Issue 227

Race Preview: Lucas Oil 150 @ Petty Raceway

It’s been a long road from the Dartmouth Dodge 200 last September but here we are!

The 2018 season has already brought us a huge field to begin the year at Petty International Raceway. When the dust settles, we could potentially have 30 cars for Saturday’s Lucas Oil 150. The 29 teams that have signaled intentions to run this weekend are all strong teams and have the potential to end the night in victory lane.

So, who do you have to win this show on Saturday night? I’m trying to talk my way to pick my favourites, so let’s take a scroll through and see who could be a threat for victory.

At the top, let’s mention that we have had some wild season opening races. I still think back to the 2013 opener at Scotia Speedworld. Remember that? It was the first time we opened the season with a 150-lapper and it was nothing short of crazy. John Flemming won that day but had to come from the rear with just over 25 laps to go after he and Marty Prevost swapped paint for the lead. Flemming took the lead on the final restart with three to go to take his first win of the season. He would go on to win the championship that year.

That was also the day we had 17 cautions and with those came drivers running out of fuel left and right. Brad Eddy and Darren MacKinnon both had a chance at their first wins at Scotia Speedworld before the fuel ran dry in their cars. Daryl Mahar and Steve Ross each recorded top fives that day. Dylan Blenkhorn was the top rookie in sixth, two spots ahead of Denver Foran. Terry Dougay, Shawn Pierce and Eddy also found themselves in the top ten after 150-laps.

That day, the field featured 28 cars. We can’t possibly see that excitement on Saturday? We’ll find out.

Last Saturday was the annual Pre Season Test for the first race of the year and 15 cars showed up to shake down their cars. Jonathan Hicken, Kent Vincent, Nicholas Naugle, Cory Hall, Terry Dougay, Darren MacKinnon, Stevie Lively, Sarah McKay, Robbie MacEwen, Braden Langille, Cole Butcher, Jarrett Butcher, Dylan Blenkhorn, Dylan Gosbee and Chris Duncan all got some laps in on Saturday, while a number of drivers have tested in private tests prior to Saturday at Petty Raceway or throughout the week at Scotia Speedworld.

Who is fast? Well, Petty Raceway was testing their new Westhold timing system for their weekly show and while there were times recorded there was no rundown available after the session. Some seemed to be happy with their cars. Cole Butcher, for example, unloaded his car late after getting his brother’s car right and loaded up sooner than most did. Nicholas Naugle was one of the first Pro Stocks in the pit area on Saturday and was the last to load, using as much time to get their car right.

A lot of teams have new cars to figure out heading into the season. Some will find themselves ahead of the curve and not miss a beat on track while some will struggle. That’s the nature of the beast though, you might end up proverbially spinning your tires but when it comes together, it will come together. Unfortunately, there are about a dozen or so teams in that same boat, so someone will likely click onto something before another does.

That’s why I kind of like the chances of a guy like Shawn Turple on Saturday night. With his track record over the last two years, it will be hard to beat him not only on Saturday but for the championship in 2018. Yes, I know, the competition will be close, but if the No. 0 team is on their game, they are a tough, tough team to beat. They are also going into the season with the car they won the title with last year. No new notebooks, no tweaking this to make that adjustment work, no guess work for the most part. If he comes out of the gate like he did last year, watch out!

On that same theme of getting it right off the trailer, I think you have to look at the two cars that were on the podium with Shawn at the International last year. I mentioned in this month’s edition of Inside Track that Dylan Gosbee is one of those drivers that is due for a great run. I’m not discounting the fourth place championship run last year but without circumstance in a couple races, he would have been in the championship discussion at the Dartmouth Dodge 200.

As are most on the Tour, Dylan is as versatile as they come. If you put the No. 91 Hynes Racing on a high banked track like Petty Raceway, he’s going to be there at the end as he has been many times. If you put that car at the flatter Scotia Speedworld, expect him to be in the mix there too. Statistically, this is Dylan’s best track we run at with four podium finishes and one win. If Dylan is up on the wheel like he always is and Jody makes the adjustments the driver needs, chances are he’ll be on the front straight at the end of the night.

Craig Slaunwhite’s car was on the podium here last August with Russell Smith Jr aboard. While we won’t see Russy until next weekend at Scotia Speedworld, Slaunwhite will be poised to two up where the No. 99 was in August. Slaunwhite knows his way to victory lane at Petty International Raceway and if they can get the car dialed in quickly on Saturday afternoon, you’ll see that car up front when the pay window begins to open.
See a trend here? There are a lot of good cars and a lot of good drivers going to be here on Saturday night.

On the new car front, I’m intrigued to see how Greg Proude runs in his new Vandoorn Racing Development car. I met Greg as he was leaving the Aulac Irving Big Stop early last Saturday to go to Michigan to pick up and test the car before bringing it home. They won’t have much turnaround time from when the car lands in their PEI shop to taking it to Petty International Raceway but if there is a crew capable it is the No. 29 Atlantic Dodge Dealers boys. Proude had a top five in the International last August en route to a third place finish in the standings.

I spoke briefly with Kent Vincent last Saturday after the test. Kent explained to me that their new car from Crooks Racing was quicker out of the box than the car they have ran in recent years but they still had a lot left to tweak. If they find the right adjustment, the No. 8 will have to be one to keep on your radar this year.

Great to hear we’ll see Chris Duncan for potentially half of our schedule. Duncan and his trademark orange and white scheme will be at all three Petty International Raceway races plus a trip to Riverside International Speedway and Scotia Speedworld is in the planning. It’s been a while since he’s been on blue shocks and they spent a lot of time thrashing on the 97D on Saturday but, like others, if they hit on something on the setup, Duncan will be tough to beat.

I’m running out of space here, but want to send a shoutout to DJ Casey before we sign off. DJ was in an off track fender bender last weekend and will be sitting out the Lucas Oil 150 to heal up. Casey is another driver with a new race car on order and once the car lands in his shop and he’s 100%, we’ll see the No. 94 back on track.

Spoke with “THE THRILLMAKER” Craig Ward on Saturday in the grandstand at Petty Raceway. He was doing some testing of his own, sitting at the entrance to Turn One and observing cars as they let off and set their cars down into the banking of the corner. Ward’s car won’t be ready for race one but expect him to be out on the track sooner rather than later. I also offered him a microphone to join me on the call of the 150 on Saturday night if he ventures out to the track, so we’ll see if he’s up to the task.

There are so many others we could see in victory lane on Saturday. Naugle was in the top five the last time we visited Petty Raceway, we spoke last week about the Rookie Class that has a lot of potential. Heck, who knows who could pop up near the front after Atlantic Tiltload Qualifying on Saturday. Maybe we see a guy like Mike Rodgers or Harry Ross White in the top ten before the dust settles after 150-laps? Who knows!

It will be a great show on Saturday night and I hope to see you there. It’s a great value overall with the A.E. McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman, Atlantic Modified Tour and MJS and Prime Lift East Coast Mini Stock Tour on the card as well. I might be biased, but I think that Mini Stock Tour has potential to put on an excellent event. They’ll be with us on four events this year and it’s the same type of cars Stevie Lively won two championships at Scotia Speedworld in. The Legend division has served as a great springboard for drivers to jump up to the Pro Stock Tour but you never know where our next star will come from!

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