Category: Other Series PR

Fraserville, ON – Greg Belyea (No.25 Excel Tower Services) worked quickly to win the 15-lap main event for the Brighton Speedway Vanderlaan DIRTcar Pro Late Models at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday night.

The Brighton Pro Late Models made their first ever start on asphalt Sunday as part of an exhibition show alongside the OSCAAR Super Late Models and Modifieds at the 3/8-mile oval.

The veteran driver Belyea jumped out to the early lead after moving past Kyle Sopaz (No.12 Performance Sales  & Leasing) on the opening lap of the main event.

Belyea was reeled back in by the only caution in the event when Zeke McKeown (No.97 McDonald Homes/Dibbits Excavating) spun in turn two on lap four.

Belyea had no real challengers in the event as Matt Vanderlinden (No. 09 Race2way.ca/Peter Larkin Slavage) ran out of laps to track down the No.25 once he got to the runner-up spot.

Former Kawartha Speedway asphalt regular Stormin’ Norm Mayhew (No.60 Only Solutions/Mayhew Graphics) roared to a third-place finish at his old stomping grounds.

Following the race, the top-three drivers all said they enjoyed the race and would be open to trying the concept again. While the drivers expected their dirt tires to be destroyed by the asphalt, Mayhew said following the race his tires would be useable for the team’s next race at Brighton Speedway.

OSCAAR Racing would like to thank Brighton Speedway track owner/promoter Mark Rinaldi for helping put together a successful event.

The Brighton Speedway DIRTcar Vanderlaan Building Supplies Pro Late Models are back in action next Saturday night for a full-night of action at the 1/3-mile oval. They will be joined by the Oilguard Canadian Modifieds, Brighton Automotive Pro Stocks, Bill’s Johns Comp 4s, and Quite Septic Stingers. Kid’s Races for the Canadian National Autism Fund are also on the schedule. For a full list of events, visit www.brightonspeedway.com.

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Unofficial Results – Vanderlaan DIRTcar Pro Late Models 15-Lap Feature, Kawartha Speedway – August 11, 2013

1. 25 Greg Belyea

2. 09 Matt Vanderlinden

3. 60 Norm Mayhew

4. 29 Phil Potts

5. 46 Brandon Mowat

6. 12 Kyle Sopaz

7. 97 Zeke McKeown

8. 9 Greg Peake

9. 55 Mark Rayner

Heat Race Winners: 97 Zeke McKeown, 46 Brandon Mowat

By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia) – OSCAAR Media and Public Relations

Contact: oscaar.media@gmail.com

Fraserville, ON –Ignition issues on lap 33 dashed the Brandon Watson’s hopes of a second consecutive trip to victory lane with the OSCAAR Super Late Model tour on Sunday night at Kawartha Speedway.

Watson ran in the runner-up position from the initial start after starting third in the 50-lap Midas of Orangeville A-Main. The Stayner, Ont. driver trailed polesitter and eventual race winner Andrew Gresel (No.81) in the early stages of the race.

Watson was not able to capitalize on a trio of early race restarts, but the defending champion explained he was saving his tires for the later laps.

“I was trying to keep some tires on it for a late race charge,” said Watson. “I’m not sure I would have had anything for him. He had a pretty good car. It would have definitely been a good race at the end if we hadn’t had any problems.”

The red flag was displayed on lap nine to clean up oil from Derrick Tiemersma’s car after the rear-end broke on the No.7 entry. The red flag lasted nearly 15 minutes, which Watson said didn’t affect the car just his personal energy levels.

“The worst part is sitting in the car bored while you’re waiting to go back to green,” said Watson. “It always sucks when you get a big lead and a caution comes out.”

Watson was in need of a caution with 20 laps remaining in order to close the extended gap Gresel had created.

However, Watson did not intend to be the source of the caution, but such was the case as the power plant under the hood of the No.9 Shear Metal Products entry began to sputter with 33 laps complete.

The No.9 Chevrolet came to a stop on the front stretch and would later be diagnosed as a problem with a coil in the ignition system.

Watson was able to return to the field after this crew had repaired the issue, but only after falling three laps behind the race leader.

Watson would finish 12^th, three laps down. The finish was the team’s first and only outside the top-five this season.

“It’s always fun going to Kawartha, it’s a big open track. It’s just unfortunate we had to have troubles there because there’s lot of speed and fast-paced racing.”

