Weekly Racing Series
Race Wrap & Full Results

Season Opener Presented By Live 105FM

DARTMOUTH DODGE SPORTSMAN
Aaron Boutilier (Porter’s Lake) used the outside line to get past his close competition Sunday to strike first in the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series on Opening Day Presented by Live 105. The first 38 lap race of the season was slowed early by cautions but the pace up front was torrid with two groove racing amongst the best Sportsman drivers in the region. Brady Creamer (Miramichi, NB) and Russell Smith Jr. (Lakeside) battled for the lead early in the feature after their tilt in the heat race before Boutilier and Darren Wallage (Oakfield) made their way to the front in the second half. Wallage came home in second place with rookie DJ Casey (Prospect Road) on his bumper for the spot at the end of the event, but had to settle for third in his first ever Late Model Sportsman start at his home track. Smith Jr and Creamer the top five in the 21 car field.

Smith Jr. and Wade Slauenwhite (Beaver Bank) captured heat race victories on the afternoon. Twelve cars finished on the lead lap at the end of the 38 lap feature. The biggest wreck of the race included two of the top five in the standings from 2012 when Jordan Veinotte (Porter’s Lake) got loose off Turn Two, coming back into traffic and collecting an oncoming Mike Banks (Wilmot).

Boutilier will have a one point lead on Wallage heading into Hydraulics Plus Night on June 7th.

STRICTLY HYDRAULICS LEGENDS
Cole Butcher, from Porter’s Lake, drew a pill that put him at the front of the field for his heat race and after spinning in oil in Turn One he rebounded to take the heat race win and subsequently the pole in the 25-lap feature. Butcher would never look back as he took the feature race going away in his #5 Atlantic Tiltload/Irving Blending and Packaging Ford. The battle was for second in the closing laps as experience won out over youth as “The Legend” Cy Harvey (Elmsdale) took the runner-up spot over “Miss Rawdon Rocket” Emily Meehan (Rawdon). Matt Moore (Falmouth) had to rally from the rear of the field to fourth at the end of the race with Dan Michaud Jr (Cole Harbour), driving Mark Whynot’s #2 car, finishing in fifth.

Meehan took home a 10-lap qualifier along with Butcher. The next race for the Strictly Hydraulics Legend cars is on June 7th.

COORS LIGHT TRUCKS
Third year veteran of the Coors Light Truck division Ryan Goldsmith (Bridgewater) jumped out to an early lead on Sunday and drove into the sunset for the win on Opening Day. Goldsmith, in the #55 103 Auto Body Chevrolet, hopped to the lead early over defending champion Dan Smith (Lower Sackville) and kept a manageable lead throughout the 20-lap event to lock down the win. Jason Fenton (Eastern Passage) came home comfortably in second with Dan Smith (Lower Sackville) taking third after his #39 truck overheated coming down to the finish. Returning Speedworld veteran Larry Vaughan (Lake Fletcher) was fourth while rookie Robbie Watts (Lucasville) brought his truck home in fifth after running up in the top three early in the race before a spin set him back in the running order.

The 10-lap heat race was won by Smith. Goldsmith will take a three point advantage in the standings into Hydraulics Plus Night on June 7th, where a number of trucks are expected to join the six pack we saw on Sunday.

ACE LUMBERMART THUNDER
“That may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in a race car.”

Stevie Lively (Shubenacadie) and defending champion Kyle MacMillan (Hammonds Plains) picked up where they left off one season ago by battling for the top spot in ACE Lumbermart Thunder class, but one mistake by Lively may have kept him from the top spot on the podium. Thinking it was a 20-lap feature as opposed to 25, Lively backed out of the throttle after the 20th circuit. After getting back in it, he began to gain on the #5 Scotia Tire Wyse Road Honda Civic, but could not get back up to the back bumper of the champ to give him a challenge for the win. While the two dueled for the win, the battle for third was as impressive with Dave Matthews (Kennetcook) holding the spot for most of the feature until an outside pass by Drew MacEachern (Dartmouth) coming to the checkers elevated the #13 to third place. In fact, the finish was three wide at the end of the race with Matthew Warren (White’s Lake) losing out on fourth by inches as Matthews would survive in the middle for the spot.

MacMillan and Lively each took heat race wins in the 12 car field. MacMillan will take a two point lead on Lively into Hydraulics Plus Night on June 7th.

ACE LUMBERMART LIGHTNING
Nothing beats a first time winner. Just ask “Rational” Richard Patrick.

Patrick, of Halifax, celebrated in victory lane Sunday as he drove the #141 Covey’s Auto Recyclers Dodge Neon to victory for the first time in his career. Patrick, who enters his second full time year of racing at the Speedworld, looked like a veteran as he set up and completed the pass on Mark Campbell (Lower Sackville) around the halfway point of the race and held off a furious charge from Richie Moore (Shubenacadie). Moore had to drive from the rear of the field after a Lap One slide into the Turn Four tires. Campbell would be scored behind Patrick and Moore in third at the end of the race with Jamie Dillman (Carroll’s Corner) and JR Lawson (Shubenacadie) completing the top five as they raced under the checkered flag of Ralph Vokey on Lap 25.

The results would be altered though after technical inspection as heat race winners Moore and Campbell flunked post race inspection. It promoted Dillman and Lawson to the podium and brought sophomore Donovan Gaudet (Amherst) and “The Pit Lizard” Jamie Creamer (Spryfield) into the top five at the end of the night.

The ACE Lumbermart Lightning division returns to action on June 14th at 7pm, with “Rational” Richard Patrick having the point lead for the first time in his career, by a single point, over Dillman.

HYDRAULICS PLUS BANDOLEROS
The Hydraulics Plus Bandolero class will have a new champion in 2013. Adam Meehan (Rawdon) took the first steps on Sunday in the search of that first championship with a win on Opening Day presented by Live 105.

While the win will go down as a double down for the #6 Drive Products - Ocean Truck Equipment Bandolero, it was far from easy as Meehan had to hold off a hard charging Braden Langille (Shubenacadie) in both the eight lap qualifier and the 15-lap feature. Langille, who had seven races under his belt in 2013 prior to Sunday afternoon, exercised all the moves in his arsenal but could not get around the flawless Meehan all afternoon. Craig MacDonald (Waverly) was on the bumper of the two in the feature but settled for third at the finish. Megan Parrott (Beaverbank) and rookie Wyatt McCulloch (Stewiacke) came across the line in fourth and fifth in the feature.

Meehan and Cole Tanner (Shubenacadie) took heat race victories on the afternoon. Next up for the young guns is the spotlight on Hydraulics Plus Night on Friday, June 7th at 7pm.