Weekly Racing Series
Race Wrap & Full Results

June 21th: AMP Energy Night

HYDRAULICS PLUS BANDOLEROS
For a few laps in the Hydraulics Plus Bandolero main feature on AMP Energy Night, it appeared that Kennetcook’s Luke Ettinger would be the one to put a halt to Adam Meehan’s (Rawdon) feature win streak.

But Meehan was not to be denied.

The point leader in the #6 Drive Products - Ocean Truck Equipment/Meehan’s Garage and Trucking Bandolero made a late pass on Ettinger and held on for his third consecutive feature win of the season and his fifth win in six races at the Speedworld. Ettinger held on for second over a hard charging Craig MacDonald (Waverley). Nicholas Naugle (Halifax) brought the #88 home in fourth in the feature, ahead of Braden Langille (Shubenacadie).

Heat wins on the evening went to MacDonald and Ettinger. With his fifth place run on Friday to Meehan, Langille slips to 15 points behind Meehan in the standings. Cole Tanner (Shubenacadie) leads a tight battle from third to ninth in the points, with just 14 markers between the positions as they prepare to enter battle at Kiddie Night on June 29th.

STRICTLY HYDRAULICS LEGENDS
After going winless in 2012, Cole Butcher (Porter’s Lake) has picked up two wins to kick off the 2013 season in the Strictly Hydraulics Legends division.

Butcher captured his second feature victory of 2013 on Friday by passing Matt Moore of Falmouth following a restart. Moore led the most laps in the event but had to settle for third behind Butcher and “The Legend” Cy Harvey (Elmsdale). “Miss Rawdon Rocket” Emily Meehan and last week’s feature winner Danny Harvey (Lantz) got tied up in traffic making their way to the front and had to settle for fourth and fifth, respectively.

Paul Goulden (Shelburne) and Dan Michaud Jr (Lawrencetown), driving the Mark Whynot owned #2 car, won the qualifying heat races on the evening. Butcher and his #5 Atlantic Tiltload Legend will take an eight point lead on Cy Harvey into Kiddie Rides Night on Friday.
ACE LUMBERMART LIGHTNING

Richie Moore (Elmsdale) made it look easy on Friday night as he walked away from the field in the ACE Lumbermart Lightning car 25-lap main featrure.

Moore started up front and wasted no time pulling away in the #153 Stonewall Sprinkler Systems Dodge to take the victory in the fast paced event. “Rational” Richard Patrick (Halifax) picked his way through traffic and was beginning to close the straightaway advantage Moore had built up but without a caution the youngster had to settle for second place. Mark Campbell (Lower Sackville) finished third in the feature with Shubenacadie’s JR Lawson and Stewiacke’s Chevy MacDonald completing the top five.

Moore and BJ Nicholson (Beaverbank) began the night with heat race victories. Patrick will extend his point lead to six over Lawson as the Lightning drivers will return to the track Friday for Kiddie Rides Night.

ACE LUMBERMART THUNDER
Season in the ACE Lumbermart Thunder class on Friday night and with it, the Hammonds Plains driver opened up a bigger point lead on the rest of his competition.

What began as the Kyle MacMillan/Stevie Lively (Shubenacadie) show at the first of the evening lasted for three laps in the feature race. After a heat race and opening feature laps which saw MacMillan and Lively lean on each other while racing for position, Lively’s #32 car slowed to a stop on the Bandolero track after three laps. While an apparent mechanical problem sidelined Lively, MacMillan’s work was far from done as he had to hold off 2011 Thunder car champion Dave Matthews (Kennetcook) on the restart. The two danced for the lead for a handful of laps before MacMillan edged out and established a gap on Matthews.

Matthews would cross the line in fourth after a transmission began to go south on the #99 car in the closing laps. Drew MacEachern (Dartmouth) and Matthew Warren (White’s Lake) would end up being scored in second and third but MacEachern’s #13 would flunk post race technical inspection, giving Warren and Matthews podium finishes. The returning Andrew Cluett (Kennetcook) brought his #94 car home in fourth ahead of fellow Thunder car veteran Jordan Pirri (West Chezzetcook).

Pat Riley (Halifax) and Matthews took heat race victories on AMP Energy Night for the Thunder class. Riley won his heat race with obstructed vision as his hood blew open in the early laps of the race but he would hold on to take the win.

MacMillan takes a 17 point advantage with his #5 Scotia Tire Wyse Road Civic into their next event on July 5th.

LOCKHART TRUCK CENTER 150
DARTMOUTH DODGE SPORTSMAN
While it was not out during the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman main feature, you could feel the pull of the impending full moon on Saturday evening.

In a rough and tumble feature, it was Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside) outdueling DJ Casey (Prospect Road) on numerous late restarts to take the win. The race was shortened from its original 50 lap distance to 46 due to excessive caution flags, which saw many front runners in the class sidelined after crash damage. Defending series champion and Lockahrt Truck Center 150 undercard winner Aaron Boutilier (Porter’s Lake) had to settle for second on the day as he bested Casey at the finish of the race. Darren Wallage (Oakfield) came in on the day with the point lead but had to settle for fourth ahead of young upstart Andrew Starks of Debert.

The biggest car count of the season in 26 Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman came out to the track to qualify for the race. Three heat races were contested and won by Windsor’s Fred Schofield, Goodwood’s Tony Leonard and Boutilier. NAPA Sportsman Series regulars Dave Timmons (Inverness) and Shawn Thibodeau (Troy) took the opportunity to shake down their cars for the Dartmouth Dodge 100. For Thibodeau, the race ended with an eighth place finish. Timmons was caught up in a scary back straight wreck with Mike Banks (Wilmot), Bronson Shanessy (Kingston) and Colby Smith (Cape Sable Island) and did not finish the race. All drivers from all wrecks on the afternoon emerged okay from their race cars.

With all the action, it leads to a tie in the standings between Boutilier and Wallage while Casey vaults 9 positions from 12th to third in the point picture after three races. The Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman are back in action on Friday night.

COORS LIGHT TRUCKS
It seems like big races and victory lane go hand in hand for Eastern Passage’s Jason Fenton.
Fenton, who was a winner on Atlantic CAT 250 weekend back in 2011, captured one of the biggest wins of his career by capturing the 20-lap Coors Light Truck division in front of the big crowd on Saturday. Fenton won the heat race and put his truck up front when it counted in the feature to pocket his first victory of 2013. Finishing in second was Bridgewater’s Ryan Goldsmith while Robbie Watts of Lucasville edged out Dan Smith (Lower Sackville) by inches to take the third place spot. Antrim’s Vernon Brown was fifth.

The race also featured the debut of two new trucks. Chris Ainsworth (Halifax) drove the Fallen Heroes Racing #11 truck to a seventh place finish behind Larry Vaughan (Lake Fletcher) on Saturday, while “The Pit Lizard” Jamie Creamer finished eighth on the day in his new #44 truck.

Those inches Smith missed third by on Saturday ultimately may have contributed to him losing the point lead as Goldsmith now has a two point advantage on the defending champion. Fenton leapfrogs Watts in the standings and now the top four have eight points between them as they begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack heading into Kiddie Rides Night.