Weekly Racing Series
Race Wrap & Full Results

September 14/15th: Season Finale Weekend

HYDRAULICS PLUS BANDOLEROS
Wyatt McCulloch (Stewiacke) sealed up his Rookie of the Year title in grand style Saturday night as he took the checkered flag for his second career Hydraulics Plus Bandolero feature win. McCulloch was chased to the line by last season’s top freshman Craig MacDonald (Waverley) and the eventual 2013 point champion Adam Meehan (Rawdon), who locked up his first track championship by simply starting the 15-lap affair.

McCulloch completed the double down in the 13-car field by winning his heat race while Dylan Sutherland of Beaverbank collected top honors in the first heat.

Meehan will receive his 2013 championship trophy, which he won by 29 points over Shubenacadie’s Braden Langille, at the annual year end Awards Banquet in Truro on November 2nd.

DARTMOUTH DODGE SPORTSMAN
Middle Musquodoboit’s Jeff Dillman returned to a familiar spot at Scotia Speedworld as he drove his Sportsman to victory in a time-shortened Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series finale. Dillman, who won in his third start in the “new to him car” had to hold off a frantic charge from Dartmouth Dodge 100 winner Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside) in the closing laps to take the victory. Smith in the #44 Dodge had to settle for second while Marie Brown (Antrim) recorded her season best finish by placing third.

A stout field of 28 cars showed up to qualify for the show through three 10-lap heat races. Qualifiers were won by rookie Travis Roma (West Chezzetcook), Fred Schofield (Windsor) and Phil Barkhouse Jr (Hammonds Plains).

With his tenth place finish in the feature, Oakfield’s Darren Wallage locked up his first career Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series title over Porter’s Lake’s Aaron Boutilier by 12 points. Boutilier, who was the defending champion of the series, was swept up in a dust-up in Turn Three midway through the feature which also got a piece of Wallage’s #3 Blair’s Custom Metals sponsored ride. Wallage will collect his winnings in Truro in November.

COORS LIGHT TRUCKS
The objective was simple for Dan Smith (Lower Sackville) and Ryan Goldsmith (Bridgewater) heading into the final 20-lap main feature of the season. After Goldsmith gained three points in his heat race win in the Coors Light Truck class, the championship spot was dead even in the standings heading into the main feature.

While Goldsmith maintained a position or two in the early laps of the feature, it was Smith who pushed the pedal in the second half of the event, got separation on Goldsmith and made the move on rookie Robbie Watts (Lucasville) to not only secure his second consecutive championship but his third feature win of the season. Watts held onto second in the feature while Larry Vaughan (Lake Fletcher) made an incredible save off Turn Four to hold on to third in his final race in his career at Scotia Speedworld. Vaughan will be hanging up his helmet to hand the reins over to his grandson Matt, who will drive the truck full time in 2013. Hot on Vaughan’s heels and who had a front row seat to the Turn Four heroics were Goldsmith and Jason Fenton (Eastern Passage), who wrapped up the season third in the standings.

Smith will officially take home the title by six points over Goldsmith after an incredible 11 race, see-saw battle between the two. They will receive their hardware on Saturday, November 2nd at the Best Western Glengarry.

STRICTLY HYDRAULICS LEGENDS
Stock car racing is a sport where you cannot rely on resting on a comfortable point lead. In order to win championships in this sport, you control your own destiny. While “The Legend” CY Harvey (Elmsdale) knew he had to go out and win everything in sight on Sunday to try win his second Legends championship in seven years, defending champion Cole Butcher (Porter’s Lake) knew simply keeping the cagey veteran in sight would be enough to take his second consecutive championship.

That is how it played out on Sunday for the Strictly Hydraulics Legends.

Harvey doubled down on the final race meet of the season for the Legends, scoring maximum points in the balance. Separation is what he needed to get that championship though, and with Butcher taking second in the feature and third in the heat, it wasn’t enough to take the championship and it was the #5 Atlantic Tiltload Legend who pocketed his second Legends track championship and third Scotia Speedworld track championship of his young career.

Danny Harvey (Lantz) took third in the main feature as he danced with the top two en route to his third place finish in points. Completing the top five in the final 25-lap feature of the season were Dan Michaud Jr (Lawrencetown) and Heat One winner Richard Salter (Centre Burlington).

ACE LUMBERMART THUNDER
Dave Matthews (Kennetcook) put the pressure on the rest of the field to perform on Sunday afternoon by taking his third feature victory and second double down performance of the season in the ACE Lumbermart Thunder division. Matthews entered the day 15 points back of leader Matthew Warren (White’s Lake), but a combination of fourth place finishes in his heat and the feature were able to secure the title by a slim six point margin. Warren lost the 2011 title to Matthews by a single point.

In the feature, Matthews outran Stevie Lively (Shubenacadie) and Kyle MacMillan (Hammonds Plains) in a showdown of the three former champions in the class leading into Sunday’s finale. Of note, Lively will leave the 2013 season with the highest handicap of any driver in the division but two missed races will relegate him to eighth in the standings. Warren finished fourth with his fair share of battle scars along the #31 Multi-Tech Automotive Civic, with Scott Williams (Dutch Settlement) capturing his first top five finish of the season on Finale Night in just four starts in 2013.

Brian Watson (Windsor Junction), subbing in for his son Brandon, made it a clean sweep for Matthews Racing in the qualifiers.

ACE LUMBERMART LIGHTNING
Marc MacMillan (Glenholme) has been fighting out of a hole all season long in the standings but maybe no hole was bigger than the one he climbed out of Sunday to win his first career ACE Lumbermart Lightning championship at Scotia Speedworld.

After breaking a right front hub in practice and a hard crash in the heat which broke the same hub, Mark Campbell (Halifax) lent a hub to the #192 Glenholme Petro Pass, Multi-Tech Automotive Neon so MacMillan could compete in the feature and the championship race. Not only did MacMillan compete, he drove his car to a second place finish and scored enough points to come from seven points back entering the feature to being three points up on BJ Nicholson (Beaverbank) at the end of the afternoon to secure the title.

Two-time division champ Jorden Smith (Lakeside) won his fourth feature race of the season at Scotia Speedworld in just six appearances, outrunning MacMillan in the closing laps. Richie Moore (Elmsdale), a two time feature winner in 2013, joined Smith and MacMillan on the podium. Speedworld freshman Deven Smith (Lakeside) was fourth, followed by third place point finisher Chevy MacDonald (Stewiacke).

Sophomore Donovan Gaudet (Amherst) and Jorden Smith took top honors in the ten lap qualifier.

Watch for a story on ScotiaSpeedworld.ca from announcer Tim Terry breaking down the final race meet of the Lightning car season next week!