Issue 6

Tech N Tune Saturday, Turple Turning Heads

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

The 2009 CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour season gets under way on Saturday with the first official practice session for the 12-race series. Teams will have the opportunity to shake the rust off of a long Atlantic Canadian winter and get onto the track at Scotia Speedworld in Halifax. Though some have had a shorter winter than others, a lot of drivers are eager to get on the track for the first time in '09!

But, it's only a practice, isn't it? Sure it is, but this testing day could help drivers down the road as four of the Tour's races are contested on the 3/10 mile oval throughout the summer. Those events include the Lucas Oil 100 season opening race in two weeks, the Forbes 100 in July, the Atlantic CAT 250 Triple Crown race in August, and the Parts for Trucks 200 season finale in September. This Saturday afternoon could be indicative of how some of the Pro Stock boys will run come those events at Scotia Speedworld and possibly show us some pre-race and pre-season favorites for the 2009 Tour.

Gates open at noon on Saturday for the afternoon of practice which will close at dusk. Pit admission for the day is $5 per person while the grandstand gates will be open for those who want to watch their favorite Pro Stock drivers shakedown their racecars for the first time. Should Mother Nature interfere with the proceedings on Saturday, the event has a "rain date" scheduled for the next day from 11am to 5pm. We'll have more from Saturday's event here next week on MaritimeProStockTour.com!

TURPLE TURNS HEADS IN THE STATES

It's no surprise to us here in the Maritimes that we have some of the best short track drivers in North America. Many of our CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour drivers have been racing in the States for numerous years and racking up some success against America's champion hot shots on their own turf. Already this year, Lonnie Sommerville (Saint John, NB) has tried his hand at a Pro All Stars Series (PASS) National event only to break while being in the top three after having a car capable of winning the event in Hickory, NC.

But Lonnie hasn't been the only Maritimer trying their hand at PASS racing in this young 2009 campaign. Halifax's John Flemming posted an 8th place finish in the first PASS North event at Speedway 95 back in April and a 14th place finish at last week's race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. Joining John at "The Ridge" were Fall River's Marty Prevost and Enfield's Shawn Turple, who posted finishes of 10th and 15th respectively in event number two on the PASS North schedule.

Shawn also turned heads this past Tuesday when Speed51.com released their "101 Best of the Rest" in conjunction with the Top-51 Short Track Racing Prospects Draft. Speed51.com is the North America's #1 Source for short track racing news and recently compiled a list of North America's top short trackers. The former Hobby Stock and Sportsman champ at Scotia Speedworld joins such drivers as 2008 Atlantic CAT 250 Winner Travis Benjamin, multi-time Snowball Derby winner Augie Grill, 2008 Rattler Winner and ARCA part-timer Grant Enfinger, and 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year and Hendrick developmental driver Landon Cassill among other great drivers! The top 51 portion of the draft, which featured drivers aged between 18 and 30, was topped by Brian Ickler.

Of course, if you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at tim@timterryonline.com and I will do my best to answer them!