ISSUE 239

Race Preview: Dartmouth Dodge 200 @ Scotia Speedworld

The white flag is out on the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour season!

Sure, Cole Butcher has the championship wrapped up but there is plenty to fight for throughout the field on Saturday during the Dartmouth Dodge 200.

To clarify the championship picture, our procedures state that every non qualified car receives 150 championship points. With two dozen or so cars expected to compete on Saturday and 220 points as the maximum a driver can gain on the day (10 points for a heat win, 200 for a feature win, five points to lead a lap, five points to lead the most laps), the most a non qualified feature car on Saturday could lose is 70 points. With the field cap being 26 or 27 according to the procedures (and yes, I know we started more at the Season Opener at Petty Raceway), all cars that attempt an Atlantic Tiltload Heat Race would qualify. Assuming Cole makes a lap in the heat race and qualifies for the feature, he would qualify for last place points which, in a field of 25, is 152 points.

Either way, 68 or 70 points, whatever the number is the maximum one driver can gain depending on field size, is smaller than the 80 point lead Butcher has on Dylan Blenkhorn in second.

As the social media team have previewed this week on multiple platforms, we have some drivers battling for spots in the standings to move them a little closer to the end of the list of presentations at The Westin in November.

The biggest one is between Blenkhorn, Craig Slaunwhite and Shawn Turple for second in the standings. Nine points is the gap between Blenkhorn and Turple, with Slaunwhite two points back from our most recent race winner. Now, for most positions within the top ten, the difference in point positions is a couple hundred bucks and while the champion’s cheque will have $10,000 on it on Saturday night, there is a $1,500 difference between second and fourth in the point fund.

Of the three, Blenkhorn has three wins including one at Scotia Speedworld in June, Turple has one win while consistency all year has put Slaunwhite in the thick of this battle. Obviously, a win carries the most points and bonus points help the cause and all three would like to finish off the Tour season with a victory so best bet on this trio going hard for the checkered flag on Saturday afternoon.

You would much rather tell folks that you finished top five in the standings. It’s not the championship, but a top five finish just rolls off the tongue smoother than sixth. That’s what Dylan Gosbee and Darren MacKinnon will be fighting over on Saturday. Both have been consistent all season and excel in these long races. Neither have won at Scotia Speedworld before, but a positive halfway break and a strong second half could change that.

Kent Vincent has had an up and down season and will be fighting to hold of youngster Jarrett Butcher for eighth in the standings on Saturday. Both drivers had great runs here during the Toromont Cat 250 a month ago with Kent finishing fifth and Jarrett in seventh. I’ve said from the start of the season that this would be Jarrett’s year to win a race and I’m running out of races and with Kent running as strong as he is, this will be a great little point battle to watch on track Saturday.

So, you’ve got about a half dozen drivers on a “point agenda” on the weekend. Sure, they might not want to admit it, but a couple of extra dollars and some pride is on the line.

Of course, everyone wants to win the final race of the season. That final checkered flag gives you bragging rights from September all the way to May when we fire the Series up again in 2019. In addition to the drivers mentioned above, I think you have to put drivers like Donald Chisholm, John Flemming, Jonathan Hicken and Greg Proude consideration when you make your Pick the Winner Challenge choice for the final race. Chisholm and Proude both ran strong last weekend at Riverside Speedway, Flemming was solid as a rock in the Toromont Cat 250 before a parts failure sidelined the No. 97 car and Hicken has his stuff running really well and has won in Halifax before.

Give me a driver like Nicholas Naugle, Braden Langille or Sarah McKay under the right circumstance on Saturday night. These drivers would likely get you some return with your friends or points in the Pick the Winner if they come home with the win. Neither of the three have won on the Series before but have shown they can compete with the weekly contenders with the Tour. McKay was strong here in the second half of the Toromont Cat 250, turning top five lap times in the second half before spinning late and rebounding for eighth. Naugle and Langille have been turning heads as of late and are due for their first podium finishes with the Series sooner rather than later.

It is a return for both Marty Prevost and Brad Eddy to the Series. Marty ran with us last back in June at the Nova Truck Centres 150 where he finished ninth. It has been three years since Brad ran on the Series and will return driving for Jerry Hayes and the No. 6 team. Brad got acquainted with the team last week when Brad drove the team’s Sportsman entry at Riverside but was sidelined early in the race due to a mechanical failure. It will be great to see both back on track for the finale and could play into the equation at the end of the race if the chips fall right.

A tip of the cap to Waylon Farrell for his qualifying efforts in the last two rounds. Farrell has been able to get to the front in his Atlantic Tiltload Heat Races and has began to work on dialing in the No. 48 car. Farrell has captured the Exide Batteries Rookie of the Year Award on the Series, becoming the first Newfoundlander in the Pro Stock Tour era to do so and joins a prestigious list of drivers who have won the award.

That just begins to scratch the surface of who we will see contending for the win on Saturday. Add to the list the likes of Russell Smith Jr., Chris Reid, Nevin Scott, Stevie Lively, Shawn Pierce, Terry Dougay and Allison MacKinnon and you have a stout field shaping up to run for the checkered flag during the Dartmouth Dodge 200.

My picks haven’t really fared out terribly well this year, including last week when I picked John Flemming for the Pick the Winner. So, hopefully this is not a jinx, but I think we’ll see Craig Slaunwhite finish off the season with a win.

The last time we saw a race with a halfway break, Craig went the wrong way and went from dominating the Cummins 200 to fading in the second half. On the reverse, after the break and a pit stop in the second half of the IWK 250, Craig was able to come back to the front. I said it last week in this space that I love the halfway break because it has changed races this year. I’m sure it will change strategy for a few teams this weekend, but I think it will trend positive for Craig and the No. 99 will end the year in victory lane.

It is going to be a busy weekend, between Finale Friday presented by Classic Freight crowning seven CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series champions at Scotia Speedworld and a tight Maritime League of Legends point battle that will culminate on Saturday with the Atlantic Fleet Completion Centre 50. There is a lot to accomplish over the next two days and I hope you can join us for all the fun!

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