A Masterclass in Side-by-Side Racing — Dusseault Wins Night 1

The Extreme Cup roar echoed across the Alberta landscape as night one of the Trail Tire Alberta Extreme Sprints kicked off with a stout 17-car field. The energy was electric, bolstered by a trio of Montana invaders who made the long tow across the border to challenge the local contingent, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown.

Kyle Evans signaled his intentions early during qualifying, putting on a masterclass of speed. As the only driver to break into the elusive 14-second bracket, Evans showcased a blistering pace that earned him the night’s quickest qualifier honors and firmly established him as the man to beat.

Heat One proved to be a test of patience on a surface that initially offered only a single lane of racing. Paxton Fleming held the point while Kyle Evans stalked him relentlessly, probing for an opening. By Lap 4, a second lane began to develop, and Evans threw everything he had at the lead. In a frantic last-lap dash, Evans made one final charge, but it wasn’t enough to derail the Fleming brothers; Paxton claimed the win, followed closely by Decklyn, with Evans settling for third.

If the first heat was about precision, Heat Two was about pure adrenaline as the second lane opened wide. Gord Kynoch led the initial charge before the field swallowed him up, giving way to a fierce battle between Paul Rolo and a hard-charging Matt Dusseault. A Lap 4 yellow for a slowing Bret Nykoluk set up a localized shootout. On the restart, Dusseault worked every inch of the clay, diving low and sweeping high to get around Rolo. The two remained glued together until the very end, with Rolo holding on to edge out Dusseault by a razor-thin 0.012 seconds at the flag stand.

The atmosphere reached a fever pitch for the 25-lap Main Event as all 17 cars roared to life. Disaster struck early for Paul Rolo, who slowed back through the pack at the green flag, while on Lap 4 the crowd went silent as Decklyn Fleming’s #7 car veered sharply into the backstretch wall, flipping multiple times before coming to a rest. A lengthy red flag period followed as crews attended to the scene, and Cruz Riggin and Robert Lavalle pulled off the track. Once the race resumed, it was a sprint to the finish, interrupted only by back-to-back yellows for a spinning Rolo, setting up a green-white-checkered finale. In a repeat of their heat race duel, Dusseault and Evans traded blows in the final moments, but this time Dusseault would not be denied, crossing the line just 0.303 seconds ahead of Evans to claim a thrilling victory.