The team’s night was not a complete loss as Watson earned one win Klotz Canada qualifying heat race win and a fourth-place finish in his second heat.

Watson would not fair too poorly in the championship standings as Tiemersma’s broken rear-end in the early laps would score him 17^th. Watson continues to lead the championship by 30 points over Tiemersma and Gresel, who now sit tied for second.

“It’s always good when you gain points and you don’t have a very good night. I was lucky that other guys had bad nights when we had a bad night,” said Watson. “Obviously we had a good start to the year, which helps us when something like this comes up. Now, we have to keep going and get as many wins as possible in case something like this does happen again.”

The series will take a one week hiatus, which Watson will use to head to Sarnia to compete with his Creemore Braves Jr. ‘C’ baseball team. The series return to action on Saturday, August 24 at Peterborough Speedway. Watson was the winner in the series last visit to Peterborough.

“We always have a good car at Peterborough. I like going there, it’s a fun track,” said Watson. “We got a win there last week. Hopefully we can move ahead with that and get another win.”

Racing is schedule to begin at 6:00pm at Peterborough. For a full schedule of events for the August 24 show, visit www.oscaar.ca.

Follow Brandon Watson’s 2013 chase for a second consecutive OSCAAR Super Late Model championship all season long on Twitter via @BrandonWatson15 and online at www.brandonwatsonracing.com.

Brandon Watson’s 2013 OSCAAR Super Late Model tour is supported by Shear Metal Products, Ken Mackinnon Construction, Knightworks Design, Klotz Synthetics Canada, Simcoe Energy Propane Exchange, and Barrie Frame and Alignment.

By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia)

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Fraserville, ON – Shane Stickel made his first ever trip to Kawartha Speedway on Sunday afternoon and earned a top-ten, ninth-place finish with the OSCAAR Modified tour.

Stickel had never competed on the 3/8-mile oval 10 minutes south of Peterborough, Ont. prior to Sunday’s race, but the rookie driver made the most of his trip. After starting 10^th in the 25-lap main event, Stickel was consistent all race long and knows he can only improve on his first experience.

“The biggest concern was myself as a driver. I’ve never been on a big track with this style of car and it had been over a year since I was on a big track,” explained Stickel. “I think it was just getting comfortable with the higher speeds again. Throughout the feature I was working on my pedal control and getting on the gas sooner and sooner. I wasn’t personally where I needed to be as a driver.”

Stickel also earned third- and fourth-place finishes in his pair of Klotz Canada qualifying heat races.

The only caution of the feature race came on lap eight for an innocent spin involving Brad Pearsall (No.1B) and Ryan Dick (No.88). With a competitive field of 17 modifieds on hand, Stickel was happy with his top-ten finish at the high-banked oval.

“Going in, I didn’t have high expectations because I had already been told with the small crate (motor) you’re lucky to be a top-five car,” said Stickel “I was hoping to maybe make the top-five, but I could definitely feel I was out-powered a bit on the straightaways.”

Following the lap nine restart, the field sorted itself out single file quite quickly, leaving few opportunities to pass. The outside line proved to be the passing lane as few drivers would relinquish their stranglehold on the bottom groove.

“Once everything got sorted out with Lane (Zardo) in front of me, it was a single-file race. There wasn’t too much action going on,” explained Stickel. “When you’ve got to go to the outside lane to make a pass, I know I was struggling whenever I went out there, it gives people an opportunity to get under you. Some nights it’s just better to stick to your lane and get out of there in one piece.”

Despite the learning curve, Stickel enjoyed his inaugural pilgrimage to Kawartha, which featured a ‘Show and Shine’ in association with the Syracuse Nationals and Right Coast Cars, as well as an exhibition race for the Brighton Speedway DIRTcar Pro Late Models.

“I loved it. I wish I was better there. It’s a beautiful facility,” explained Stickel. “It’s nice to drive on, a smooth track. I had a lot of fun. The whole night was a neat night with the car show and the dirt late models there too. Those guys are nuts.”

Stickel’s finish marks his second-consecutive race among the top-ten following a second-place finish last week at Peterborough Speedway. The strong result at Peterborough has guaranteed him a starting spot outside the front row for the 21^st annual Autumn Colours Classic on Thanksgiving Weekend.

