CHICKENBURGER RACE WRAP

September 9, SEASON FINALE

HYDRAULICS PLUS BANDOLERO – BUTCHER DOUBLES DOWN EN ROUTE TO TITLE

A championship chase doesn’t get any closer as it did Friday night for the Hydraulics Plus Bandoleros. Entering the feature, Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake) had closed Cole Tanner’s (Shubenacadie) point lead to two points, or the equivalent of one feature position heading into the season capping 15-lap race. Butcher kept his brother Cole (Porter’s Lake) behind him early and held off a charge by Tanner and sophomore Luke Ettinger (Kennetcook) to win the final feature of the season and to take his fourth feature victory of the year – a number that will come in handy in a bit. Tanner and Ettinger finished second and third respectively with Cole Butcher and Braden Langille (Shubenacadie) completing the top five. The race was also the first on the re-surfaced Bandolero track, which was graced with new blacktop during the week.

When combined with his heat race win, Jarrett Butcher had tied Tanner’s 1152 point total by the end of the night, meaning the championship went to the driver with the most feature wins as a tiebreaker. Butcher’s four wins trumped Tanner’s two, meaning Jarrett Butcher would become the sixth different champion in the class in as many years. Tanner’s performance earns him the Rookie of the Year Award in the class, besting Rawdon’s Adam Meehan by 34 points in the final standings.

TRUCKS – BROWN CAPS SEASON WITH THIRD FEATURE WIN

Antrim’s Vernon Brown completed the Scotia Speedworld Truck Division season in style on Friday night by taking home his second consecutive and third overall feature win of the 2011 season. Brown edged out Eastern Passage’s Jason Fenton and 2011 Truck class champ JP Arsenault (Church Point) for the victory. Truck division Rookie of the Year Ryan Goldsmith of Bridgewater captured fourth place on the evening to compliment his heat race victory while Derek Sutherland (Dartmouth) completed the top five in the competitive division.

COCO BEACH LEGENDS – MOORE IS MIGHTY ON FINALE FRIDAY

Like last season, Falmouth’s Matt Moore poured on the late season pressure to his fellow Coco Beach Legend car drivers and it paid off on Finale Friday with a feature win to cap off the season! Moore got to the front in his #1 Hoods Hardward Legend and held off Paul Blenkhorn (Truro) for the victory. Blenkhorn’s son Dylan (Truro) finished third in the feature, which was good enough to lock up the 2011 Coco Beach Legend car championship over his father. Richard Salter (Centre Burlington) held off a quick pack of Legend cars at the finish of the event, which included fifth place finisher Derek MacCallum (Lower Sackville).

The Cathy Ledwidge Memorial Rookie of the Year Award fight took centre stage during the ten lap heats. Dan Michaud Jr (Cole Harbour) took the opening qualifier while “Miss Rawdon Rocket” Emily Meehan had to fight her way from the rear of the high handicap heat to keep pace with the rookie point leader. The two fought through traffic in the feature but when the checkers flew it was Michaud edging Meehan on track and in the standings to take the top freshman honors.

DARTMOUTH DODGE SPORTSMAN – SMITH EDGES ALEXANDER IN RACE WHILE DILLMAN EDGES SMITH FOR TITLE

Flashback to one season ago – it was Colby Smith (Cape Sable Island) and Mike Alexander (Cole Harbour) battling each other for the title. In 2011, the two were part time drivers at the Speedworld in the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series and would put on an incredible showcase of short track racing at the conclusion of the final feature of the season. Alexander, who led on the final restart of the event tried to hold on for his first ever Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series win but fell less than a full car length short to Smith’s #77 Boston Pizza Dodge at the checkers on Lap 30. The win was the third of the season for Smith, who won the 2010 championship in the top division at the Speedworld. Alexander came home second with Oakfield’s Darren Wallage charging hard to a third place finish. Speedworld regulars Kirk Ryan (Enfield) and Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside) completed the top five.

Twenty-seven cars began the afternoon of racing at the Speedworld with three heat races setting the tone for the afternoon of racing. Beaverbank’s Wade Slaunwhite (also known as “Herman” at the Speedworld) took home heat one while Wallage and Ryan also paraded checkers in the ten lap qualifiers.

Jeff Dillman (Middle Musquodoboit) entered Finale Friday with a 14 point lead over Russell Smith Jr. and a 15 point advantage on Aaron Boutilier (Porter’s Lake) as he chased in second Sportsman title in three years. Dillman gained a point on Smith Jr. in the heat race and kept the #44 within sights in the feature to take home the prestigious crown. Dillman joined Mel Tibert (2002, 2005) and Craig Slaunwhite (2006, 2007) as the only two-time Sportsman champions in the last ten years. Smith Jr. will take home the Rookie of the Year honors in his #44 while Boutilier will pocket the Lewis Kelly Excavation and Topsoil Consistency Award for being the driver highest in the standings that did not capture a main feature victory on the season.