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RACE RECAP Scotia Speedworld - Weekly Racing Series Season Opener May 31st, 2009SOJOURN SIGNS BANDOLEROS  Brad Eddy of Lower Sackville won the most races (combined heats and features) last season in the Sojourn Signs Bandolero division en route to a 2008 INEX Canadian Bandolero title and a 2nd place tie in the points at Scotia Speedworld. The pilot of the #1 Sojourn Signs car picked up right where he left off last season by “doubling down” to win his heat and the main feature on Sunday afternoon. In the main feature he passed Amherst’s Ryan Mackintosh for the lead in the 15-lap event and never looked back. Mackintosh, along with Eddy, had been racing down south during the off-season in Bandolero and Legend cars. Behind the top two saw an entertaining battle between four top runners in the division racing side-by-side and nose-to-tail every lap. In the end, Emily Meehan (Rawdon Gold Mines) finished in the final podium position, besting three former track champs Shelby Baker (2007, Fall River), Dylan Blenkhorn (2008, Truro) and DJ Casey (2006, Prospect Road). This season is a special one for Meehan as she has joined forces to race against ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and had Mike Watson and family in attendance on Sunday cheering on “Miss Rawdon Rocket” to a third place run. Eddy and Baker won the heat races to start off the afternoon of racing. MILLER TIRE LIGHTNING  We all knew that Russell Smith Jr., was going to be a force this season in the Miller Tire Lightning class. Following a couple of wins at the end of the 2008 season combined with a championship a few seasons ago it was no surprise the Lakeside driver was running up front Sunday. Russell “doubled down” on Sunday by winning his heat and the main feature yesterday but it wasn’t easy. He was hounded in the late laps of the 20-lap feature by sophomores Dan Michaud Jr. (Cole Harbour) and Cody Singer (Kennetcook) but the biggest competition came from a rookie – his brother Jorden! Russell held the lead after a late caution in the event as the Neons of Michaud Jr and Jorden Smith battled side by side behind the ’06 champ. The Dodges gave the Chevrolet of Russell Smith Jr. many challenges in the closing laps of the event but the champ beat the others in the end as it was the #144 Timberlea Beverage Room Cavalier beating the field. Jorden finished second, nipping the other top Neon in the field Michaud Jr. Singer and Beaverbank’s Brian Parrott rounded out the top five in the highly competitive division. Russell Smith Jr. and Michaud Jr. won the heat races. The Miller Tire Lightning division is not back in action until June 19th. MILLER TIRE THUNDER  If it wasn’t for the eight month layoff and some new colors on the cars, some would think we were still living in the ’08 season by the looks of the Thunder division. The Miller Tire Thunder division once again boasted the highest car count on opening day, intense racing and two gentlemen named MacCallum and Gammon up front battling for the biggest trophy on race day. Lower Sackville’s Derek MacCallum led a majority of the 25-lap “A” main in the Thunder division but was chased by Kyle Gammon (Middle Sackville) most of the race. The two enjoyed a half straightaway lead as they weaved through lapped traffic. Late in the race Gammon poked the nose of his Hella’s Diner/Daynite Signs Civic underneath the championship car from one year ago and never looked back to win the event! MacCallum’s #16 finished a close second behind the #98 as Dave Matthews (Kennetcook) held off a hard charging Matthew Scott (East Dover) and Kevin Clarke Jr. (Goodwood) to complete the top five. Expect all of those drivers to be title contenders this season as they have been in recent years. Twenty five cars started the “A” main. A “B” feature had to be held to qualify cars into the main, which was won by a car length by Three Fathom Harbour’s Brently Pirri. The Revma Electric #37 barely edged out the Halifax Insulator’s #55 driven by Robbie Watt from Lucasville. They had the edge on Larry Murphy (Hammonds Plains), Drew MacEachern (Hantsport) and Matt Bonin (Tantallon). Thirty cars attempted to qualify for the main. Gammon completed the double down as he won his heat race, joining MacCallum and Scott as heat victors. LOCKHART TRUCK CENTER HOBBY STOCKS  The biggest question on race day may have been about the Hobby Stock division and how the new additions of trucks to the division would impact the racing on the track. We were quickly given an answer as Matt Pyke (Upper Rawdon) and Hobby Stock standout Gordon Ritchie (Antrim) brought trucks to the track in an attempt to show them “stock car drivers” a thing or two. Pyke had problems with his Dodge Ram while Gordon Ritchie put his S-10 on the podium of the feature, nearly winning the event. Brandon Watson (Windsor Junction) won the main feature and his heat race in the division but had to hold off the #26 truck, who was charging to the front of the field. Gordon Ritchie finished second, in front of Terry Moore (Shubenacadie), ’08 Rookie of the Year Eric Nielsen (Enfield) and Brandon’s father Bryan Watson (Windsor Junction). Terry Moore and Brandon Watson took heat wins on the afternoon. LEGENDS  Last weekend it was the Maritime Legends Tour taking the track for their first race of the season. Yesterday, it was the Weekly Racing Series Legends making their debut at Scotia Speedworld. What’s one of the biggest similarities, you may ask? Justin MacNeill – he finished first in both events! MacNeill (Bedford) battled side by side with “The Legend” himself, Cy Harvey (Elmsdale) for many laps before coming out on top in the battle of Canadian champs! The two finished in front of Falmouth’s Matt Moore and Steve Pye (Lantz), who left a huge plume of smoke and a trail of oil heading into turn one following a mechanical failure in his heat. Ray Cox Jr. (Porter’s Lake) finished fifth on track. A post race technical inspection infraction found on the #37 car though moved everyone up one spot, putting Moncton’s Gary Bursey in the final top five finishing position. Paul Blenkhorn (Truro) and Harvey won the two heat races for the division. C&R AUTO SUPPLY SPORTSMAN  In one of the most exciting features of the afternoon, Harry Ross White of Noel Road drove on the outside of Waverley’s Steve Ross and made the move stick, powering the Monte Carlo out of turn four on the last lap to nip the Speedy Muffler Tacoma Drive Impala for the win. HOSS had to earn the win the hard way though as he battled with Ross, Enfield’s Darren Wallage and defending titlist Terry Roma of Chezzetcook in the late laps. Ross settled for second with Roma third, Wallage fourth and Cole Harbour’s Jason Brown fifth. Brown had to rally to get there as he was involved in a practice crash which sent his crew scrambling to fix his #89 Atlantic Bunker Gear Inc. Impala. All three drivers complimented each other in Victory Lane on the clean racing and courtesy that was shown on the track. HOSS was emotional following the popular win; dedicating the victory to a family member he lost over the winter. The hardest hit of the day was taken by rookie Brandon Niles of Truro. Niles lost control of his #29 System Care Truro Dodge on the start of his heat race and ended up going into the turn four wall hard. The Bandolero standout got out of the car under his own power following the wreck but was a bit sore following the hit. The crew led by Wayne Niles and mentored by Troy Slaunwhite will have a lot of work to do before the next event on June 12th if they plan to get back on track. The C&R Auto Supply Sportsman saw one of the biggest car counts for opening day in recent years as twenty five of Nova Scotia’s top Sportsman drivers battled it out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the track. Roma, Jeff Dillman (Musquodoboit) and Wallage won the heat races for the main event. The stock car boys and girls are not back racing until Friday June 12th, as the USHRA Monster Jam is in town for three shows this coming Saturday and Sunday. If you bring your USHRA Monster Jam ticket to the races on the 12th, you will get in for $5! For more ticket information on the Monster Truck events, check out TicketAtlantic.com – your source for advance tickets for all the big shows at Scotia Speedworld in 2009! |
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