Mike Stevens Memorial to Cap Petty Season This Weekend September 19, 2019 Regional RIVER GLADE, NB – The 2019 season at Petty International Raceway will come to a close this weekend with one of the biggest stock car racing events in Atlantic Canada. The Sixth Annual Mike Stevens Memorial is a two-day showcase of speed taking place this Friday and Saturday. Eight stock car divisions will take to the track to race for valuable championship points and the prestige of winning on this weekend of racing in New Brunswick. Racing starts on Friday evening at 7 pm while Saturday’s festivities get underway at 3:30 pm, starting with Time Trials for the Mike Stevens Memorial Pro Stock 200. Petty International Raceway will be a hive of activity, beginning on Thursday evening with an open practice beginning at 5 pm. With so much racing going on this weekend and over a hundred teams expected to race on the high banked quarter-mile on Friday and Saturday, it is an event that race fans will not want to miss. Here are some things to keep an eye on this weekend: FRIDAY NIGHT The highlight to Friday evening’s show is the Street Stock 75. Always a favorite amongst Street Stock division teams in the Province, this event is expected to draw over 20 of the best in the region to compete for the checkered flag. Twenty-six drivers lined up for this race in 2018, which was won by Logan Power (Riverview).A total of 22 Street Stock teams have competed in at least one event at Petty International Raceway so far in 2019. Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois), with six wins and a second-place finish to his credit this year, has clinched the track championship in the division for the second straight season. The Mike Stevens Memorial Street Stock 75 is a championship point race for the track.The Mister Transmission Mini Stock division will conclude their season with a 50-lap feature on Friday evening. Twenty-five four-cylinder teams have competed at the track thus far in 2019 with JR Lawson (Shubenacadie, NS) already wrapping up the track championship after the 55th Jones Auto Body River Glade International in August. In last year’s race, Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour regular Cody Byrne (Orwell Cove, PE) went to victory lane, besting 20 others to win on Mike Stevens Memorial weekend.The Atlantic Modified Tour will make their final stop of the season at Petty International Raceway. Brandon Skidmore (Springhill, NS) enters into a race he won in 2018 as the current Tour point leader over Yves McCray (Neguac). McCray has a comfortable eight-point lead in the Petty Raceway track championship standings over a three-way tie for second that includes Skidmore, former River Glade International winner Zean Dutcher (Miramichi) and Braxton Stafford (Blackville). McCray’s worst finish at Petty Raceway this year has been third and has two victories to his credit at the track. Chris Wilson (South Esk) is the most recent Tour winner at Petty Raceway. Their Friday night feature is scheduled for 35-laps.Both Leisure Days RV Bandolero championships are a lock heading into the final weekend of the season, which will see the youngsters of Petty Raceway compete on both days of the Mike Stevens Memorial weekend. With drivers counting their best seven races towards the championship in 2019, there is no way Colton Noble (Upper Nine Mile River, NS) and Ayden Christensen (Windsor Junction, NS) can be caught in the Bandolero and Beginner Bandolero point chases, respectively. With this being the only Bandolero event in Atlantic Canada this weekend and the penultimate event that teams can score INEX National points in Atlantic Canada for the Summer, the track is expecting their biggest field of Bandoleros of the season on Friday and Saturday.The closest point battle of any Petty International Raceway house division comes in the Kings County Performance Women on Wheels division. The on-track family feud between Ashley Campbell and Paula Evans will come down to one race on Friday evening. The two Halifax drivers can’t get too concerned about one another though, as last weekend’s feature winner Lauralee Blackburn is only four points back.Grandstand admission prices for Friday’s event are $20 for adults and $10 for youth aged eight to 18, while children seven years of age and under will be admitted free. Pit admission is $30 and is restricted to those 16 years of age and older. Pit gates for competitors open at 3:30 pm, grandstand gates open for spectators at 5 pm with racing getting underway at 7 pm. SATURDAY NIGHT The Mike Stevens Memorial Pro Stock (Super Late Model) 200 is the headlining act on Saturday’s card. Twenty-five drivers have signaled their intent to compete in the 200-lap event, led by former two-time event champion and Irving Oil 150 winner Jonathan Hicken (Brudenell, PE).The Mike Stevens Memorial Pro Stock 200 is the final race in the Bumper to Bumper Petty Pro Stock Challenge. With a cool $3,000 on the line for the winner of the four-race series, it is sure to be a race within a race to see who can come away with the season-long bragging rights. Reigning event winner Dylan Blenkhorn (Truro, NS) leads the standings after three races. Hicken will look to take command of the mini-series but cannot rest as he only has a three-point advantage over Nicholas Naugle (Dartmouth, NS), seven over Russell Smith Jr (Lakeside, NS), nine over Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake, NS) and 14 over Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS).The 200-lap race will be run without a halfway break, which means live pit stops will be utilized in this event. All cars must make one pit stop in the event. This is a six tire race.If the race goes green for 40 consecutive laps, a competition caution will be thrown. This procedure is eligible to be used until lap 160 of 200.The Drivers Meeting for the Pro Stock division will be held prior to opening ceremonies on the front straight – in front of the fans.Time Trials return to Pro Stock racing in Atlantic Canada with the front row being locked into the Mike Stevens Memorial 200 based