RIVER GLADE, NB (May 28, 2014) – Petty International Raceway starts its 2014 season this Saturday with the Irving Blending & Packaging 100 for the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour (PST). Besides being the second points-paying race on the series season, the event will feature the first round of action this year for Petty NAPA CMAX Sportsman, street stock, and mini stock house divisions. While the new Petty pro stock division is not on the card, four of its teams plan to enter the PST event. Jason Carnahan, Tim Rodgers, Ken Mackenzie, and Brady Creamer will attempt to defend their home turf against more than 20* of the region’s best racers who tour with the series. Rodgers, a former pro stock racer with both MASCAR and the PST, is making a return the driver’s seat after several years off; Creamer, a successful sportsman racer, is making his pro stock debut. John Flemming is the current PST point leader , edging out season opener winner Shawn Turple after round one last week in Halifax. Although Turple received top points for the win, Flemming picked up five bonus points after taking home the Linde Most Laps Led Award, giving him a slight three point advantage over Turple in the chase for the championship. Rounding out the top five in points respectively are Shawn Tucker, Craig Slaunwhite, and Donald Chisholm. Besides the Petty pro stockers New Brunswick talent on track this Saturday will include Tucker, Sarah McKay – the Tour’s only registered full-time rookie for 2014, and multi-time Pro Stock Tour race winner Lonnie Sommerville is expected to be the substitute pilot of the Matt Harris entry. Fans attending Saturday’s season opener will find improvements made over the off-season at the facility including a new concrete wall around turns three and for along with a new staging area for competitors in the pit area that will facilitate quicker turnaround between races during a show as well as lessen congestion in the pit area. This event is the first of 12 planned for Petty International Raceway in 2014 and the first of three visits to the facility for the PST. Five house divisions will compete for points titles including the sportsman, street stock, and mini stock, along with bandolero and the new-for-2014 pro stock division. Other touring series on the schedule include the Maritime League of Legends and the AOW. Two regional challenge series events for sportsman teams will be held at Petty this year: the New Brunswick Big Dawg Challenge will see Petty teams go against those from Speedway Miramichi, and the Maritime Sportsman Challenge will see the Petty drivers test their skills against teams predominantly from Nova Scotia. On August 22 & 23 Petty will host the 50th edition of the oldest stock car race in Canada – the River Glade International. Saturday’s show will see pro stock time trials start at 5:10 with racing at 6 p.m. Time trials and heat races will set the starting grid for the Irving Blending & Packaging 100, while heat races will set the starting order of the sportsman 50-lap feature, the street stock 30-lap feature, and the mini-stock 25-lap feature. EXPECTED ENTRY LIST – Irving Blending & Packaging 100 #0 – Shawn Turple – Enfield, NS #5 – Jonathan Hicken – Brudenell, PE #8 – Kent Vincent – Westmoreland, PE #10C – Brady Creamer – Miramichi, NB #14 – Terry Dougay – Albany, PE #18 – Darren MacKinnon – Charlottetown, PE #19 – Tim Rodgers – Lower Coverdale, NB #21 – Shawn Pierce – Bridgewater, NS #22 – Joel Hickox – Cornwall, PE #24 – Steve Ross – Waverly, NS #29 – Greg Proude – Springvale, PE #31 – Colby Smith – Cape Sable Island, NS #32 – Sarah McKay – Quispamsis, NB #51 – Vance Hanes – Kennetcook, NS #52 – Shawn Tucker – Fredericton, NB #53 – Cole Butcher – Porter’s Lake, NS #55 – Jason Carnahan – Moncton, NB #67 – Dylan Blenkhorn – Truro, NS #72 – Brad Eddy – Lower Sackville, NS #85 –Ken MacKenzie – Salisbury, NB #87 – Lonnie Sommerville – Saint John, NB #88 – George Koszkulics – New Glasgow, NS #89 – Donald Chisholm – Antigonish, NS #91 – Dylan Gosbee – Cornwall, PE #97 – John Flemming – Halifax, NS #99 – Craig Slaunwhite – Terence Bay, NS *Entry list subject to change without notice About Petty International Raceway: Petty International Raceway is located on Highway 106, just 40 km west of Moncton, New Brunswick. To learn more about Petty International Raceway, its location, admission, policies, history, and more, please visit www.pettyinternationalraceway.com. To get current updates delivered to you directly please follow us on Twitter. About Irving Blending & Packaging: Irving Blending & Packaging is the largest and only full-service blending and packaging provider in North America. Irving BP’s core product portfolio includes over 1,400 traditional lubricant, water, solvent, alcohol based chemical specialty fluids, greases and low viscosity petroleum based products that exceed quality standards, durability, multi-functionality and performance. Our dedication to customer satisfaction, safety and forward thinking is second to none. Irving Blending & Packaging is in the business of making ideas a reality. About the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour: The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour (PST) visits five tracks throughout the Maritimes during its May through September season. The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour is owned and operated by Maritime Pro Stock Tour Limited. For more information, call our administration office at 902.481.2531 or click www.maritimeprostocktour.com . You can also follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/prostocktour and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prostocktour. source – track/series communications
