Tim's Corner - August 25th, 2010
It’s that time of year again – it’s time for the Shriner’s Classic Sportsman event at Scotia Speedworld! This season marks the 16th edition of the prestigious race which will highlight what is slated to be a fantastic card of racing across the five divisions in action. With names like Dillman, Roma, Pemberton, Leonard and HOSS looking to engrave their name on the Classic Cup for a second, third or fourth time and top dogs like Smith, Alexander, Wallage, Ross and Boutilier looking to grab win one in the big race it is one race you do not want to miss!
Speaking of Smith and Alexander, the two young guns of the division will look to settle the overall Sportsman crown between the two of them with two races to go. Colby Smith, the point leader from Cape Sable Island has a twenty-one point advantage on leading rookie Mike Alexander of Cole Harbour. Should those two slip, it will open the door up for Lake Egmont’s Kyle Butler who sits just a slim seventeen points behind Alexander. Smith and Butler scored their first Speedworld Sportsman victories this season while Alexander will look for his first big win this Saturday night in the Classic!
The big battle rages on for fourth place as three drivers all have a chance at gaining ground this weekend. Aaron Boutilier won last weekend’s main feature in a last lap pass on Tony Leonard, which was also good enough for fourth place in points for the Porter’s Lake driver. Nipping on his rear bumper though are the past two Classic champs as Jeff Dillman (2009) is just three markers back from Boutilier and Harry Ross White (2000, 2008) lurks three points behind Dillman for fifth. All three of these drivers are still “mathematically” alive for the championship but will need some big help from the top three in order for them to hoist the big trophy in Truro.
There are other big names in the division looking to take the win this Saturday night as well. As mentioned, Halifax’s Tony Leonard, West Chezzetcook’s Terry Roma and Dartmouth’s Sheldon Pemberton all have their names on the Shriner’s Classic Cup and will look to do the deed again on the weekend. Steve Ross of Waverley scored a nice chunk of change last weekend at Lake Doucette Motor Speedway and will look to carry the momentum of a $7,300 payday into the Speedworld on Saturday. Darren Wallage of Oakfield has established himself as a big race winner in the past and could further cement that fact this weekend. Fred Schofield has been coming on strong as of late as well and with the Windsor driver running well it could spell an upcoming feature win. Jordan Veinotte has also showed some muscle in the past few races and will look to avenge a power steering box problem one week ago with a victory in the Classic.
One thing is for sure and that is that it will be a barn burner at the Speedworld this weekend. It’s a short track, Saturday night, under the lights event that is a must see on your weekend travels!
“FINAL FOUR” THUNDER INTO SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
More than likely this Saturday Night Special will be just that for one Tirecraft Thunder competitor – special.
Four drivers go into this weekend’s action with a shot at the Tirecraft Thunder championship. Any slip up now from one of those four will likely be the final nail in the coffin in their title aspirations this season. Oh, and did we mention all four are gunning for their first championship at the Speedworld? Heck, fourth place driver Andrew Warren never competed at the 3/10-mile oval before this season! Warren sits just twenty-three points back from the leader with two to go and will need solid finishes in his heat and feature races to gain ground. The good thing for the rookie is that he has a sixty-nine point cushion on fifth place Dave Matthews – something that can likely only be made up if the #85 Porter’s Steakhouse and Sports Bar Civic finishes last in both upcoming features.
From the least experienced in the hunt to the most experienced comes Ross Harvie. The Kennetcook driver has been in the division as a full time driver since 2005, finishing fifth in the division that season. Harvie is a dozen points out of the leader in the division and just seven out of second place. A veteran like Harvie knows how to win races in this division aboard his #67 Rick’s Welding Civic and he will look to parlay that into his first championship in the division this season!
The sophomore sits second in his second year behind the wheel of Thunder cars. Stevie Lively of Shubenacadie is just five points out of the leader with two races to go and with his first feature win already under his belt the next step would be the big trophy. The #1 Hubley Auto Sales Honda Civic will hope to be #1 following the Tirecraft Thunder 50 on the Labour Day Weekend!
Tylor Hawes plans on doing the same though in his #01 Fred M. Dunphy Civic. The #01 has the point lead by five points and knows what it’s like to be locked in a point battle. After all, the last two seasons Hawes finished 6th and 4th place in the standings in his only couple of full time seasons. Expect Hawes to come out strong in the final two events in order to keep his slim point lead in tact.
Everyone else in the division will be on a different agenda – and that is to win! Names like Matthews, Warren, Williams, MacMillan, Pirri, Lawson and MacEachern among others will be ones to watch as we have two to go in the season, including the second fifty-lap event for the “Best Four Cylinder Drivers in Atlantic Canada” to cap off the 2010 season!
RUSSELL SMITH JR CAN CLINCH WITH START ON SEPT. 3RD IF…
It has been a dream season for Russell Smith Jr. of Lakeside. Smith not only leads the Tirecraft Lightning class by a boatload of points he has also experienced success in the Sportsman division – a class in which he will battle for Rookie of the Year in 2011. All year the championship has been on the mind of team #144 and with a little bit of luck (and some math), Russell can seal the deal with a good race this Saturday night.
Here’s how the points break down at the Speedworld. A heat winner gets ten points with every position behind them decreasing by one point. A feature winner grabs 100-points with each position behind him/her decreasing by two points. We had twenty-one cars show up last week to race in the Lightning division, so let’s say because it is a fifty lapper we have twenty-three cars show up on September 3rd. Twenty-third in a Scotia Speedworld main feature receives fifty-eight (58) points, meaning that the most the winner could make up IF he doubles down and wins the feature and the heat could gain fifty-two (52) points on 23rd. Therefore, if Russell Smith Jr. can leave the track Saturday evening with a fifty-two point lead all that would be left would be to START the Tirecraft Lightning 50 on September 3rd for him to seal the deal. The idea isn’t too farfetched though as he leads fellow Smith Brothers Racing teammate and last week’s feature winner Nick Hurshman by forty-six markers. Completing the SBR trio at the top is Russell’s brother Jorden in the #194 car.
