COUNTING DOWN TO THE 2018 SEASON OF THE CARSTAR WEEKLY RACING SERIES

Over the next six weeks as we countdown our way to the Season Opener of the CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series 2018 season, we will be highlighting our six 2017 champions and their divisions! Make sure to check back each week on Sundays to see who's next!

Photos: McCarthy Photographic

Hydraulics Plus Bandolero Divisions

Title Sponsor: Hydraulics Plus

About The Cars: The Hydraulics Plus Bandolero Car is a turnkey, spec series racer from US
Legend Cars International. A sealed Briggs & Stratton 570cc Vanguard engine mounted behind the driver provides the car’s approximate 30 horsepower. Sanctioned by INEX, they are competing for points towards National and International championships as well as a track title.

Looking Forward to 2018: Watching the "young guns" of the CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series is so much fun! There is so much talent starting out that you won't want to miss one lap!! Since we have so many drivers in this division and many different levels of drivers, we split our divisions according to age as per the INEX rules, but we also have a Beginner division for those in cars for the first time! Bandit drivers are between the ages of 8 - 11 and the Outlaw drivers over the age of 12.

2017 By The Numbers:
Number of trucks who competed: 32
Number of races contested: 9 (in each division)
Number of cars who won races:
Outlaw: 4 (Josh Langille (4), Austin MacDonald (3), Sam Rogers, Nathan Blackburn)
Bandit: 3 (Nathan Langille (4), Colton Noble (3), Owen Mahar (2))
Beginner: 3 (Brooke Dowe (4), Matthew Rushton (4), Devin Wadden )

Outlaw Champion Profile:
For the second time in three years, Josh Langille took home a Hydraulics Plus Bandolero track championship at Scotia Speedworld.

It was far from easy for the 2015 Bandit track titlist though as he had to battle with reigning Outlaw champion Sam Rogers and Austin MacDonald for the championship. The trio pulled away from the rest of their Bandolero competition and traded the point lead and wins back and forth throughout the nine round season.

Even though the margin of victory was three points in favor of Langille, the stats line sits in favor of the champion. Langille opened the year with three straight feature victories and would not finish off the feature podium all season for a total of nine top three finishes. To go with four total feature wins, he would also land three heat race victories to his point total.

Will we see Langille complete his Bandolero eligibility at Scotia Speedworld with one more championship in 2018 before he moves to Legend cars full time?! Only time will tell.

Bandit Champion Profile:
For a second straight year, Nathan Langille is the Hydraulics Plus Bandolero Bandit champion.
Langille won three of the first four features of the season and was able to keep comfortable control of the championship standings through the Summer of 2017. Nothing is a given in the sport as can be showed by the final night of racing. While Langille only had to start the feature to solidify his second consecutive title, his night ended upside down in a last lap skirmish coming to the checkered flag.

The final night was the only blemish on his record for 2017. The finale was the only night he missed the podium over nine races and led the division with four feature victories and added three heat race wins to his total. The margin of victory for his championship was 11 points.

It is the third time in as many years the Langille family has won the Bandit crown with Nathan’s brother Josh winning it in 2015. They brought two track titles back to Coldbrook in 2017 alone after Josh also won the Outlaw title last year.

Beginner Champion Profile:

Brooke Dowe made history at Scotia Speedworld in just her second full year of racing.

Dowe became the first female track champion since Cassie Marriott (2003) in the Lightning division and only third Bandolero track champion, by our count, in the country after Saskatchewan’s Kelsey Toth and Newfoundland’s Sara Thorne. She is also the youngest of the nine champions honored at Scotia Speedworld in 2017 at 10 years of age.

How did she do it? Well, she made it look quite easy.

Dowe battled early in the season with Matthew Rushton. A technical infraction post race on Opening Day put Rushton behind the eight ball but as he rallied off victories, Dowe was a rock of consistency up front. In nine races, Dowe scored four feature victories in the Beginner class, including the final three features of the season. She was the only driver in the class to finish every race within the top five and only had to start the finale night to clinch her first track title.