“With the year we’ve had, I was happy to load it on the trailer for another week. With only four nights before racing at Delaware, I was happy.”

Stickel was able to knock-off a couple more markers from the rookie points lead held by Branden Bullen (No.67jr), and now sits just six points back.

“I’m slowly chipping away at these guys,” said Stickel. “If I can keep chipping away a couple points every race, it would be an honour to get that award. I’m definitely running for it.”

The series shifts to Delaware Speedway for the first of three 50-lap events on the 2013 tour. The two-day show will see drivers time trial and compete in Klotz Canada qualifying heats on Friday, followed by the 50-lap feature Sunday, divided in to two 25-lap segments.

“I’m extremely nervous for this 50-lapper,” said Stickel. “The most I’ve ever done is a 30-lap feature. So 20 more laps, it’s going to be a different experience as far as setting the car up. I’m not used to the long runs for sure. I’m going to have to keep my cool and keep my composure.”

Racing is schedule to begin at 8:00pm on Friday night for the OSCAAR Modifieds, who will be joined by the ISMA Super Modifieds and Delaware’s Coca-Cola Super Stocks. The OSCAAR Modified feature will get underway at 2:00pm on Saturday afternoon.

Shane Stickel’s OSCAAR season is supported by MSD Machine Tool, Shelane Properties, Huron Fasteners, Creative Edge Signs & Graphics, Metal Supermarkets, Paragon Collision Centre, MAC Contracting, Bizign Design Company, and SpeedwayPhoto.ca.

Follow Shane Stickel’s rookie campaign with OSCAAR all season long online at www.shanestickel.com and on Twitter via @ShaneStickel.

By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia)

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Fraserville, ON – Tyler Hawn started deep in the 21-car field on Sunday night at Kawartha Speedway, but a clean, consistent run led the veteran driver to a seventh-place finish. The top-ten result is Hawn’s best-career finish at the high-banked 3/8-mile oval with the OSCAAR Super Late Model tour.

Following a caution on lap 35 that provided the final restart of the night, Hawn had his best opportunity to get in to the top-five. In the closing laps, Hawn had gained on fifth- and sixth-place runners Jesse Kennedy (No.10) and Shane Maginnis (No.03), but ran out of laps to complete the pass.

“That’s the best we’ve ever finished there. It was a fun run,” said Hawn. “The guys we raced with ran clean. There is virtually no body damage on the car at all. It’s fun to run at a big track like that and everybody be cautious and take their time.”

Hawn struggled in his pair of Klotz Canada qualifying heats with fifth- and sixth-place finishes, which led to his 16^th-place starting spot. The track at Kawartha had not seen active racing competition since September of 2012.

“We had lots of fun. Early in the night, the car wasn’t doing the best, but it came for the feature,” explained Hawn. “With the track being so clean (early on), it was hard getting in to the corner.”

As the track gained rubber throughout the night, two lines of racing developed for the 50-lap Midas of Orangeville main event. Once the second line developed, Hawn was able to notice big differences between his new Brian MacDonald-built chassis and the team’s previous car.

“The chassis going in to the corner is completely night and day to the old car, but more horsepower changed a lot as well,” explained Hawn.

Hawn’s team introduced a new paint scheme Sunday for the series’ only trip to Kawartha Speedway in 2013, featuring a bright yellow nose in support of new sponsor Stewart Carriers Ltd.

“That was my brothers doing. It’s the sponsors colour, but I’m still not 100% sold on it,” laughed Hawn, whose car has been exclusively black and blue for the extent of his racing career.

Following the feature event, Hawn explained he and his team have begun focusing on tire management as one of their primary goals. Drivers are permitted four new tires each race night, which often means waiting until the feature to bolt on the new Hoosier racing slicks.

“You’ve got to put four new tires on for the feature no matter what,” explained Hawn. “We’re trying different air pressures, different staggers, stuff like that. After a 50-lap race, there isn’t much left of these tires, and you have to use the next week for the heats. We’re trying different things to see what works.”

Said Hawn, “We’re trying to figure out how to make them last and all of that stuff. We’re still learning with the new chassis.”

The OSCAAR Super Late Model tour will take a one week hiatus before returning to action on Saturday, August 24 for the second of three trips to Peterborough Speedway. While several drivers may intend to relax this weekend, Hawn hopes to stay one step ahead of the curve with some extra hours on his Outlaw.