on the fastest laps in the single-car race against the clock. The Time Trials will kick off Saturday’s show at 3:30 pm.The Mike Stevens Memorial Late Model Sportsman 100 will not only crown a Mike Stevens Memorial event champion for the class but will also settle the scores in the season-long AE McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman track title chase. With his fourth victory of the year during the Salisbury Helping Hands Food Drive Race Night last Saturday, Jordan Veinotte (Porter’s Lake, NS) has mathematically clinched the 2019 track championship. For second on back, though, it is still a fight between Kenny MacKenzie Jr (Salisbury), Justin Beers (Moncton), Neal Crawford (Salisbury) and Marcel LeBlanc (Bouctouche). Any one of the quartet could finish second in the standings based on their performances on Saturday evening.The Mike Stevens Memorial Late Model Sportsman 100 was an eventful affair, to say the least in 2018. While 29 drivers showed up, the podium was stocked with familiar faces to Petty International Raceway, led by Laurie Cormier (Riverview), Veinotte and Luc Bourgeois (Memramcook). The trio will be back on Saturday to defend their turf.After being a 75-lap race in 2018, the Mike Stevens Memorial Late Model Sportsman feature has been bumped to 100-laps in 2019.Along with a 25-lap Leisure Days RV Bandolero feature, the Legends will race 50-laps at the Mike Stevens Memorial. The race, which is an INEX National point event, is expected to draw some of the top drivers from the region with only two weeks left locally in the National point chase. Leading the charge is Braden Langille (Shubenacadie, NS), the Maritime League of Legends Tour point leader and winner of over 15 Legend features locally in 2019.Grandstand admission prices for Saturday’s events are $40 for adults and $10 for youth aged eight to 18, while children seven years of age and under will be admitted free. Pit admission is $50 and is restricted to those 16 years of age and older. Pit gates for competitors open at 9:30 am, grandstand gates open for spectators at 2 pm with Time Trials getting underway at 3:30 pm. DRIVER NEWS While no full entry lists for the support classes have been announced, there is strong competitor support building for the Sixth Annual Mike Stevens Memorial weekend. With Scotia Speedworld and Speedway 660 having their weekly racing completed for 2019 and with Oyster Bed Speedway with only one week remaining, several teams are expected to travel to Petty International Raceway to compete in the extended distance events.Track champions from numerous race tracks will converge on Petty International Raceway to put their skills to the test against the best in the region. Among those that you could see are Tristin Harris (Harvey; Speedway 660 Sharp Shooter Champion), Curtis Collins (Barnesville; Speedway 660 Sportsman champion), Deven Smith (Lakeside, NS; Scotia Speedworld Sportsman champion) and Dave Matthews (Kennetcook, NS; Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour champion), just to name a few. Noble, the 2019 Petty International Raceway track champion, also wrapped up the Scotia Speedworld Bandolero Outlaw championship last Friday night. Former Street Stock champions in Geary including Roger Slocum (Chipman) and Shawn Hyslop (St. Stephen) will be looking for their first major Petty Raceway victory on Friday. Reigning Tim’s Corner Motorsports Most Popular Driver Award winner Isabelle Getson (Tignish, PE) will make her Petty Raceway debut in the Mister Transmission Mini Stock 50 on Friday evening.Besides the Leisure Days RV Bandolero drivers that will race on Friday and Saturday, a few drivers will be double-dipping on the Mike Stevens Memorial weekend. Michael Cormier will be the busiest of all, racing three cars over the two-day event. Cormier will climb into his championship-winning Street Stock on Friday and do double duty on Saturday between the Late Model Sportsman and Legend races. Danny Chisholm (Canning, NS) will compete in both INEX sanctioned divisions on the weekend with his Legend and Bandolero entries. Logan Power (Riverview) will make his Late Model debut on Saturday in a Veinotte’s Motorsports Sportsman car after racing in his Street Stock on Friday evening.If Hicken wants to win his second Pro Stock race of the year at Petty and third Mike Stevens Memorial title in six years, he’ll have to be on his game. The 2019 McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250 winner Ashton Tucker (Lyttleton) leads a strong contingent of drivers into the race, which also includes multi-time Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour champion Shawn Tucker (Fredericton) making his return to Petty Raceway for the first time since 2014. Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS), Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake, NS) and Dylan Gosbee (Cornwall, PE) join Hicken in leading the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour contingent into the race. Nicholas Naugle (Dartmouth, NS) and Steve Halpin (Saint John) own podium finishes at Petty International Raceway this season in Pro Stock competition. Fan-favorite Sarah McKay (Quispamsis) will make her Petty International Raceway return, as will Harry Ross White (Noel Road, NS), Lonnie Sommerville (Barnesville), Kirk Thibeau (Fort Fairfield, ME) and Dave O’Blenis (Boundary Creek). The entry list for the Mike Stevens Memorial Pro Stock 200 can be found on PettyRaceway.com. WEEKEND NOTES Adult grandstand weekend passes are $50; adult pit weekend passes are $70.The Divorcees will entertain the crowd during the Mike Stevens Memorial Pro Stock 200 autograph session on Saturday evening.Management for Petty International Raceway would like to thank the major sponsors for the Sixth Annual Mike Stevens Memorial Weekend, including R. Stevens Mechanical, Carnahan Property Management, Archibald Drilling & Blasting, Brycon Construction, NAPA Petitcodiac and Salisbury, St. Louis Bar, and Grill Moncton and Dieppe and Port City Racecars. 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.pettyraceway.com.
