Cory Hall Named 2016 TCM Power Performer of the Year

In a 23 week Atlantic Canadian stock car season filled with hundreds of racing team looking for the checkered flag, the decision to narrow the field for the TCM Power Performer of the Year becomes difficult. With many drivers scoring big wins and some padding to their win totals week in and week out, selecting a winner for the award based on performance on track becomes even more challenging.

While the selection process was not easy, it is hard to dispute the season that Jolicure, New Brunswick Legend division racer Cory Hall had in 2016, the winner of the 2016 TCM Power Performer of the Year Award as selected by our panel.

Hall made 19 feature starts between Scotia Speedworld’s CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series Strictly Hydraulics Legend division and the Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour. In those 19 starts, Hall won eight features, meaning he won 42% of the feature events he entered in 2016.

The wins were sprinkled throughout the 2016 season. Hall started off hot out of the gate on the CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series, winning three of four races at the end of June into the month of July. July is where his hand became hot on the Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour with four wins at three different race tracks on that series. Hall won the Island Coastal Services/Steve’s Snow Removal 50 at Oyster Bed Speedway and would be the winner in the series’ return to Speedway 660 for the Atlantic Tiltload 50 in September. Hall also won two of the three Tour races contested at Scotia Speedworld, including the Scotia Tire 50 on Atlantic Cat 250 weekend and the R&D Performancentre 50 at the season finale.

When he wasn’t winning or faced with mechanical gremlins, Hall was up front. Hall was on pace to win the MacDonald Chevrolet Buick GMC 50 at Petty International Raceway before spinning from the lead in the last five laps of the race and was making a move to win a CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series event in September at Scotia Speedworld before a last lap wreck dashed his chances at winning and adding to his total in the win column. In addition to his eight wins, Hall was on the podium in the Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour second stop at Riverside International Speedway (motor issues forced him to sit out the first feature of the season on the high banked oval) and two additional top fives at Scotia Speedworld on the weekly side.

The deep competition in the Legend division in the Maritimes was also one of the factors that had an impact on Hall ultimately winning the TCM Power Performer of the Year Award. In 20 total Legend races between the Scotia Speedworld CARSTAR Weekly Racing Series and the Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour, eight different drivers won races. Only three of those (Paul Goulden, Jarrett Butcher and Hall) won more than one race and only Hall and Butcher won races at more than one track in 2016. In addition to the competition pool, the car count was strong in the division in 2016, with an average of 17 cars over the 20 race Maritime racing season.

In addition to his eight wins north of the border, Hall scored two wins in the State of Maine at Speedway 95 and Unity Raceway. While those two wins were not factored in to the TCM Power Performer of the Year deliberation process because of them not happening on Canadian soil, they are still worth mentioning.

Hall is the youngest winner of the TCM Power Performer of the Year Award and first Legend drivers to win the banner. The banner was presented at the 2016 Scotia Speedworld Awards Banquet by Tim Terry of Tim’s Corner Motorsports and the 2015 winner of the award Dave Matthews and his daughter Bristol.

Story photos by McCarthy Photographic; Banner Photos by Racin’ Photos and McCarthy Photographic, Banner Artwork by Infinite Creative Solutions.

2016 TCM Power Performer of the Year Finalists

Name – Hometrack/Series – Division (Home Province)

Listed in alphabetical order

Past Champions:

2016 – Cory Hall of Jolicure, NB
2015 – Dave Matthews of Kennetcook, NS
2014 – Jonathan Hicken of Brudenell, PE
2013 – Shawn Tucker of Fredericton, NB
2012 – Dave O’Blenis of Boundary Creek, NB

About Tim’s Corner Motorsports:

Tim’s Corner began as a weekly stock car racing column appearing on ScotiaSpeedworld.ca and MaritimeProStockTour.com, penned by track and series announcer Tim Terry. It has now grown to include basic media services for motorsport teams big and small. TimsCorner.ca, the official website of Tim’s Corner Motorsports, also features Tim’s Corner Unplugged, a podcast hosted by Terry which focuses on the motorsports scene. For more information on Tim’s Corner and services offered, visit TimsCorner.ca!