Silver Shiners’ Classic on Friday Night

Friday night is a big night. Yes, anytime we get to go racing at Scotia Speedworld is big for race fans, but this one means a lot.

The Shriners' Classic will run for the 25th time on Friday night. For a race that began as a Street Stock race, it has turned into one of the most prestigious Sportsman races in the province. No, it doesn’t carry any big money. No, it doesn’t carry many extra laps (I don’t count 12 more laps as an extended distance race). It is run as a point race.

It is unlike any other “major” Late Model race you’ll come across. It supports and raises awareness for the Dartmouth District Shrine Club and all the phenomenal work they do within our region. It also comes with the prestige of being on the same trophy that had been won by many heroes of stock car racing within Halifax. Several big names have tried many times and have failed to win it. We joke about Phil Barkhouse trying to win this trophy for 30 years but for some, they’ve been trying to win it since the mid-90s and have come up short every time.

I’ve had the honor to be with the Speedworld for the last 12 Shriners' Classics. A lot has happened in this race since 2007 alone and there have been some memorable moments. Ask me about my most memorable Classic and I’ll tell you 2010 without hesitation.

Terry Roma led late in that race but it was Colby Smith who charged hard at the end to win the race. Smith was in the midst of a breakout season in his third year of Sportsman racing at Scotia Speedworld. He had won the Sportsman 100 a couple weeks prior then went on to win the Shriners' Classic at the end of August that year.

Roma, who had won three Classics, had been battling cancer and raced part time in 2010 with a chemo bottle taped to his arm. He got out of the car that night, huge smile on his face and was quick to give credit to Colby Smith for a great race. The crowd erupted when Terry climbed from the car that night, still one of the loudest ovations I can recall at that track.

Not two years later, we lost both Terry and his brother Lockie way too soon. The Roma Brothers Racing legacy continues on with Travis and Chris Roma and their team, who would go on to win the 2017 Shriners' Classic to give the family a fourth win in the prestigious race. Travis, Chris and the crew fought mechanical issues last week but once they figured it out, Travis drove the No. 38 Ryzer Fabrication Chevrolet from the back to seventh in a fast paced 38-lap feature on Kiddie Night. Travis has built himself quite the trophy collection from this race, including runner up finishes in 2015 and 2016 before the win in 2017.

This race has also produced some memorable finishes. Chris Dingle finished third in that 2010 edition we touched on, which is another reason that race sticks out in my mind. Chris climbed from the No. 71 car, gave me a bear hug and I thought he was going to climb the fence he was so overjoyed to be on the podium that night. Ironically, Dingle also finished third the night Travis Roma won the Classic in 2017. Behind Chris that night?! Steve Matthews in his Sportsman debut driving the Josh Collins Racing No. 56 car.

When you look at great races in the Classic, it only takes one look back to 2018 when Richard Salter and Alex Johnson showed the way. Both drivers went at it hard for the win, with Salter getting his first career Late Model victory and Johnson being edged out for the runner up spot on a late race restart by two-time Classic winner Russell Smith Jr. To win your first Late Model race is big with the competition we have every Friday night. To win it against some of the best in the Shriners' Classic and have to battle someone aiming for the same end goal? That was something as a race fan I’ll never forget.

So, who wins the Silver Anniversary Shriners' Classic? I think it’s fair to look at three drivers as heavy favorites to win this - Jordan Veinotte, Deven Smith and Matt Vaughan.

Of the “big three” so far in 2019, the best finish of the trio in a Shriners' Classic over the last five years is Vaughan with a runner-up finish to Travis Roma in his rookie year in 2017. Smith only has one Shriners' Classic race under his belt, a sixth place effort in 2018. Here’s the staggering statistic I think, Veinotte’s best finish in the Classic in the last five years is fifth, once in 2017 and once in 2014. Veinotte, who won the River Glade International at Petty Raceway last August, has not had great luck in big Late Model races at his home track but has been lights out in regular distance events. Veinotte will have to start at the back with two point paying wins this year but 50-laps is plenty of time for him to make his way to the front. As he said last week, he’s done it before and he can do it again.

Outside of the three that have occupied the podium in the first three shows of the year, you have a “second pack” or the group that would probably make you a bit more than even money at the betting window. Sure, three races isn’t a huge sample size to figure out who has what, so it is kind of hard to diagnose who has what. Darren Hilchie has probably been the best surprise of the season. The sophomore has two top fives in three races, the only other driver besides the top three and Hilchie to do that this year is the reigning Classic champion in Salter. Pete Miller has been strong this year but hasn’t had the finishes to truly prove how much speed he’s had. Miller has done a lot in this sport at Scotia Speedworld, including a Sportsman track championship, but has yet to win a Classic. Pete’s name, like many others, would fit perfectly on the Past Champions list. Brentley Pirri and Alex Johnson both could be there at the finish under the right circumstance. The pair, like Miller, have shown speed but the finishes aren’t indicative of the speed they’ve had.

Then you have the “rest of the field.” Drivers who haven’t had the stars align yet, that may be considered long shots based off the first three shows of the year. Just to throw this out there, looking back from last year, I had Salter in this group with guys like Fred Schofield, Joey Livingstone and Bernie. I’d put Scott O’Neill and Jeffrey Breen in this group based off the first few races. Andrew Starks made his first start of the year at Scotia last week to get back comfortable with the car. If Adam Carter shows up, I would put him here too. He’s got a very capable car and crew, which could go a long way on Friday night.

With no pre-registration process for a race like this compared to what we would have on the Maritime Pro Stock Tour, we have no idea who might show up. Could we see Darren Wallage, Tony Leonard, Frank Fraser or Jeff Dillman? Who knows. Will we see any NAPA Sportsman regulars make the trek down or Lake Doucette drivers run up the highway to try and take away a win? Only time will tell.

One driver we know is making his return to Sportsman racing on Friday night is Harry Ross White. HOSS calls the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour home now, but has two Classic wins to his credit and wants a third on Friday evening. He will be driving the No. 1 Pothier Motors/Bunky’s Hants Insulators car for Mitch Blanchard, which has been driven over the last season and change by Megan Parrott. Megan Parrott has other plans on Friday evening, something about a Church Service in Cavendish, but this started becoming a possibility over the winter that HOSS would be in the car. HOSS has driven this car before, most recently to a podium finish two years ago in the Season Finale. Jeff Dillman and Matt Moore both have top six finishes with the Dodge in recent seasons. With the speed Parrott has had this season, combined with HOSS’s experience and seat time, I like his chances on Friday evening.

Whoever wins this race will have to earn it. Whoever does triumph will earn their spot in history alongside names like Slaunwhite, Tibert, Ryan, Dillman, Smith, Wallage, Leonard and Roma - just to name a few, as a Shriners' Classic champion. This is going to be a huge night that means a lot to us who grew up watching racing in Halifax. I am really looking forward to this and I hope you are too!

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