives of Wheelspin News photographer Tex Swiston. I chose these particular ones since they depict nearing the end of the season where trophy dash Features were common &points Champions were celebrated in front of packed Grandstands.
In Speedway Parks case it held 4,000 spectators. The same ritual would be held at Merrittville & for many years ,26 to be exact, The Reunion Committee would host the Night of Champions final points event with the 50lap John Spencer Memorial for Modifieds where we would present the trophy to the Feature winner in front of the fans.
The Tradition of presenting trophies in front of the fans goes back to 1952 at Merrittville ,when Orville Kelley #3 received his ,which I am the proud custodian of.Hard to believe it is 75 years old.

I thought you might enjoy a few photos from 1967&68 when Fred Hurst &Jeno Begolo became Champions again for the second time.
I was particularly taken by these since I was a Fan of the Gallopin #35 & loved the look of that 1936 Chevrolet coupe modified & for very personal reasons based on friendship ,even though we were years apart by age ,Jeno Begolo.

With our Family being involved in that era of track ownership of both Merrittville &Speedway Park allowed me to follow the career of many drivers who I admire even today.
In 1995 I felt very strongly about seeing that pioneers of our sport who laid the foundation of our dirt track racing would be honoured to a Wall of Fame., so we founded a Committee Thanks to Bryant iIrvine. A couple of years after that one of the innaugural inductees,Jeno Begolo liked what we were accomplishing so much ,he &Shirley joined us &remained valued members up until his passing.

On most Saturdays I would take my spot sitting with the Begolos &Willards ,sometimes with my dad Ken ,who is now 95 years old, all enjoying our time together while watching the races. When Jim or Brent or Tyler or Cody or B.J. were on track the comments got serious,but that is part of the passion in racing.

Last Saturday night ,I was not able to be at Merrittville because of a wedding ,so I watched replays of the features. I was particularly taken when Brent Begolo not only won his Mod Lite Feature in #16 lengthening his points lead ,but when he asked for the chequered flag & then escorted his Grandmother Shirley on to the track for a victory photo, even before Steven Pëtty could interview him. For me that is a priceless Merrittville Memory.

Brent let everyone know from victory lane just how dedicated his Grandmother still is. Shirley Begolo along with Barb &Cindy have cheered on three generations of the #16, infact Shirley cheered on Jeno on opening day at Merrittville Speedway 75years ago when Jeno drove car #123. I was deeply moved at this gesture,as I felt it deserved both our attention &gratitude especially during our 75th.

While there are many families who do the same every week ,how many can say they have occupied the same spot in the grandstand since opening day-July 1,1952.(Shirley had her spot in the grandstand at Speedway Park when these photos were taken in 1967-68 & everywhere Jeno raced.)

If you have a chance to see Joe Aubertins drone shots on You Tube please do . Congratulations to all the Feature winners from August 29th ,but especially to Shirley Begolo as she watches her Grandson on the verge of another Championship . Sempre Avante-RickK.

09/02/2026

On this What's up Wednesday,I wanted to share a post that illustrates just how important our Tuesday night go kart program is to the future of Merrittville Speedway's Saturday night program. So many go karters have gone on to become winners in other divisions from 4 cyl.mini to ModLite,Hoosier .Sportsman &Modified. Before there was a Merrittville kart program or inner track ,25 time Modified Champion ,Pete Bicknell got his start racing karts at Batavia.
Soon to be crowned 75th anniversary Sportsman Champion(6 in a row),Cody McPherson got his start on Tuesday nights ,as did DIRTCAR Champions Mat Williamson & Stewart Friesen.
While go karting got its start at Merrittville on Sunday afternoons way back about 1960,todays Tuesday night program has become such an important part in cultivating interest for future generations &the health & growth in our family sport, something that The Irvine Family saw when they started it in 1994 by building the kart track.
As we get ready to race into the final couple of weeks ,finalizing our 75th anniversary Champions in all divisions, we must recognize &congratulate all those boys &girls who participated within the Tuesday Night Karting program , you are all 75th anniversary Champions!
For Kendall Leighton , could she become a future star in the ModLite division along side her father, Nick Sarantakos , representing our ever-growing ladies in Racing at Merrittville,I think so, but she is just one example of the talent that is being coached &fostered today.
Who will be the Champions 25years from now when Merrittville celebrates 100 years, these kids will be,Congratulations !-RickK

Tonight was the final kart race at Merrittville Speedway and I finished in 2nd place. Also finished the year 2nd place in points.

Thank you to everyone who helps out and to all
of our sponsors!

Merritt Funeral Home
Joe Dirts Garden & Stone Depot
ClutchLit

08/28/2026

This weeks Throwback Thursday will also spill over in to Fast Friday,since I had to catch up on some outdoor painting between the raindrops yesterday. I call this one Perseverance &Dedication!

