Issue 228

“Cummins” Into Halifax After a Wild One in River Glade

Well, that happened.

I heard that a lot on Sunday and Monday on my travels. The Lucas Oil 150 was certainly an intriguing race to open our season. Now, keeping in mind that a bad day at the race track is still better than most good days anywhere else for most, the race had its share of hiccups. The race featured 14 cautions, a run time of two hours and 28 minutes and almost as many caution laps as there were green laps.

The other side of the coin is when you get a race that features a rash of cautions, you get intense racing in between those “breaks” of yellow flag pacing. Sure, those that found themselves in accidents may have been more frustrated than others, but that’s a product of racing.

Dylan Blenkhorn won his Atlantic Tiltload Heat Race and after a fracas up front on the first lap was able to quickly take the lead. Blenkhorn led 140 laps and while he was challenged on a number of restarts by Cole Butcher, the No. 67 was the class of the field on Saturday night. That’s bad news for the rest of the field since when Blenkhorn is on his game, he is hard to beat. Even with a new car in its first race, Blenkhorn was stout.
As good as Blenkhorn was, Butcher quickly established himself as the second best car on the evening and it showed on the result sheet. Late in the race when we got some consecutive green flag laps in, Butcher would pull away from the third place battle. Sure, track position meant a lot at Petty, but Blenkhorn and Butcher seemed to have the field covered especially in the waning laps.

One thing I noticed was that Blenkhorn and Greg Proude, two drivers with brand new VanDoorn Racing cars, seemed to be able to put their cars high or low and were able to pass. Considering the track was only a groove and change for most of the night, the two caught my eye the most as being able to work their cars in whichever lane they chose. If Proude’s car did not break in the second half of the race, I wonder where he would have finished compared to those two front runners.

Then again, the same could be said for Kent Vincent, Steve Halpin and Jonathan Hicken.

Vincent won his heat and started on the front row. That ended by the end of Lap One as he ended up making contact with the Turn Three wall battling for the top spot. Yes, I know you can’t tell much from practice sheets or a 10-lap heat but Vincent seems to have a hold on that Crooks Racing piece he acquired over the winter. If that is the case and they continue to find speed in the Standard Aero Dodge, they will be tough to beat as the season rolls on.

I think the pleasant surprise of the night was Halpin. Halpin qualified well, practiced within the top five and ran in the top five for most of the night until he was swept up in a wreck in Turn One. The wreck was the same one that ended the night for Jonathan Hicken and damage from the incident would ultimately sideline Halpin. Hicken, along with defending Series champion Shawn Turple, ultimately found each other mid-pack and methodically worked their way through the field together.

Turple was battling at the end for third with Craig Slaunwhite, Dylan Gosbee and Darren MacKinnon. I believe if Vincent, Halpin and Hicken hadn’t found misfortune, they would have been there too.

With all the caution laps we ran, Robbie MacEwen ended up running out of fuel. Josh Morrison told me Monday that they only had a 15 gallon fuel cell in their race car, one that is smaller than some of the other teams run. MacEwen was able to finish in the top ten but could have easily finished in the top five without fuel issues.

Of note, MacEwen and MacKinnon put on an incredible battle Monday during the inaugural Oyster Bed Speedway house division Pro Stock race. If it is any indication of what we will see at the track in June, we are in for quite a show. MacEwen chased MacKinnon in the early stages before waging a side by side battle for over 10-laps before a caution and green-white-checkered ended the race. MacEwen was able to capitalize from the outside to take the historic win.

Cory Hall struck first in the Exide Batteries Rookie of the Year battle at Petty Raceway. Hall was quick in practice, which is what we are accustomed to seeing out of the King Racing team, and did not look out of place on track. He had to rally from the back after pitting and ultimately wound up seventh place. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Braden Langille and Waylon Farrell both found out the hard way that Petty Raceway can have her evil side. Both Langille and Farrell came home snake bit with a few less panels on their cars en route to top 20 finishes.

Let’s shift gears now and take a look at Scotia Speedworld.

The Season Opener can tell you a lot of things, including who is prepared and who missed the mark by a smidge. Of course, on this Series if you miss the mark by a bit you are finishing 10th or 15th instead of landing on the podium.

With the way Cole Butcher ran at the Lucas Oil 150 and his history in Halifax, I would almost have to put the No. 53 as the favorite on Saturday. He’s won four of the last six races at Scotia Speedworld, including two Cat 250s and the last two features at the track in 2016. Statistically, he is one of the best drivers on paper heading into Halifax and probably would be a wise choice if you are in the Pro Stock Tour Fan Club Fantasy contest.

If you want to steer away from Butcher when you make your pick, there are still a number of decent choices you can make. Turple and Cassius Clark both won here last year and while Clark won’t be racing, the 13 car will be here with Hall. While Hall winning in his second start would have to be considered an upset, it could very well happen.

Darren MacKinnon and Jarrett Butcher were in the hunt for a top three finish at Scotia Speedworld last September before an incident in Turn Three took them both out of contention on the last lap. With the way MacKinnon ran both Saturday at Petty and Monday at Oyster Bed, I think he might be your best pick for drivers outside of those considered the heavy favorites heading into Saturday.

Nicholas Naugle might also be a decent selection for your Fan Club pick on Saturday. Naugle ran solid in the top ten for most of the night at Petty International Raceway before climbing the wall with eight laps to go. I believe that Naugle will contend for his first win on the Series before this year is out, question is what race will that be?

John Flemming and Donald Chisholm both appear on the entry list for Saturday’s Cummins 150 and I’m sure lots of eyes will be on the pair as they search for victory.

I think you also have to add a guy like Slaunwhite and potentially Gosbee to the mix on Saturday. Both had great top five runs in the Lucas Oil 150 and should be able to back it up at Scotia Speedworld. Shawn Pierce is coming off a top ten run at Petty Raceway and will look to put his No. 21 back up there at his home race track.

With 26 cars expected for Saturday, there is a chance that any one of them could win the Cummins 150.
We’re out of space for this week! Come on back next week so we can chat again about what happened at Scotia Speedworld.

Oh, before I go, if you are coming into Halifax for the first time in a couple of months, the overpass at Exit Six (for the race track) is a bit of a mess. The on ramp inbound towards Halifax is closed, so if you plan on heading towards the city after leaving the track, you’ll have to make the wide swing around Pratt and Whitney Drive (the same road the Holiday Inn Express and Hilton Garden are on) to get back onto the highway. If you are coming in from either way or heading outbound from the exit, no need to worry.

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