Back-To-Back Weekends Ahead to Cap Petty Season September 11, 2019 Regional Hurricane Dorian has set up two big back-to-back weekends of stock car racing at Petty International Raceway in River Glade, New Brunswick. After a washout last weekend, the Salisbury Helping Hands Food Drive Race Night will run this Saturday evening, September 14th. Drivers in five unique stock car classes will compete for the checkered flag, with the AE McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman, Street Stock, Mister Transmission Mini Stock, Leisure Days RV Bandolero and Kings County Performance Women on Wheels all taking to the track on Saturday. Racing begins on September 14th at a special start time of 4 pm. Fans can receive $10 off adult grandstand admission for Saturday evening’s full card of racing if they bring either an admission wristband from the 55th Jones Auto Body River Glade International or a minimum donation of three non-perishable food items to the Salisbury Helping Hands Food Bank. Promotion only applies to adult grandstand admission for Saturday, September 14th. With teams able to count their best seven finishes towards a championship in the AE McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman, Street Stock, Mister Transmission Mini Stock and Leisure Days RV Bandolero classes, drivers are now counting points and feature victories and podiums at this critical time in the season. For some, these final two weekends will be make or break while others will look to put their championship hopes on ice and await the Mike Stevens Memorial weekend on September 20th and 21st. The AE McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman division will look to come down to a battle between big names in the class. Five drivers, when drops of their worst races are factored in, are within seven points of each other heading into the final two races of 2019. Whatever way you slice it, Jordan Veinotte (Porter’s Lake, NS) still remains at the front of the field as he chases his first Petty International Raceway track title. Behind the No. 11 Veinotte’s Truck and Auto Ford, a logjam begins to form between Justin Beers (Moncton, NB), Kenny MacKenzie Jr (Salisbury, NB), Marcel LeBlanc (Bouctouche, NB) and Neal Crawford (Salisbury, NB). Of the top five, Veinotte has three feature wins while Crawford and LeBlanc each have one. The most recent winner in the class is Laurie Cormier (Riverview, NB), who picked up his third River Glade International title in August. Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois, NB) is on the cusp of clinching the Street Stock championship at Petty International Raceway. The reigning Street Stock champion, who will also do double duty on Saturday with a Late Model Sportsman start, has five wins in eight starts thus far in the No. 68 Moncton Chrysler Dodge Challenger. In theory, with every driver counting their best seven starts, should Cormier win the next two races, he would go uncontested for his second straight track title. As they say though, that will be easier said than done, especially with the talented Street Stock field at the high banked bullring. Ryan Richard (Saint John, NB) and Logan Power (Riverview, NB) are point contenders that also own a feature win in the class in 2019 while Brandon Carter (Riverview, NB) will look to notch a big win on Saturday. Mike Duskey (Albany, PE) won the season opener in May. Following the 55th Jones Auto Body River Glade International, JR Lawson (Shubenacadie, NS) has put the Mister Transmission Mini Stock championship under lock and key with two races to go. Lawson has five feature wins and two second place finishes, making it impossible for any driver to catch Lawson in points with drop races factored in. The fight for second is a spirited one though, with Trevor Smith (Windsor, NS), reigning champion Rob Poirier (Irishtown, NB), Ryan McKnight (Sussex, NB) and International Saturday winner Chantel Ackles (Shubenacadie, NS) all within contention for the runner-up point spot. Like Lawson, Colton Noble (Upper Nine Mile River, NS) has clinched the Leisure Days RV Bandolero title heading into September. Even with three races to go in the Bandolero division, Noble has racked up six wins and a second place finish, a record that cannot be beaten by any of his peers within three events. Second place is still virtually up for grabs with three races remaining between Bandit Chase Mackay (Bear Cove, NS), Owen Mahar (Hubley, NS), Evan Lane (Salisbury, NB) and Danny Chisholm (Canning, NS). Mahar is the only driver in the class besides Noble to win a race in 2019. It is not a sure thing, but Ayden Christensen (Windsor Junction, NS) has set himself up good for the final three races of the 2019 season when looking at the Leisure Days RV Beginner Bandolero championship. Christensen has four feature wins, two second place finishes and a third place run in seven races, a record that will be tough to top in 2019. Kelsea Lewis (Salisbury, NB) has been consistent though and while the No. 53 hasn’t held a checkered flag in a feature in 2019, she has finished second four times in seven races. Rookie Teagan Dempsey (Fredericton, NB), Ian Crawford (Salisbury, NB) and Dawson Noble (Upper Nine Mile River, NS) will look to make some noise in the final three races and put their number at the top of the leaderboard beginning with Saturday’s Salisbury Helping Hands Food Drive. The trading of wins between Ashley Campbell and Paula Evans continued at the last race for the Kings County Performance Women on Wheels. The pair has kept the wins in the family with Ashley taking three wins to Paula’s two. All races count towards the championship in this class and with two races to go it is the No. 2 driven by Campbell up by four points on the reigning champion. Lauralee Blackburn is third, five points out of second and six points ahead of rookie Katie Beazley. Grandstand admission prices for Saturday’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 $25 and is restricted to those 16 years of age and older. Pit gates for competitors open at 11:30am, grandstand gates open for spectators at 2pm with racing getting underway at 4pm. Following Saturday night’s Salisbury Helping Hands Food Drive Race Night, the focus shifts to the Mike Stevens Memorial Weekend. The racing action kicks off Friday evening, September 20th, with championship deciding races in the Street Stock, Mister Transmission Mini Stock and Kings County Performance Women on Wheels. The Leisure Days RV Bandoleros will race their first of two events on the weekend with the Atlantic Modified Tour crowning a track champion as they race in their penultimate Tour race of the year. The Friday, September 20th card has a 7pm post time. Saturday afternoon, September 21st will be headlined by the Mike Stevens Memorial Super Late Model 200. Saturday also sees track champions crowned in the Leisure Days RV Bandolero and AE McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman classes. The Legend division will also contest an INEX-sanctioned event during the Saturday of the Mike Stevens Memorial. Racing begins on Saturday, September 21st at 4pm. Pro Stock teams are reminded that registration for the Mike Stevens Memorial 200 is now open. The race will pay $10,000 to win in 2019 and with lap and contingency money hanging in the balance, a payday of over $20,000 could potentially await the winner in victory lane. Marketing opportunities, including lap sponsorships, are available for the event as well by contacting Ellen or Wayne Smith. Complete information for the Sixth Annual Mike Stevens Memorial can be found at PettyRaceway.com. For complete, up-to-date information on Petty International Raceway, please visit PettyRaceway.com, follow us on Twitter (@PettyRaceway_NB) and like us on Facebook (@PettyInternationalRaceway). 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.