“I’m hoping to get some extra hours in on the car and maybe get ahead a bit,” said Hawn. “You can’t stay away from the track either, because you hear about all this great racing afterwards and I hate missing out.”

For a full schedule of events in the series’ next trip to Peterborough, stay tuned to www.oscaar.ca.

Follow Tyler Hawn’s 2013 OSCAAR Super Late Model tour all season long on Twitter at @HawnRacing and online at www.hawnmotorsports.ca.

Tyler Hawn’s 2013 OSCAAR Super Late Model campaign is supported by Stewart Carriers Ltd., Belford Haulage, Fox’s Bakery, TSS Top Shops, Write-It-Out-Loud Graphics, Backwoods Maple Syrup, Daley Custom Fabrication, and BELT Conveyor Guarding.

By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia)

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Fraserville, ON – For the second consecutive race, carbon monoxide poisoning inside the cockpit of the No.54 Stemac/Millenium Crane Cadillac of Mike Beyore shortened his race at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday night.

Beyore suffered the same problem on July 27 at Sunset Speedway, but the problem was especially frustrating for the Whitby, Ont. driver as he ran just outside the top-five when he stopped in turn two with nine laps complete to draw a caution.

“It kind of pissed me off, we had a pretty good car,” said Beyore. “I figure we had a top-five car.”

Beyore said he felt fine in the car during the opening laps, but cautions on lap four and lap six allowed fumes to build up in the cockpit. When the race restarted with six laps complete, Beyore knew something wasn’t right once again.

“I could feel it coming on and I had to pull off. I was getting sick already,” said Beyore.

Once Beyore had the car pulled in to the infield, he was able to unbuckle and laid on the infield grass as he was attended to by paramedics with oxygen. Beyore said it took longer for the symptoms to subside on Sunday then it did in the previous race at Sunset.

“I’m going to see the doctor on Thursday. From what they see, they aren’t sure, but they think I have a liver problem,” explained Beyore. “It can’t absorb the fumes fast enough and then it can’t handle it. We’re going to see what we can do to fix it. I’m going to have to see what happens and then go test and see if I can handle it.”

Since the race on Sunday, the biggest side effect have been headaches of different severity for the veteran driver.

“The headaches is the biggest thing. You get them for a couple of days,” said Beyore. “We have to figure out something, something’s wrong. I’m going to have to take a race off and get this under control. Sunday, I was just about to pass out in the car. I don’t want to hurt somebody or hurt myself.”

Beyore started the 50-lap Midas of Orangeville feature in fifth, and was shuffled back to sixth in the opening laps. However, it was evident Beyore would be a contender on the night before the medical problems befell him.

The veteran driver had a strong performance in the heats as well with a pair of second-place finishes.

“We saw what we had in the heats, and we ran the first heat without any brakes,” said Beyore. I broke the front rotor in the first couple of laps.”

The stock car track at Kawartha had not been competed on since September 2012 prior to Sunday, which left a very clean race track. Once the track gained rubber, two lines of racing developed, but Beyore explained the bottom groove was still the fast way around.

“If you had a car to run on the bottom you were good,” he said. “I went down there a couple times before the caution and got by a couple of guys in one and two. I felt good about the car.”

Beyore is unsure when he will be able to return to the OSCAAR Super  Late Model tour, however the series is next in action on Saturday, August 24 at Peterborough Speedway, and Saturday, September 7 at Flamboro Speedway. For a full schedule of events, stay tuned to www.oscaar.ca.

Follow Mike Beyore’s OSCAAR Super Late Model campaign online all season long on Twitter via @54buck and at www.beyoreracing.ca.

Mike Beyore’s 2013 OSCAAR tour is supported by Stemac, Millenium Crane, CNC Custom Machining, Praxair, MGS Performance, Don’s Auto Shop, Crossby Dewar, Mayhew Graphics and Metals Plus.

By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia)

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NEW CASTLE, Ind.— Aug. 11, 2013— This is often the time of the year when drivers start to slow down as their equipment begins to feel the wear and tear from a long season. That’s not the case for Tracy Hines, who continues to rack up solid finishes and contend for wins across all three USAC national series. The past week was another busy week for the veteran driver with a trio of races and just as in the prior two weeks, he finished among the top-10 in each and every race to extend his streak of top-10 runs to nine straight races.

