League of Legends Fire Up Sunday

The Maritime League of Legends Tour will officially kick off its nine race season this Sunday with a 50-lap feature at Scotia Speedworld. Over 20 of the fastest Legend car drivers from across the region are expected to vie for the top spot in one of only two stops at the 3/10-mile oval on the 2013 schedule. The opening race of the season, which will see the Maritime League of Legends Tour visit five different venues throughout 2013, is a part of the Lucas Oil 150 weekend.

Leading the field into competition includes 2012 Maritime League of Legends Tour and Scotia Speedworld Weekly Legends champion Cole Butcher (Porter’s Lake), who will be doing double duty on the day as he makes his first ever Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour start in the Lucas Oil 150 later in the afternoon. Butcher drove to two victories at Petty International Raceway and Riverside International Speedway in his #5 Atlantic Tiltload car en route to his first career Legends Tour crown, one in which he plans to defend in 2013.

Winning this event one year ago was Bedford’s Justin MacNeill. MacNeill would ride momentum from this event to the next race at Petty International Raceway, which also went the way of the #10 Cummins/Parts for Trucks team. MacNeill finished second in the standings to Butcher in 2012. Looking to defend their home turf Sunday include 2012 top ten point drivers “Miss Rawdon Rocket” Emily Meehan, Derek MacCallum (Lower Sackville), Jeff Cruickshank (Hantsport), Robbie Cormier (Truro), 2012 Rookie of the Year Joey Lawson (Porter’s Lake) and Dan Michaud Jr (Cole Harbour), who will be driving the #2 car this season for former Speedworld Hobby Stock titlist Mark Whynot of Eastern Passage.

The opening race of 2013 will see three rookies take to the track as they set forth on their quest to become the Rookie of the Year on the Maritime League of Legends Tour. Richie Nicholson (Harrietsfield), Harry Breimer Jr. (Stewiacke) and Graeme Bishop (Moncton, NB) are all planning on making their first starts of their freshman year on Sunday. The race will also see the return of drivers such as Darren Sherwood (Berry Mills, NB) and Mark Williams (Windsor Junction) after a few seasons out of the seat of a Legend car. They will look to outduel veterans the likes of “The Legend” Cy Harvey (Elmsdale) and Vance Hanes (Kennetcook) who, like Butcher, will also be trying to qualify their way into the Pro Stock field on Sunday as well.

Completing the field of expected entries on Sunday include Matt Moore (Falmouth), Danny Harvey (Lantz), Scott Cunning (Halifax), Jeff Atkinson (Port LaTour), Richard Salter (Centre Burlington), Kyle Campbell (Salisbury, NB and Tony Gaudet Jr. (Milford Station). Of this group, Moore and Salter both went to Victory Lane in 2012 in the Scotia Speedworld Weekly Legends division and will look to translate their previous season’s fortune into a checkered flag to kick off the Maritime League of Legends Tour in 2013.

EXPECTED ENTRY LIST – SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

00 Mark Williams
01 Richie Nicholson
1 Matt Moore
2 Dan Michaud Jr
3 Vance Hanes
4 Danny Harvey
5 Cole Butcher
7 Jeff Cruickshank
10 Justin MacNeill
14 Scott Cunning
15 Jeff Atkinson
16 Richard Salter
23 Harry Breimer Jr
27 Joe Lawson
29 Kyle Campbell
31 Robbie Cormier
36 Tony Gaudet Jr.
37 Cy Harvey
38 Darren Sherwood
46 Derek MacCallum
71 Graeme Bishop
75 Emily Meehan

Festivities for the afternoon’s Lucas Oil 150 at Scotia Speedworld kick off at 4pm with qualifying for both the Maritime League of Legends Tour and the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour. The Maritime League of Legends Tour will contest ten lap heat races prior to their first point paying 50-lap feature race of the season. Pit gates open for teams at 10am while grandstand gates open for spectators at 1pm. Tickets for the event are available in advance at TicketAtlantic.com, participating Atlantic Superstore locations in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, or charge by phone at 902 451-1221 or toll-free 1-877-451-1221. For more information on Sunday’s event, visit ScotiaSpeedworld.ca.

About The Maritime League of Legends:
The Maritime League of Legends Association was formed in 2005 by a group of racer’s wanting to grow the Legends Cars division in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. In 2012, the Maritime League of Legends Tour will visit four venues throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick between May and October during its seven race season. For more information on the Maritime League of Legends, please visit www.maritimelegends.ca.