This weekend, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series heads to the tight confine of the 3/8 mile oval known as Barrie Speedway.
Looking back at the events through the years, you could see that excitement is always there for the fans. Look at last year’s event. It got postponed from the Saturday night till the Sunday afternoon due to weather, but there was still late race excitement there.
On a late race restart with seven laps to go, Scott Steckly and Steve Mathews ran side-by-side for a whole lap, before Mathews would send Steckly for a spin in turn four. Dave Connolly would make contact with Steckly after the fact, causing heavy front end damage to Steckly’s dodge. As a result, Mathews would take control of the lead while Steckly would restart at the back of the field for the green-white-checkered.
On the green-white-checkered restart that followed, it’d be Mathews side-by-side with Fitzpatrick for the lead. Coming out of turn four, contact beween Fitzpatrick and Mathews would send Mathews up the track, causing contact with the outside wall. Meanwhile, Shepherd would make the move three-wide, slipping past both of them for the lead.
Shepherd would take control of the final lap and take the victory while Mathews spun Fitzpatrick in turn four. Andrew Ranger and Noel Dowler would both get by Mathews and Fitzpatrick to finish second and third.
That right there explains why fans get excited for the race at Barrie Speedway every year, and that is not an isolated incident either. Each year provides for some angry drivers after the race with opinions to be heard simply due to everybody being close together around the entire oval.
Though beyond just that, the championship battle will be another thing for fans to watch closely this weekend. Coming into the weekend, D.J. Kennington leads Scott Steckly only by three points. Both drivers have had success at Barrie Speedway in the past so it’ll be an interesting battle to watch.
Kennington didn’t do well last year as he had fuel pump issues take him out of the running, resulting in a 21st place finish. However, he has three Barrie Speedway victories to his credit, including one in 2010. The two-time series champion also has seven top 10 finishes in eight starts on the oval.
In comparison, Steckly finished ninth last year after being involved in the late race incident. He has also won a pair of races at Barrie Speedway in the past, winning both events in 2008. He has five top fives in eight starts as he looks for his third series championship.
If Kennington and Steckly run into problems at Barrie, look for L.P. Dumoulin and Jason Hathaway to jump on the opportunity. The pair of them sit third and fourth in the points, respectively, as the top four in points are only separated by 17 points.
Last week’s race winner Dumoulin has made two career starts at Barrie Speedway, finishing 13th in 2011 and 11th last year.
In comparison, Hathaway finished eight last year and has five top 10s in eight starts on the 0.333 mile tri-oval, including a second in 2011.
Beyond watching those four closely, there’s also a good size list of drivers that you should keep your eye on, as far as race winning contenders.
J.R. Fitzpatrick has run strong at Barrie Speedway in the past, posting five top 10s in seven starts including a fifth in 2010. He finished sixth last year after leading a race-high 113 laps.
2011 race winner Mark Dilley has five top 10s in eight starts at Barrie Speedway and was running upfront last year when transmission problems took him out of the race.
Last year’s winner Pete Shepherd will be in the field. The young star has won three of his last four series starts, including two events this year.
Steve Mathews ran up front last year till he was involved in the last race incident and will be looking to rebound after a poor finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
No matter who your pick is the for the race, you know it will be exciting so make sure to attend Barrie Speedway this weekend to take in the excitement.
