Strong Atlantic Canadian Contingent Readies for INEX Winter Nationals

Mahar, MacDonald, Langilles making Florida Speedweeks debut

A crop of new faces along with a group that are no strangers to the Florida sun in February are amongst over a dozen teams from Atlantic Canada making the haul south this week to INEX Winter Nationals at the Orlando Speedworld in Orlando, Florida.

The event, which sees five consecutive days of racing from February 16th to February 20th, pits some of the best competition in Bandolero and Legends racing together for the coveted week long championship. The INEX Winter Nationals event is also the first chance for drivers to gain national points towards an INEX National championship for 2015.

While the points are nice and the weather is a lot more attractive than what the Maritimes has to offer in February, for some it is all about valuable seat time. For four Bandolero drivers (Owen Mahar, Austin MacDonald, Nathan Langille, Danny Chisholm) making the trek, they have only one full season or less under their belts at their respective race tracks in the region. With Scotia Speedworld, for example, hosting 12 races for the Bandolero class last year, these drivers will get nearly a half season worth of racing in just one week.

While Josh Langille, the 2014 INEX Canada East Bandolero Bandits Champion, has experience down south racing at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, this will be Langille’s first foray to race south of the New England states. The 2015 season is the sixth for the elder Langille brother and comes off a 2014 championship season that saw him compete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Speedway 660, Petty Raceway and his home track of Scotia Speedworld.

The potential darkhorse of the group could be Kennetcook, Nova Scotia’s Luke Ettinger. Ettinger last competed in the INEX Winter Nationals event in 2011, the first season the event was held at the Auburndale Speedway at Winter Haven, Florida. At that event, he drove a car fielded by Chris Woods Racing and Repair while the 2015 version of the event will see Ettinger at the helm of the #62 car he pilots at home.

Five drivers are making their third consecutive appearance at INEX Winter Nationals. Butcher Racing will be at the event with drivers Jarrett and Cole Butcher. Cole Butcher, three time consecutive Scotia Speedworld track champion, will pilot the Farbo Motorsports car he drove at Legends Nationals at Las Vegas in the Pro division back in October. Butcher’s first season in the Pro division at INEX Winter Nationals in 2014 resulted in a tie for 11th place in the standings over the week. Jarrett Butcher will move into the Semi Pro division after finishing sixth in 2014 as a Young Lion.

Cory Hall will be making the jump to Legend cars at the INEX Winter Nationals event. Hall, of Jolicure, New Brunswick, spent the last two seasons racing at Auburndale Speedway in a Chris Woods Racing and Repair (CWRR) prepared Bandolero car and will see the Legend car come out of the same shop for the event.  Fresh off his debut at the Winter Heat Series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he finished in the top ten in all three races last weekend, Hall will be one to keep an eye on heading into his third Winter Nationals event.

The 2014 INEX Canada East Bandolero Outlaw champion will have fellow CWRR stablemate in Nicholas Naugle to lean on for advice. Naugle is the 2014 INEX Canada East Semi Pro Legend champion and made his Legend debut at INEX Winter Nationals one season ago, finishing 15th in the standings.

Braden Langille will have a busy week as the youngster from Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia will be doing double duty in both his Bandolero Outlaw and Young Lions Legend entries. Langille finished sixth in the standings last INEX Winter Nationals in the Bandolero Outlaw class, and with a handful of veteran drivers moving out of the class, one would have to believe Langille, the 2014 Scotia Speedworld track and NB Big Dawg Challenge champion, is a favorite for the week long championship. The INEX Winter Nationals marks the Legend debut for Langille, who picked up an ex-Butcher Racing car over the winter.

Newfoundland will also see entries take to the track at Orlando Speedworld. While a full list is still to be confirmed, Dylan Rumbolt will run a Bandolero out of the Chris Woods Racing and Repair shop, while Farrell Racing will also be represented at the event, led by 2013 INEX Winter Nationals participant Waylon Farrell.

While there will be eyes on those four making their first starts at INEX Winter Nationals, they each have a story to tell leading into the event. Owen Mahar, son of Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour driver Daryl Mahar, made a pair of starts at the end of last season at Scotia Speedworld, carrying longtime team sponsors Inglis Jewelers, K. Hubley Woodworking and Contracting and Cobequid Mountain Sports. Of the quartet, Mahar may be the less experienced, but keep an eye on the Hubley, Nova Scotia driver as he embarks on his 2015 rookie campaign.

Austin MacDonald completed his first full time season in Bandolero competition in 2014 and is setting his sights on Winter Nationals. MacDonald, “The King Commander,” is the grandson of Canadian and Maritime Motorsports Hall of Famer and 2005 Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour champion Rollie MacDonald, and with progression shown at the end of the 2014 season, the 2015 season could be a big one for the Pictou, Nova Scotia driver.

Coming from the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, Danny Chisholm and Nathan Langille will each be making their first appearances stateside. Chisholm completed his first full season at Scotia Speedworld in 2014, along with making appearances at Petty Raceway and Speedway 660. Langille began racing at Scotia Speedworld alongside his brother Josh early in the 2014 season and quickly picked up the craft of Bandolero racing inside of the tight 3/10-mile oval. Both have bright futures in the sport and will be great representatives of Canada’s Ocean Playground.

Fans at home that want to follow along all the action live can visit SpeedShiftTv.com to order pay-per-view coverage of all five days of the INEX Winter Nationals event at Orlando Speedworld. Tim’s Corner Motorsports will have updates throughout the week from Orlando and also New Smyrna Speedway as our Canadian drivers and teams get ready to see the green flag for the first time in 2015!

Photo by McCarthy Photographic