Down to the wire

Maritime tour lands in Nova Scotia for second to last race of the season

With just two races to go, the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour makes its third and final visit of the season to Riverside International Speedway on Saturday in Antigonish, N.S., for the Lucas Oil 150.

The track will host Race 11 of 12 this season, with over 20 teams expected, including twotime NASCAR Truck champion Matt Crafton.

Qualifying is slated for 5 p.m. The box office and grandstands open at 2 p.m.

The Tour championship has a new point leader in two-time Series champion Shawn Turple (Enfield, N.S.), who has a 44point advantage over current champion Cole Butcher (Porter’s Lake, N.S.).

Greg Proude of Springvale moves up to third position, and now has his sights set on winning his first Series championship. Dylan Gosbee (Cornwall) and Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, N.S.) complete the top five.

Dylan Blenkhorn (Truro, N.S.) was leading the standings, but a weight infraction following the Cummins 200 at Petty International Raceway resulted in the team dropping to sixth position.

Crafton will make his fourth appearance at Riverside. Crafton’s first three attempts to tame the 0.333-mile high banked oval in three consecutive IWK 250’s (2014-16) resulted in an average finish of 11th place with a top spot of third in the 2016 edition.

Also on the card is the final championship point race for the NAPA Sportsman Series, the R&D Performancenter 75. Colby Smith (Pine Grove, N.S.) leads Dale Richardson (Stellarton, N.S.) by 12 points heading into the finale. Pete Miller (Kennetcook, N.S.) is just one marker behind Richardson. Smith is looking for his second series title while Richardson and Miller are hoping to overtake Smith for their first series championship.