CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series
Race Wrap & Full Results

July 20th: 4th Annual FanFest

HYDRAULICS PLUS BEGINNER BANDOLERO

Gage Gilby (Enfield) once again showed his talent by winning his third straight Hydraulics Plus Beginner Bandolero feature of the 2018 season.

Gilby took the lead for good just past the halfway point of the 15-lap feature. Emily Chisholm (Antigonish) led the first seven laps of the feature before Gilby made the move on the inside for the lead. Chisholm made an impressive cross over move to take the lead back but Gilby was able to retake the top spot and hold on for the victory.

Dawson Noble (Upper Nine Mile River) and heat winner Chase MacKay (Bear Cove) continued their impressive seasons by finishing second and third, respectively. Fourth belonged to Hydraulics Plus Night winner Ayden Christensen with Campbell Delaney completing the top five in the nine car field.

HYDRAULICS PLUS BANDOLEROS
Once again, two Bandolero stars put on an incredible show of short track racing with a ton of respect shown.

Sam Rogers (Lower Onslow) put it all together for his first overall Hydraulics Plus Bandolero win of the season. Rogers, who won his heat race, had to battle with a familiar on track rival Josh Langille (Coldbrook) for the victory. The pair are best friends off the track and show it on the track with an incredible amount of respect between the two as they battled throughout the evening.

Owen Mahar (Hubley) was the top Bandit, finishing third overall after winning his heat race. The happiest driver on the podium for the Outlaw division was Nathan Langille (Coldbrook). The reigning Bandit champion has struggled with a new chassis and was finally able to dial it in for a strong top five run. Matthew Rushton (Dartmouth) completed the top five overall in the 12-car field.



TOURSEC LIGHTNING
Hard work has paid off for Travis Keefe (Gold River).

Keefe, a sophomore driver in the Toursec Lightning division, took the lead from Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie Matthew Barkhouse (Dartmouth) on Lap 8 of the 25 lap feature and never looked back for his first career win at the track. A restart with just ten laps to go could not stop Keefe as he drove the No. 145 Smith Family Racing Neon to the checkered flag first.

“This means everything to me,” said an emotional Keefe in victory lane. “I cannot thank everyone enough. From my grandparents, my Mom, Stepdad, Stepbrothers, my girlfriend, Smith Brothers Racing, Dulux Paints, it’s a team effort.”

Barkhouse, in just his second stock car start, won a heat race and finished second on the night. Chevy MacDonald (Stewiacke) put his Chevrolet Cavalier on the podium for the first time this season with a third place finish. MacDonald held off a hard charging “Rational” Richard Drake (Halifax) for the final podium spot. David Jollimore (Halifax) edged Mike Jollimore (Halifax) for the fifth place spot in the 15 car field.

Point leader Steve Matthews was involved in an incident on Lap 14 with Jamie Dillman and rebounded to finish eighth. The two drivers made contact early in the feature which did not bring out a caution flag. Dillman slowed once he recovered from the incident, waited for the No. 198 and proceeded to drive the two-time 2018 feature winner into the infield when Matthews tried to lap him. Dillman, who grazed the back straightaway lightpole, was disqualified from the night for the incident. 



STRICTLY HYDRAULICS LEGENDS
In a field like the Strictly Hydraulics Legends, pulling everything together and winning a race can be easier said than done. Just ask Porter’s Lake veteran Tylor Hawes.

Hawes put his new to him racecar in victory lane for the first time Friday night by winning the 25-lap Legends feature. Hawes, who won his heat to start the night, drove through the field quickly and by Lap 10 was in the lead. Hawes had Shelby Baker (Fall River) closing in at the end but had enough to hold on for his first win on the year. Baker wound up second, followed by sophomore Andrew Lively (Middle Sackville), point leader Emily Meehan (Rawdon) and Shane Lively (Middle Sackville).

Jeff Cruickshank (Hantsport) won the opening heat but was involved in an early caution as he and reigning track champion Paul Goulden’s (Shelburne) battle for the lead went awry in Turn Four. Both driver emerged okay from the wreck but their cars were not.



AFFORDABLE FUELS SPORTSMAN
From tangling in the heat race to finishing in the top two, a pair of veterans put on a show from flag to flag in the Affordable Fuels Sportsman division.

Pete Miller, the 2016 track champion from Kennetcook, drove to his first feature checkered flag in 2018 by winning the Affordable Fuels Sportsman 38-lap affair on Friday night. Miller bested two-time champion Darren Wallage (Oakfield) for the win. Ironically, the two made contact in the heat race qualifier as they raced for the win but the pair put that in their rearview mirrors as they raced to the front in the final race of the night.

Miller quickly thanked his crew for getting him back on track.

“She was in rough shape after the heat, there was a lot of damage,” said Miller. “Broken axle, ball joint, the toe was knocked out, she was pretty beat up but they went to work and here we are!”

Wallage was second in the feature with Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie Deven Smith (Lakeside) finishing third for his second straight Scotia Speedworld podium finish. The racing near the front of the field was intense and resulted with the Fords of Aaron Boutilier (Porter’s Lake) and Alex Johnson (Enfield) completing the top five.

Richard Salter (Centre Burlington) and Smith took home heat race qualifiers.