Turple Settles For Second Following Protest Of Finish Of The Parts For Trucks 100

Enfield, NS (June 18, 2007)-Shawn Turple of Enfield, NS had protested the finishing results of the PARTS FOR TRUCKS 100 for the CARQUEST PRO STOCK TOUR at New Brunswick International Speedway, near Fredericton, NB from Saturday night. Turple and Wayne Smith of Timberlea, NS had battled side by side for the final seven laps of the event and came across the line in virtually a dead heat. The decision made by the naked eye at the time by officials was that Smith crossed the line ahead of Turple. After reviewing the tapes of the finish on Monday night, Turple agreed that it could not be determined that he was ahead of Smith at the start finish line.

Although the transponders, which all cars are equipped with, showed that Smith was ahead at the line, the Turple camp wanted to be sure that the timing device was indeed correct. The CARQUEST Pro Stock tour staff measured the distance from the nose of each car to the location of the transponders and determined that there was a 2¼-inch difference, in Smith’s advantage. Ironically, tour officials measured the distance on all cars the week prior at Riverside Speedway, near Antigonish, NS. However, Smith, Turple and third place finisher and current points leader Shawn Tucker of Fredericton, NB all had different cars at the NBIS event.

Another twist in the case is that the loop in which the transponders are recorded at in NBIS are carved in the start-finish line, not where they are at all other racetracks the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour compete at. At all other facilities, the loop is located 14 feet back from the lead edge of the start-finish line, the approximate distance from the snout of the car to the transponder location on the inside frame rail of the car. Although the transponder showed a mere .004 seconds between the two at that point (in Smith’s favour), it appeared that Turple might have inched ahead of Smith. At the point where the transponders feed, the race was already over. The call at the line by officials stood and the video evidence was inconclusive.

The finish was the closest in the history of the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour and perhaps in the history of auto racing in the Maritimes. Just how close was it? If you compare it to the 2007 Daytona 500, Kevin Harvick edged Mark Martin by .02 seconds for the win. The smallest margin of victory since NASCAR started timing events was by Ricky Craven over Kurt Busch in the 2003 fall race at Darlington, a mere .002 seconds (nascar.com).

The CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour and the Municipal Contracting/Dexter Construction Team led by Steven Henderson of Truro, NS and driven by Shawn Turple thank the fans, the media, staff of the New Brunswick International Speedway and PARTS FOR TRUCKS for their patience in the resolve of this matter. This again proves how close the competition is on the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour.

The next stop on the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour is on June 30th at the newly repaved 1/3 mile oval at Raceway Park, in Oyster Bed Bridge, PE. The Parts for Trucks 100 will be the first event on the new asphalt, which was laid by racers from Prince Edward Island and those that donated to the Racers Pavement Fund.

OFFICIAL RESULTS FOR THE CARQUEST PRO STOCK TOUR
PARTS FOR TRUCKS 100 – June 16/07
NEW BRUNSWICK INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, GEARY, NB