Maritime Racing
Looking Back – History of the TCM Most Popular Driver Award
On Wednesday, a record 140+ nominated drivers will set their sights on winning one of the most prestigious awards of the season in Atlantic Canada – the TCM Most Popular Driver Award.
Sure, this award doesn’t carry a huge cash prize or a seven foot tall trophy but it does carry the confidence that it is a fan driven victory.
The award enters its eighth season and has seen seven different winners win their own TCM banner. In recent years, including this upcoming edition, three rounds of voting are used to determine the final ten that battle it out for the win.
In the seven years of the TCM Most Popular Driver Award, only 43 drivers have made the final round of voting. Of those 43, only 12 have made multiple final rounds with the record being four final round appearances by both Randy Millar and Megan Parrott.
When it comes to provincial pride in the final round since 2012, it is almost split. In fact, Nova Scotia has seen the most drivers make the final round with 12 but a Nova Scotian has yet to win the overall award. Eleven Prince Edward Island drivers have seen the final round in the last seven years with three titles heading back to the Island with James Doucette, Randy Millar and Isabelle Getson. Newfoundland and New Brunswick both have seen ten drivers represent their respective provinces in the final round. New Brunswick has three past champions of the award in Sarah McKay, Brent Roy and the late Mike Stevens. The only Newfoundland TCM Most Popular Driver winner was in 2017 when Austin Hiscock took the banner home.
Of the 43 drivers to make the final round since 2012, only Valley Raceway is the only track that has not seen a representative go on to battle for the banner. Lake Doucette Motor Speedway saw their first representative in the final round in 2018 when Willard Hurlbert finished eighth. On the other hand, the Atlantic Modified Tour has only seen one driver make the final round – but it has been a while since Joe Hoyt finished fifth in 2012. Hurlbert was one of the early nominees for the 2019 award while Hoyt, the newly crowned Speedway Miramichi Modified champion, has yet to be added to the list by his fans.
This year’s list, which sits at 141 drivers as of the time of this story, sees a healthy mix of new faces and returning names. The last five champions are on the nomination list – Getson, Hiscock, Millar, Roy and McKay. The 2018 runner-up Tanton Wooldridge and 2017 second place finisher Sara Thorne will look to move one more spot up the ladder while Jeffrey Breen, Robbie MacEwen and Kent Vincent will have their fans pushing them to return to the final round for the first time since 2014.
Several familiar names are still left waiting for their fans to put their name in the ring for the 2019 award. Among those include three time finalist Emily Meehan, two time finalists Owen Groves and Waylon Farrell and former runner-up drivers Mitchell Fahey, Josh Collins and Brad Eddy.
You can check out the list of drivers nominated and nominate your favorite until Wednesday at Noon at the following link! Voting begins on TimsCorner.ca on Wednesday evening!
TCM Most Popular Driver Award – Past Champion’s List
2018 – Isabelle Getson of Tignish, PE
2017 – Austin Hiscock of Freshwater, NL
2016 – Randy Millar of Freeland, PE
2015 – Brent Roy of Hanwell, NB
2014 – Sarah McKay of Quispamsis, NB
2013 – Mike Stevens of Riverview, NB
2012 – James Doucette of Miscouche, PE
