Petty Continues Summer Stretch This Saturday August 15, 2019 Regional (RIVER GLADE, NB – August 15th, 2019) – Petty International Raceway returns to action this Saturday night, August 17th with a full card of racing action. Six unique stock car racing divisions, including the Atlantic Modified Tour, will take to the track competing for checkered flags and valuable championship points. With only a month and a half left in the season, the action on the high banked bullring has been hot enough to almost reach a boiling point. The green flag goes in the air on Saturday at 6 pm. With only three race weekends remaining following Saturday night’s show, the season is beginning to wind down. With two straight weekends of action including next weekend’s Jones Auto Body River Glade International, drivers racing for a championship cannot afford to have a stumble at this stage. For those racing for wins, they are running out of time to grab those checkered flags in this 2019 season at Petty International Raceway. Jordan Veinotte (Porter’s Lake, NS) scored the win in the Late Model 100 during the Bumper to Bumper Summer Shootout to inch him closer to the point lead in the season=long A.E. McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman division. Justin Beers (Moncton, NB) was sixth in that event and saw his point lead through six races evaporate to just a single point over both Veinotte and Kenny MacKenzie Jr. (Salisbury, NB). With four races to go and teams being able to count their best seven finishes towards the track title, there is still plenty to decide in the premier division at the track. Like Veinotte, Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois, NB) not only came out of the Bumper to Bumper Summer Shootout with an event championship but also did himself a favor in the season=long point standings. Cormier extended his point lead over Ryan Richard (Saint John, NB) and Brandon Carter (Moncton, NB) with a win in the Sunday Street Stock 100. Cormier also leads the division in wins, taking four of the six regular season victories. Mike Duskey (Albany, PE) and Logan Power (Riverview, NB) own the other two wins, with one of Cormier’s wins also coming with Duskey behind the wheel of the No. 68 Moncton Chrysler Dodge Charger on July 27th. The Mister Transmission Mini Stock division has truly been a battle between Trevor Smith (Windsor Junction, NS) and JR Lawson (Shubenacadie, NS). They have been trading victories back and forth this year, with the tally currently sitting three for Lawson and two for Smith. Reigning track champion Rob Poirier (Irishtown, NB) has remained consistent, finishing third or fourth in the first five features in 2019. Chantel Ackles (Shubenacadie, NS) also owns three podium finishes in as many starts in 2019 while Chris Garnett (Havelock, NB) is the only other driver in the class over the first five=point races to amass podium finishes, taking home two top=three finishes in the first half of 2019. Colton Noble (Upper Nine Mile River, NS) has been the dominant force in the Leisure Days RV Bandolero Outlaw/Bandit division, taking home all but one feature victory on the 2019 season thus far. The only other feature victory went to Owen Mahar (Hubley, NB) back in June but with Mahar away at Canadian Karting Nationals, he will not be behind the wheel of the No. 66 car on Saturday evening. Chase MacKay (Bear Cove, NS) has used consistency to put himself second in points and Evan Lane (Salisbury, NB) has found his way to third but the pair will need to find victory lane in the second half of 2019 if they want to bid for a championship. Ayden Christensen (Windsor Junction, NS) is pacing the field in the Leisure Days RV Beginner Bandolero division but Kelsea Lewis (Salisbury, NB) has made a quiet run to the top of the standings. Christensen, on the strength of two=point wins, has a four=point advantage on Lewis, who has three straight second=place runs. Rookie Teagan Dempsey (Fredericton, NB) sits third overall in his first season of Bandolero competition. With three races to go, the championship is still well up for grabs in the Kings County Performance Women on Wheels division. Tied atop the standings are two-time champion Paula Evans and Ashley Campbell. The pair have been trading feature wins, with each having two victories. Evans has the most recent feature victory in the class. Lauralee Blackburn is only seven points out with three races to go, while Katie Beazley is only two points behind Blackburn. Yves McCray (Neguac, NB) leads the Petty International Raceway track standings when it comes to the Modifieds, but it is Brandon Skidmore (Springhill, NS) leading the Atlantic Modified Tour into action. In Tour action last weekend at Speedway Miramichi, it was Skidmore going to victory lane while McCray brought home the No. 58 in seventh place. With only one more race to go at Petty International Raceway this year for the Modifieds, a decent finish by McCray can go a long way to locking up the track title and also put him in decent shape in the Touring Series point standings. Saturday’s race will count for both Petty Raceway track and Atlantic Modified Tour points. Braxton Stafford (Blackville, NB) sits just a single point out of Skidmore for runner-up in the Petty International Raceway Modified standings, with former River Glade International champion Zean Dutcher (Miramichi, NB) and 2018 Atlantic Modified Tour champion Joe Hoyt (Waasis, NB) completing the top five in the Petty Raceway track standings after three races. The Tour expects up to 15 entries for Saturday, including the return of former Bandolero standout Greg Butler (Hoyt, NB). 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 1 pm, grandstand gates open for spectators at 4 pm with racing getting underway at 6 pm. A complete race day format is available online by visiting PettyRaceway.com. It is a quick turnaround for teams at Petty International Raceway with the Jones Auto Body River Glade International taking place on Friday, August 23rd and Saturday, August 24th. The 55th edition of the event kicks off with the Jones Auto Body Late Model Sportsman 100 on Friday evening with the Street Stock and Mister Transmission Mini Stock playing support. Saturday sees the third and final appearance on the year of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour with the Cummins 200. The Maritime League of Legends Tour, Mister Transmission Mini Stock and Leisure Days RV Bandoleros will also race on the Saturday evening card. 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.
