RNW Staff

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept 6, 2018) – What a difference a year makes. 

The main title contenders are Shone Evans and Aaron Turkey while Jacob Dykstra remains mathematically in contention. Evans holds an eight-point advantage in the championship standings entering the deciding race, which provides the Scotland, Ont. native a slim cushion for the final 20-lap Feature. Dykstra is 24 points back of Evans and remains mathematically alive, but will need some help in order to capture the title.

Highlighting the card will be two 40-lap A.E. McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman feature events. The spotlight will be on the top three in points with each of the trio looking for their first Late Model Sportsman championship at Petty International Raceway since the track re-opened in 2011. Brady Creamer (Miramichi) enters the final night of point racing with a five point lead over 54th Jones Auto Body River Glade International champion Jordan Veinotte (Porter’s Lake, NS) and six points on veteran Laurie Cormier (Riverview). Reigning track champion Kenny MacKenzie Jr (Salisbury) enters with a mathematical chance at a second title but with a 25-point deficit will need some help to get back to the top. With lots of laps for the trio to work and several others looking to grab two checkered flags on the evening, this battle could go either way when the dust settles after heat racing and two feature events.

Also on the card is the prestigious 50-lap Brock Leonard Memorial for the Middleport Mechanical Thunder Stocks as well as a regular 15-lap event for the HRW Automotive Mini Stocks. The Brock Leonard Memorial is one of the biggest races of the year for the Thunder Stocks and is run annually in honour of the late Brock Leonard, a longtime Speedway official and father of Ohsweken race director, Doug Leonard, who passed away in 2012. The race is also the second of four combined races for the Insta-Panels Duel on the Dirt Series.

After Chris Hatcher (Beaver Bank, NS) drove the No. 31 entry for the last two weekends in New Brunswick, Matthew Warren (White’s Lake, NS) returns to the seat of the Multi-Tech Automotive/A1 Tree Care Honda Civic with the point lead. Warren has a healthy 21 point lead on Dave Matthews (Kennetcook, NS) and a 23 point advantage on reigning champion Tim Webster (Beaver Bank, NS). While Andrew Warren (White’s Lake, NS), Cody Byrne (Orwell Cove, PE) and Neil Miousse (Kentville, NS) are not mathematically eliminated from the championship picture heading into the Diamond Trucking 50, they are long shots to take home the title.

Racing Point Force India is delighted to bring Macauley Vineyard to the Formula One paddock as its official supplier of red and white wine.

It was a dismal race weekend for the four-time World Champion, who found himself towing team-mate Kimi Raikkonen to pole position on Satuday and spinning to the back of the grid after contact with title rival Lewis Hamilton on the first lap come Sunday.