Hines wrapped up a three-race swing through Iowa, Indiana and Illinois, on Saturday, Aug. 10 with the Honda USAC National Midget Series Pavement Championship at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Ill., with an eighth-place finish. He opened the night as the fourth-quickest driver in qualifying at the high-banked one-third-mile paved oval in Northern Illinois. The native of New Castle, Ind., finished fourth in the second 12-lap Scramble, which put him on the outside of the fourth row for the 50-lap Battle on the Border 2 event in the Parker Machinery/Powered by Toyota Spike.

“Grundy County (Speedway) is a tricky track,” said Hines. “You get around there in a hurry and the laps really click by pretty quick. We just missed it a bit on the set-up for the feature and that was unfortunate. We have one more asphalt midget race this year and we’ll give it everything we got in that one and see if we can come out with both a win and a championship.”

In the Honda USAC National Midget Series event at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Ind., on Friday, Aug. 9, Hines finished sixth. He kicked-off the night as the third-fastest qualifier at the half-mile paved overall in Northwest Indiana. Hines finished third in the first 12-lap Scramble, which put him on the inside of the third row to start the 30-lap main event. The Battle on the Border event was the first Honda USAC National Midget Series event at Illiana since 2001 and was co-sanctioned with the Short Track Auto Racing Series (STARS). A pair of cautions slowed the 30-lap main event.

“Illiana is a big half-mile and cars can get spread out pretty quick there,” Hines said. “After the last few midget races and being in contention each and every night it was a little disappointing to not be as far up there. We qualified well, but just weren’t able to make up much ground in the Scramble and Feature. We’ll mark down what we learned in our notebook and hopefully be a little better next time we go up there.”

Hines began the three-race stretch at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa for the running of the Casey’s General Store Ultimate Challenge on Tuesday, Aug. 6, finishing seventh aboard the Hansen’s Welding Inc. DRC. The feature event was cut from 30 laps to 20 due to rain, and also the set of three qualifying races that were scheduled were done away with in the interest of time and beating the rain. Hines opened the night by winning the second eight-lap heat race. By way of the Ultimate Challenge format, drivers drew for heat race starting positions rather than qualifying.

“It was definitely a challenging night all around with the weather,” said Hines. “You never want a race to be cut short, but it’s better than having the race entirely fall to rain. With the track conditions the way they were it was a challenge to make up much ground in the main event. You’ll have nights like that sometimes and you just have to make the most of them and move on and that’s what we did. We were still able to come away with a halfway decent finish.”

Hines is currently tied for the lead in the Honda USAC National Midget Pavement Championship standings. He has a pair of wins this season along with seven top-10 finishes in seven starts. In the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series points, the 2002 series titlist is eighth in points. He has two victories on the year to go along with eight top-10 finishes.

The veteran driver returns to action next weekend with the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Aug. 17 for the running of the Tony Bettenhausen 100. He’ll then head to Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc., for the Miller Lite Cornfest on Sunday, Aug. 18, which will be tri-sanctioned by the Honda USAC National Midget Series, POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series and the Stark Automotive Group/Mid-State Equipment Badger Midget Series.

Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: Hansen’s Welding Inc., Parker Machinery, Powered by Toyota, Motor City Auto Transport, Turbines, Inc., Afco Racing Products, Daum Crop Insurance, Schoenfeld Headers, Allstar Performance, Kenny’s Components, Race Bumpers and Bell Racing.

For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin.

Marne, MI (August 11, 2013) – Seventeen year-old Erik Jones showcased his talent Saturday night at Berlin Raceway dominating the 200-lap Primera Plastics event earning his first career ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Series victory.

After two previous starts in the ARCA series this season that led to two heartbreaking “so close” moments, Jones was not letting this one slip through his figures. Virtually controlling the top spot the entire night Jones, driving his No.15 Stock Car Steel – Venturini Motorsports Toyota, excitedly took the checkered flag and began the celebration in front of his home state crowd.

A native of Byron, Michigan Jones had a huge contingent of hometown supporters’ on-hand to witness his career best day.

“This one means so much to me,” said an excited Jones during his post-race interview. “I’m only an hour and a half away from my hometown and so many of my friend and family were able to come out and be here with me tonight.”

“I had a flawless Stock Car Steel Toyota Camry today. Kevin (Reed, crew Chief) made the right calls – We only made one adjustment, that’s how good the thing was.”