Dowe, who has grown up in a family of racers with her brother Dylan and father Greg, will move into the more experienced Bandolero Bandit division for 2018. Racing the same cars that the Beginners do, she should be a contender this year as she continues to blaze a trail early in her racing career.

Toursec Lightning Division

Title Sponsor: Toursec Security

About The Cars: The Toursec Lightning Division is an entry-level class featuring four-cylinder streetcars with safety modifications. All cars that do not meet the brand requirements for the Toursec Thunder Division compete here.

Looking Forward to 2018: When this was published there were 20 cars already registered and still a couple of weeks until the first race of the season! It's going to be a great season for the lightning cars!! Mark your calendars for June 8th & August 24th which are the dates for the two most anticipated Toursec Thunder and Lightning Twin 50's! You don't want to miss them! 

2017 By The Numbers:
Number of cars who competed: 21
Number of races contested: 14
Number of cars who won races: Scott Thibodeau (5), Richard Drake (5), Steve Matthews (2), Deven Smith, Jorden Smith
Champion: Scott Thibodeau
Rookie of the Year: Travis Keefe

Champion Profile:
One of the most successful drivers in the Toursec Lightning division finally has a championship on his resume.

Thibodeau, who had been a bridesmaid over the previous two seasons to Deven Smith, had his hands completely full all season with “Rational” Richard Drake. The pair both entered 2017 searching for their first track championship and were heavy favourites for the title in the Four Cylinder division.

Thibodeau and his team had two goals entering the 2017 season. They wanted to win both ends of the Toursec Twin 50s and take home the divisional championship. The second Toursec 50 of the season was a showcase of Thibodeau’s talent and a turning point in the season. The No. 169 O’Regans Neon made the move on Tom Stewart with 15 to go after pressuring for more than 20 laps. The win snapped a three race win streak of Drake and completed goal one of winning both ends of the Twin 50s after also taking home the win in July.

While Drake kept Thibodeau on his toes by winning two of the final three features of the season, a win and runner up finish in the final two features by the Williamswood driver was enough to capture his first track title by a slim two point margin. In 14 races, Thibodeau never finished outside the top five in a feature, finished nine of those races on the podium and won five. Thibodeau also took five heat wins.

The August Toursec 50 victory came in the first race following the sudden passing of his crew chief, No. 1 race fan and father Bob Thibodeau. We miss Bob greatly at the track every Friday night and know he was smiling down at the end of the season.

Thibodeau plans to scale back his racing schedule in 2018 but we look forward to seeing him when he looks to defend his Toursec Twin 50 titles!

Strictly Hydraulics Legends Division

Title Sponsor: Strictly Hydraulics

About The Cars: Strictly Hydraulics Legends Cars are 5/8 - scale fiberglass full fendered versions of the NASCAR modifieds. Powered by Yamaha 1,200cc engines and weighing just 1,300lbs, these cars provide plenty of action.

Looking Forward to 2018: Make sure you keep your eye on these little cars all season long - they are always giving us great racing and something to talk about all week long after a race! August 17h is Strictly Hydraulics INEX Night where the Legend Cars will be battling in a 50 lap feature and vying for a guaranteed starting spot in the INEX Nationals later in the Fall.

2017 By The Numbers:
Number of cars who competed: 30
Number of races contested: 11
Number of cars who won races: 6 (Cory Hall (3), Waylon Farrell (2), Shelby Baker (2), Braden Langille (2), Danny Harvey, Nicholas Naugle)
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Lively

Champion Profile:
All this talk about the change of brass at the top and the young guns taking over victory circle did not phase Shelburne’s Paul Goulden one iota.

Goulden, who is classified as an INEX Masters (40+ aged) competitor, added a coveted Scotia Speedworld track championship to his resume in 2017. It was a title won by grit, determination and consistency in one of the healthiest and hotly contested classes under the CARSTAR Friday night lights.