I have picked three racing families who like others have deep racing roots at Merrittville Speedway & also contacted me with a couple of photos to share.
1/ It goes without saying that Ray &Brian Stevens continue to invoke many great Memories for all that knew them & for me personally Ray &Brian were always examples of perseverance &dedication , never allowing an obstacle to block their desire to live our racing life & compete from their modest shop on the Western Hill near Ridley College, sometimes on a shoestring.

I know in the early days Bruce Swartz, Ray &his brother Neville were inseparable when Ray started his driving career, as in later years were Ray &Brian, Harry Sittler & crew were when Brian started to drive his .

It is no secret that Brian &I became friends on the grandstand side long before he became a driver then ,being mentored by his Dad ,Ray ,&Harry Sittler,amongst others. One of my most favourite photos is the one posted here taken by Alex Bruce in 1985 &is included within our Photo Wall project at Merrittville.
This is how I remember both of them at their favourite location, in the pits on a Saturday night. -See photo.
Very pleased that Ray &Brian's legacy can live on through Melissa &Amanda. -Thanks!

2/ A couple of weeks ago I posted a Throw Back based on a request from Tim Hatt re; Alfie Roebuck, but I just received a photo with a request& I am hoping that our racing community can help?
Tim has been told that his old race car /Olsen Chassis is still arond the area locally. If anyone has information on it's whereabouts Please let us know or contact Tim Hatt directly. I have posted two photos of the Olsen chassis when Tim Hatt drove it&then after it was sold to former driver Ron Duplantis.-See photos.

3/ I received a couple of photos from Rob Disher. Rob has a long career of driving at Merrittville on dirt & at other tracks such as Flamboro on asphalt. Rob had a tough season in 2025 basically writing off his #17 in a crash then reconstructing a new very stock appearing #17 Monte Carlo then selling it to rookie competitor Spencer Maytum #12 who is 11 th in points for 2026- our75th anniversary season.

Rob is never one to follow a trend rather a traditionalist, who perseveres with the metric based Monte Carlo in the Hoosier stock division at Merrittville. While Rob had to miss most all of our 75th season while building this car, which he had hoped would be ready for Reunion night,it will also be an exercise in perseverance on a tight budget from his modest shop in Grimsby . when you see the photo &read the caption, you will understand.
Rob even without his car ready attended our 75th celebration as Alumni supporting the Reunion Committee's efforts &we Thankyou as we salute you for your 40th year of Dedication to our sport& hope to see your pink Monte Carlo in support of Breast Cancer Awareness in victory lane in 2027. -RickK.

08/26/2026

On this What's up Wednesday ,I wanted to show support & recognition for The Brian &Ray Stevens Memorial event held at Ransomville last night. Both Ray & Brian are inductees to our CAA sponsored Wall Fame &we display their plaques amongst the 88 other well deserving inductees.

Ray Stevens was inducted in 1991 as the 4th honouree & his son Brian who was a friend of mine &followed by many as a driver first in his then later winning his first Merrittville Championship in &second in #444.

We were able to induct Brian before his passing & today I would not only like us to Congratulate both Gary Lindberg&Cody McPherson on their respective wins last evening,since they will also in all probability become our 75th anniversary Champions,but take this moment to remember three people &Wall of Fame inductees that meant so much to many of us at Merrittville on the Reunion Committee;
1/ Ray Stevens -Pioneer driver &car owner- #44.

2/ Brian Stevens- friend, &two time modified Champion ,1982&1992.

3/ Bryant Irvine &Family - pioneer driver -owner &employer who sponsored &supported so many of the Modifieds ,especially the Championship winning cars of Stevens racing through his business York Electrplating in Thorold,Ont.
Bryant was instrumental in buying &improving Merrittville Speedway from 1987-2002& allowing our Committee to be formed in 1995.

I ask that as you read the race results from last night,that you also pause &remember those three pioneers &Wall of Famers of our sport ,whose lives are woven in to the fabric of our dirt track history at Merrittville&Ransomville Speedways.-
Thanks to Melissa &Amanda &Family for keeping the Tradition!-RickK.

RANSOMVILLE, NY (August 25, 2026) Ridgeway, Ontario’s Gary Lindberg won the Flyin’ Brian & Ray Stevens Memorial for the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series at Ransomville Speedway Tuesday night, paying $5,44...

08/23/2026

Since there was no racing at Merrittville Speedway last evening &hence no 75th Anniversary Trivia contest. I am posting this one.

Photo #1 is a snap shot taken just after the 70th Reunion in 2021, after we unveiled Project75. Name from the plaques shown the following;
1/ How many former track owners &who.
2/ Which former track Champions are shown.

3/ Photo #2 is a group photo from the 46th anniversary Reunion in 1997. Sadly many of these pioneers are no longer with us ,but it is our task that they are not forgotten. How many can you identify.

I will declare an overall winner by Aug.28th.

Please leave your answers in the comment section below.

P.S. Should any Alumni still wish a copy of our 75th anniversary handout program from Reunion night, ,I still have a very limited amount on a first come basis for free.

