Issue 252

Spring weather is right around the corner and so is the new racing season in Eastern Canada.

Maritime Pro Stock Tour teams are busy getting ready for the 2021 season of racing in the region. Whether it is preparing a brand new car, a “new to the team” hot rod, or a bullet looking to return to former glory, the old cliché of “races being won and lost in the shop” hangs in the mind of all those hanging bodies and bolting on parts in March in anticipation of May.

Keep in mind, travel restrictions and guidelines around gathering limits due to the COVID-19 pandemic are still prevalent at the time of this article – although positive sounding announcements around the Atlantic Bubble surfaced this past week. As has been the case throughout the last year, the schedule is subject to change without notice but let’s take a peek at it as it sits heading into the year.

The schedule was released late last calendar year and is a close copy of what 2020 was before COVID-19 swept the world and ultimately won 10 of the 12 races on the Tour last year. The 2021 season is scheduled to begin at Petty International Raceway in River Glade, New Brunswick on the Victoria Day Long Weekend. The high banked quarter mile has hosted two season opening events on the Series in the past with Cole Butcher (2019) and Dylan Blenkhorn (2018) winning the Petty openers. Ironically, Butcher and Blenkhorn won the Season Opener races in each other’s championship year - Butcher won the title in 2018 when Blenkhorn won the Lucas Oil 150 and Blenkhorn won the title when Butcher won the first race of 2019.

Scotia Speedworld, the home track for the Maritime Pro Stock Tour, will host four races on the Series in 2021; the first of which is schedule to take place on Saturday, May 29th. The Tour will contest the fourth race of the season in the Halifax Regional Municipality on Saturday, June 26th. The Pro Stock 250, one of the crown jewel races of Pro Stock racing, will set up the late season stretch on Saturday, August 14th. The 200-lap Season Finale for the Maritime Pro Stock Tour in 2021 will take place on Saturday, September 25th. The track hosted one Pro Stock event in 2020, the Jim Hallahan 250, which was won by Cole Butcher.

Riverside International Speedway will once again be the stage for three events on the schedule. A pair of 150-lap features will hit the track on Saturday, June 12th and Saturday, September 11th. Starting the second half of the schedule is the IWK 250 presented by Steve Lewis on Saturday, July 24th, a crown jewel event that needs no introduction among race fans in the region. Riverside International Speedway hosted one race in 2020, which saw a first time Tour winner in Nicholas Naugle standing tall in victory lane in the Toromont Cat 150.

In addition to the Season Opener, Petty International Raceway will host two more events in 2021. The 57th River Glade International moves to Saturday, July 10th with a 200-lap feature for the top Pro Stock drivers in the Maritimes. The tenth of 12 races on the 2021 schedule will also be held at Petty International Raceway on Saturday, August 28th.

Racing is scheduled to return at Oyster Bed Speedway and so is the Maritime Pro Stock Tour. After public health restrictions did not allow for the track to host racing events in 2020, the track is slated to begin their local racing program in May. The Maritime Pro Stock Tour will head across the Northumberland Strait for two races that bookend the calendar month of July. The 150-lap features will take place on Saturday, July 3rd and Saturday, July 31st.

As has been the case with the “new normal” we have been living in, the schedule is subject to change without notice. Full details about individual races, including start times, event sponsors and race day formats will be announced as the races draw closer.

The winter months are drawing closer to an end, which means some of the plans formed in the “quiet months,” if you can call them that, are beginning to come to light. The biggest change over the winter has been Jonathan Hicken, the runner-up for the 2019 championship, announcing he has taken a step back from driving. The Fury racecar that he drove in recent seasons has travelled to Terence Bay and Craig Slaunwhite for the 2021 season. The car that Slaunwhite had driven now sits at Veinotte Motorsports with Sportsman standout Jordan Veinotte set to make a handful of Pro Stock starts this Summer. These are just some of the moves that have been made over recent months with more moving parts going on behind the scenes with May in mind.

With a schedule of races released and work ongoing in shops around the Maritimes, the biggest question remains - who will become the 20th Top Dog by winning the 2021 championship?! Does it remain in Truro, Nova Scotia with Dylan Blenkhorn (the trophy is on display at Blenkhorn’s Auto World Sales and Service) or does it take a road trip? Who will step up to challenge Blenkhorn over 12 races? Only time will tell as the days quickly tick away to Saturday, May 22nd and the Season Opener at Petty International Raceway!