Year in Review
Top Stories and Headliners of 2017 on TimsCorner.ca
It’s been quite a year!
The 2017 year has been full of stories from tip to tip in our region. From great NASCAR Whelen All American Series Racing in Newfoundland to Street Stocks invading Miramichi to Mark Martin visiting Riverside and everything in between, there was plenty to discuss around the water cooler this year.
We’ve taken a look at our statistics on site from the past 12 months, along with our Facebook insights and have come up with the top 12 stories, by month, that shook the ground in Atlantic Canadian racing, along with a few stories that had our social media followers liking and sharing throughout the past year. Some of the stories are sure to jog some memories, some might even have you shaking your head as to how they got there. Nevertheless, without them, we wouldn’t have the racing community we have today.
If you want to revisit the story, just click on the headline and you’ll be able to zip back in time!
Let’s dive into it, shall we?!
*Note – Maritime related Ballot or Voting Pages (Petty Fan Choice, TCM Finish Line Vinyl Design Best Looking Car or TCM CSS Insurance Most Popular Driver Award) have been omitted from the top content rankings, as have individual pages and contest posts on our social media platforms. Below are the news stories that got the most page views within their respective month.
All photos from McCarthy Photographic, unless otherwise indicated
JANUARY 2017 – Top Content
Oh Canada – Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour Announces 2017 Schedule
FEBRUARY 2017 – Top Content
Maritime Street Stock Showdown Information Released, To Feature $14,000 Purse
MARCH 2017 – Top Content
Speedway 660 Announces 2017 Schedule
Photo by Michelle Roy
APRIL 2017 – Top Content
Hall Wins at Texas Motor Speedway for Sixth Win of 2017
MAY 2017 – Top Content
Defending Champion Fahey Wins Riverview Ford Season Opener
Photo by Michelle Roy
JUNE 2017 – Top Content
Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame Introduces Class of 2017
JULY 2017 – Top Content
Entry List Growing for IWK 250
AUGUST 2017 – Top Content
OBS Surf and Turf: “With Heavy Hearts and a Heavy Foot, the Show Must Go On…”
Photo from Palmer Boys Racing Facebook Page
SEPTEMBER 2017 – Top Content
The Notebook: Fourth Annual Mike Stevens Memorial Weekend
Photo by Tanya Everett Photography
OCTOBER 2017 – Top Content
Moving On Up! Pro Stocks to Headline at Oyster Bed Speedway in 2018
NOVEMBER 2017 – Top Content
By the Numbers: TCM Fall 250 at Kartbahn Racing
DECEMBER 2017 – Top Content
Braden Langille to Run Full Time on Pro Stock Tour in 2018
“Social Media Sweethearts”
While the above 12 garnered the most traffic on TimsCorner.ca in their respective month, we had some stories and posts on our social media platforms that saw some love throughout the year from race fans around the region.
Here are a few that gained some attention outside of the 12 stories above. You can click the blue headline to take you to the original Facebook post.
Gosbee Goes to Victory Lane at 660
What was a tune up for the Pro All Stars Series event scheduled at the track for the next weekend turned into a trip to Riverview Ford Lincoln Victory Lane for Dylan Gosbee on May 28th.
Gosbee took the lead from Dave O’Blenis with 13 laps to go in the 50-lap feature to race on to the win. Gosbee, O’Blenis and Brent Roy battled for most of the opening laps of the Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stock feature on that night.
In the end, the Pro All Stars Series race would be rained out and the Oxford 250 Canadian and American provisionals ended up being moved, along with the event, to Oxford Plains Speedway and Gosbee went on to have one of his best years racing with the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour.
Rollie MacDonald’s Scotia Speedworld Shake Down
After making a pair of Pro Stock starts in 2016, Rollie MacDonald was eager to climb back behind the wheel in 2017.
At the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour Tech ‘n Tune on May 13th, MacDonald slid into the window of his No. 13 King Racing ride to shake down the car for the season opener a week later. While Cassius Clark would be back behind the wheel for the Lucas Oil 150, MacDonald did race during the Ron MacGillivray Chevrolet Buick GMC 150 at Riverside Speedway in June.
#FREETHE13
The King Racing team also made headlines near the end of the year with paperwork issues attempting to cross the border for the Pro All Stars Series Mason Dixon MegaMeltdown at the Hickory Motor Speedway in November. After arriving Tuesday afternoon, the hauler would finally get the green light late Friday afternoon to proceed and head towards North Carolina. The team made it to the track just before the Last Chance Race and Clark drove into the top five within the first 100 laps before a flat tire set them back three laps. A late wreck after making up one lap by passing the field would end their march to the front.
