SCOTIA speedworld officially closes season at awards banquet this saturday

(Halifax, NS. October 21, 2015) Scotia Speedworld will bring their 28th season of stock car racing to an official close this Saturday, October 24th with their annual Awards Banquet. Held at the Best Western Plus Glengarry in Truro, Nova Scotia, the event brings together over 300 drivers, crew members, officials and fans to celebrate the 2015 season at the 3/10-mile oval.

A total of eight champions will be crowned at the event, encompassing Scotia Speedworld’s seven Weekly Racing Series divisions that race every Friday night from June to September. The Atlantic Tiltload Maritime League of Legends Tour will also present their season ending awards and crown their champion, Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake) at the banquet. 

For Dan Smith (Lower Sackville), this will be the fourth consecutive banquet that he will receive the Coors Light Truck Championship. No other driver in the history of Scotia Speedworld has won four consecutive titles in the same division.  Megan Parrott (Beaverbank), who scored two podium finishes en route to fifth overall in the standings, will receive the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year in the class.

Russell Smith Jr. (Lakeside) set out in 2015 to win the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series Championship, one that has eluded him in his late model career. The former Chickenburger Lightning Champion would do just that, winning the championship in the top division at Scotia Speedworld by 52 points over veteran Phil Barkhouse Jr (Hammonds Plains). Barkhouse won a close battle for second in the standings that featured second through seventh place only being separated by 42 points. Alex Painting Jr (Stewiacke) won the Debbie Hallahan Memorial/Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award in the division.

Russell Smith Jr. wasn’t the only Smith to win a championship at Scotia Speedworld in 2015. His brother Deven (Lakeside) won the Chickenburger Lightning championship on the strength of consistency. The youngest Smith brother only finished outside of the top three in feature action once, when he finished fifth on August 7th. He bested Scott Thibodeau (Williamswood) in the standings by 45 points. Drag racer turned oval racer Adam Smith (Antrim) picked up the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award for the Chickenburger Lightning class.

Not to be outdone, the Warren brothers of White’s Lake split the #31 car to win the Chickenburger Thunder championship. The pair, Matthew and Andrew, combined for three feature wins in a row to kick off the month of August and ultimately nipped two-time titlist Dave Matthews (Kennetcook) by just two points - the closest margin of any Speedworld division in 2015! Thomas Marshall (Beaver Bank) captured the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award.

The youngest drivers at Scotia Speedworld did not disappoint in their championship chase. The Hydraulics Plus Bandolero Bandit class, for drivers aged eight to 12 years, saw Josh Langille (Coldbrook) win the first five features of the season en route to his first track championship. Austin MacDonald (Pictou), who also won five feature races, held the hot hand at the end of the year but fell eight points short after the last race of the season. Sam Rogers, who finished third overall on the season, will receive the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award on Saturday just moments away from his hometown of Lower Onslow.

The Hydraulics Plus Bandolero Outlaw division, for drivers aged 12 years and up, was taken home by third year driver Wyatt McCulloch (Stewiacke). McCulloch only scored two feature finishes worse than second place throughout the entire 2015 season. Luke Ettinger (Kennetcook) was the runner-up in the division, placing 29 points behind the division champion.

Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake) outlasted a last race showdown with Cathy Ledwidge Memorial/Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB) to take his first Strictly Hydraulics Legend championship. The track championship is Butcher’s third championship at Scotia Speedworld after previously winning two Hydraulics Plus Bandolero Championships. Hall finished five points behind Butcher when the dust settled on September 26th.

Various vender draws and contingency awards will also be handed out as a part of the awards ceremony. All drivers who competed in 80% or more of the completed races within their division will be honored on Saturday night.

The evening gets started with doors opening at 6pm, followed by dinner at 7pm. The awards portion of the show is scheduled to begin at 8pm and will be followed by a dance featuring DJ Chad White.

For complete information on Scotia Speedworld please visit www.scotiaspeedworld.ca.

About Scotia Speedworld:
Scotia Speedworld (SSW) is a 3/10-mile asphalt oval racing facility. SSW is the only track in Nova Scotia to host a weekly racing series, which runs May through September and features six different classes of racecars. SSW also hosts special events, including Monster Jam and the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour. SSW is located at Exit 6 on Highway 102, across from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. For more information please click on www.ScotiaSpeedworld.ca or call our Event Hotline at (902) 873-2277 or our office at (902) 481-2514. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sswracing  and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/sswracing