The Maritime League of Legends rolls on with their busy month of August with their third race of the month this Saturday at Riverside International Speedway. The Maritime League of Legends Tour 50 is Round Seven of 10 on the 2019 season and the second of two stops at the James River, Nova Scotia oval. The race is a part of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series Bumper to Bumper 300 weekend at the famed track, which celebrates 50 years in 2019.
The Maritime League of Legends Tour races into Riverside with a colossal confrontation for the championship with four events to go. After Craig MacDonald (Waverley, NS) scored his second victory of the season last Saturday evening at Scotia Speedworld, he closed the gap on the championship point lead down to three points. Braden Langille (Shubenacadie, NS) still occupies the top spot in the standings on the strength of three wins in six rounds, but a 10th-place finish with Riley Halverson (Kannapolis, NC) at the wheel of the No. 51 dashed the comfortable margin Langille had built on the field in the first five races of 2019.
While Langille has seen his share of checkered flags in a Legend car at Riverside Speedway, MacDonald is looking for a breakthrough victory at Riverside. With multi-time Schooner General Contracting Legends Challenge winner Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB) in MacDonald’s corner, Saturday could be the night that the No. 98 Overall Collision car races into victory lane at Riverside and ultimately the point lead. One thing is for sure, these two are both as hungry as ever for race wins and a championship. Fans will be in for a treat Saturday evening with the appetizer round to the Bumper to Bumper 300.
Shelby Baker (Fall River, NS) has three straight top-fives heading into the 50-lap feature on Saturday. Baker is the reigning champion of the Series and will have to be on top of his game as he’s got a 31 point gap to close over the next four races on the top two. Baker was fourth at Riverside in the Schooner General Contracting Legends Challenge behind Hall, MacDonald and Langille in July.
Devin Wadden (Hammonds Plains, NS) is not only leading the Rookie of the Year standings on the Maritime League of Legends Tour and is fifth in Tour standings but is the current leader in INEX Semi-Pro points in Canada East. In the Maritime League of Legends Tour freshman chase, he leads Devin Gallant (Rustico, PE) and Danny Chisholm (Canning, NS). In the INEX Semi-Pro State standings, he leads Kody Quinn (Sydney, NS) by 25 points. Wadden, along with his father and fellow Legend rookie Brad Wadden (Hammonds Plains, NS), and Quinn will resume their battle Saturday afternoon at Riverside Speedway.
With the halfway point in the season, the battles for the season-long Fleet Blake Atlantic Class Bonuses are also up for grabs. MacDonald (Semi-Pro) and Langille (Pro) lead their respective divisions within the Maritime League of Legends Tour with Baker trying to chase down Langille for the top Pro in the Series. Paul Goulden (Shelburne, NS) has a four-point advantage on Jeff Cruickshank (Hantsport, NS) for the top Master competitor on the Series while Sam Rogers (Lower Onslow, NS) has a healthy margin on Danny Chisholm (Canning, NS) for the top Young Lion. The driver who finishes the top of their class during the Maritime League of Legends Tour 50 on Saturday will receive a cash bonus courtesy of Fleet Brake Atlantic.
Saturday at Riverside International Speedway is jam-packed with the inaugural Rev it Up at Riverside Show & Shine, the Maritime League of Legends, and the NASCAR Pinty’s Series only stop on the east coast in the Bumper to Bumper 300. The grandstand gates open and NASCAR practice starts at 12:30 p.m., the Show & Shine starts at 1 p.m. (in the grassy area of the parking lot near the main entrance of the grandstand), Legends practice is at 2 p.m., NASCAR qualifying at 3 p.m., Legends heat races at 4 p.m., NASCAR autograph session at 5:10 p.m., Legends feature at 6:15 p.m., opening ceremony at 7:05 p.m., and the Bumper to Bumper 300 at 7:35 p.m.
About The Maritime League of Legends:
The Maritime League of Legends Association was formed in 2005 by a group of racer’s wanting to grow the Legends Cars division in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. In 2019, the Maritime League of Legends Tour will visit five venues throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island between May and September during its ten race season. For more information on the Maritime League of Legends, please visit www.maritimelegends.ca.
About Riverside International Speedway:
For 50 years, Riverside International Speedway has been 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 of the IWK 250 – widely known as the best stock-car race in Canada, and of the Bumper to Bumper 300 – eastern Canada’s only NASCAR event. 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 please visit www.riversidespeedway.ca.