08/20/2026

This week's Throw Back Thursday still takes me back to the 1950's era ,when Merrittville Speedway was a new track in 1952 to when Humberstone became a new track in 1958-59. Two photos submitted by the Rumsby family showed Jack Rumsby's #67 stock car which I believe is very early based on the family sedan sitting beside the house &the fact that the stockcar had full fenders &running boards.What peaked my interest was photo #2 which showed his sponsor as Ebert's garage in Fenwick,Ontario. For this week I am posting some photos with captions of three local businesses in Pelham Twp. who supported stockcar racing at Merrittville Speedway &later at Humberstone ,which are no longer in our community,but they still hold fond memories for us in the car hobby & Merrittville Memories for us who grew up in stock car racing &lived in this area.
My first example is Jack Rumsby &Ebert's Garage&salvage yard. This business was established by Floyd &his brother in 1930 where it remained until 1994 .It was a typical traditional small bay garage with an overhang for gas pumps on the side of Canboro Rd. at the junction of Welland Rd. What made Ebert's so special is that through the decades Floyd was a source of auto parts new &used both from his salvage yard down the street &inside his garage. Unfortunately Ebert's was closed after his passing in 1994 &then demolished. It was too bad since the building was a landmark in Fenwick when you entered town . I was able to walk his yard before it was closed &everything sold

The second example is Law's Motor sales , which was located on Hwy #20 just east of Fonthill where the new Shell &car wash are located where I still wash my vehicle after a night at Merrittville on the way home. For many years Sam Law sold new &used G.M. cars as a dealer ,but also supported Merrittville Speedway &Humberstone sponsoring stock cars & placing ads in the program. I have shown a photo of both Sam &Ron Gallagher with their stockcar at the lot &an ad . Can you believe that Pelham actually supported a new &used car dealer at one time. How many of you remember Central Garage also in Ridgeville.

The third example is of Fonthill Motors owned by Rusty Rittenhouse,who not only operated his used car lot ,just south of Fonthill on South Pelham St. but drove &sponsored his own stockcars as well in the Jalopy class at Merrittville &also at Humberstone.Decades later the business became Fonthill Mazda still operated by the Rittenhouse family,when we lived near it on Spruceside Cres. Today the building has been levelled & awaiting development.

My final photo is of the driver who had probably the longest driving career at Merrittville Speedway from Fonthill-Ridgeville area,Wally Gay. He raced at Merrittville from the early 1950's in to the 1970's,from stockcar to modified. His original car number was #37 also sponsored by Pollard's garage which is also long gone. Hope you enjoy that added photo.

Those three examples are of businesses from a semi rural township during an era from the 1930's to 2000 when there was a true sense of community ,where residents bought local & the neighbourhood garage & new car,truck or tractor dealer was in fact your neighbour. As businesses consolidate to survive ,something is lost today in preserving that sense of community. There are too many empty locations where family businesses once thrived.
Having both grown up in the area as a kid , with our family involved in ownership at Merrittville Speedway during that time I can take solace in one fact;
While those many businesses are long gone &the face of our Pelham Community has changed ,here we are 75 years later &Merrittville Speedway is still maintaining our Saturday night TRADITION, something that we should not take for granted as the world around us keeps changing.

It will be interesting to see what the next 25years holds for our sport & hopefully we can keep thriving while keeping urban development away from our boundaries,so the next generation can carry on what was started by these pioneers back in 1952

Merrittville has adapted &evolved through the decades as has our sport& needs to keep developing a positive image within the Region of Niagara working with politicians at every level over the next25 years so a 100th may be celebrated by you.

The best that I can do is keep telling our story &sharing our history. As always Thanks for taking the time to read this &as always please read the photo captions &I welcome your comments.-RickK.

08/18/2026

Once the dust settled on Saturday night the points races in each division are becoming clearer. While Gary Lindberg, Cody McPherson& Dave Bailey have wide margins as a cushion to clinching their 75th anniversary points titles the 4cyl.ministocks & The ModLites have tighter points races. While Ken Hair isleading his respective division,he is being chased by some very capable female racers like Sierra Robison who won again on Saturday. While the ModLites were off this past Saturday ,they continue to be the fastest growing division at Merrittville thanks to the efforts of the Sliter Family & Dan Kviring at Savage chassis with an average of over 20 cars starting a feature. Their friendly club atmosphere is making their division attractive to newcomers. Can Brent Begolo hold off Chris Watson for the rest of the season to secure a 75th anniversary Championship for the Begolo family or will Chris Watson become a new ModLite Champion.
The Dave Small owned vintage modified with Evan Curtis driving swept their event with only 10cars in attendance with a field of 9in the featureAs the season is winding down keep a close eye on both the 4cyl ministock&ModLite divisions as the race to become the 75th anniversary Champion heats up!-RickK.

THOROLD, Ontario (August 15th, 2026) … Merrittville Speedway rolled on with their season as Carquest presented the latest Saturday night Bobcat of Hamilton Weekly Racing program. The Commercial Auto...