Issue 238

Race Preview: Lucas Oil 150 @ Riverside Speedway

Racing to Riverside for Penultimate Round

It is hard to believe we are in September and we only have two races left on the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour season.

While the championship seems to be all but wrapped up, we have a lot to chat about from our last race and heading into the Lucas Oil 150. With a 92-point lead, Cole Butcher will need not just one, but two missteps in the final two races to lose this championship. Now, we saw what happened last year with Shawn Turple but again, that was a 40 point gain Butcher made during the Dartmouth Dodge 200. That would have to happen twice, with change, for Butcher to lose the title in 2018.

Yes, there are battles through the point field that are quite intriguing, including the one for second between Turple, Craig Slaunwhite and Dylan Blenkhorn but let’s chat about the checkered flag in Saturday’s Lucas Oil 150.

This race has been Donald Chisholm’s over the last three seasons. While Chisholm has to be a favorite as he always has a quick No. 89 Keltic Ford Fusion, let’s face it, it hasn’t been Donald’s season. In the three weekends at Riverside this season, two Parts for Trucks Tour and one NASCAR Pinty’s Series race, Donald has failed to finish. That’s racing, sometimes the sport is kind to you and sometimes you go through rough patches. Donald and the Nova Racing team are due for a win and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he gets it this weekend. After all, his daughter Emily is putting pressure on him and is coming off her third podium finish last week in her Bandolero at Scotia Speedworld.

John Flemming in the No. 88 car for the weekend is a pretty neat deal and is my pick for the Pick the Winner Challenge. Now, this can go one of two ways. We’ve seen fill in drivers recently on this Series do well, like when Russell Smith Jr. filled in for DM Motorsports or Slaunwhite Motorsports to podium finishes at Scotia Speedworld and Petty International Raceway. We also saw Russell struggle to get comfortable in the No. 53 car for Butcher Racing at the Cummins 200. It’s not easy to slide into another car and feel comfortable right away, heck, some drivers struggle when they get a new car for themselves. As John said in the media release for this race, George is going to have a good piece for him on the weekend and John knows his way around Riverside. That should be pretty fun to watch this weekend.

Call it what you will, but the Cummins 200 at Petty International Raceway was a tale of two races. Craig Slaunwhite dominated the first half but he and the likes of Kent Vincent and Chris Duncan fell off in the second half after the halfway break. There’s no halfway break in this race, though after seeing what the breaks have done this year at the IWK 250 and the Cummins 200, it would almost be interesting to see some more implemented. I know, I know, it is not needed, but the way the strategy has played out with those breaks this year has seen a ton of comers and goers.

Look at the opposite side of the coin, you had Darren MacKinnon, Robbie MacEwen and eventual winner Jonathan Hicken rise to the top that we really didn’t talk much about in the first half. Sure, its about conserving your equipment like all of our races are to make sure you’re there when the pay window opens, but the right (and in some cases wrong) changes can help shape the outcome.

With that said, I think you’ll see those three up front at Riverside Speedway. MacKinnon is the only MPST winner at Riverside of the trio but Hicken and MacEwen have both ran to podium finishes in previous IWK 250s. The three have momentum heading into the final two shows of the season and should factor into our finish on Saturday.

With the way he has run at Riverside this season and the way he ran in the first half at Petty International Raceway, Slaunwhite is likely a decent bet too. Slaunwhite was a contender in last weekend’s McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 at Speedway 660 as well and enters tied for second in points with Ron MacGillivray Chevrolet Buick GMC 150 winner Turple. Both will look for the upper hand on Saturday.

Remember the dominance we saw out of Greg Proude in the first half of the IWK 250? If that Greg Proude Racing team shows up, the field will have a hard time with him.

The “younger talent” with our Series has also shown promise over recent races. Braden Langille and Nicholas Naugle had great runs here in July during the IWK 250 and Waylon Farrell led the field to green last time out at Petty International Raceway. Jarrett Butcher has had an up and down season and should be quick at Riverside on Saturday and Sarah McKay has turned the page in recent races and had a top ten finish in the IWK 250. The entry list has Ashton Tucker and the Brad Silliker Motorsports team on it and you know they will both be looking to rebound after their last two races together haven’t gone as planned.

Kent Vincent is sure to have a strong piece on Saturday night as well. After the team made the haul to Jukasa Motor Speedway for the Canadian Short Track Nationals, they return to the East Coast looking for two strong runs to cap 2018.

I guess the picture I’m trying to paint is that there are no weak links in the chain that is the field for the Lucas Oil 150 on Saturday. The above, and the others that I ran out of space to mention, are going to put a great show for 150-laps in our final visit to Riverside Speedway in 2018. It will be difficult to pick a winner for this one folks, good luck!

It’s a great card Saturday. Not only are we there with the Lucas Oil 150, but the MJS and Prime Lift East Coast Mini Stock Tour is there to cap off their year with the Diamond Trucking 50 and the NAPA Sportsman Series will have 75-laps presented by Henry’s AUTOPRO to crown their champion. Come on out and enjoy an afternoon of racing with us!

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