Proude Wins Chapman Bros 150 SLMS Race at Oyster Bed Speedway

OYSTER BED BRIDGE, PE – Greg Proude (#29) fought off a cluster of hard-charging Prince Edward Island drivers on a Green-White-Checkered restart to score the victory in the second round of the 2023 Super Late Model Series, the Chapman Bros. 150 presented by Hynes Paving at Oyster Bed Speedway. Proude lost the lead late but capitalized on a quartet of late restarts – and survived a near disaster on the first attempt coming to the checkers – to win over Darren MacKinnon (#18) and Dylan Gosbee (#16) in a podium swept by PEI drivers. Robbie MacEwen (#40) crossed the line in fourth, while Lonnie Sommerville (#23) would be a hard charger, coming from dead last to spoil the PEI party in the top five.

Proude led the race three times for 99 laps, but the twists and turns of the Chapman Bros. 150 presented by Hynes Paving led to a dramatic finish. Proude was on his way to victory initially – clinging to the lead over a fierce Darren MacKinnon – before the yellow flag waved on the final lap of the race. Allison MacKinnon (#07) had his car stall in the middle of turns three and four as the leaders were racing to the finish. As the caution came out, the leaders had to avoid the 07 machine which resulted in Proude spinning in turn four. Per rules 11.6 and 12.1.1 of the Super Late Model Series procedural rulebook, the leaders retained their running position as they spun to avoid the caution, and the field was lined up for a final and thrilling Green-White-Checkered.

Proude started the race on the outside pole after earning a +4 passing points score in his heat race, but it would be Troy Burke (#01) capturing the EIT Race Radios Pole Award as he charged through the field in his heat with an astonishing +5 passing points total.

At the initial start of the race, Proude would surge to an early lead. After just a few laps, Burke got to work and closed the gap, re-taking the lead in the 12th lap of the race. Burke would maintain this lead as he worked through lapped traffic with Proude on his bumper until the first caution on lap 40, which was a result of a Kenny Snow (#7) spin.

Proude used the restart to vault back into the top spot, hanging onto the lead while working through lapped traffic. The race’s second caution did not fly until lap 96 after another long green flag run. While Proude continued to show the way on the restart, Darren MacKinnon went on a charge in the final 50 laps. Saving his stuff for the end, MacKinnon was the fastest car on track on this run as he charged from fifth to take the lead on the 113^th lap of the race. MacKinnon led until the third caution on lap 135. The closing laps of the race would see multiple cautions and a few false starts, but the short runs worked to Proude’s advantage as he would re-take the lead and fight off all challenges to score the win!

Several drivers had impressive showings by driving through the field from deep starting positions. Lonnie Sommerville’s fifth-place finish came after he missed his heat race and started at the rear – likewise, Ian Rasmussen (#81) missed his heat race and came through the field with Sommerville, surviving to score a ninth-place finish. Chris Hughes (#32) started twenty-second after losing some positions in the heat race, but he too would fight his way to a top-10 result, coming home in eighth.

PEI drivers swept 10-lap qualifying heat races to kick off the day, as MacEwen, Gosbee, and Darren MacKinnon all took checkered flags.

The 150-lap main event was slowed by six cautions and took just over one hour and twenty minutes to complete. There were four lead changes among three drivers.

Twenty-six (26) drivers checked into Oyster Bed Speedway for the Chapman Bros. 150 presented by Hynes Paving, with Kevin Moore (#88) and Brad Eddy (#7E) not making an appearance after being on the initial entry list. Twenty-five would start the main event after Hudson Weston’s (#43) car succumbed to mechanical issues.

The race will shake up the point standings with Dylan Gosbee unofficially expected to claim the top spot heading into round three.

The Super Late Model Series returns to action on Saturday, July 8 for the re-scheduled Fog City Auto Spa 150 at Petty International Raceway. The start time is 6 pm. Stay tuned to SLMS.ca, Super Late Model Series on Facebook, or @SLMSeries on other social media platforms for more information.

Source – series communications