Starting the race from the outside pole, Jones mingled within the top three, running at his own pace, until the first caution flag flew on lap 35. When the field returned green however, it was go time. Taking the lead from Menards Pole sitter Mason Mitchell on lap 43, Jones worked his way around the .4 mile oval dodging lap traffic at every turn.

Crew Chief Kevin Reed called Jones down pit road during the second of four cautions on lap 69. Being extremely satisfied with the handling of his machine, Reed made the only adjustment of the night (air pressure) on the first stop while taking two tires and fuel.

ones returned to pit road during the final caution of the night on lap 142, where his Venturini crew performed a flawless 4 tire stop, allowing Jones to win the race off pit road for the final time.

The final stop set up a 50-lap shootout. It was critical for Jones to consistently hit his marks because the No. 32 of Mason Mingus was hot in his tracks. Lap by lap the two mirrored each other’s time, but Jones had the advantage and was the first to the checkers.

“The 32 was coming hard there at the end, I was a little worried about him, but we were able to push it really hard. Luckily, we didn’t have a late caution because I think whoever was in third would have been able to drive past us both since we were racing so hard. It’s just so amazing to be able to hold everyone off and get my first ARCA win in Michigan,” concluded Jones.

For those who missed the live action the Primera Plastic 200 will air on NBC Sports Network at 11 p.m. ET on Thursday August 15.

About Venturini Motorsports
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, Miguel Paludo, John Wes Townley, Josh Richards and Johanna Long.

In 2012, VMS and the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano, among others.

After nearly two decades away from NASCAR, 2013 marks VMS’s modern day return to the series with John Wes Townley driving the team’s familiar No.25 in selective NASCAR Nationwide Series events.

Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com  |  Twitter: @VenturiniMotor  |  Facebook: Venturini Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 12, 2013) – Jason Hathaway is out of the fringe and into the mix.

Always on the edge of contention, but never quite in the thick of it would be the best way to describe Hathaway until this year. With four races remaining this season the Dutton, Ont., driver already has established a career-high in top-five finishes with five. However, according to Hathaway not that much is different for the No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge team.

“We haven’t made wholesale changes or anything,” said Hathaway. “The biggest difference is that I’ve been more involved this year than ever before. Circumstances have worked out for me to be more hands on. I think that has provided some stability and camaraderie with myself and the team.”

Hathaway has been with Ed Hakonson Racing since the start of the Canadian Tire Series in 2007. Hathaway, along with Ron Beauchamp Jr., D.J. Kennington and Scott Steckly, are the only four drivers to start all 83 races in series history.

Hathaway picked up a win in the 2008 season finale at Kawartha Speedway near Peterborough, Ont. Despite not reaching Victory Lane since, there is a sense around the team that a return trip is in the making.

“We could have easily won either or both of the races out west (Motoplex Speedway in Vernon, B.C., and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask.) and at St. Eustache (Que.) for that matter. Not to take anything away from (Steckly), but I’m not sure that all of those races were his to win.”

Steckly rebounded from a pair of sub-par finishes to start the season to win three consecutive races to springboard into the top spot in the point standings.

“Everybody has bad luck in this sport and we’ve had ours, but we could easily be leading the points right now,” he said. “In fact, I kind of expected to, but that hasn’t worked out yet.”

The operative word in that statement might be ‘yet.’ Like his rivals Kennington and Steckly, Hathaway runs well on both road courses and ovals as evidenced by a third-place finish on Aug. 11 at Trois-Rivieres, Que., behind the likes of Andrew Ranger and Jacques Villeneuve.

Just 16 points separate the top four drivers in the point standings with Hathaway holding down the third spot – 14 points behind Steckly at the top of the heap.

Nevertheless, that’s in the rear view mirror now and a date at Antigonish, Nova Scotia’s Riverside International Speedway is dead ahead. Hathaway, who has four top 10s in six Nova Scotia starts, is no different than any driver that has ever raced there.

“I love it,” Hathaway said of the third-mile scale version of the legendary Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. “It’s just a fun track to race. The banking makes all of the difference.”

The banking is the difference for the track, but it’s the higher level of competition that’s the difference for the Hathaway camp in 2013.

Race: Wilson Equipment 300 Supporting Red Cross Disaster Relief

Place: Riverside International Speedway, Antigonish, N.S.

