09/09/2026
Thursday Night Thunder back in action this week as the Brighton Speedway Kart Klub fired up for one last exciting night of action on the little oval – Championship night for 2026 racing season ready to go. Practice and qualifying races were completed and the lineups for the nights feature as a capacity crowd of spectators filled the infield grandstands.
Box Stock 1 up first with 5 karts in feature #1 – a pair of 11’s up front – Kane McBride and Max Sopaz leading them to green. Side by side McBride and Sopaz for the first few laps until eventually McBride was able to pull a little as the top side faded out, Sopaz not giving up stayed up on the cushion as 3rd place starter Rowan Rosborough shuffled into 2nd by the halfway mark. A great race for the Yung Guns with Rosborough and Sopaz both high side hustlin’ but in the end it was all the MetalCraft Kustoms #11 of Kane McBride taking the checkers back to Grafton, Rowan Rosborough in 2nd, #8 Karson Connell rolling across 3rd, #07 Carter Phillips and Max Sopaz finished the running order.
Feature #2 for Box Stock 1 - #48 Emerson Clarke and #57 Libby Sandercock on the point and hard on the gas off corner 4. Sandercock with the run on the top put the #57 atop the scoring tower with a determined #48 of Clarke keeping within striking distance as they put a little distance on #88 Ryker Ostrom and #95 Jackson Bosma as the laps counted. Smooth and steady, the Deerhaven Powersports team hit the setup and Sandercock kept it in the clean air – white flag out – one to go and one last chance for Clarke to steal a win. #57 - #48 down the backstretch, Clarke gains a little and looks inside off corner 4, on the loud pedal Sandercock keeps it smooth, Clarke with a miscalculation of navigation – Libby Sandercock with the win, #88 fast Ryker Ostrom squeezes it through around the spinning Clarke and picks up 2nd, Emerson Clarke settles for 3rd and #95 Jackson Bosma in 4th.
Rookie 1 calling 9 karts to the grid - #7 Carter VanDenBeukel and #23 Austin McBride up front for 10 laps of green flag action. VanDenBeukel using the grip on the low line pulls a lead as McBride and the thunder behind him try to keep pace. A wild race with everyone fighting for the inside line looked like a Sunday afternoon on the DVP, paint swapped and bumpers put to use, it’s championship night at Brighton Speedway! Survival for the #7 VanDenBeukel machine, holding off all attempts to knock him off the leaderboard, green to checkers for Carter VanDenBeukel in the finale, hard charger #4 Kason Sager climbing the tower coming from 9th to 2nd, #68 Gunner Ellis happy with a podium finish in 3rd. From there on back - #05 Liam Baldwin 4th, #01 Keely Patterson 5th, #23 Austin McBride, #92 Race Turner, #39 Lucas Wannamaker and Nora Grant rounding the running order.
9 Box Stock 2 karts up next - #10 Abel Kiltz and #41 Hudson VanDyk down the frontstretch and into corner 1 – give the Simply Eclectic #41 the advantage as Kiltz struggles to find grip. Using the notebook from the Rookie 1 race – keep it in the clean air and let the horses run – VanDyk counting down the laps from the top spot as 5th place starter #12 Emmett Ferguson threw out a line and started reeling. 2 sticks in the air from starter Trevyn McCrillis as Ferguson pulled the line a little tighter on race leader Hudson VanDyk and the pair closed in on lapped traffic. Inside outside inside and a little checkup, VanDyk and Ferguson fighting for the same real estate, ending the Ferguson charge to the front - caution lights blazing - 1 lap to go. Back in clean air and on the GO pedal hard #41 Hudson VanDyk with the win, #17 Keaton Chatten picking up a 2nd, #7 Reese Kerr with a smooth 3rd, #8 Hudson MacMullen 4th, #22 Jackson Gregory 5th, #100 Bauer Cochrane, #12 Emmett Ferguson and #10 Abel Kiltz 6th-9th.
Kingston’s Jase Fargey and Bloomfield’s own Vayda Dayton leading 5 Rookie 2 karts to green – Fargey to the lead as Dayton slips high. The #88 Reddom Construction ride was ready to go, Fargey hit the setup right with the sun setting behind the main track grandstand and the track gaining grip, Fargey and 3rd place starter #91 Kara Veenstra put a little distance on the trio behind them. Laps clicked off and it was all #88 green to checkers for Jase Fargey rolling it across the scales 1st, #91 Kara Veenstra with a strong 2nd place. Throw a blanket over the next 3 mixing it up all the way to the checkers – as the dust settled it was #37 Ella Wannamaker, #86 Sawyer McFadden and #13 Vayda Dayton 3rd to 5th.
Junior Sportsman 2 feature action up next with 8 karts to the track - #48 Knoxin Wells and #15 Charlotte DeWal on point. Wells with the jump on the preferred inside line as DeWal and 4th place starter #41 Peyton Lambert stuck it down and caught the draft. Wells looked good in the Belleville TireCraft sponsored ride – carrying good speed and keeping just out of reach from any contenders, from there on back it was anybody’s race. Multiple yellows slowed the pace, but the Madoc Rocket had the top spot locked down, another green to checkers win for a pole sitter - Knoxin Wells finishes off the year on a high note. 2nd place to LCC #41 Peyton Lambert keeping in the draft of the Wells machine, #77 Max VanDyk fought back to a podium finish in 3rd, #15 Charlotte DeWal 4th, 5th to #11 Bentley Fulton, 6th #10 Ayden Gordon, losing out on a few battles Alyssa Nolasco and #101 Jase Patterson finished 7th and 8th respectively.
The thunder of the Junior Restricted division could be heard all the way to downtown Brighton – 9 karts on the track 15 laps of action to seal the deal on the 2026 racing season. #01 Blake Gregory and #10 Hanna Merry with a clear view ahead we went to green. Gregory up on the wheel and hard on the gas - #01 at the top of the pile as Hanna Merry and #93 Kaden VanGemeren diced it up for the 2 spot. Halfway point of the race – Gregory free and clear hitting marks and making time, VanGemeren in the 2 spot with hard charger Teegan Grosse climbing from a 6th place starting spot to catch the draft of the VanGemeren ride. 5 kart advantage for Gregory as he takes the white flag, meanwhile the battle for 2nd is on the line – VanGemeren tucks it down low as Grosse throws a Hail Mary heading into corner 1, Grosse pulls even down the backstretch and sends it into corner 3 – round the outside – round the outside. Blake Gregory picks up the clean win, Teegan Grosse makes it stick and parks it in 2nd place, Kaden VanGemeren settles for 3rd, Hanna Merry holds them off for 4th, #7 Tate Black 5th from 9th, #70 Finley Mahoney 6th, #19 Bentley Davidson 7th, #72 and #47 Chase and Colton White end up 8th and 9th.
That concludes the 2026 Thursday Night Thunder Brighton Speedway Kart Klub racing season. The annual kart racing banquet is scheduled for September 10th at 6pm – contact the speedway office for info. Hit up www.brightonspeedway.com for official points and news. Till next year – StoryTime – by Zeke McKeown
