Smith Nominated For National Award

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Inside Track Motorsports News (ITMN) announced nominees for their annual Readers’ Choice Awards – and two of our local 2011 champions are on the ballot! Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour Champion Wayne Smith of Timberlea, Nova Scotia is up for Canadian Stock Car Racer of the Year while Coco Beach Legend/Maritime League of Legend Tour champion Dylan Blenkhorn of Truro, Nova Scotia has been recognized in the Up and Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year category. Both have been honored for the achievements in stock car racing in this region for the ’11 racing season.

Smith won his sixth Maritime Touring championship in 2011, breaking the record he previously shared with Halifax’s Greg Sewart. Smith won one race at Petty International Raceway in June, the track he helped bring back to life along with co-owners Brett Benoit and Craig McFetridge. Smith ended his championship season 14 points ahead of three-time Tour champion Shawn Tucker of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Smith announced his retirement from full-time Pro Stock racing on the front straightaway of Scotia Speedworld after the Dartmouth Dodge 200, unveiling that he would only be racing in the three “250’s” in 2012. Smith will hang up the helmet from that full-time competition as the all-time leader in feature wins in the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour era (2001-Present) with three titles in that era, joining Tucker and John Flemming (Halifax, NS) as the only drivers to achieve that goal in the 11 years of the Tour.

Blenkhorn set the Legend car world on fire in his first full season in the car. The former Hydraulics Plus Bandolero champion had previously won in a Legend car at Riverside prior to the beginning of 2011 but had never had any race laps at the Speedworld before the May 22nd Maritime League of Legends Tour race on the 3/10-mile oval. He proved a quick study at his home track though, winning in just his fifth Legend car start at the Speedworld on Canada Day. Blenkhorn would go on to win twice more at the Speedworld to finish tops in the Coco Beach Legend car championship, one spot ahead of 2010 champion of both series (and his father) Paul Blenkhorn. He also made select starts in a Sportsman car at Riverside Speedway and Petty International Raceway where he ran laps that mirrored those being ran by multi-year veterans at the top of the time sheets.

Scotia Speedworld Hydraulics Plus Bandolero alumni Ryan Mackintosh (from Amherst, Nova Scotia) is also nominated for the Up and Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year for his performance in the US based Allison Legacy Series in which he finished fifth. Mackintosh previously raced Bandolero cars out of North Carolina, but started his career in the Hydraulic Plus Bandolero division at Scotia Speedworld. He was Co-Rookie of the Year in 2008 and finished 7th in 2009 before moving south to compete. Mackintosh is a three time Canadian National Champion in the Bandolero cars.

To vote for these Maritime drivers, head over to the voting booth for the Inside Track Reader’s Choice Awards. Be sure to select one nominee from each category to vote on and remember, in order for your vote to be counted you must fill out the entire ballot and register a choice on each category. You may vote once a day until the poll closes on January 25th. When finished, head over to their website at InsideTrackNews.com and check out the latest news in Canadian Motorsport or subscribe to the “Official Publication of Canadian Motorsport.” Inside Track is a proud partner at Scotia Speedworld and on the road with the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour.