Annual Guide to Winning a
Championship on Finale Friday

Well, here we are. As much as we hate this day because it signifies the end of a stock car racing season, it is time to crown champions as a part of Finale Friday. This year, the party is presented by Classic Freight Transport and I have one of my favorite co-hosts with me in the tower from last season in Nicholas Naugle to close off the year.

But let’s get to what everyone is here for, championship clinch scenarios.

Let’s start with the two easy ones, the Hydraulics Plus Beginner Bandoleros and Bandolero Bandits. Due to the field size and their point leads, Gage Gilby and Owen Mahar only have to roll their cars under the feet of Flagman Rob Bowness for their respective features to take home their championship trophies. Unless something crops up in tech or on the track that would net them a black flag and a zero point night, they can start planning their celebrations. Now, with kids, I would assume that they will be popping non alcoholic champagne, or apple juice, or something of the like for the celebration but they’ve had the whole week to think that through.

In those divisions, Gilby and Brooke Dowe have clinched the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Awards, which means they can have Timbits with their celebration. The new Pumpkin Spiced Muffins they have are delicious too. I had one this week, definitely a plus if you’ve picked up the pumpkin flavored treats before the month of October.

Before we start, these numbers take into account that we pay ten points for heat wins with one point per position on the way back, so “clinch” positions are based on the point leader receiving zero points in the heat race. Tiebreakers are broken by feature wins, then second place feature finishes, then third place feature finishes and so on. These numbers are also based on the drivers do not get black flagged and receive zero points on the night.

We’ll start in the Toursec Lightning division which is down to, mathematically, two drivers fighting for their first championship. Steve Matthews and “Rational” Richard Drake have both been consistent all season long but, as we can see, Matthews has been slightly better on those nights than Drake. Drake has eleven top six feature finishes in as many races and Matthews has ten top five finishes in eleven races. The difference comes in podiums. Matthews has been on the podium eight times this year while Drake’s two wins are his only two podium runs. It might not seem like much, but two or four points here and there adds up and here we are.

The gap is 26 points going in, meaning Drake would essentially have to sweep both heat and feature and hope for Matthews to stumble. The field sizes have been 12 to 15 in this class, the most you could gain in a feature of 12 if Matthews was last and Drake won would be 22 points. This one is not over, but the proverbial large lady is behind the curtain warming up for her set. With his season, Drake does not have the tiebreaker on his side, meaning he would have to win outright because Matthews would have him on second place feature finishes if it came to it.

TOURSEC LIGHTNING - TIEBREAKER

Clinch – Matthews wins the title with a ninth place finish in the feature, regardless what Drake does in the heat or feature.

Paige Drake is the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year, clinching the title last week. Unless he wins a feature on Friday, Chevy MacDonald can clinch the Fleet Brake Atlantic Consistency Award by just starting the feature.

AFFORDABLE FUELS SPORTSMAN
This one is Jordan Veinotte’s to lose but, as we have seen as recent as last year, these titles are hard to clinch if there is a mathematical shot for drivers to come from behind.

The good thing is Veinotte has the tiebreaker in his back pocket should the train end up coming off the rails. With the Shriners Classic and Affordable Fuels 100 being show point races, finishes in those two races do not count towards tiebreakers because everyone received a stock 100 points per start. Tiebreakers will come down to the ten 38-lap features on the year, nine of which have already been run.

Jordan Veinotte has two wins compared to Deven Smith and Matt Vaughan and the score is the same for second place finishes. In theory, like Matthews in the Lightning class, Smith or Vaughan could win on Friday night but Veinotte would have the pair on second place finishes should it come to that.

Clinch – Jordan Veinotte can win the championship with a seventh place finish or better in the feature, regardless of what happens in the heat race.

Smith has a 41 point lead on Megan Parrott in the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year chase, meaning he has all but locked that down. Seven points separate Aaron Boutilier from Alex Johnson, neither have won a feature and would be your Fleet Brake Atlantic Consistency Award battle heading into the finale.

HYDRAULICS PLUS BANDOLERO OUTLAW
I think this championship battle has the most chance to be turned upside down because of the unpredictability of the racing with everything happening so fast.

One of those three or four wide moves on a restart into the first corners could move Colton Noble, Sam Rogers or Danny Chisholm from a championship position to sitting on the back of a flatbed.

