HALIFAX, NS – The Atlantic Cat 250, Halifax’s most anticipated stock car racing weekend of the season, returns to Scotia Speedworld this Friday and Saturday. This year’s event will attract the best stock car drivers from the Maritimes and beyond. Friday night the Affordable Fuels Sportsman will kick things off as they go head-to-head in a 100 lap shootout. Saturday race fans will see the stars of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour battle for 250 grueling laps in the weekend’s main feature, the Atlantic Cat 250, which has a posted purse of over $60,000.00. The Affordable Fuels and Metro Home Heating Sportsman division will take centre stage in their longest race of the year. Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside) has gone to victory lane in this race in each of the last three years and will look to extend the streak to four on Friday night. He will have to fight off the best Sportsman drivers in the province and beyond though in order to defend the Affordable Fuels 100. Point leader Pete Miller (Kennetcook) leads the charge of CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series competitors into this event. He, along with Matt Moore (Falmouth), Aaron Boutilier (Porter’s Lake) and Travis Roma (West Chezzetcook) have all won features this season. Warming up the track for the Affordable Fuels and Metro Home Heating 100 Friday night will be the Coors Light Trucks, Toursec Lightning Cars, and Hydraulics Plus Bandoleros. Gates open at 5:00pm Friday with racing action set for 7:00pm. Saturday the cars and stars of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour take over Scotia Speedworld for the Atlantic Cat 250. By virtue of his win in the last round of the series, the Lucas Oil 100 at Oyster Bed Speedway, Dylan Blenkhorn (Truro) has extended his point lead to 26 points over Cassius Clark (Farmington, ME) with four races to go in the championship chase. Between the pair, they own four of the last six Atlantic Cat 250 trophies. Cole Butcher (Porter’s Lake) and Donald Chisholm (Antigonish), both winners on the series this season, are locked in a battle for third in the standings with only a single point between them. The 2013 winner of the Atlantic Cat 250, Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay) is fifth in the standings entering battle on Saturday, three points up on Darren MacKinnon (Charlottetown, PE). American driver Ben Rowe (Turner, ME) will race the No. 0 Dexter car in Saturday’s main feature. Rowe is a three-time winner of the Atlantic Cat 250 and is substituting for Shawn Turple who has a family wedding on Saturday. John Flemming (Halifax), a five-time PST champion and the inaugural winner of theAtlantici Cat 250, will also enter Saturday’s race driving a No. 10 Atlantic Cat entry. In addition to winning the 17th edition of the Atlantic Cat 250 and taking home the coveted Scott Fraser Memorial Cup, drivers will also be vying for their piece of the $60,000 purse and lucrative contingency funds, including $6250 in lap money – for each lap a driver leads he will receive $25. The Atlantic Tiltload Pole Challenge could pad one team’s pockets with up to $2000. All drivers who qualify in the top 15 are eligible to take the Pole Challenge. The driver who takes the challenge moves from the head of the field to the final starting position in the Atlantic Cat 250. Only one driver can accept the challenge – with first option going to the pole winner and if not accepted, moving to 2nd place, and so on. If a driver accepts the challenge they will receive a bonus of $500. An additional $500 will be paid if the driver finishes in the top 10 positions OR an additional $1000 will be paid if the driver finishes in the top 5 positions OR an additional $1500 will be paid to the driver if they win the Atlantic Cat 250. The Toursec four-cylinder Lightning cars will get things started Saturday with a 25 lap feature followed by the Upper Clements Park Maritime League of Legends 50. Gates open at 2:00pm on Saturday with Atlantic Tiltload heat races which will determine the starting line-up for the Atlantic Cat 250 set for 5:00pm. Fans will also enjoy an Autograph Sessions with the stars of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour prior to the main event. Race Time Radio will return to Scotia Speedworld for the Atlantic Cat 250 Weekend. Race broadcasts will be available for listeners absolutely free, no subscription necessary, via www.racetimeradio.com by clicking the “Listen Live” links in the upper right of the page, or by downloading their smart phone App, for iPad, iPhone, & Android. Admission for the Affordable Fuels & Metro Home Heating Sportsman 100 is $14.00 for adults, $4.00 for youth (8-15 years old); pit admission is $17.00. Admission for Saturday’s Atlantic Cat 250 is $35.00 for adults; $6.00 for youth; pit admission is $40.00. Tickets available at the gate on race day. (Cash Only) EXPECTED ENTRY LIST – Atlantic Cat 250 (as of August 9) #08 – Nicholas Naugle – Dartmouth, NS #0- Ben Rowe – Turner, ME #5 – Jonathan Hicken – Brudenell, PE #7 – Byron Bartlett – Rothesay, NB #8 – Kent Vincent – Westmoreland, PE #10- John Flemming – Halifax, NS #11 – Marty Prevost – Fall River, NS #13 – Cassius Clark – Farmington, ME #14 – Terry Dougay – Albany, PE #18 – Darren MacKinnon – Charlottetown, PE #21 – Shawn Pierce – Bridgewater, NS #22 – Joel Hickox – Cornwall, PE #24 – Steve Ross – Waverly, NS #29 – Greg Proude – Springvale, PE #40 – Robbie MacEwen – Charlottetown, PE #42– Matt Rodgers – Smithtown, NB #49 – Harry Ross White – Kennetcook, NS #51 – Vance Hanes – Kennetcook, NS #53 – Cole Butcher – Porter’s Lake, NS #54 – Jarrett Butcher – Porter’s Lake, NS #66 – Russell SMith Jr – Lakeside, NS #67 – Dylan Blenkhorn – Truro, NS #81 – Nevin Scott – Marshfield, PE #89 – Donald Chisholm – Antigonish, NS #91 – Dylan Gosbee – Cornwall, PE #97 – D.J. Casey – Prospect, NS #99 – Craig Slaunwhite – Terence Bay, NS *Entry list subject to change without notice The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour (PST) is considered the highest level of stock car racing in Canada. The Tour is recognized in the industry as one of the healthiest stock car racing series in North America. 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 Scotia Speedworld (SSW) is a 3/10-mile asphalt oval racing facility. SSW is the only track in Nova Scotia to host a weekly racing series, which runs May through September and features six different classes of racecars. SSW also hosts special events, including Monster Jam and the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour. SSW is located at Exit 6 on Highway 102, across from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. For more information please click on www.ScotiaSpeedworld.ca or call our Event Hotline at (902) 873-2277 or our office at (902) 481-2514. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sswracing and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/sswracing
