Kids Rides to Highlight Saturday Show at Petty Raceway July 25, 2019 Regional RIVER GLADE, NB – Racing returns to the high banked oval at Petty International Raceway this weekend with one of the most popular promotions of the year on tap. The young and young at heart will be able to enjoy Kids Rides this Saturday evening around the high banks prior to the racing action beginning. When the green flag flies, six unique stock car racing classes will thrill fans of all ages. Kids Rides will kick off the Saturday evening show at 6 pm with racing to follow. With the busy months of August and September looming, the halfway point of the 2019 stock car racing season at Petty International Raceway is all but upon us. With a driver’s best seven finishes counting towards a championship in the track’s staple house divisions, the pressure is on for those drivers that have stumbled in the opening races to the year. One of the hottest drivers heading into this mid-Summer show is Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia’s JR Lawson. Lawson has climbed the championship ladder before, winning the Mister Transmission Mini Stock title in 2014. In ’14, he didn’t have the advantage of being able to drop his worst three finishes in a ten race season like he does in 2019. With three wins in three starts, while he might not have amassed the most points in the class, he finds himself as the unofficial point leader after four events. “Our season has been great so far,” said Lawson of 2019. “We might be the top point contender but our team is out here to have fun at the track. We hope to continue that, keep having fun with the team and fellow racers and make as many events as we can.” Trevor Smith (Windsor, NS) owns the one Mister Transmission Mini Stock victory that Lawson was not able to pocket and finds himself tied for the most points amassed this season with defending champion Rob Poirier (Irishtown, NB). Poirier has quietly gone about his business with four top-four finishes in as many races in 2019. Ryan McKnight (Sussex, NB), Chris Garnett (Havelock, NB) and Ryan Crawford (Salisbury, NB) all find themselves in good point positions as the season reaches the halfway point after Saturday evening. Two wins in four races have Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois, NB) in a familiar place on top of the Street Stock standings. Cormier, the reigning champion, has a six-point gap on Ryan Richard (Saint John, NB), who has three top-four finishes to his credit in 2019. Brandon Carter (Moncton, NB) sits third in the standings heading into Saturday evening’s racing card. Consistency has been the name of the game for Justin Beers (Moncton, NB). Beers paces the AE McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman standings after three straight second-place finishes dating back to the first of June. The pleasant surprise has been Bouctouche, New Brunswick’s Marcel LeBlanc, who is in the midst of a breakout season and is second in the standings. LeBlanc, who was third in the Caleb Dunn Memorial presented by DR Beers & Son Construction, is tied in the standings after four events with former track champion Kenny MacKenzie Jr (Salisbury, NB). Jordan Veinotte (Porter’s Lake, NS) and NAPA Petitcodiac and Salisbury Rookie Koven Lewis (Salisbury, NB) round out the top five in the Late Model standings with four races in the rearview mirror. The Leisure Days RV Bandolero division has raced thrice in 2019 and will double up this Saturday with twin Bandolero features for the youngest competitors at Petty Raceway. It is Colton Noble (Upper Nine Mile River, NS) showing the way in the combined Bandit/Outlaw division. The Outlaw driver leads over Danny Chisholm (Canning, NS) and Bandit Chase MacKay (Bear Cove, NS). Their counterparts saw a new winner the last time out with Ayden Christensen (Windsor Junction, NS) taking the victory in the 50-lap feature on July 13th. Kelsea Lewis (Salisbury, NB) and Teagan Dempsey are second and third in the Beginner championship chase. The Atlantic Modified Tour returns to the track on Saturday evening with Yves McCray (Neguac, NB) showing the way in both the track and touring series standings. Brandon Skidmore (Springhill, NS) sits second in the Tour standings by two points over Braxton Stafford (Blackville, NB) while the two are flip-flopped in the Petty Raceway Modified championship chase with Stafford having the edge in River Glade over Skidmore. Fans will be able to see the return of Glyn Nott (Burton, NB) to Petty Raceway on Saturday. Nott will make a one-off start aboard the No. 17 Keswick Kitchens Modified for the Hoyt Motorsports team. The Kings County Performance Women on Wheels always put on an action-packed show. The family rivalry between Ashley Campbell and Paula Evans continues with Campbell having the edge on Evans by a single point leading into their fourth race of 2019. Campbell also has the advantage in the win column with two feature wins to the reigning champion’s one victory. 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 2 pm, grandstand gates open for spectators at 4 pm with racing getting underway following Kids Rides 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 Bumper to Bumper Summer Shootout getting underway on Wednesday, July 31st with the R. Stevens Mechanical Pit Party and Practice. The cars and stars of the Late Model Sportsman, Bandolero, Street Stock and Mini Stock divisions will compete in four straight days of racing action from Thursday, August 1st to Sunday, August 4th. Complete competitor information, including payout, start times and much, much more is available at PettyRaceway.com. Fans can check out some of the cars and stars of Petty Raceway on Tuesday evening at St. Louis Bar and Grill Dieppe, located at 500 Rue Kennedy, starting at 6 pm, prior to them hitting the racetrack for the Bumper to Bumper Summer Shootout later in the week. 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.
