RacingSpectator.ca Driver of the Year – Finalists

Thirty nine drivers started, nearly 3,000 eligible votes were cast over two rounds of voting and at the end, the final five have become one.

While the winner and runner-up will be announced on Friday night for the RacingSpectator.ca Driver of the Year Award, we bring you some statistics and the third to fifth place finishers in the vote here. Of note, two drivers saw more votes for their campaign in the second round voting than they did in the first round, while one driver had the identical amount of votes in both rounds.

Just over 1,100 votes were cast for Round Two, which was down from the 1,800 and change that was cast in the first round amongst the 39 nominees.

Six drivers received more than 100 votes in Round One, including Ashton Tucker, who lost out on a final ballot spot by four votes.

Without further adieu, the runners up on the second round voting for the RacingSpectator.ca Driver of the Year Award!

FIFTH PLACE – #28 EMMETT DONAHUE, HAZELBROOK, PE – 13% of Final Vote

First Round Voting – SECOND (11% of vote)

“The Legend” of Prince Edward Island is retiring after this season and by the looks of it will have plenty of fans having to find another Saturday night hero to cheer for. Donahue’s fans came out in droves in the first round voting, putting the Legend to second in the first round voting but wound up in fifth in the second round voting (his nearly 200 votes from Round One would have put him third in the final round voting).

We have a few audio files of Emmett from our past two seasons, some that I’m sure will surface this winter that you’ll hear for the first time when we sift through the 2013 audio. Emmett is a fierce competitor on track that drives hard each lap and is a true sportsman on and off the track, something that every race track needs and will be missed in 2014 when the Street Stocks take the green at Oyster Bed.

We wish Emmett all the best in “retirement” and we’ll see you at the track next year.

FOURTH PLACE – #10 CHARLES WOOLAVER – ALBANY, PE – 15% of Final Vote

First Round Voting – FIFTH (6% of vote)

Last year, James Doucette came out of nowhere to win the RacingSpectator.ca Driver of the Year Award and for a while it appeared Charles Woolaver was going to do the same.

Woolaver came out of the gate strong in Round One, ending Day One in second place. Same can be said for Round Two after the first day of voting. Most of the votes the Four Fun driver got were concentrated in those first few days but it was enough each time to come home with a top five spot, including edging out Ashton Tucker in Round One, who also started off strong before being bumped in the final two days.

Of note, Woolaver picked up 50 more votes in Round Two than he did in Round One. Congrats to the team for making the top five!

THIRD PLACE – #33 COLE TANNER, SHUBENACADIE, NS – 17% of Final Vote

Photo by McCarthy Photographic

First Round Voting – THIRD (10% of vote)

The only returning driver to the ballot for the RacingSpectator.ca Driver of the Year Award will have to settle for third, up one spot from last year.

In fact, the numbers are all up for the now two-time Petty International Raceway Bandolero track champion. Tanner also finished with one percent more of the final vote than he did last year with 17% of the final vote. Tanner’s team worked hard in the last week of Round One to secure votes as he grabbed third in the last days, finishing just 12 votes out of Donahue for second.  Consistency may have been key as well as Tanner finished with the exact same number of votes in Round One as he did in Round Two.

Tanner’s crew will have to come at it strong again next year to see if they can’t move up two more rungs in the final year of the prestigious award.

—

For the third time in the history of the award, the RacingSpectator.ca Driver of the Year hails from the province of New Brunswick. Who is getting their name engraved on the trophy – Sarah McKay or Mike Stevens?! Return here Friday night to see who will add their name to the championship list!

About Tim’s Corner:
Tim’s Corner began as a weekly stock car racing column appearing on ScotiaSpeedworld.ca and MaritimeProStockTour.com, penned by track and series announcer Tim Terry. It has now grown to include basic media services for motorsport teams big and small. TimsCorner.ca, the official website of Tim’s Corner, also features Tim’s Corner Unplugged, a podcast hosted by Terry which focuses on the motorsports scene. For more information on Tim’s Corner and services offered, visit TimsCorner.ca!