POINTS RACES DECIDED AT RACEWAY PARK

The 40 year old drag racing facility known as Raceway Park was a busy spot over the Labour Day weekend. Because it was the final event for the Fair Isle Ford drag racing points series as well as the second to last points race for the Atlantic Drag Racing Association, 188 racers registered for competition. With so many vehicles in attendance,  parking was at a premium, but action and excitement certainly were not as racing continued until dusk both Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Dave Constable from Charlottetown was able to sneak in the back door to win the Super Pro class points championship when he was runner-up to Saint John, New Brunswick’s wily old campaigner, Ray Roach, on Sunday evening. With the win Roach was able to move from eighth spot in the standings into a tie for second with Charlottetown’s Bruce Howatt who ended up third for the day after losing to Constable in the semi-final.

Even though Shawn Parker from Moncton upset Riverview, New Brunswick’s Mike Stone in the first round of the Pro Bracket division, no one was able to surmount the 31 point lead that Stone brought into the weekend. Wellington’s Chad Ramsay finished second in points and Charlottetown’s Travis Livingstone was third. On Sunday Malcolm London from Saint John, New Brunswick seemed to dominate the class as he defeated Livingstone in the final.  Lewis MacDonald from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia edged Summerside’s Clayton Howatt for third.

The Bike/Sled class for the 2011 racing year belonged to Winsloe’s Glen Frizzell and he continued his winning ways on Sunday when he defeated Westville, Nova Scotia’s Wayne Morris in very close and exciting final pairing. Frizzell finished the year with 253 points, while   Morris and Amherst, Nova Scotia’s Andy Embree tied for second place with 160. Springvale’s Joey McInnis was third for the day.

After forty years of racing at the track one would think that nothing new could happen, but in the Sportsman class it did. On Sunday Christine Leeman from Letang, New Brunswick defeated young Josh Toombs from Mayfield, PEI in the class final. This moved her from fifth place in points to sole possession of second place, right behind her husband, Carl Leeman whom she had defeated in the semi-final, thus making them the first husband and wife combination to ever finish one-two in any division at the track. Gus Longaphie from Cornwall was third in class points.

Although there were twenty Junior Dragster racers entered on the weekend, everything boiled down to two racers, Wellington’s Brett Ramsay and Rylie Green from Berwick, New Brunswick. With both racers at or near the top of the points going into the weekend and both racers going rounds all day, the inevitable showdown had to happen, and it did. Green and Ramsay met in the  division final, and although Green prevailed for the day Ramsay won the points race and Green had to settle for second. Brendon Smith from Windsor, Nova Scotia was third for the day and Hunter River’s Daniel Collister finished third in the year’s points.


On Saturday Jason MacNeil from Stellarton, Nova Scotia defeated the S&W Dragster of Fredericton’s Doug Forbes in the final of the Quick 32 class and Summerside’s Josh Goodwin edged last year’s Super Pro champion, Jim Green, for third place money.

In the Electronic Gamblers’ race, Wayne Delaney from Stephenville, NL defeated Charlottetown’s Mario VanWiechen in the class final. Doug Decker from Brooklyn, Nova Scotia captured third when he defeated King Richard Boyd from Belle Isle Creek, New Brunswick.

Seventy-eight racers vied for top honours in the Non-electronic division of the Gamblers’ race and shortly before dark, Kevin Gallant from Miscouche, PEI defeated New Waterford, Nova Scotia’s Sheldon Pastuck in the final pairing. Brad Conrad from Trenton, Nova Scotia took home third place money.

Two divisions were contested in the Junior ranks. Daniel Colloister won the A division by defeating Rylie Green in the final and Hannah Ranni from Stellarton, Nova Scotia defeated Cornwall’s Jocelyne Campbell for top honours in the B division.

Two more Tuesday night Street Drag dates, a September 18th afternoon for street racers, and the Turkey Trot Nations on Thanksgiving weekend are the only events left on the Raceway Park calendar for the year.