Maritimers race to gold in Florida
Shubenacadie, Lower Onslow drivers in the thick of it
Hard work has paid off for Jolicure, New Brunswick’s Cory Hall. Hall recently raced to his second straight INEX Winter Nationals title at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness, Florida.
The opening event for the INEX point season drew more than 170 cars between four Legend divisions and three Bandolero classes from across North America. The event was comprised of five races for each class from Feb. 12-16.
Hall’s championship in the Pro division, a class designated for the top drivers in the Legend program, was won with consistency. Hall scored his first win of the week during the second of five races and finished no worse than third place to take the championship by 25 points over Connecticut’s Noah Korner. In a division where one small misstep could cost a driver multiple positions on track, Hall was quick to point toward being prepared.
“The car was great all week,” said Hall after receiving his championship trophy. “The crew worked hard, they did a great job keeping things rolling. You have to be perfect in the Pro division and can’t make mistakes. We qualified up front every day, made smart decisions and here we are.”
Like Hall, Braden Langille also made the move from the SemiPro Legend division (for drivers aged 16 to 39) to the Pro class and the move paid off. Langille, from Shubenacadie, won the final two races of the week in the Pro division. In the final race, he had to pass Hall for the win.
“Cory and I have had some great battles up home,” said Langille. “To be able to come to
Florida and race another driver you do 15 minutes from home every week for the win is pretty cool. It really shows how tough the competition is at home.”
The Bandolero Outlaw division also drove Langille’s point home as two Nova Scotia drivers fought for the championship.
Sam Rogers from Lower Onslow was the winner of two races on the week in the Outlaw class featuring drivers aged 12 years and up. The second win came in the final race of the week that ended with Rogers out front as a number of top contenders went airborne.
“I saw a bunch of cars flipping over and sliding,” said Rogers of his view on the last lap of the week. “I was kind of happy that I was just a bit behind that so I
could make it through.
“The competition down here is strong, so to get two wins under our belt feels really good. Congratulations to Justin Gareis on winning the championship. He had a great week.”
While Rogers was third in points on the week, it was the consistency of Canning, Nova Scotia’s Danny Chisholm that wedged himself in second between champion Gareis and Rogers.
Chisholm was visibly dejected after believing he had enough points to win the championship after the final race on Friday.
“It was a great run for us,” said Chisholm. “It is pretty cool to be able to come down here and battle with some of the best and be able to come away with a second-place finish at the end of the week.”
Newfoundland champions Owen Groves and Sara Thorne made their debut at INEX Winter Nationals and finished 12th and 25th, respectively, in the Outlaw class. Owen Mahar scored one podium finish in the Bandolero Bandit division and placed fifth overall for the week at Citrus County Speedway to Landon Rapp.
Scotia Speedworld champion Paul Goulden improved on his second trip to Florida in February with a fifth place run out of more than 30 Masters Legend drivers.
Fans can relive the week with an on-demand replay of the live video broadcast of the event online at Legendsnation.tv.