CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series
Race Wrap & Full Results

September 16th - CARSTAR FINALE FRIDAY

Hydraulics Plus Bandoleros
The Hydraulics Plus Bandolero division saw three new champions etch their name into the history books at Scotia Speedworld.

In the Hydraulics Plus Beginner Bandit feature, Tyler Hutchinson (Lower Onslow) only needed to start to capture his first track championship but did much more on Friday evening. Hutchinson took the lead of the 15-lap feature early and held it throughout to take the win over Morgan Mosher (Mahone Bay), Dylan MacMillan (Glenholme), Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Brooke Dowe (Bedford) and Chase Mackay (Bear Cove). Hutchinson, who scored his seventh feature win on the year with the victory, also won the Beginner Bandit heat race.

The Hydraulics Plus Bandolero combined Outlaw and Bandit main feature saw the #27 car return and go to victory lane with Nathan Blackburn (Timberlea) driving for Austin MacDonald (Pictou). The race marked the return for MacDonald and his team to the track since an off-track accident on the Natal Day long weekend in New Brunswick sidelined the Pictou youngster. MacDonald tabbed his friend Blackburn to drive his car and he would not disappoint, winning the overall and Outlaw feature over Josh Langille (Coldbrook) and Sam Rogers (Lower Onslow). Langille would win the heat race while Rogers locked up his first championship at the track by starting the main feature.

The Hydraulics Plus Bandit division saw young Owen Mahar (Hubley) drive to victory lane for his first career Bandolero feature victory. Mahar’s team had to change a motor after their primary blew up in practice and the “old motor that had a million laps on it” was the ticket the team needed to go to victory lane in both the heat and feature. Mahar, who ran up front overall for half of the 15-lap feature, held off a hungry Nathan Singer (Kennetcook) and Colton Noble (Upper Nine Mile River) for the win. Noble nearly put his car on its roof one more time as a shuffle in the first laps of the main event send his #03 Eric Noble Trucking Bandolero on two wheels after contact from the pack on the inside. 

While Noble’s charge was a frantic one, it was not enough to take the championship from Nathan Langille (Coldbrook), who would snag his first track championship by six points.

COORS LIGHT TRUCKS
As Dan Smith (Lower Sackville) started the 25-lap Coors Light Truck feature on Friday night, he officially accomplished a feat no other driver at Scotia Speedworld has ever done.

While Smith had a fifth championship in his pocket, he kept Jason Fenton (Eastern Passage) on his toes throughout the Coors Light Truck feature on CARSTAR Finale Friday but could not solve the black #3 as The Fentonator took home his fifth feature win of the year.

The #3 was challenged early in the feature by heat race winner Matt Vaughan (Fletcher Lake). Trying to nail down third in the standings, Vaughan challenged Fenton for a number of laps but faded behind Fenton after the halfway mark and was eventually passed by a hard charging Smith, who had a slide at the start of the feature.

Smith settled for second with Vaughan third in the 25-lap feature. Megan Parrott (Beaver Bank), who also made her Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour debut on the weekend, kicked off the busy two day stretch with a fourth place finish. The top five would be just enough to edge Vaughan in the season long point standings for the third place spot. Chris Cheeseman, subbing in for Adam Carter (Lantz) completed the top five in his first career Coors Light Truck start.

STRICTLY HYDRAULICS LEGENDS
After a rough start to the final 25-lap feature of the season, caution fever in the first eight laps gave way to green flag racing and one of the best finishes of the year between young Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake) and cagey veteran Jeff Cruickshank (Hantsport) on CARSTAR Finale Friday.

Butcher and Cruickshank swapped the lead a number of times as they battled side by side up front. In the end, it was Butcher who not only walked away with the season long championship but the race win as well. After the race, the youngster who is now a four time Scotia Speedworld track champion between Legends and Bandoleros stated that the battle with Cruickshank was one of the most fun races he had ever been a part of.

Cruickshank, who has been on a roller coaster ride over the last few races with great runs spoiled by mechanical failures, had to settle for second in the classic battle on Friday night. Third belonged to Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Craig MacDonald (Waverley), with Scott Cunning (Halifax) and Adam Meehan (Rawdon Gold Mines) completing the top five. The feature was just long enough for Meehan as his motor would seize on the #6 car after the checkered flag. His sister Emily Meehan (Rawdon Gold Mines) also experienced motor issues while running in the top five and had to retire nine laps before the finish.
Cruickshank and MacDonald took home heat race victories.

Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB) was poised for another top five run but contact early with Danny Harvey (Lantz) set both cars back in the field. Harvey would wind up three laps down at the finish while Hall would place sixth.

In the end, Butcher will win his second consecutive championship and fifth straight Strictly Hydraulics Legends championship for Butcher Racing by a 45 point margin over two-time Canadian Masters Champion Paul Goulden (Shelburne).

Affordable Fuels Sportsman
In his words, Jordan Veinotte (Porter’s Lake) did everything he had to in order to win his first Scotia Speedworld track championship on Friday, but so did Pete Miller (Kennetcook).

Veinotte took the lead in the final Affordable Fuels Sportsman feature of the year on the eighth lap and held it through the next 30 caution free laps to take home his second win of the year and second win in three weeks to close off 2016. As Veinotte showed incredible speed throughout the race, Miller found his way to second place and rode in that position over the green flag laps to the finish to capture his first Affordable Fuels Sportsman championship.

Behind the two championship contenders, Fred Schofield (Windsor) returned to Scotia Speedworld for the first time since a health scare in early June took him out of his race car and drove his #05 Schofield Autopro Ford to a third place finish. It was not easy though as he had the 2012 champion Aaron Boutilier (Porter’s Lake) and his Ford on his back bumper in the final laps. Matt Moore (Falmouth) was fifth in the final feature of the season.

“Mr. Excitement” Kirk Ryan (Upper Nine Mile River) rebounded from a wreck in last week’s feature to win a heat race on CARSTAR Finale Friday, joining Veinotte as a heat race winner.

Miller’s margin of victory will go down as five points over Veinotte for the 2016 Affordable Fuels Sportsman championship. Travis Roma (West Chezzetcook) finished sixth on Friday night and was able to hold off Boutilier for third in the standings. In turn, Brentley Pirri (Three Fathom Harbour) held off Wayne Miller (Kennetcook) by five points for the fifth spot in the standings.

TOURSEC LIGHTNING
The Smith Brothers Racing dynasty continues in the Toursec Lightning class.

Deven Smith (Lakeside) recorded his fifth victory of the season on Friday en route to clinching his second Toursec Lightning championship of his career. Smith used a restart in the first ten laps of the race to get by Tyler Hallahan (Elmsdale) and “Big Daddy” Kenny Hopper (Enfield) to take the lead in the feature. “Rational” Richard Drake (Halifax) brought his car home second in the feature while Hallahan held on for a career run with a third place effort in the #122 car.

Scott Thibodeau (Williamswood) entered the evening second in the points but a lost wheel in the heat race put him behind the eight ball. The team worked on his car and got him out for the feature, which would result in a fourth place finish. Marc MacMillan (Glenholme) put up another strong late season effort, coming home with his second straight top five to close off the year.

Tom Stewart (Stewiacke) and Hopper each won heat races.

While Smith sailed to a 26 point win in the championship, it was a nail biter for second with Thibodeau’s issue in the heat race. In the end, Thibodeau and the #169 JET Tools team would edge the #141 Ken-etic Auto Neon team of Drake by a single point for second in the standings.

Mike Jollimore (Halifax) is the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year in the Toursec Lightning class.

TOURSEC THUNDER
The Dave vs. Stevie battle for the Toursec Thunder championship had been hyped up all season at Scotia Speedworld.

It would only be fitting that they ended in a tie for the championship.

Dave Matthews (Kennetcook) passed Chris Hatcher (Beaver Bank) on the 11th lap for the lead in the Toursec Thunder feature and would hold on for the win. Coming to two laps to go, Stevie Lively (Shubenacadie) drove deep into Turn Three, making contact with Hatcher for second place and sending both cars sideways. Both cars would continue with Lively second ahead of Hatcher. With race officials letting the altercation slide without penalty, it was left to Lively, Hatcher and Merle Corbin (Sackville) to battle over the final two green flag laps for the spot, with Lively edging the pack.

The move and position was enough to tie Matthews in the championship and Lively was able to grab his first championship since 2010 on a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker would be feature wins, with Lively’s four wins over 2016 edging Matthews’ two victories.
Hatcher would finish third, followed by Corbin and fellow championship contender Andrew Lively (Beaver Bank).

Matthews and Mark Williams (Elmsdale) would win heat races for the Toursec Thunder class on CARSTAR Finale Friday.

Even a small rendezvous with Chantel Ackles (Shubenacadie) could not keep Mitchell Hopkins (Beaver Bank) from the 2016 Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award. Hopkins would edge out season long rivals Greg McKay and Justin Rowe (Dartmouth) by 18 points after 13 races.