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 Year-In-Review: Lockhart Truck Center Hobby Stock Division By Tim Terry (February 2010) - When we look back at the season that was in the Lockhart Truck Centre Hobby Stock division, two main story lines stand out. The scenery of the Hobby Stock division was changed during the winter with the announcement that 1/4-ton trucks would be factored into the division. Little did we know at the time that we would not only be seeing one of those new trucks win races in '09 but a truck would score a historic championship at the 3/10-mile oval as well! We left the '08 season with Cole Harbour's Mike Alexander taking his first track championship in only his second year on track. With Alexander moving up the stock car ranks, the Mustang he drove to the title would remain in the division with former two time champ Mark Wilson behind the wheel. With his familiar Black and MacDonald colors and the number 23 now on the fast Ford, the Lantz driver became the pre-season pick for the 2009 championship by many. Fast forward to the first race date of the season. Clear skies and warm spring temperatures met fans and drivers on May 31st and while Windsor Junction's Brandon Watson won that first feature in the '09 season, it was Gordon Ritchie and Matt Pyke making waves as the two were the first to wheel a race-truck around Scotia Speedworld in competition. Pyke (Upper Rawdon) had suffered motor problems with his Dodge throughout the event while Ritchie put his Chevrolet up front early and often, nearly snatching the first win of the season away from Watson! He had to settle for second as he bested the cars of Terry Moore, '08 Rookie of the Year Eric Nielsen and Bryan Watson to the line. With the first race of the season in the books the most asked question by spectators changed from “Will the trucks be able to race with the cars and be competitive?” to “How long will it take one of them to win a race?” The answer to that was answered on the second race meet of the season as Gordon Ritchie drove his #26 Ritchies Renos Chevrolet into Victory Lane on Z103.5 night! The race would be a battle between Father and Son early as Bryan and Brandon Watson dueled for the lead in the 25-lap event. Father would get the best of Son as Brandon would blow a tire late in the going, finishing 8th overall. Ritchie would then make his way to the front in the end to take the checkered flag first over Bryan Watson and Gordon's brother Wayne. Another duo of brothers, Ritchie and Terry Moore would complete the top five on the evening. Event number three would see our third different feature winner in as many races as Bryan Watson would add his name to the winners list in '09. Watson would battle with his son Brandon and Wayne Ritchie in the late laps for the win with Ritchie slotting into second in front of the younger Watson. Terry Moore led the most laps in the feature en route to a fourth place finish on June 26th with Gordon Ritchie finishing in fifth. Scotia Speedworld's version of Family Feud would be even between Watson and Ritchie as Bryan and Gordon were tied atop the standings after three events! The next race would feature another Father and Son battle with Bryan getting his second consecutive feature win of the season over his son Brandon. Bryan wouldn't gain much on Gordon Ritchie though as he would finish third on the evening and only lost six points on the #9 Econo Transmission ride. Leading rookie in the division Wayne Ritchie would put his Mustang in fourth as Terry Moore brought the #40 home in fifth. Ironically, that was the way they would also sit in the championship picture after four races. The marquee race for the Hobby Stock division went green apart of Miller Tire 50 night. Gordon Ritchie would lead early and often in the fifty lap, caution free affair to take his second win of the season. He would also take the point lead back from second place finisher Bryan Watson thanks to a solid heat race finish on the evening. Wayne Ritchie made a podium appearance in the longest Hobby Stock race of the season as he finished third in front of Brandon Watson and Richie Moore. Antrim's Vernon Brown would debut his new R. Dearman Forestry Truck in this race, finishing 11th. The action heated up as the Hobby Stocks took to the track on a beautiful Sunday, July 26th afternoon. In a race that saw Bryan and Brandon Watson along with Terry Moore involved in an incident in Turn 2, Gordon Ritchie capitalized by doubling down for his third feature win of the season. Brother Wayne would finish second with Richie Moore bringing the purple #53 home for third. Mark Wilson and Ben Sheehy posted their first top fives of the season, finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Another new truck debuted