The team would complete their season with a top five run at the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.
A Conversation With Randy Millar; Atlantic Canada’s Most Popular Driver
Among our guests that sat down with Tim during Radical Speed Sport at the Moncton Coliseum last April was the reigning Most Popular Driver Award winner Randy Millar. The Late Model driver that competes out of Oyster Bed Speedway sat down to talk racing, his plans for the future and share some laughs.
Millar made the final round of voting for the Most Popular Driver Award in 2017 but fell short to the “New Kid on the Block” Austin Hiscock. Millar will be making the transition to the Pro Stock division at his home track in 2018.
Mark Martin Hits the High Banks
Now, what would be a look back at 2017 without Mark Martin’s run at the IWK 250?
Martin made an absolutely huge impact on racing in this region. Whether it was the announcement that he was coming out of retirement to race the IWK 250 to his arrival in Nova Scotia to the straightaway length autograph line pre-race, the NASCAR Hall of Famer’s July visit will be one of the biggest headlines of 2017 for thousands of racing fans. Martin has made a number of mentions about his friends in this neck of the woods since his trip on social media as well.
Mark’s first time touring Riverside International Speedway in the No. 17 Atlantic Cat Car for Kids ride was during the open practice for Pro Stocks on Thursday, July 13th.
Here’s hoping we see Mark Martin return to Riverside and Nova Scotia soon!
Island Party at the Atlantic Championships
Jonathan Hicken found himself in a familiar place in October – driving a King Racing car to a victory at the CENTRE For Speed.
Hicken won the Atlantic Championships 250 over fellow Islanders Dylan Gosbee and Robbie MacEwen. Hicken took the lead from Kevin Moore at the halfway break before Moore’s car developed driveshaft issues shortly after the lead change. Hicken and King Racing also won the race in 2016 while Hicken also took home the win in the No. 5 car back in 2014 and 2013, making it four wins in five seasons for Hicken in the year end event.
Homecoming for Ryan Mackintosh
Ryan Mackintosh returned home in 2017 and made a stop at Scotia Speedworld to compete in the Maritime League of Legends Tour Scotia Tire 50. Mackintosh, who made his first start in the Maritimes since his Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour debut in 2014 at Petty Raceway, finished on the podium driving a car out of the Brycon Construction shop.
Williams “Fun Day” Turns Upside Down at Lake Doucette
A Fun Run at Lake Doucette Motor Speedway was turned upside down quickly, literally, in September.
“Mr. Honda” Scott Williams, who is a former Four Cylinder Invitational winner at the high banked half mile, took Darren Flemming’s car out for a run during the V8 Stock Fun Day heat race. With no points on the line, officials allowed Williams to take the Honda Civic out against the V8 class.
After passing a number of cars in the Opening Laps, one driver became impatient and very aggressive. The Late Model finally got Williams sideways enough off Turn Four to send him around and into the bank, pitching the car for a wild barrel roll.
Williams emerged okay from the car and the team fixed the car for Flemming to run in the two Four Cylinder features, which Flemming finished on the podium of during the Four Cylinder Free for All.
Of the posts made by Tim’s Corner Motorsports on Facebook in 2017, nearly 100 of those generated more than 100 likes between the original post and shares made of the post. Of those posts, over sixty drivers were represented with eleven drivers or teams appearing in the photo or headline of those posts more than once. Dylan Blenkhorn topped the list, appearing in eight post headlines. Cory Hall, Jonathan Hicken and Greg Fahey appeared in three posts while Kyle Reid, Matt Palmer, Nathan Langille, Sam Rogers, Rollie MacDonald, Stevie Lively and Braden Langille led the way in two posts each on our social media.
Of the three years of tracking multi-time headliners in a single year on TCM Facebook postings, Hicken and Butcher appear for the third straight year while Blenkhorn returns after appearing on the 2015 list.
The Year in Review features continue with four photo galleries in the next week from our contributing photographers including Mike McCarthy, Tanya Everett, Mike Francis along with a special edition from Courtney Eisan. These galleries feature favorite photos selected by those behind the lens. We’ll also have our annual By The Numbers article along with a “TCM Top Ten” article, taking a quick look back at some of those special memories from the past year with TCM’s Tim Terry.
