Issue 78

The Notebook, IWK 250 Presented By Steve Lewis Auto Body

Do you think the party on the Island is over yet? I didn’t think so.

When Darren MacKinnon won the Parts for Trucks 100 back in June, the crew “partied until the birds started chirpin’” according to the crew. I wouldn’t be surprised if the party from Saturday night is still going on after MacKinnon’s win in the IWK 250. He summed it up before and after the race how big this event is and what it meant to win. “This is huge,” said MacKinnon after the race. “This race is our Daytona 500!”

MacKinnon had to out duel John Flemming on the final restart with three laps to go and the #18 was ready for the multi-time Tour champ. “He had schooled me, schooled me on those previous restarts,” said MacKinnon following the victory lane celebrations. “I knew I had to be ready for him if I wanted a chance at winning it.” Flemming, who led 227 laps came home in second place and you have to think that feature win is right around the corner for the #97 Roofing Connection Dodge.

Shawn Tucker continues to reel off great finishes. A third place run in the IWK 250 Presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body not only picks up where he left off at Speedway 660 but it will also hand him the point lead after Wayne Smith had some mechanical difficulties during the race. The veterans will have some company with MacKinnon, Flemming and others in the points picture as the Tour heads into the final five races of the season.

Robbie MacLean and Cy Harvey each came home with very respectable top ten finishes after 250-laps at Riverside. MacLean piloted his #01 Universal Truck and Trailer Chevrolet Impala quietly through the field, cracking the top ten on the leaderboard in the second half of the 250. The co-owner of Oyster Bed Speedway will look to build on that finish this weekend at his track in the Air Show Atlantic 100. Meanwhile, “the Legend” put his #37 Harvey Racing Chevrolet up in the top ten before the halfway break in the race and kept his car in that top ten and on the lead lap for the duration of the event. Even after being swept up in a late race caution, Harvey kept the car in one piece for a ninth place finish, one spot behind MacLean in the final running order. Great job guys!

Give a call out to Marty Prevost in the #11. Prevost piloted his Mega Enterprises/BTP Construction Chevrolet to a sixth place run on Saturday night amidst tough competition including Sprint Cup star Marcos Ambrose, who also ran the #11 on his car. Ambrose’s NOVA Racing teammate George Koszkulics finished fourth while Donald Chisholm ran into problems aboard his #89 Keltic Ford Fusion and wound up with sixteenth.

The IWK 250 Presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body is a special event for many reasons. The event is the sight of the annual Pig Roast put on by the Van Zutphen’s and the #98 team which once again was a big success in raising funds for the IWK 250. The Sportsman and Legend cars played a great undercard to the action of the Pro Stocks on Friday (and Sunday for the Sportsman feature). Not to mention the main attraction of the evening was broadcast live to an international audience on Sirius Channel 158/The Score through Race Time Radio. Joe and Sue Chisholm along with Jamie Maudsley are great people to work with and I cannot wait until the next time I get to be apart of one of their shows!

Coming up tomorrow, we take a look at the Air Show Atlantic 100 at Oyster Bed Speedway.

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