Riverside International Speedway is set to open its 48th season with the Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC 150 on June 17. The race is round three of 12 of the 2017 Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour and will see multi-time NASCAR Pinty’s Series race winner Jason Hathaway take on the best stock car racers in the region including defending series champion Cole Butcher and defending race winner Dylan Blenkhorn.
Hathaway (St. Thomas, ON), Cole Butcher (Porter’s Lake) and Blenkhorn (Truro) will be challenged for the checkers by a full field of series regulars including other former event winners Greg Proude (Charlottetown, PE), and Donald Chisholm (Antigonish).
Shawn Turple (Enfield), a two-time series champion, has won both of the first two PST races so far this season. He will go for the hat trick at Riverside. With two wins at Riverside in his career, the most recent came in 2009. Turple’s two wins this year see him atop the series championship point standings. Blenkhorn sits second, just 16 markers behind Turple (433 vs 417). Dylan Gosbee is third with 408 points, Cole Butcher fourth at 401, and rookie Jarrett Butcher (Porter’s Lake, brother to Cole), rounds out the top five points-getters thus far at 396.
The series Exide Battery Rookie of the Year competition is stout this year with young guns Jarrett Butcher, Robbie MacEwen (Charlottetown, PE), Nicholas Naugle (Dartmouth), and Stephen Lively (Shubenacadie) all in the hunt for top rookie honours.
This year’s Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC 150 marks a 10-year partnership between the four-time Triple Crown award-winning General Motors dealership and Riverside. Over that time the Ron MacGillivray sponsored races have seen seven different winners. Chisholm and Shawn Tucker (now retired – Fredericton, NB) are tied for the most wins at two races each. Blenkhorn, George Koszkulics (New Glasgow), Proude, JR Fitzpatrick (Appin, ON), the late Mike Stevens (Moncton, NB) have one win each.
Race fans can stop by Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC in Antigonish June 12 to 16 to see sportsman series race car of Ryan Van Orsichot, a service technician at the dealership. Fans will also enjoy the parade of vehicles presented by Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC at the track on June 17.
Besides pro stock action, fans in attendance June 17 at Riverside will see the season opener for the NAPA Sportsman Series, the R & D Performancenter 75.
Racing starts at 6 p.m. with Atlantic Tiltload Heat Races for the pro stocks followed by sportsman heat races then both feature races.
Advance tickets for the Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC 150 are available here. There will be plenty of free parking as well as free non-serviced camping for self-contained RV’s.
EXPECTED ENTRY LIST – Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC 150
- #07 – Allison MacKinnon – Oyster Bed Bridge, PE
- #08 – Nicholas Naugle – Dartmouth, NS
- #0- Shawn Turple – Enfield, NS
- #3 – Jason Hathaway – St. Thomas, ON
- #8 – Kent Vincent – Westmoreland, PE
- #13 – King Racing – Pictou, NS
- #14 – Terry Dougay – Albany, PE
- #18 – Darren MacKinnon – Charlottetown, PE
- #21 – Shawn Pierce – Bridgewater, NS
- #29 – Greg Proude – Springvale, PE
- #30 – Stephen Lively – Shubenacadie, NS
- #40 – Robbie MacEwen – Charlottetown, PE
- #42 – Kyle Reid – Fort McMurray, AB
- #49 – Harry Ross White – Kennetcook, NS
- #53 – Cole Butcher – Porter’s Lake, NS
- #54 – Jarrett Butcher – Porter’s Lake, NS
- #56 – Josh Collins – Placentia, NL
- #67 – Dylan Blenkhorn – Truro, NS
- #81 – Nevin Scott – Clyde River, PE
- #89 – Donald Chisholm – Antigonish, NS
- #91 – Dylan Gosbee – Cornwall, PE
- #94 – D.J. Casey – Prospect, NS
- #97 – John Flemming – Halifax, NS
- #99 – Craig Slaunwhite – Terence Bay, NS
*Entry list subject to change without notice
About Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC
Ron MacGillivray Chev Buick GMC is located on Andrews Street in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. This four-time Triple Crown Award winner has been serving Eastern Nova Scotia since 1986. Ron MacGillivray Chevrolet, “A name you can count on, a team you can trust.” To learn more about Ron MacGillivray Chevrolet please call 902.863.2803 or visit www.ronmacgillivraychev.com.
About Riverside International Speedway
Riverside International Speedway, a 1/3-mile high banked asphalt oval, is located in James River, between New Glasgow and Antigonish, at exit 30 off Trans-Canada Highway 104. Opened in 1969, the facility was totally rebuilt in 2006 to become a premiere motorsports site, comparable to the best short tracks in Canada and the U.S. To learn more about Riverside Internationally Speedway, please visit www.riversidespeedway.ca or call 902.863.2410.
About the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour
The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour (PST) is considered the highest level of stock car racing in Canada. The Tour is recognized in the industry as one of the healthiest stock car racing series in North America. PST visits five tracks throughout the Maritimes during its May through September season. The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour is owned and operated by Maritime Pro Stock Tour Limited. For more information, call 902.481.2531or visit www.maritimeprostocktour.com.