Kiddie Night Presented by FX101.9

It’s coming down to the wire in the Scotia Speedworld Weekly Racing Series, and five of our prestigious titles have yet to be decided heading into the month of September. Before we get there though comes Kiddies Night – the last event left in the month of August, and what a busy month (and season) it has been thus far!

Though the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series has seen three title contenders pull themselves away from the rest of the pack, the wins in the series each week are wide open for the taking. Russell Smith Jr., who sits third in points has five feature wins but has been shadowed by drivers the likes of Kirk Ryan, Mike Banks and Jordan Veinotte, who continue to run strong in the division. Aaron Boutilier, second in points has yet to win this season and though I’m sure he’d like to have the Lewis Kelly Excavation and Topsoil Consistency Award for 2011, that championship would be a bit sweeter for the Porter’s Lake driver.

They are all chasing Jeff Dillman though for the coveted championship trophy, which the Middle Musquodoboit pilot won back in 2009. Dillman can ultimately control his own destiny in these last two weeks of the season for the Sportsman and if he can keep the #4 and #44 cars in his back pocket over the next 80 laps (two ten lap heats and two 30 lap features) of Sportsman racing at the track, he will capture his second championship in 3 years. I know, I know, easier said than done. They, along with well over a dozen others will be looking for glory Friday night when the green flag drops on the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series!

The Coco Beach Legend cars produced some fireworks on the track last week which resulted in Steve Pye slipping to second in the standings behind new leader Dylan Blenkhorn. Blenkhorn continues to rack up feature wins and the points that go with as he sits now just 15 markers up on the rest of the field. The competition behind the younger Blenkhorn is stiff and with the likes of Cy Harvey, Matt Moore, Jeff Atkinson and Dylan’s father Paul, among others looking for checkered flags each week brings close quarter, take your breath away action each and every lap.

The Trucks return to the Speedworld this week with Dan Smith leading the back and forth battle between he and JP Arsenault for the crown. Smith has his biggest lead of the season with a nine point margin over the #4 Pico et Bebitte Chevrolet. The last time the Trucks were on the track though, it was Jason Fenton taking the big win on Atlantic CAT 250 weekend. Ryan Goldsmith, who sits just 16 markers out of Fenton for third in the standings has come on strong in the second half of this season and will look to make his mark in the final races of 2011. Vernon Brown, who made a start in the Dartmouth Dodge Sportsman Series last week completes the top five in the Truck class.

Jarrett Butcher has closed the gap to just a dozen points between he and rookie leader Cole Tanner for the overall lead in the Hydraulics Plus Bandoleros. Butcher “doubled down” last week and will look to chip away at the point lead Tanner has built up over the summer stretch of racing. Adam Meehan sits 21 points out of the top spot and could play a big role in this championship picture before this season is over. Names like Ettinger, Sutherland, Parrott and Langille will look to light it up this week to take their first feature wins of the 2011 season on Kiddie Night.

Completing the program on Friday night will be the Lumbermart Lightning cars. With his win last week, Jorden Smith has all but sealed up the 2011 Lumbermart Lightning car championship with a nice bow. Though 79 points is mathematically possible to gain in two race dates, it will be difficult if Smith can in all reality keep his car running for the 20-lap race this Friday and the 50-lap cap on Finale Friday. This doesn’t mean the Lightning guys will be any less relentless in their search for the checkered flag. We saw BJ Nicholson come on strong last week with a top five finish, Jamie Creamer took home a heat win in a new-to-him race car and we saw a resurgence of Hantsport’s John Poan with a win in his heat and a second place run to Smith in the feature.

Close point battles behind Smith litter the Lightning landscape with two races to go. Cody Singer runs second but is chased by Jamie Dillman (six behind) and “Crazy” Craig Cordeau (17 points back). Poan closed in the gap on Nick Hurshman for fifth and that battle now sits with 15 points between the two. Harry Bremier Jr. leads a tight pack of drivers including Nicholson, Marc MacMillian, JR Lawson, Jonathan Conrad and Tyler Hallahn. The battle from seventh to twelfth is separated by just 28 points with a pair of races remaining. Over two dozen drivers are expected to be at the track to duke it out this weekend in the popular Lumbermart Lightning class.

Though we won’t go into great detail this week, the Lumbermart Thunder drivers feature the tightest point battle with Dave Matthews leading Matthew Warren by just one point leading into the Lumbermart 50 finale. Tylor Hawes, 2010 runner up is out of the lead by a slim four point margin while Stevie Lively is still alive after his third win of the season on Fan Appreciation Night, 24 points behind the top three. Look for a full preview on the Four Cylinder Finale Friday and point battles in the Thunder class next week here at ScotiaSpeedworld.ca.

You’ll want to be at the track Friday for what will be an exciting show of edge-of-your-seat racing action. The kids will be invited on track at 7pm sharp to take a ride with their favorite driver around the track prior to the evenings racing festivities, which is expected to get under way around 7:20pm or so (immediately following Kiddie Rides). For more information on the event, keep your web browser locked right here to ScotiaSpeedworld.ca!

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