The claws come out
The Truro Bearcats and Kentville Wildcats continue to claw away and nail down the fourth and final playoff spot in the NS Senior Baseball League.
Truro stock car racer Dylan Blenkhorn is still leading the pack as he heads to Halifax this weekend for the ninth race of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour.
Blenkhorn’s winning streak was recently broken after he finished third in the Lucas Oil 150 in P.E.I., but he’s still in first overall with 1,692 points.
His team will be heading to Scotia Speedworld this Saturday for the Atlantic Cat 250, the ninth race in the tour, where he hopes familiarity will help him bring home a win.
“I grew up racing there. I could run it blind for 10 laps and not hit anything,” said Blenkhorn.
“As for this weekend’s race, we have done everything we can to prepare for the race. We’ve made a few adjustments, and I think we will run the track faster than ever.”
Last weekend saw Blenkhorn and crew in P.E.I for the Lucas Oil 150, and although they were fastest in practice, an issue with the car may have contributed to his third place finish.
“In racing, you never know what could be thrown at you,” said Blenkhorn.
“A car lost its driveshaft during practice and we ran over it, which bent a bunch of stuff. The track also felt different. I found it lacked grip, and it was hard to keep traction during the race.”
While his third place finish still kept him in first overall, he feels it could have gone better, and attributes the finish to the high level of competition in this year’s tour.
“I just think we could have
done better than third. The level of competition is pretty crazy this year, but I think the whole team deserved a better finish.”
During the tour, Blenkhorn has created an on-track rivalry with Porter’s Lake racer Cole Butcher, who battled with him in P.E.I. for third place. The rivalry has helped with Blenkhorn’s racing by keeping him on his toes and making the sport even more fun.
“I love it, honestly,” he said. “I find people can’t get into my
head when I am racing, but I can get into theirs. I just like messing around with people. We take it very seriously, but we are also racing for a good time.”
When it comes to the rivalry, though, Blenkhorn says it is strictly on the track, and makes the race fun to watch.
“He’s a great guy, and I can’t say a bad thing about him. Without him or I, the tour probably wouldn’t exist. It would be boring.”
The Atlantic Cat 250 kicks off
this Saturday, at 5 p.m., and Blenkhorn hopes his hard work will pay off.
“People don’t realize how much work goes into preparing for races,” he said.
“If you don’t wreck in a race, it is 80 hours of work to get the car ready for the next race. If you do wreck, triple that. I go into every race wanting to win, but I’d be okay taking another third.”