Date: Saturday, Aug. 17

Time: 8 p.m. AT

TV Schedule: TSN, Sun., Aug. 25, 1 p.m. ET; RDS2, Fri., Sept. 13, 7 p.m. ET

Track Layout: .333-mile high-banked oval

2012 Winner: D.J. Kennington

2012 Pole Sitter: J.R. Fitzpatrick

Event Schedule: Practice 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.; Qualifying 4 p.m.; On-Track Autograph Session 6:30 p.m.; Driver Introductions 7:30 p.m. AT

TRACK CONTACT: Paul McLean at (904) 893-2410 or pmclean@riversidespeedway.ca

TWITTER: @Riverside_NS

EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: #WilsonEquipment300

NASCAR IMC CONTACT: Shon Sbarra, (704) 309-5493 or ssbarra@nascar.com, Twitter: @ShonSbarra

If photographs or graphics are needed for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, please contact Shon Sbarra at (704) 309-5493 or ssbarra@nascar.com

FAST FACTS

The Race: This is the ninth event of the 2013 season for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 and the sixth of eight oval-track events on the schedule. This is the series’ seventh visit to the Antigonish track.

The Procedure: The starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 300 laps covering 99.99 miles.

The Track: Riverside Speedway originally opened in 1969 and was modeled after the legendary Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. In 2005, the track was completely demolished and rebuilt including a new racing surface, concrete walls, lighting, grandstands and control tower. Like its U.S. counterpart in eastern Tennessee, Riverside features high-banked turns. Here, the turns are banked 14 degrees. The frontstretch is 440 feet long with banking of six degrees while the backstretch is also 440 feet but with five-degree banking.

The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the Canadian Tire Series is 14.484 seconds (82.767 mph), set by Scott Steckly on Sept. 18, 2010. The 300-lap race record is held by Andrew Ranger at 1 hour, 30 minutes, 40 seconds, set on Sept. 20, 2009 for an average speed of 66.110 mph.

ANTIGONISH RACE NOTES

Start Of A String?: Already with two Riverside International Speedway wins under his belt, D.J. Kennington could build upon his Trois-Rivieres win. Kennington won a series record five straight races en route to his second series championship a year ago.

Good Luck Charm: A trend has emerged in the last four Riverside races. Andrew Ranger claimed the win in 2009 while Kennington took the checkered flag in 2010 followed by Scott Steckly in 2011. Last season Kennington earned his second win in Nova Scotia. The common thread is that all four of those drivers went on to claim the series title.

New Date: After six seasons of September dates a couple of which were impacted by inclement weather, the Riverside date moves to August this year.

Close Quarters: Steckly brings a four-point edge over Kennington in the championship point standings, but Steckly’s gaze must look beyond that as Jason Hathaway is just 14 points away and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin lurks at just 16 tallies off the pace.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— Aug. 12, 2013— With the biggest week of the year in sprint car racing — the FVP Knoxville Nationals — now in the books, it’s often said that the season begins to slow down. That’s not the case for Kraig Kinser and his fellow World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series competitors as they’ll return to the track this week for three races in a six-day stretch, beginning in Nebraska and concluding with a pair of races in North Dakota.

The trio of races for Kinser this week starts on Tuesday, Aug. 13, with the running of the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Shootout at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb. The native of Bloomington, Ind., will then head north for the final two legs of the Gerdau Ameristeel Northern Tour. Kinser will hit the track at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., on Friday, Aug. 16, and wraps up the weekend in the Magic City Showdown at Nodak Speedway in Minot, N.D., on Sunday, Aug. 18.

Kinser, who pilots the Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General Store/King Racing Products Maxim, has made two starts in his career at Junction Motor Speedway, including last season when he finished 14th. Kinser made his debut at the semi-banked, three-eighths-mile in 2010, which was also was the World of Outlaws first-ever stop at the venue in southeastern Nebraska. The event at Junction Motor Speedway will mark the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series only race of the season in Nebraska, after a rainout at I-80 Speedway in June.

“Junction (Motor Speedway) is one of those places that everyone is still kind of learning,” said Kinser. “With the new tires this year, the set-up will obviously be a little different than last year and that should equalize the playing field a bit. That’s a great facility and we don’t race out that way very much anymore, so I imagine they’ll have a very good crowd and hopefully we put on a good show for them.”

