By The Numbers – The 2016 Tim’s Corner Motorsports Season

With Cape Breton Miners Memorial Speedway’s season finale last Sunday, the 2016 season of racing is over for Tim’s Corner Motorsports. Sure, there will be more year in review pieces looking back and getting ready for 2017 behind the scenes, but the on track stock car product will now sit silent until May.

We had a personal best year with 53 races in Atlantic Canada taking place with Tim’s Corner Motorsports in the house over the last 23 weekends. Each event, each feature and every driver within them has a story and we’re thrilled to have been able to tell some of those through our website and social media platforms. From dirt to asphalt, big wins to disqualifications, single car spins to Talladega-esque big ones (and there were a couple of those), there was plenty of excitement seen from Avondale to Melvern Square, Geary to Sydney and all points in between.

Here’s a brief look at some of the numbers over the past 23 weekends in our “By the Numbers” special on the 2016 TCM Season.

Featured Photo by McCarthy Photographic

Note – these number reflect numbers based on the events of the 53 stock car racing cards taken in by Tim’s Corner Motorsports in 2016. Watch for our annual By the Numbers: Year in Review edition for a full blown review of the Atlantic Canadian stock car season as a part of our Salute to 2016 in December.

1 – The amount of times the leader has lapped the whole field in a feature in 2016, achieved by Tom Betts in the Atlantic Modified Tour 50-lap finale at Speedway Miramichi. Tyler Hutchinson came close to the feat in the Beginner Bandits division at Scotia Speedworld on July 1st by lapping all but himself and second place driver Malcolm Jollimore.

2 – Cole Butcher and Dylan Blenkhorn each won features in different race cars in 2016 at TCM events. Both have won features in Legend and Pro Stock cars over the season and are the only two to pull the feat in different divisions over the season at races attended by TCM. Other drivers have pulled the feat, but we missed one or more of those wins. For example, Braden Langille won in both Legend and Bandolero competition, but we weren’t in town to see the Bandolero wins at Petty International Raceway as was the case with Dave O’Blenis with his wins in Sportsman and Pro Stock competition at Speedway 660.

3 – The number of races “left on the table” due to rain outs at one venue and not being able to make it to another venue. On the opposite side of the coin, a rainout at Speedway 660 in July allowed us to add one race at Oyster Bed Speedway on the 2nd of that month.

7 – The TCM season saw seven female race winners over the 53 race cards on the season. Courtney O’Blenis and Sara Thorne were the only multiple feature winners, each winning three features we covered in 2016. Alexandra O’Blenis, Megan Parrott, Sarah Jay, Ashley Campbell and Rebecca Palmer each won one TCM covered feature over the last 23 weekends. Of note, Courtney O’Blenis was the first and last female we saw in victory lane in 2016, winning during TCM Event #4 of the year (Saturday, May 28th|Regular Point Racing|Speedway 660) and Event #40 of the year (Sunday, September 4th|McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250|Speedway 660).

9 – Of the 23 weekends of racing, nine of those saw at least three races in one weekend. The Labour Day Weekend saw four races in one weekend (one at Scotia Speedworld, two at Speedway 660 and one at Oyster Bed Speedway) and there was one stretch of three straight triple header weekends (from Event #11 at Scotia Speedworld on June 17th to Event #19 at Speedway 660 on July 3rd).

10 – The amount of time we saw Sam Rogers win over the season, the most of any driver this season. The “TCM Five or More Feature Win” club also includes Cory Hall (eight), Tyler Hutchinson (seven) and Mike Weagle, Jason Fenton and Deven Smith (five).

Photo by McCarthy Photographic

13 – The amount of NASCAR sanctioned features covered by Tim’s Corner Motorsports including six NASCAR Whelen All American Series Division I Sportsman races and six NASCAR Whelen All American Series Division II Hobby Stock races at Eastbound Park and the NASCAR Pinty’s Series Bumper to Bumper 300 at Riverside International Speedway. Six different drivers won those features including Cayden Lapcevich, Josh Collins, Robert Petten, Mark Best, Mitchell Fahey and Gerald “Big Sexy” Hicks.

19 – Of four “championship season finale cards,” we saw 19 track champions crowned, including all stock car champions at Scotia Speedworld, Cape Breton Miners Memorial Speedway, Speedway Miramichi and Eastbound Park in addition to the champions on the NAPA Sportsman Series, Atlantic Modified Tour, Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour and Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour.

19 – The amount of races seen at Scotia Speedworld this season, a season high at any venue. Behind Scotia Speedworld includes Petty International Raceway (seven), Eastbound Speedway and Speedway 660 (six each), Oyster Bed Speedway (five), Riverside International Speedway (four), CENTRE For Speed and Valley Raceway (two) and Cape Breton Miners Memorial Speedway and Speedway Miramichi (one).

26 – Of the 53 races this season seen by Tim’s Corner Motorsports, 26 of those took place in the province of Nova Scotia. Sixteen of those ran in the province of New Brunswick, six in Newfoundland and five on Prince Edward Island.

28 – Of the nine tracks and four series we visited this season that contested season long championships, 28 of those champions won at least one feature when TCM was at the track. Those tracks and series crowned a total of 37 championships, leaving eight to not win a race under our eyes. Those include Jason Groves (Eastbound – Sportsman),  Kody Quinn (CBMMS – Mini Stock), Brenda Shortell (Petty – Women on Wheels), Greg Fahey (Speedway 660 – Pro Stock), Darcy O’Neill (Speedway Miramichi – Street Stock), Waylon Farrell (Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour), Greg Banks (Unlimited – Valley Raceway), BJ McNeill (Trucks – Valley Raceway) and Sandy Wood (Eight Cylinder – Valley Raceway).

31 – The amount of “Touring Series” features seen by TCM in 2016 – including all 12 Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour races, all eight Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour races, six Atlantic Modified Tour features, three NAPA Sportsman Series races and single events for the Eastern Super Mini Cup Series and NASCAR Pinty’s Series. Cory Hall won four of those events, as did Dylan Blenkhorn (three Pro Stock, one Legend). Cole Butcher and Tom Betts each won three.

66% – The highest percentage of a division producing a different winner at an event TCM attended. In 35 Sportsman or Late Model (Oyster Bed Late Model, Petty Limited Late, Eastbound Sportsman) races this year, 23 different winners were produced. Those races produced seven multiple time winners with Josh Collins winning four of the 35 Sportsman races we saw this year. The Pro Stock division (17 races producing 10 different winners) and the Street Stock/Truck division (33 races producing 17 different winners) also produced different feature winners over half the time on TCM events.

134 – By our count, of the features we have seen over the last 23 weekends, there have been 134 different winners in those races.

222 – The amount of features seen by Tim’s Corner Motorsports in 2016.

235 – The amount of race cards seen in five seasons by Tim’s Corner Motorsports from 2012 to now. The 53 this year tops the numbers in one year from 2015 (48), 2014 (47), 2013 (43) and 2012 (44).

975 – The amount of new Facebook likes on the Tim’s Corner Motorsports Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/timscorner) since the start of 2016. Our page has 3,744 as of today with our eyes on 4,000 for the Speedway 660 Banquet in January.

32,000+ – Since purchasing the 2006 Nissan Altima last November, there have been over 30,000 kilometers put on it, most of those racked up going to and from racing related events throughout the summer months from May to October.