Final Race of 2013 Season Sunday at Oyster Bed Bridge

It will be the last chance weekend at Oyster Bed Speedway this Sunday afternoon. The final racing card of the season is scheduled for a 2pm start and with no division settled each and every race will be crucial in the points standings.

The Four Fun division is the closest points battle with the top two drivers heading into the final set of races tied for the lead. Randy MacTavish has held onto the points lead for the previous two race cards but had to make room at the top for Brandon Conohan. The two drivers have contrasting driving styles with MacTavish being conservative and Conohan being the aggressor. Only time will tell which style is crowned champion. And as a wild card if the two drivers happen to take each other out Jason Baglole is in third only twenty points out. Last season in the same division it came down to the last race of the season and that exact scenario played out as the top two drivers took each other out in the final race paving the way for Janet Axeworthy to claim her second Points Championship.

The next closest division has Kris Fournier in the Modified Division clinging to a seven point lead over Defending Champion Randy Millar and a 15 point lead over Jason MacCallum. Fournier, who is in the top three in wins, was able to climb back into the lead that has rotated between him, Millar and Darrell Ford all season. After some bad luck Ford slipped out of contention which opened an opportunity for MacCallum to come within striking distance. With three drivers in contention typically lady luck will be a big factor in the afternoon.

In the Outlaw division only 11 points separate the top two drivers. Jonathon Stewart dominated most of the season but in a rare twist on the season when the leader left for the United States to pursue education a back-up driver was unable to attend a Saturday night racing card. This put his points lead in jeopardy.  Once Jonathon Fitzpatrick was secured to take over the ride on his first night in the car some mechanical issues wreaked havoc on his night and for the first time slipped out of the points lead. He now looks comfortable in the car and is within striking distance of Kendall Palmer in another division that could be decided in the final race.

On most nights the Street Stock division can be the most entertaining and the grand finale is being touted as an all out war to the end. One thing for sure is that the top four drivers have completely different driving habits.

The current leader Stephen Gass has gone about his business on the track quietly, only grabbing two wins on the year, rather depending on top five finishes to put him on top. Some say his actions off the track may come back to bite him in the end. A feud has developed between himself and a fellow driver and some have speculated that payback may still be in the cards.

Mark Leclair leads the division in wins with eight and will probably need at least one in order to take a run at the points championships.

Alex Sheehan has come on as one of the top drivers in the class this year in only his first full year in the division. He has scored five heat wins but a feature win still eludes the sophomore.

It’s looking as though two time defending Champion Nick Chaisson will finally have to pass the crown. Over the past few weekends Chaisson has handed the driving duties over to Andrew Jenkins who built the car originally and has had some respectable finishes.

The division will also say farewell to Emmett Donahue who will officially retire after this weekend. He has put in solid season currently in sixth in points along with seven wins. He is only one of two drivers to have a pair of feature wins this season. Along with Donahue only time will tell if we see another pair of veteran drivers back behind the wheel. Donnie McNeill and Gerald MacQuarrie have also stepped away from their cars mid-season. They have however been unable to stay away from the track they still attend as fans and there still might be some fight left in those ‘old-timers,’ yet.

The racing begins at 2pm at Oyster Bed Speedway with Kids Rides happening at 1:30.

BY: Track announcer Jeremy MacDonald, Photo by Scott Sinclair