TCM Most Popular Driver Finalist List – Since Inaugural Year
Nominated in 2019 column based on list as of October 8th, 2:30pm
| Amount of Final Rounds | Name | Finalist Years | Home Track/Series | Best Finish | Province | Nominated in 2019? |
| 4 | Randy Millar | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 | OBS | CHAMPION (2016) | PE | YES |
| 4 | Megan Parrott | 2015,2016, 2017, 2018 | SSW | 5th (2016) | NS | YES |
| 3 | Brent Roy | 2014, 2015, 2016 | 660 | CHAMPION (2015) | NB | YES |
| 3 | Sarah McKay | 2013, 2014, 2015 | MPST | CHAMPION (2014) | NB | YES |
| 3 | Emily Meehan | 2012, 2014, 2015 | SSW | 2nd (2012) | NS | NO |
| 3 | Cole Tanner | 2012, 2013, 2014 | SSW | 3rd (2013) | NS | NO |
| 2 | Justin Cole | 2015, 2016 | 660 | 4th (2016) | NB | YES |
| 2 | Michael Neary | 2016, 2018 | EBP | 10th (2016, 2018) | NL | YES |
| 2 | Sara Thorne | 2016, 2017 | EBP | 2nd (2017) | NL | YES |
| 2 | Austin Hiscock | 2017, 2018 | EBP | CHAMPION (2017) | NL | YES |
| 2 | Owen Groves | 2016, 2017 | EBP | 5th (2017) | NL | NO |
| 2 | Waylon Farrell | 2015, 2016 | MPST | 4th (2015) | NL | NO |
| 1 | Ashton Tucker | 2015 | 660 | 3rd (2015) | NB | YES |
| 1 | Willard Hurlbert | 2018 | LDMS | 8th (2018) | NS | YES |
| 1 | Kent Vincent | 2014 | MPST | 8th (2014) | PE | YES |
| 1 | Tanton Wooldridge | 2018 | OBS | 2nd (2018) | PE | YES |
| 1 | Robbie MacEwen | 2014 | OBS | 7th (2014) | PE | YES |
| 1 | Isabelle Getson | 2018 | OBS | CHAMPION (2018) | PE | YES |
| 1 | Michael Cormier | 2018 | PIR | 10th (2018) | NB | YES |
| 1 | Kenny Mackenzie Jr | 2018 | PIR | 9th (2018) | NB | YES |
| 1 | Jeffrey Breen | 2014 | RIS | 10th (2014) | NS | YES |
| 1 | Jordan Veinotte | 2017 | SSW | 9th (2017) | NS | YES |
| 1 | Riley Goodwin | 2018 | 660 | 5th (2018) | NB | NO |
| 1 | Chris Duncan | 2014 | 660 | 6th (2014) | NB | NO |
| 1 | Joe Hoyt | 2012 | AMT | 5th (2012) | NB | NO |
| 1 | Josh Collins | 2015 | EBP | 2nd (2015) | NL | NO |
| 1 | Mitchell Fahey | 2016 | EBP | 2nd (2016) | NL | NO |
| 1 | Noah Healey | 2017 | EBP | 6th (2017) | NL | NO |
| 1 | Shane Collins | 2018 | EBP | 6th (2018) | NL | NO |
| 1 | Mike Stevens | 2013 | MPST | CHAMPION (2013) | NB | NO |
| 1 | John Flemming | 2015 | MPST | 10th (2012) | NS | NO |
| 1 | Harry Ross White | 2012 | MPST | 3rd (2012) | NS | NO |
| 1 | Jamie Stewart | 2015 | OBS | 12th (2012) | PE | NO |
| 1 | Brandon Snow | 2017 | OBS | 3rd (2017) | PE | NO |
| 1 | Charles Woolaver | 2013 | OBS | 4th (2013) | PE | NO |
| 1 | Emmett Donahue | 2013 | OBS | 5th (2013) | PE | NO |
| 1 | Matt Palmer | 2017 | OBS | 8th (2017) | PE | NO |
| 1 | James Doucette | 2012 | OBS | CHAMPION (2012) | PE | NO |
| 1 | Will Farrell | 2015 | RIS | 9th (2015) | NL | NO |
| 1 | Shawn Waterfield | 2017 | RIS | 10th (2017) | NS | NO |
| 1 | Dave Timmons | 2014 | RIS | 9th (2014) | NS | NO |
| 1 | Brad Eddy | 2014 | SSW | 2nd (2014) | NS | NO |
| 1 | Dan Smith | 2016 | SSW | 8th (2016) | NS | NO |
About Tim’s Corner Motorsports:
Tim’s Corner Motorsports (TCM) is your destination for all your regional stock car racing news in Atlantic Canada. From Bandoleros to Super Late Models, from New Brunswick to Newfoundland, TCM covers it all. Catch video reactions on their Facebook page and content on all social platforms at @TimsCornerCA. For more information on Tim’s Corner Motorsports or to get up to date on all local stock car racing news, visit TimsCorner.ca! Until next time, keep the hammer down and we’ll see you at the track!
