Big show gets even bigger with additions of Jeff Fultz & 250 champions
One of the top names in North American late model racing, Jeff Fultz, has been added to the expected entry list for Saturday’s IWK 250 Presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body at Riverside International Speedway. Fultz will drive the No. 13 entry fielded by Pictou’s King Racing for team owner Rollie MacDonald.
Fultz, from Troutman, North Carolina, is a multi-time short track champion in the southeast and one of the top late model car chiefs/car builders in North America. In his 30 years in racing he has earned 10 championships and over 250 career wins; he is a three-time NASCAR All Pro Series champion and the all-time winner in that series. His racing resume includes competition in all the major short track touring series in the United States, as well as several starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. He has worked with NASCAR teams at Penske Racing and DEI, and currently runs Jeff Fultz Racing along with his role as Late Model Division Director at LFR Chassis, a manufacturer of cutting edge race car chassis/driver development group.
Fultz’s No. 13 entry in the IWK 250 is a LFR Chassis built by King Racing over the off-season. His crew chief will be Andrew Hicken, a Prince Edward Island native who runs King Racing with MacDonald and formerly worked with Fultz in North Carolina. With Fultz behind the wheel MacDonald will be looking for his second 250 championship at Riverside, his first came in 1989; he is one of several 250 champions that will be honoured this Saturday during Opening Ceremonies as the John W. Chisholm Memorial Cup is unveiled.
Four-time MASCAR champion Terry Clattenburg (right) is among the 250 champions that will be honoured at Riverside Saturday (shown with Jim Hallahan, 1990)
Other champions of the historic 250 at Riverside expected to be on hand Saturday include four-time MASCAR champion Terry Clattenburg (1990 ‘250’ winner), five-time Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour champion John Flemming (2012, 2014), Maritime racing legend Frank Fraser (1978, 1987), 2015 Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Mike MacKenzie (1999), Darren MacKinnon (2011), five-time MASCAR champion Greg Sewart (1988, 1993), six-time Maritime pro stock touring series champion Wayne Smith (2009), and Kent Vincent (2010). All are scheduled to participate in the autograph session during the Boston Pizza Pre-Race Party, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Fultz joins two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton in challenging regional racers from the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour who are not only racing for the accolades that go with winning the top short track race in Canada but valuable points in their chase for the 2015 series championship.
Expected Entries* – IWK 250 Presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body
- Matt Crafton, Tulare, California
- Donald Chisholm, Antigonish, NS
- George Koszkulics, New Glasgow, NS
- Craig Slaunwhite, Terence Bay, NS
- Darren MacKinnon, Milton Stn., PE
- Jeff Fultz, Troutman, North Carolina
- Cole Butcher, Porter’s Lake, NS
- Kent Vincent, Crapaud, PE
- Daryl Mahar, Hubley, NS
- Dylan Blenkhorn, Truro, NS
- Terry Dougay, Albany, PE
- Jerry Hayes, Sydney Forks, NS
- Greg Fahey, St. Stephen, NB
- John Flemming, Halifax, NS
- Greg Proude, Springvale, PE
- Robbie MacEwen, Charlottetown, PE
- Shawn Turple, Enfield, NS
- Dylan Gosbee, Cornwall, PE
- Joel Hickox, Cornwall, PE
- Josh Collins, Jerseyside Placentia, NF
- Jonathan Hicken, Montague, PE
- DJ Casey, Halifax, NS
- Sarah McKay, Quispamsis, NB
- Steve Ross, Waverly, NS
- Shawn Pierce, Newcombville, NS
- Jerome Kehoe, Sydney, NS
- Vance Hanes, Kennetcook, NS
*subject to change without prior notice.
The IWK 250 Super Weekend kicks off Thursday with Test’N’Tune from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. offering free grandstand admission, as well as the Boston Pizza Antigonish IWK 250 tailgate party, starting at 8 p.m. On Friday it’s the Highland Building Centres 100 for the Napa Sportsman Series along with a championship points event for the Atlantic Tiltload Maritime League of Legends. On Saturday the event widely known as the most entertaining stock car race in Canada – the IWK 250 Presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body takes centre stage.
Racing starts Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s schedule sees IWK 250 qualifying (time trials and heat races) at 3:30 p.m., the Boston Pizza pre-race party at 5:30, opening ceremonies at 7, followed by the IWK 250.
Advance reserved and general admission tickets are available for the IWK 250 Super Weekend. Please visit the IWK 250 event page or call 902-863-2410 to place your order. Please note that reserved seats are not available at the track box office on July 17 or 18. Campsites are sold out; a wait list has been started, please call 902-863-2410 for more information. All sites must be reserved in advance, i.e. no drive ups and no overnight parking between July 15 and 19 without a permit.
Besides being a great race the IWK 250 helps raise awareness and funding for the IWK Health Centre with more than $250,000 donated over the past eight years, in addition to a surprise one million dollar donation made by the Chisholm family (owners of the track) during opening ceremonies for the IWK 250 in 2013.
Riverside International Speedway is recognized as a premiere stock racing facility in Canada. The 1/3-mile high banked asphalt oval roars to action several times a year for special events. It is the home for eastern Canada’s only NASCAR event, and of the IWK 250 – widely known as the best stock car race in Canada. Located in James River, between New Glasgow and Antigonish, the facility is easily accessible at exit 30 on Trans Canada Highway 104. For more information call 902.863.2410 or click www.riversidespeedway.ca.
