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The racing season is now in full swing with action occurring at all the tracks in the Maritimes. Last weekend Mother Nature tried to rain on the parade but failed with the exception of River Glade. They had to shorten their feature from 100 to 62 laps due to the wet stuff but that was enough to make it official.
Riverside International Speedway was the scene of some very exciting action on Saturday night. The Pro Stock Tour ran their second of eleven races in very quick time with only three cautions in the whole 100 laps. Defending Tour champion Shawn Tucker took home the victory but it was PEI's Kent Vincent that stole the spotlight. Vincent was fast right off the truck but when he laid down a track record lap in the time trials, everyone knew something special was about to happen. Vincent led or battled for the lead most of the way despite many challenges from a handfull of competitors. In the end however, he had to settle for second.
For Springhill's Sandy Livingston, the day started out with great promise as the car was working well and putting down some pretty quick lap times in the first two practice sessions. Unfortunately, in the middle of turns 1 and 2, the Haiman joint on the right side broke during the third practice, causing the wheel to flop out to the right and put him hard into the wall. The car suffered massive damage to the right side, ending the day early. Stunned by the collision, Livingston managed to walk away unhurt though. One again, the safety of these cars protected the driver. It looked like Livingston's year was finished due to a lack of funds to repair the car.
THIS JUST IN !!! A big thank you goes out to Keybase Financial and Springhill Pharmasave who have come through with the funding to repair the car in time for the next race in Fredericton. Cumberland County's lone Pro Stock competitor is still in the game. Sandy took a hit in the standings last week dropping from 14th to 24th but look for him to rebound in Fredericton.
Amherst and Collingwood native Corey Collins was also on hand in Antigonish to compete in the Sportsman series. Collins showed great improvement over last year, running very strong until a late race collision with the wall in turn 4 took him out. The future is suddenly looking very bright for Cumberland County racers. Good job Corey!!!
Another exciting event at Riverside was the "Walk of Champions", a celebration of the careers of the ten racers who dominated proceedings in the MASCAR and PRO STOCK Tour over the past 25 years. Nine of the ten were on hand for the occasion, the lone exception being Scott Fraser, who left us unexpectantly a few years ago. I have witnessed most of their exploits over the years and the honour is well deserved and earned.
It was indeed a thrilling moment at River Glade Speedway on Sunday afternoon when the #42 Sportsman roared out of the pits to take the green flag in the Targett Windows 100 lap event. A year ago, it looked as if the career of Steve Rodgers was over. Steve had suffered a disease in one eye that left him without sight in it. Many hours of treatment later Rodgers not only resumed his career but on Sunday, he won the race as well. Welcome back Steve !!!
Speedway 660 is the place to be this Saturday night as they run a Sportsman 100 lap event as well as the rained out "Best of the Best" pro stock event from two weeks back. All the big guns will be there in both classes so it promises to be exciting. Rumour has it that Smokin' Joe Albert will make a special race appearance as well. The bearded superstar, who has won races in 5 decades, was THEE fan favourite at Speedway 660 before his retirement at the end of last season.
Come on out and join us this weekend at a track near you. Gentlemen, (and Ladies), Start Your Engines !!!
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