The battle coming down the stretch run pitted Goulden against fellow Master Danny Harvey and third year Legend driver Adam Meehan. Neither of the trio had a Legend track championship to their resume and heading into the final night of racing, which was an INEX National Qualifier, eyes were both on the front of the field and the championship three.

Goulden and Meehan both found themselves having to come from the rear through the feature after separate no fault incidents. Up until the final lap on the final night of the year, Goulden only had a one point advantage until he made up two spots coming to the checkered flag. Combined with a seventh place finish by Harvey, it was enough to clinch the title for the No. 57 by five points.

While he did not win a feature in 2017, Goulden found the top five in seven of the 11 events and was on the podium in five of those appearances. A multiple time INEX Eastern Canadian Masters champion, Goulden lists the track championship at Scotia Speedworld as one of the highlights over his decades of asphalt oval and off-road racing accomplishments.

Goulden, who finished fifth in a stout INEX Winter Nationals Masters field this past February in Inverness, Florida, will return to defend his Strictly Hydraulics Legend championship in 2018.

Toursec Thunder Division

Title Sponsor: Toursec Security

About The Cars: This popular entry-level class has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception. It features Honda and Volkswagen four-cylinder streetcars with safety modifications.

Looking Forward to 2018: So far we have seen that eight of the 2017 Top Ten drivers are registered for the 2018 season which means we are in for another great season of racing from the "Best 4 Cylinder Drivers in the Maritimes"! Fans can also look forward to the return Chantal Ackles after a year off due to a knee surgery!

Mark your calendars for June 8th & August 24th which are the dates for the two most anticipated Toursec Thunder and Lightning Twin 50's! You don't want to miss them!

2017 By The Numbers:
Number of cars who competed: 19
Number of races contested: 11
Number of cars who won races: 7 (Dave Matthews (2), Chris Hatcher (2), Mark Williams (2), Tim Webster (2), Nic Baker, Matthew Warren, Merle Corbin)
Champion: Dave Matthews
Rookie of the Year: Neil Miousse

Champion Profile:
When you talk about some of the most successful Thunder car drivers in the history of Scotia Speedworld, names like Ken Zwicker, Tim Webster, Jamie Arsenault and Derek MacCallum come up, among others.

The name Dave Matthews was a part of that conversation prior to 2017 but another championship season further cemented his part in the conversation.

Consistent as the day is long, Matthews scored 11 top five finishes in 11 races in 2017. His two feature wins came at the start of July, including the Toursec 50, and while Chris Hatcher mounted a late season charge it was for not as Matthews captured his third Toursec Thunder title in the last seven seasons. Matthews and the No. 99 Quality Auto Parts Honda Civic scored a division high seven podiums in 11 races, two more than any other driver in the class in 2017.

Consider this - Matthews has finished first or second in the Thunder division standings over the last five years and has finished in the top two seven of the last ten years. Only one time in the past decade has Matthews finished outside the top five in points - and that was the 2012 season where he ran in the Legend division. He’s been on top of his game for a while and 2018 should be no exception.

You can’t miss Matthews on track either with his “Mystery Machine” colors on his Honda. His fan club, led by his daughter and No. 1 fan Bristol, can be found cheering loud and proud every Friday night in the front rows of seating just past the start/finish line.

Watch for Matthews this season as he looks to add another chapter to his already impressive Thunder car resume!

Affordable Fuels Sportsman Division

Title Sponsor: Steve Williams' Affordable Fuels & Metro Home Heating

About The Cars: Affordable Fuels Sportsman Cars are built on the frame of a domestic passenger car. This is a cost efficient, yet fast, and very competitive class. They have eight-cylinder engines and the competition is always close.

Looking Forward to 2018: While registrations are still rolling in, we now know we will see veterans the likes of Peter Miller, Chris Dingle, Richard Salter, and of course, defending Champion Matt Vaughan racing alongside rookie contenders Darren Hilchie (former Duke driver) and former Fleet Brake Atlantic Truck Feature Winner Megan Parrott.

