Issue 250

Race Preview: Lucas Oil 150 at Riverside Speedway: Two To Go In 2019

There’s nothing like an unscheduled off week to help fuel the fire for the final two races of the season.

Hurricane Doiran changed the schedule up in a big way. The big change was our season finale was moved from its original scheduled date. This happened back in 2008 when an August race in Shediac couldn’t be rescheduled until the end of the year, pushing the season finale at Scotia Speedworld back a week. With the 200-lap Mike Stevens Memorial open event at Petty International Raceway taking place on September 21st, the finale could not go there after the Lucas Oil 150 at Riverside was pushed to the 14th. The next available Saturday was chosen, which was September 28th and that is when the Atlantic Oliver Tire 200 will take place at Scotia Speedworld.

So, instead of two back-to-back Saturdays with races after a week off from the River Glade International, we have had two weekends off for most teams leading into Riverside, then we will have an off-week separating the Lucas Oil 150 and the Atlantic Oliver Tire 200.

Why am I stating the obvious? Do you remember back to how Jonathan Hicken was fired up after Petty International Raceway and his second place finish? Does that second off-week do anything to fan the flame or cool the jets? Probably not. But it is worth mentioning heading into Riverside International Speedway on Saturday evening, a track that Hicken has been strong at in the past but is still looking to grab that win.

Hicken enters 21 points behind in the championship standings to the winner of the most recent race in Dylan Blenkhorn. Blenkhorn is a four time winner at Riverside and we know how good the No. 67 can be in Halifax. Sure, under pressure at the end of the year going for a championship can change the mindset of even the best of drivers. We’ve also seen a 40 point lead not be safe in the season finale and we’ve seen before where this race can shake the landscape heading into the season finale.

If you are keeping score from Riverside this year, from my rough math, Jonathan Hicken scored seven more points than Blenkhorn at the IWK 250. Blenkhorn outscored Hicken by three points overall in the Ceilidh Honda Triple 50s in June. Both have a second and a fifth place finish here this year, the only difference being heat race finishes where Hicken has gained points on Blenkhorn in the two Riverside races.

Sure, this race is a 150-lapper and pays as many points as any of the other 12 races on our series. But with the championship battle so close between two drivers who are so close to their first title, this race on the high banks of Riverside International carries a ton of weight.

While the battle for third is distant from the top two, there is still plenty of positioning to do for at least four drivers. Jarrett Butcher leads the third place battle, but only four points back is Craig Slaunwhite, 16 back finds Dylan Gosbee and 34 points removed from third is multi-time champion Shawn Turple. Turple and Slaunwhite are former winners at Riverside International Speedway while Gosbee and Butcher will look to close off the 50th Anniversary of Riverside on Saturday with a trophy of their own in the Lucas Oil 150. Turple is the only one of these four with a top five finish at our last event while Gosbee (7th) and Slaunwhite (10th) were in the top ten at the end of the Cummins 200. Either way, even with a week off next week, momentum is big and a good run here could propel one of these four teams to third place in the standings.

Outside the championship battle, the biggest story may be Nicholas Naugle, who is on the cusp of his first win with our Series. We chatted early this year about how Jarrett Butcher may be the next first time winner and then Robbie MacEwen went ahead and won his first at Oyster Bed. Naugle has his banked program figured out. Remember back in June when he led 50 laps at the Triple 50s and was strong after the final invert? Naugle was a strong third at Petty Raceway in the Cummins 200 and led 46 laps en route to his first podium finish with the Series. Naugle is ready to hold that checkered flag during one of these races, but will the opportunity present itself on Saturday afternoon?

Russell Smith Jr and their team have struggled at times with their race car. The Lakeside, Nova Scotia driver racing in his first full season on the Tour seemed to turn it around at Petty International Raceway, running several laps in the top five and eventually would finish sixth in the No. 44 Kynock Resources Ford. Russell knows his way around Riverside Speedway and Scotia Speedworld with dozens of wins in a Late Model Sportsman, so keep an eye on the neon yellow car in these final two races.

Stat wise, Blenkhorn and Hicken are the only two drivers with two top five finishes in the two races this year at Riverside. The list grows longer when you look at drivers with two top tens here this year and includes Dylan Gosbee and Waylon Farrell. Farrell and his team have been picking away at their new VanDoorn race car and have been consistently reeling off top ten finishes as of late. I would fully expect to see Farrell in the top ten, and potentially beyond, when the chips are down on Saturday night.

If we are going a little, but not too far, off the board for a driver to watch on Saturday, give me Greg Proude. Proude was fourth here in the Triple 50s and led one of the 50 lap stanzas. Greg and his crew are always fast at Riverside and I think this could be the night he returns to the front straight!

Saturday will be the Maritime Pro Stock Tour debut of Austin MacDonald. Austin has been a busy boy this season. He turned 16 a couple weeks back and is coming off a top ten performance in the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 at Speedway 660. He has made a bid for the INEX Young Lion National Championship this year in Legend cars and is third at the time of this article. He finished in the top five in a Pro All Stars Series race this year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He’ll be in tough against the Tour teams but expect the youngster to mix it up with the best near the front on Saturday evening at Riverside!

It is going to be a great night of racing at Riverside. Along with our Lucas Oil 150, we have championship racing for the NAPA Sportsman Series and Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour. Did I mention the fireworks? No, not those that could erupt on the track but those in the sky to celebrate Riverside’s 50th post race! Hopefully you can join us on Saturday evening, it will be a fun evening!

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