Earlier this season at River Cities Speedway, Kinser finished fifth to earn his second top-five finish in his last three starts at the track. He was the third-fastest driver in time trials of the 36 entrants and came home third in the third 10-lap heat race to earn a spot in the dash where he finished fifth. Kinser lined up on the inside of the third row for the 40-lap main event at the always racy bullring.

“We had a pretty good car earlier in the year at Grand Forks (River Cities Speedway),” he noted. “That’s a track that I always feel comfortable at and it reminds me so much of the tracks I grew up on back home. Don Mack and everyone does such a great job up there and always provide us with a super racy surface with multiple grooves. In the driver’s seat it’s an ‘elbows up’ type of place to race and I know for the fans it’s an exciting track to watch at.”

Kinser made his debut at River Cities Speedway in 2000, with the former Gumout Series finishing fourth and fifth in two starts. In four Gumout Series starts at the track, Kinser finished in the top-five each and every time. With the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, the third-generation driver has made 11 starts, recording six top-10 finishes in the process.

The third-generation driver raced for the first time at the three-eighths-mile Nodak Speedway in 2008 and finished a career-best third in that event. He has made a total of five starts at the oval, which is located on the grounds of the North Dakota State Fairgrounds, recording top-10 finishes in four of those races. Last season, Kinser finished ninth at Nodak Speedway, in the series return to the oval, after the 2011 event was forced to be cancelled due to flooding.

“Minot (Nodak Speedway) has a lot of racing room,” said Kinser. “It’s a smaller track that races like a much bigger one. We’ve been pretty consistent over the years there and just need to gain a little bit to be battling up front. That’s a place where you can make up some ground if you start further back, but the goal is to always start as far forward as possible and begins in qualifying.”

Last week at the 53rd Annual FVP Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, Kinser battled more than his fair share of bad luck. After losing an engine in time trials on Wednesday, Aug. 7, during the first preliminary night, he used a second-place finish in the fifth heat race to earn a spot in the preliminary feature. He was running among the top-five in the late going of that 25-lap contest when he lost another engine and finished 22nd. On Friday, Aug. 9, he was battling for a spot in the 25-lap feature when he had steering problems during the first B-main, which forced him to the work area. He was able to return and charge back through the field to finish seventh, missing a transfer spot by four positions. On Saturday, Aug. 10, Kinser finished fifth in the C-main, coming up just one spot shy of moving to the B-main.

Kinser begins this week 13th in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series standings. He has one victory this season to go along with 23 top-10 finishes and eight top-five showings.

Kraig Kinser Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, Mesilla Valley Transportation, King Racing Products, Maxim, Aerodine Composites, Sander Engineering, Integra Shocks, All Star Performance, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bell, KSE Racing Products, ButlerBuilt, Schoenfeld Headers, Donovan Engineering, Fel-Pro, Brodix, Wilwood, Dyer’s, Barnes Systems, Ringer Gloves, Jakes Custom Golf Carts, and Ben Cook Racing Limited for their continued support.

Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Junction Motor Speedway, River Cities Speedway & Nodak Speedway
0.3- Miles around River Cities Speedway
0.375- Distance around both Junction Motor Speedway and Nodak Speedway in miles
1- Night of racing in Nebraska this season for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
3- Scheduled races in North Dakota this season for the series
5- Career main events starts at Nodak Speedway
8.4- Average finish in five career starts at Nodak Speedway
10.4- Average finish in 11 main event starts with the series at River Cities
15- Total starts in his career at River Cities Speedway (World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series & Gumout Series)
18- Average finish in two career main event starts at Junction Motor Speedway
213- Distance in Miles from River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., where the World of Outlaws race on Aug. 16 to Nodak Speedway in Minot, N.D.
277- Miles from Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, where the World of Outlaws raced Aug. 7–10 to Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb.
601- Miles from Junction Motor Speedway where the World of Outlaws race on Aug. 13 to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D.
2000- Year of first start at River Cities Speedway with the former World of Outlaws Gumout Series
2008- Year of first start at Nodak Speedway
2010- Year of first start at Junction Motor Speedway

Keep up with all the action 
For the latest news on Kraig Kinser, visit http://www.kraigkinser.com, and follow Kraig on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kraigkinser11k and receive live updates from the track each and every race night.

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