Now, if Noble is to find trouble on Friday night, he does not have the luxury of falling back on a tiebreaker. In essence, a second place finish, regardless with what happens in the heat, would lock the title down by two points as he enters with a 14 point advantage. Rogers and Chisholm are tied for second entering Finale Friday. Between those two, it could realistically go back to fifth place finishes in a tiebreaker. Both have three wins, Chisholm has the advantage on second place finishes, three to two, Rogers has one third place finish to Chisholm’s none. If there were to be a two point advantage between them in the heat and Rogers were to finish second, Chisholm third and Noble were to have problems, Rogers and Chisholm would be tied on wins, seconds, thirds and fourth (both have one), to which the tiebreaker would go to fifths and Chisholm with the advantage there with one to Rogers with zero.

Easy thing would be for Noble to win the race to prevent a slight headache, but at least we have this laid out in the event it does happen.

Colton Noble has the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award locked up if he starts the main feature. Obviously, as he is chasing a championship, we assume he is going to at least start the feature.

TOURSEC THUNDER
For the first time in a number of years, we will have a new Toursec Thunder champion who will etch his name into history.

The two in line for the throne are both drivers in their second season of full time asphalt racing. Point leader Jesse Deveau won a championship at Valley Raceway on the dirt but this one is likely going to be more of a nailbiter. There is no clinch number because the gap between he and Darren Flemming are within ten points of each other, six to be exact.

In a perfect storm, if Darren was to gain four points in the heat and win the feature with Jesse second, they would have to go back to third place finishes, which would see Jesse win the title. Theory is always nice and it is great to have that scenario but likely we won’t need that. If it ends up tied, Darren wins the feature and Jesse finishes anywhere but first or second, Darren would win on a tiebreaker for second place finishes.

This division, along with the Strictly Hydraulics Legends, will have eyes on them during the high handicap heat because that is where this season long tug of war could ultimately be won or lost.

There are no rookies in the Toursec Thunder class in 2018. Should Drew MacEachern start on Friday night and not go to victory lane in the feature, he would win the Fleet Brake Atlantic Consistency Award ahead of Jason Pickles. Pickles cannot catch MacEachern in points unless MacEachern finds catastrophic trouble.

STRICTLY HYDRAULICS LEGENDS
Where it looked like we were going to have a breakaway at the front, we actually have ourselves an intriguing four way battle in the Strictly Hydraulics Legends division.

Paul Goulden has quietly gone about his business this year and is now only three points out of a second straight championship. Emily Meehan has had the season of her life with four wins but feature wins alone do not win championships. Meehan enters after two eighth place finishes in the last two races while Goulden only has two finishes outside the top five all season.

Shelby Baker kept stride with Meehan for most of the season but, like the No. 75, has broke stride with a ninth and tenth place finish in the last two features. The stumble has brought Baker to 18 points behind with one race to go.

Andrew Lively, meanwhile, really has nothing to lose here in his sophomore season. Lively sits 22 points back and while a championship may be a long shot, it is still mathematically possible. To do that though, you’d have to think he would have to win. Lively has three podiums this year but is still searching for that first Legend win.

In short, Emily cannot lose a tiebreaker. If she is a part of a tie for the championship, she wins. Shelby Baker would win a tiebreaker over Paul Goulden or Andrew Lively, which would be broken based on Baker having more second place finishes if it came to that. Goulden and Lively’s tiebreaker possibilities between the two would be based on where each other finishes. In a perfect storm, the tiebreaker could be fourth place finishes.

Here’s hoping this championship battle comes down to the wire without any crazy moves, loss of throttle out of Turn Four coming to the checkered and is won on some hard racing.

Nicole Richard, who will co-host the Maritime League of Legends Tour Atlantic Fleet Completion Centre 50 from the skybox, clinched the Tim Hortons at the Airport Rookie of the Year Award weeks ago in this class. Paul Goulden and Andrew Lively are battling for the Fleet Brake Atlantic Consistency Award in 2018. Should one win on Friday, it would give the award to the other.

Realistically, we could have seven first time track champions on Friday night. Sam Rogers, Deven Smith, Matt Vaughan, Shelby Baker and Paul Goulden have won championships at Scotia Speedworld before, some in their division they are currently racing in and some in lower classes. Those five all enter trailing the point leaders heading into Friday.

We should also mention, with Deven Smith winning last week, we have seen 36 different feature winners head to victory lane this year in feature competition. We had 37 last year, but we also had the Truck division as well, so we are theoretically ahead of 2017.

The competition has been great this year and its hard to see it come to a close but it will on the weekend. Scotia Speedworld alumni Cole Butcher will wrap up his second Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour championship on Saturday evening in the Dartmouth Dodge 200 while Baker, Meehan and Tylor Hawes, driving for Farrell’s Racing, will run for the championship on the Maritime League of Legends Tour.

It will be a great weekend and we hope to see you out to celebrate the end of the 31st season of racing at Scotia Speedworld!

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