The best battle in the division will go down to the wire between last season’s champ Dan Michaud Jr (Cole Harbour) and Cody Singer (North Noel Road). One point separates the two in the battle for fourth in the standings and with the two swapping paint in past races in the 2010 season, one would have to think this one is far from over!
Great battles are ongoing throughout the Tirecraft Lightning field with many looking to make gains in the last two events the points are in for a good shakeup through the balance of the field. Who will move where on Saturday night? Be there to find out!
HYDRAULICS PLUS BANDOS TITLE IS BUTCHER’S TO LOSE
It seems like championship seasons can be constructed in two ways – be consistent and/or win everything in sight. Cole Butcher has done a bit of both by being consistent by winning nearly every feature this season. After all, the Porter’s Lake driver has only missed winning two features this season and grabbed the other six contested this season. To call the points picture a run-away though is far from the truth. With three events to go he will have to keep the #15 of Emily Meehan in his crosshairs as the veteran in her final season as a Bandolero driver is a slim thirteen points out of Butcher. Just to put it in perspective – if “Miss Rawdon Rocket” could finish two spots ahead of the #5 car in each of the next three feature races, the gap between the two would shrink to one point, which could be made up in a heat race. I know, I know – easier said than done but that’s just one way to look at it.
DJ Casey lost ground in the point hunt last week but the former champ is far from out of the picture. Thirty-two points back will mean the Prospect Road driver will have to get up on the wheel and run his #8 Bandolero for all it’s worth in the final three races. Should something happen to Casey, Jarrett Butcher is right there to pounce as he is just one point behind Casey for third.
Braden Langille and Luke Ettinger are still in a see-saw battle for fifth with the Shubenacadie driver currently getting the best of the Kennetcook rookie by just two points. Two of the fan favorites in the division will have the crowd on the edge of their seats as they go at it in the final three events of the 2010 season!
LEGENDS TIGHT HEADING DOWN TO THE WIRE
As it has for the past few seasons, the Legend car battle is one of the tightest point chases this summer and realistically involves six drivers heading towards the “popsicle sticks.” Let’s take a quick look at the breakdown of the top drivers in the class and their shot at glory in 2010.
1st - #13 PAUL BLENKHORN – 789 POINTS
The Cat Shack/Blenkhorn Auto Recyclers Legend from Truro sits in the top spot and has been consistent all season. Just ask Mark Whynot after his Hobby Stock title win a few years back – wins are nice but top finishes rack up the points and a championship to go along with.
2nd - #10 JUSTIN MACNEILL – 780 POINTS
The Cummins/Parts for Trucks Legend from Bedford has been pouring on the heat in the last few events. With two podium runs last weekend and a truckload of momentum in his corner the former Speedworld champ will look to make up the nine points he currently lacks in the next two events to call himself the 2010 Scotia Speedworld track champion!
3rd - #61 BRUCE JOHNSON – 776 POINTS
The Maritime Auto Supply/Greg Spicer Construction Legend car won the championship last season with owner Scott MacLean behind the wheel. With the Scotsburn driver sidelined this season he handed the wheel over to Bruce Johnson and Bruce has picked up where Scott left off one season ago. With three Weekly Racing Series feature wins to his credit this season, Bruce now has his eyes on the 2010 title for MacLean Motorsports!
4th - #6 STEVE PYE – 766 POINTS
The Payless Automotive/Booty Boutique Legend has been racking up checkered flags like they’re going out of style in 2010. If Steve can continue on the pace he set last weekend by winning the Weekly and Maritime League of Legends features he may be hard to beat for the championship. The only piece of bad news is that he is twenty-three points back and with three strong competitors ahead, it could be a steep hill to the title for Pye.
5th - #1 MATT MOORE – 749 POINTS
Once again the Hood’s Harware Legend car from Falmouth finds himself in the thick of the points hunt. Matt finished fourth in the standings last season after being in championship contention up until the last lap of Finale Friday. Moore will have to have a good race on Saturday to do the same this season as he sits forty points from Blenkhorn.
6th - #15 JEFF ATKINSON – 746 POINTS
The final driver with a realistic chance at coming out on top of this championship heap is the Joel Smith Fisheries car from Port LaTour. Jeff has been consistent all season long, keeping his #15 out of trouble and near the front of the field when it counts!
Ray Cox Jr (Porter’s Lake), Greg Muir (Westville), Derek MacCallum (Lower Sackville) and Jerry Austin (Westville) complete the top ten in the standings. All are still “mathematically” involved in the championship hunt but would need a perfect storm of events to happen to the top six in order for them to strike championship gold. Muir and MacCallum are locked in a fight for the Rookie of the Year award with the two having seventeen points in between them. This Saturday’s feature may make the point picture a bit clearer but then again it may not. We’ll find out during the Saturday Night Special!
Once again before we sign off, we need to thank all the Tirecraft Thunder drivers who brought their cars out to the track for the Media Race last Friday. Ross Harvie, Scott Williams, Stephen Morrell, Kyle MacMillan, Drew MacEachern, Joey Lawson, Dave Matthews, Jason Morash and Jordan Veinotte deserve a ton of credit after last week's show which we couldn’t have done without them. Thanks again guys!
Until Saturday, keep the hammer down and we’ll see you at the track!
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