First Big Weekly Show of 2019 on Friday

For our CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series fans and drivers, every time the green flag goes up in the air from Rob Bowness, it is a big deal. Every race and every lap means a lot. For our Four Cylinder teams, this Friday night is even bigger with the Toursec Twin 50s on deck.

The Toursec Twin 50s are not only a kickstart to both the Toursec Thunder and Lightning classes in their season long championship battle, it also kicks off a busy month of big events including FanFest, Kiddie Rides and the 25th Annual Shriners Classic to open the month of July. While we have big events throughout the season, this Friday night really lights the fires under those that haven’t had them lit yet.

Our Toursec Thunder 50 is going to be intriguing for the simple fact that this is only the second time we’ve seen the Thunder class this year. After a rain out combined with their off-week last Friday, they haven’t seen the track since their opener on the Victoria Day weekend. On that afternoon, reigning champion Darren Flemming seemingly had the field covered though late in the race it was Jesse Deveau and Dave Matthews closing and Neil Miousse wasn’t too far behind them.  Jason Pickles had speed early in that 25-lap feature and Shay MacPhee turned heads as a rookie.

What can we take from that first Sunday afternoon race? The faces that we saw at the front of the field are still there and will likely be fast on Friday night. The driver who conserves their gear and keeps the tires underneath them will come out on top. Will we see any drivers making their first starts of 2019? Only time will tell.

I think this is the most competitive Toursec Lightning car field we’ve had in a while, leading me to believe that the Lightning on the Hill 50 will be one of the best we’ve seen in years. Sure, on paper we have had the same winner in the first two races. The first race, “Rational” Richard Drake started up front after winning his heat and took the field to school. Last Friday night, Richard barely beat out Travis Keefe on a last lap pass. Keefe’s car wasn’t handling well on Opening Day and it wouldn’t surprise me if they are still working on dialing in that car.

The only driver that has been on the podium in these two races for the class has been “Rational” Richard. Steve Matthews and Matthew Barkhouse finished second and third on Opening Day with Keefe and Chevy MacDonald on the podium last Friday. Right there, there are five drivers who have showed they can compete for the win in this division. That doesn’t include the likes of David and Mike Jollimore, Marshall and Garth Bezanson and Jamie Dillman. There are ten names and that only scratches the surface of who could win the 50 on a Friday night.

Just a few years ago, if your name wasn’t Deven Smith, Scott Thibodeau or “Rational” Richard, you were seemingly fighting for fourth each week. Sure, Deven is now a part of the Sportsman division and Thibodeau is a part time driver, but Richard isn’t winning by a half lap every week. The division is close, whether it means the rest of the field has caught up or technical inspection is doing a good job of keeping these boys and girls within the proverbial box, whatever it is, the product we see in this entry level class every Friday night is the best we have seen in years. It also shows with car count, with 18 cars showing up on Opening Day. With seat time, the newcomers like Ashley Stevens, Roy Christian and Matt Burgoyne (and an old “new” face like Rick Stein) will continue to gain speed.

So, who will win this Friday night? Throw a dart at a dart board, roll a dice or spin a wheel. It could be one of about ten drivers that could win this thing. After last week’s finish, I would not miss Friday night’s show if I were you. If you missed it, check out the finish on the Scotia Speedworld Facebook page. We even included some of Chevy MacDonald’s onboard from the late laps, which goes to show how hard he was wheeling that Cobalt in the late laps.

The INEX sanctioned Strictly Hydraulics Legends and Hydraulics Plus Bandoleros will also compete on Friday. In four races last Friday, four drivers parked misfortunes from the first week and put their cars in victory lane. Emily Chisholm’s breakthrough win was a popular one in racing circles this week, Ayden Christensen had to get up on the wheel to hold on to the Bandit win, so did Danny Chisholm when Colton Noble closed late. Braden Langille extended the FZ09 win streak to three with wins on Friday’s Strictly Hydraulics Legend feature and Saturday’s Maritime League of Legends Tour 50.

Emily Meehan rebounded nicely as well to score a podium finish. Her brother Adam told me that unless he had a 25 point lead after two weeks, his plan was to not run on Week Three. Now, his lead has a two in the number, but that’s all it is over his sister. Andrew Lively continues to be consistent, which could be scary for the field fighting for a championship this year in the Strictly Hydraulics Legend division. I think we’ll see Andrew in victory lane sooner rather than later, especially with the run he had Saturday in the Maritime League of Legends Tour race. Could that happen on Friday? We’ll soon see.

As much as we were bummed that we lost the Sportsman feature last week, the right call was made. About 90% of the drivers and crews I spoke with this week agree with the call to postpone the feature. I think Brentley Pirri probably summed it up nicely when I chatted with him. When the field rolled out onto the track, he was fine with what he could see but after they pumped up the speed a bit on the pace laps, his outlook quickly changed. The good news to it all is that at some point this season, we’ll see double features for our Late Model class - and as a fan, who doesn’t love that?!

With 12 features completed over two CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series cards this season, we’ve had 11 different winners with only “Rational” Richard taking home two victories. How many new winners will we see add to that list on Friday and will Richard extend his win streak to three in the biggest Toursec Lightning race in the year? We’re getting close to answering those questions.

Big thanks to Dave Matthews for joining me in the tower last week and Greg McKay for popping in from time to time while running the Twitter keys for Pat Healey. We wish them all the best this Friday night as they get on track for 50-laps in their Civics. With the Sportsman division off, Alex Johnson will join me in the tower on the call of the Toursec Twin 50s. While Alex will race at Riverside in his No. 14 CARSTAR Collision and Glass Sportsman car on Saturday, he’ll stop up and shoot the breeze with me on Friday.

I’m looking forward to a big night of racing on Friday and I hope you are too!
Until then, keep the hammer down and we’ll see you at the track!