East Coast Mini Stock Tour Crowns Champion Saturday at Riverside September 11, 2019 Regional After Hurricane Dorian came in and delayed everything one week, the Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour will crown their third different champion in Series history this Saturday evening, September 14th, at Riverside International Speedway. The Passione Flooring & Interiors Season Finale 50 is the ninth and final round of the 2019 season and second stop to the high banked oval located in the shadows of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The racing card is highlighted by the eleventh round of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour and the Lucas Oil 150 along with the NAPA Sportsman Series Season Finale. Racing begins at Riverside International Speedway on September 14 at a special start time of 4 pm. Dave Matthews (Kennetcook, NS) will clinch his first Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour championship on Saturday when he takes the green flag in the Season Finale. Matthews won his fourth race of the 2019 season in a thriller at Speedway 660 on August 31st during the Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50. Matthews held off all challengers on the final restart with 16 to go to win his third straight SpeedWeekend race. Matthews is still looking for a win at Riverside to add to his vast resume of accomplishments in a Mini Stock, so with the championship virtually under lock and key, Matthews can firmly focus on knocking a win at Riverside off the bucket list. Jesse Deveau (Greenwood, NS) took the upper hand on the battle for second in the standings, if only by a few points. Six points is the advantage for Deveau on Neil Miousse (Kentville, NS) heading into the final race of the season. Both struggled at Riverside International Speedway during their last appearance in August and will have to park that in their rearview mirror quickly if they want to finish this season in second overall. This battle will be one to watch as the Series competes in 50 laps on Saturday at Riverside. Cody Byrne (Orwell Cove, PE) showed the way for most of the Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50. An exit from the race with 16 to go due to mechanical problems not only took them out of the chance to win at Speedway 660 but put them behind in their bid for second in the standings. If there is any silver lining, the fifth-place team in the standings, the No. 13 driven by Drew MacEachern (Dartmouth, NS) and Mark Williams (Elmsdale, NS) exited the Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50 on Lap 29. Byrne and the No. 67 Byrne Plumbing/Big Jay’s Carpentry Honda enters Riverside as the reigning champion of the Season Finale. One final race will sort out the Rookie of the Year battle on the Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour. The battle has been intense and while Shay MacPhee (Yarmouth, NS) took home the latest Rookie of the Race Award at Speedway 660, Darrell Hulme’s (Sydney, NS) fifth-place finish will keep him in firm control of the season-long lead with one to go. Stephan Somerset (Nictaux, NS) is the third driver in the Rookie of the Year battle and will look to put Team Sonic to the front at Riverside Speedway on Saturday. MacPhee was the top rookie at Riverside in August. With this race being the final race of not only the Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour but the 50th Anniversary Season at Riverside International Speedway, several drivers will be towing to James River in hopes to locking down one more feature victory before the winter months set in. Taylor McLean (New Glasgow, NS), Dave Timmons (Inverness, NS) and Jerome Tracey (Port Hawkesbury, NS) will all be looking to keep the trophy in their backyards. Tracey competed in the first event at Riverside International Speedway in 1969 and is expected to close the season at the wheel of the No. 33 car on Saturday. Andrew Warren (White’s Lake, NS) won here in August while Tim Webster (Beaver Bank, NS; two victories) and Byrne also own Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour victories at Riverside International Speedway since the Series inception in 2017. The driver who qualifies on the pole position on Saturday evening will be the first driver offered the Giles Auto World Pole Challenge. The first driver to accept the challenge will fall to the back of the field and pick up cash bonuses based off where they finish the event. The EIT Race Radios Hard Charger and RockAuto.com Hard Luck Awards will also be offered during every event on the Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour. Reserved and general admission tickets can be purchased in advance at RiversideSpeedway.ca, until Thursday. General admission tickets will be available at the gate on race day, starting at Noon. There is plenty of free spectator and RV parking for this event; all camping areas will be open except for Family 1 which will be closed for the weekend to house the season-ending fireworks display. Camping reservations are not required for this event. Additionally, track management has announced a “Back to School” special offer for this event with FREE grandstand general admission for everyone 18 & under. Students are encouraged to wear school colours for a chance to win prizes. A fireworks display is planned to end the evening and the at-track 50th-anniversary celebrations this Saturday, pending confirmation from the provider who remains without power and communications as of Tuesday. Further updates on the fireworks will be provided at www.RiversideSpeedway.ca. Fans are encouraged to follow along with the ECMST on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @ECMiniStockTour. You can also visit the ECMST website for complete series and event information at EastCoastMiniStockTour.com. About Passione Flooring and Interiors:Passione Flooring and Interiors offers the highest quality of products from the Quality Sterling Group. Whether it is tile, carpet, hardwood, laminate or the world class service and installation, they can do it all! Their new state of the art location is now open at 64 Burbridge Avenue in Dartmouth’s Burnside Industrial Park. Visit them today or call (902) 832-9091 for expert advice on your next flooring and interior project! The Quality Sterling Group line of products and services can be found online at PassioneFlooring.com. About the East Coast Mini Stock Tour:The East Coast Mini Stock Tour was formed in December 2016 to give Mini Stock racing in the Maritime Provinces a unified home. Featuring four cylinder Honda models, the series will host events at six oval race tracks throughout Atlantic Canada in their nine race season. For complete information on the East Coast Mini Stock Tour, please visit EastCoastMiniStockTour.com About Riverside International Speedway:For 50 years, Riverside International Speedway has been recognized as a premiere stock racing facility in Canada. The 1/3-mile high-banked asphalt oval roars to action several times a year for special events. It is the home of the IWK 250 – widely known as the best stock-car race in Canada, and of the Bumper to Bumper 300 – eastern Canada’s only NASCAR event. Located in James River, between New Glasgow and Antigonish, the facility is easily accessible at exit 30 on Trans Canada Highway 104. For more information please visit www.riversidespeedway.ca.
