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With Mother Nature doing her thing, the race scene was awash last weekend. The only exception to this was Scotia Speedworld, and only because they ran on Friday night, before the rains came. Since I was guessing on who would be able to run, I came to the conclusion that Scotia was gonna make it, so off to Halifax I went. Man, I was not disappointed. The Friday night show was full of action and excitement from beginning to end. There were large car counts in every division, and management did everything in their power to keep things hopping. Most of the finishes were close and the hobby stocks, which now allow quarter ton trucks in the field, was extremely interesting and Gordon Ritchie brought home the first ever truck victory in convincing fashion. If you happen to be in the Halifax area on a Friday evening, I would highly recommend this show to you. You won’t regret it.
Amherst was represented in the Bandalero class by young Ryan MacIntosh, and he was very competitive in the feature until the tiniest of errors sent him high and out of contention. He charged back though and made it exciting. What is really great about the Bandaleros is the number of parents that are involved with their sons and daughters. In these days of economic difficulty, it was good to see.
Now we turn our attention to this week’s action. The main show is at Speedway 660 as the Maritime Pro Stock Tour heads to the Geary oval for their only trip this year, or at least their only regular trip. They will also be in attendance on the Labour Day Speed Weekend event as it forms the final leg of the Triple Crown series as well. Several of the Pro Stock regulars at Speedway 660 are gearing up as well. Call this a hunch, but Brad Mann spent four years on the Tour before deciding to finish his career back at Speedway 660 where he began it. Mann has won several Championships there in the past and I wouldn’t bet against him making a strong showing. Lonnie Sommerville, who is also having a standout year on the Maritime Tour, is due to make a mammouth run at his home track as well. All in all, there are at least fifteen drivers with an excellent chance in this one.
Unfortunately, unless lightning strikes twice in the same place on Saturday, Springhill driver Sandy Livingston Jr., will be among the also rans. The likeable Springhiller is battling an uphill battle this year. He needs a new motor as the old one is in its 6th campaign and is suffering from fatigue and is way down in horsepower. Despite this, Livingston has managed to stay near the middle of the points standings with lots of guts and desire. Sponsorship is almost non-existant for Livingston this year with only Paizano’s Pizzaria coming back on board. If more sponsorship is not found after this weekend, chances are that Springhill and Cumberland County will lose their only professional race team. Costs of running a Pro Stock on the Tour are high, with most teams carrying around $50,000 in sponsorship. Sandy has less than $2000. One of the Cumberland County businesses that were approached stated “We are not going to support anyone’s hobby.” This is so far off the mark, it is incredible. These cars appear 12 times at four different facilities in all three Maritime provinces, carrying the names of their sponsors both on the race car and the Hauler everywhere they go. Whether they are at the track, or on their way to and from the track, Sponsors names are visable to tremendous numbers of people. This is some of the best advertising a business, especially a larger one, can get. So then, why won’t Cumberland County businesses get behind their local team? I don’t know. You tell me.
The combined Centre for Speed – River Glade Maritime Super Series for Sportsman cars will make another attempt to get this off the ground this coming Sunday. The first race was rained out last week and is rescheduled as part of this week’s card. Sportsman racing is some of the most exciting racing around and this series draws a large field of some of the fastest ones. A full slate of Points Championship racing is also scheduled, making for a great afternoon of excitement. Cumberland County’s Cory Collins looked much better two weeks ago in the fifty lap season opener at the Centre and could be a pleasant surprise on Sunday.
In NASCAR ranks, the change to the double file restart, similar to what is used at the short tracks here in the Maritimes, has added another element of excitement to the sport. This puts the leaders under more pressure to push harder than in the past and makes for some exciting finishes, especially in the “green, white, checkered” situation. The usual front runners are still around in NASCAR, but some of the youngsters such as Joey Lagano are starting to make things very interesting. The rest of the season is bound to be full of surprises and upsets, leading up to the “Chase”.
Well, time to put this column to bed and get ready for the weekend. Lets go racing and Mother Nature, STAY HOME !!!
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