Make sure to mark your calendars for the 24th Annual Shriner's Classic on June 29th where the Affordable Fuels Sportsman cars will run an extended distance 50 lap race as well as August 10th for the Affordable Fuels 100 as part of the Toromont Cat 250 Weekend.

2017 By The Numbers:
Number of cars who competed: 33
Number of races contested: 10
Number of cars who won races: 7 (Travis Roma (2), Aaron Boutilier (2), Matt Vaughan, Jordan Veinotte, Tony Leonard, Matt Moore, Russell Smith Jr)
Champion: Matt Vaughan
Rookie of the Year: Matt Vaughan

Champion Profile:
What started as a driver making his Late Model debut with a goal of winning the prestigious Debbie Hallahan Memorial Rookie of the Year Award presented by Tim Hortons at the Airport turned into a history making season.

Moving from the Fleet Brake Atlantic Truck division to the Affordable Fuels Sportsman division is a big jump but Matt Vaughan made it look easy. In just his fourth career Sportsman start and third at Scotia Speedworld, he drove the No. 08 Aerotec Engines Chevrolet to victory lane in both the heat and feature during Fanfest.

The win not only put him in the driver’s seat for the top freshman honor but it thrust him into a battle for the overall championship. By the time the Toromont Cat 250 weekend rolled around, the discussion was not about if Vaughan could win races, it was about if he could pull off something no other driver had done in the 30 year history of Scotia Speedworld - win the Sportsman title as a rookie.

Heading into the season finale, Vaughan had six consecutive top five feature finishes in regular point paying events. The battle had turned into a see-saw fight between he and division veteran Jordan Veinotte for the championship. Heading into Finale Friday, Vaughan had a slight edge of three points in the title hunt.

Vaughan and Veinotte ran together in the final race but a broken transmission on a restart with six laps to go in the year would sideline Veinotte and his championship dreams. While Veinotte sat in the garage, Vaughan was realizing his dream as the champion in the top division of weekly competition in the province.

Vaughan is already focused on repeating the championship in 2018. His paint scheme for the new season is one his grandfather Larry drove to a Street Stock championship in 1998 at Scotia Speedworld.

With a big crop of new rookies in the division, you have to think they aspire to do the same thing Matt Vaughan did in 2017!

Fleet Brake Atlantic Truck Division

Title Sponsor: Fleet Brake Atlantic, formerly Pulse Heavy Duty

About The Trucks: These trucks are built from small Pickups with modifications to accept eight cylinder Chevrolet 305cu.in. engines and automatic transmissions. Larger rubber tires help these little giants fly around the track.

Looking Forward to 2018: After dwindling numbers in the class plagued 2017, the division has been disbanded for 2018. We are looking forward to seeing as many drivers as possible moving to new divisions of the CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series.

2017 By The Numbers:
Number of trucks who competed: 9
Number of races contested: 8
Number of trucks who won races: 3 (Dan Smith (6), Megan Parrott, Matt Vaughan)
Champion: Dan Smith
Rookie of the Year: No qualifying rookies

Champion Profile:
After the “Original Six” took the green flag in the inaugural Truck division race at Scotia Speedworld in 2010, one of those that started that very first race ended up as the final champion in the class.

Dan Smith (39) completed a six year run as Truck champion in 2017 after a back and forth battle with Megan Parrott (10) and Adam Carter. While the division dwindled to Smith and Parrott, along with the likes of Cory Leonard, Justin Balsor and inaugural champion Gordie Ritchie part time near the end of the run, the 39 and 10 put on some incredible battles for the history books. In the end, Smith would emerge with six wins in eight contested features to capture the championship.

Smith’s primary sponsor is Glen Stone Excavation and Trucking. While Smith would love to join the likes of Carter, Parrott and Vaughan in the Sportsman division, the opportunity has yet to present itself for the Lower Sackville driver to make the move in 2018 as of press time.

Make sure to check back next week for more!