|
The River Glade International is now in the books and Mike Power Jr has added his name to the coveted trophy. The smiles of his teammates told the whole story afterward.
Craig Slaunwhite, the former Sportsman champ at Scotia Speedworld, who stepped into Frank Fraser's shoes one short year ago, finally captured his first victory on the Pro Stock Tour after several fine runs. Again, the smiles of the crew's faces as well as the face of Frank Fraser himself, told volumes about the value of this victory.
Up in Fredericton, the "rookie" Brian MacNaughton has started to exert his influence on the Pro Stock division. MacNaughton had two victories and a second in the feature last Saturday night.
This week, the Carquest Pro Stock tour heads to Raceway Park over in PEI for race nine of their 11 race series. After that, the tour heads back to Centre for Speed to make up the rained out event from last month on September 6th. The Tour finishes up at Scotia with a 200 lap finale a week later. The points championship could go all the way to this final race, the way it looks right now.
Meanwhile, the Speedway 660 Labour Day extravaganza comes up just two short weeks from now. This is one of the highlights of the race season and features a 150 lap Sportsman race on Saturday night and the Peterbilt 250 for Pro Stocks on Sunday. The Peterbilt features Andy Santerre, the former Busch competitor and Ron Hornaday Jr., last year's Craftsman truck champion, as competitors in this one. This should make for a very interesting race, to be sure.
From Bridgetown comes news that work is progressing on the new dirt track being built in that area. Hopes are high for at least one race date in late September of this year.
A couple weeks ago, while taking in the Atlantic Cat in Halifax, I had occasion to talk with some folks from Lake Doucette Motor Speedway, the track that refuses to die. When the track owner decided to close the track last April, the drivers got together and decided to operate the facility themselves. So far, things are going quite well, and improvements are constantly being made to the facility. They figure that they can survive and I personally applaud and encourage them.
Up in the Sprint Cup of NASCAR, both Jimmy Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seem to be a lock to make the championship round, "the Chase", but Jeff Gordon took a hit last weekend and now sits with less than a 100 point lead over the first driver currently outside the "Chase". A couple of strong runs in the remaining pre "Chase" races will be required to keep him in the hunt. Front runner, Kyle Busch appears to have a lock on the first position going into this round but things have a way of equalling out once the "Chase" begins. It's way too early to make any predictions on who will win in the end.
Sandy Livingston Jr. is still hanging in there in the Carquest Pro Stock Tour. The car is woefully underpowered at this point but the hard work of Sandy's crew and the effort behind the wheel, keep him fighting for a top twenty spot each week. Presently, the Springhill runner sits in 24th position but one good run could move him several positions up in the standings.
With the season beginning to wind down and the weather beginning to turn nice again, the action is hot and furious on the track, making this a great time to go out to a track near you to take in the excitement. Gentlemen, start your engines !!
|