on the track in the month of July as last seasons top freshman Eric Nielsen brought his #25 Ford Ranger to the track in which he ran to a sixth place finish in. July 31st would be the first night that the Lockhart Truck Centre Hobby Stock division heat races were swept by 1/4-ton trucks as Vernon Brown and Gordon Ritchie took triumphs in the ten lap qualifiers though it was a Mustang driver taking his first career Hobby Stock win on the night. Wayne Ritchie and his brother Gordon waged war in one of the most exciting Hobby Stock races in 2009 but in the end it was the CARQUEST/LeBlanc's Auto Mustang taking the victory. Gordon finished second behind his brother as Mark Wilson, Ben Sheehy and Richie Moore chased the Ritchies to the line. With the season well into its second half Gordon enjoyed a healthy 22-point lead on his brother Wayne but there were still many opportunities to make up the gap between the two. The next week on the track would see Wayne shrink the deficit as he won his second consecutive victory of the season over Ben Sheehy who would record his best finish of the season. Terry and Richie Moore would best Brian Dort for positions third, fourth and fifth with Gordon Ritchie finishing in sixth on the evening after running into problems with his #26 truck late in the race. Gordon's point lead over his brother was cut in half with the sixth place finish on Fan Appreciation Night presented by Q104! With only three races to go in the season, the Ritchies were in firm control of the Lockhart Truck Centre Hobby Stock standings. The real question would be if Gordon would hang on to win the first ever track championship in a truck or if Wayne would win the first championship as a rookie since Russell Smith Jr. pulled off the feat in 2006. On August 28th it was Gordon gaining three points on brother Wayne but it was Enfield's Bug Turple doubling down to win the main feature. Turple, driving the #99 Watson's Flooring car thanked the Watsons for giving him the opportunity to drive the car in victory lane following the feature. Turple bested former champ Wilson, Gordon Ritchie, Wayne Ritchie and Wally MacCullough on the night of the division sponsor, Lockhart Truck Centre! The leading Rookie of the Year would add another notch in the win column on September 4th as Wayne Ritchie took the win on Kiddie Night. Wayne's third win of the year would come at a clutch time as he chased his brother in the point standings. Mark Wilson, Bug Turple and Ben Sheehy would continue their strong second half season runs by clocking top five finishes with the point leader Gordon Ritchie finishing fifth. With one race to go, all the Ritchies would have to do is start the final main feature of the season to guarantee the Hobby Stock Championship to their family. The question was who would be the one winning it? Gordon only had a four point advantage over Wayne going into Finale Friday, meaning all Gordon would have to do is finish ahead of his brother to finish on top of the standings. As we know in auto racing though that is easier said than done. Gordon finished one spot ahead of Wayne in the heat and didn't waste any time slicing his #26 Ritchie's Renovations 1/4-ton truck to the head of the field to win the last feature of the season! Ben Sheehy came home in second with the Moores, Richie and Terry along with Mark Wilson chasing the #21 ServiceMaster ride to the finish. Gordon Ritchie would be crowned the champion in October at the Annual Banquet, winning the title over his brother by fifteen points over. Wayne would become Rookie of the Year in the division as he amassed more points than top five finishers Richie Moore, Mark Wilson and Ben Sheehy in the 2010 Lockhart Truck Centre Hobby Stock Championship Standings! The off season has already been a history making one as it was announced prior to the rules meeting that the Hobby Stock class would be dissolved to make room for the Lockhart Truck Centre Truck division. Drivers and fans alike are excited to see what the 2010 season has in store for the division! Next time we will take a look back at the Legends class from the '09 season. Until then, keep the hammer down and we'll see you at the track! - Tim Terry, TimTerryOnline.com About Scotia Speedworld Scotia Speedworld is a 3/10-mile asphalt oval stock car racing track featuring the Lockhart Truck Center Weekly Racing Series for six divisions and several special events during the race season, which runs from May to September. Scotia Speedworld is located at Exit 6 on Highway 102, across from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. For more information please click on ScotiaSpeedworld.ca or call our Event Hotline at (902) 873-2277 or our office at (902) 481-2514. |
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