Three Races To Go

For the five divisions racing on Friday evening as a part of Kiddie Night presented by Fleet Brake Atlantic, it is down to crunch time with only three races remaining on the CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series.

After a week off, the Affordable Fuels Sportsman division will return. It is hard to forget their last race as Richard Salter and Brentley Pirri raced to a thrilling photo finish. You couldn’t ask for much more. Brentley’s car worked phenomenal on the outside and Richard gave him just enough room to work on the second groove to make a race out of it. Jordan Veinotte, who raced to third behind the pair, and the rest of the field in the front waited for the pair to settle the battle which created some great battles in the pack.

Veinotte now has a 20 point lead built on Aaron Boutilier with three races to go. It’s a comfortable advantage but by nowhere near safe with still three races remaining. Boutilier and Veinotte have both been in this situation before and the No. 4 has driven to the promised land before with a championship in 2012. Veinotte has done about everything but win the championship in the Affordable Fuels Sportsman class. Not to mention, Veinotte is coming off a River Glade International victory at Petty International Raceway last weekend. So, if momentum is on anyone’s side, it is the No. 11 Veinotte’s Truck and Auto team, but a lot can happen in three heats and three features.

As much as Boutilier will be on the offense when it comes to the point standings, his defense might have to be just as good. Five points behind Boutilier (and 25 points off Veinotte) is Matt Vaughan. We mentioned Veinotte has momentum but so does Vaughan after he won the Affordable Fuels 100. Unlike last year where Vaughan was the leader, he plays chase with a little bit of a gap to make up. You’d have to believe the pressure has lifted a bit but you know at the back of the mind of his No. 08 team they’d like to successfully defend the track championship.

While a championship might be a bit of a stretch with three races to go, Deven Smith and Megan Parrott are continuing their tug of war to become the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year. Smith is fourth overall and has an 18 point advantage on Parrott. The two have been back and forth, Parrott has one win while Smith has a couple of podiums and consistency throughout the season. Wedged between them in the standings is Alex Johnson, who will return to the seat of the No. 14 CARSTAR Ford after Travis Roma subbed in two weeks ago.

Keep your eye on Darren Wallage too. While Wallage missed the opener and is out of the championship race, the Fastrac team has found something in their car over the last few races and is coming off a top five run two weeks ago. Of note, his handicap in point races is the fifth best of any full time driver (those that have competed in 80% of races on the year) for those keeping score.
Outside of the Hydraulics Plus Beginner Bandolero division, the most comfortable point lead with three races to go is in the Toursec Lightning division. Steve Matthews holds a 26 point lead with three races remaining on “Rational” Richard Drake. Steve has had an incredible season, it’s been a while coming for the No 198 team and while no lead is safe and it is something he has said he doesn’t like to discuss, he’ll have to have something big happen to evaporate that lead. For example, his worst feature finish this year is an 86 point night or an eight place finish. Minus that blemish and a fourth place finish, Steve hasn’t finished off the podium and has three wins.

The battle for second in the division will be a nailbiter down to the finish of these three races. Drake has a seven point cushion on Travis Keefe, Keefe has a ten point advantage on Chevy MacDonald and Marshall Bezanson is 18 points off MacDonald. Now, the Bezanson gap typically would be a mute point, with the point system a 35 point gap to second would be a huge hill to climb, but with the way Marshall has been running, anything is possible. Of note, Marshall has gained 24 points on the last four point nights on the No. 141 and that is with both cars finishing in the top five on all four nights. All four teams have had great seasons and whoever comes out on top of this late season battle will have to earn it!

Not to be outdone, Gage Gilby has a 28 point lead on Dawson Noble heading into the final three Hydraulics Plus Beginner Bandolero races. For Noble, MacKay and the rest of the division, it will be a tall mountain to climb to a championship but the racing product the Beginner class has put on the track has pretty good. We have seen four first time winners this year, including Dawson Noble’s big win last week. Campbell Delaney, Emily Chisholm and MacKay have all been close to that first feature win and with only three races left, you best believe they’ll be up on the wheel to race to that prestigious first victory before the season is out.

Colton Noble has been the breakout star of the CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series season I believe. Even in his interview last week when asked about the Hydraulics Plus Bandolero Outlaw championship, he mentioned about just being able to race up front with Sam, Josh and Danny and now he enters the final three races with a 21 point lead on Sam Rogers and a 22 point lead on Danny Chisholm. Now, you know Danny and Sam are going to race hard in these final three races but Colton is on top of his game and will be tough to beat not only on track but in the standings in these final three events.

Owen Mahar leads Brooke Dowe and Morgan Mosher in the Bandit standings. The three have shown improvement from the start of the season and Mahar reminded us he is one of the top Bandolero drivers across all three classes with another overall podium finish one week ago.

As it typically does, the Toursec Thunder division is coming down to the wire and this year it is three drivers trying to settle it amongst themselves. Darren Flemming has a one point advantage on reigning champion Dave Matthews and Jesse Deveau is just two points from Flemming. Mathematically, Neil Miousse and Drew MacEachern are not eliminated from the championship picture but will need some help to get up to the consistent three up front. Who will gain the advantage heading into September?! You’ll need to be at Scotia this Friday to find out!

Congratulations to David Hibbs on his first Thunder on the Hill win last week. Hibby was emotional in victory lane, showing what these Thunder wins mean to these guys. The field may be a bit shorter than they were ten years ago but the competition is still stiff. Remember – in eight races they have produced six different winners and no driver has won more than two races!

While we will cover the Strictly Hydraulics Legends battle when they return to the track next week, congratulations goes out to Nicole Richard. While Richard suffered a dislocated shoulder last week in a hard wreck on the opening lap of the Legends feature, she was able to officially clinch the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award. With two races to go in the class, the No. 71 Schooner General Contracting car is up by 247 points over Jody Fraser. With the biggest gain you can make being 110 points per night, Fraser cannot mathematically catch Richard.

Emily Meehan will join me in the tower on the call of Kiddie Night presented by Fleet Brake Atlantic. Meehan, like Noble, has had a breakout season and has five wins on the year between Scotia Speedworld and the Maritime League of Legends Tour. She will be able to add some expert insight on the night of racing.

Here’s hoping you can join us Friday for a great night of racing!

Until then, keep the hammer down and we’ll see you at the track!