(Geary, NB – September 4th, 2018) – As the adage goes, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Nathan Blackburn (Timberlea, NS) can attest to that as he led a half lap en route to his first Maritime League of Legends Tour win of his young career. Blackburn won the King Freight Lines 50 INEX National Qualifier on Saturday evening at Speedway 660, becoming the fourth different winner and first Fleet Brake Atlantic Rookie of the Year contender to win an overall feature in 2018.
Craig MacDonald (Waverley, NS) was well on his way to a fifth Tour win of 2018 at a venue he wanted to win at more than any other on the schedule. MacDonald had a trailing arm bracket break with just two laps remaining in the event, sending the No. 98 car into the Turn Three beach and out of the event.
While MacDonald and his fans were heartbroken and deflated after the parts failure, in turn, it set up one of the wildest finishes in Maritime League of Legends Tour history.
Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois, NB) ran strong all night and kept MacDonald on his toes over the waning laps. When MacDonald broke, it appeared that Cormier would race his way to his first Maritime League of Legends Tour victory. Cormier would lead the final restart to green with Blackburn to his outside and Sam Rogers (Lower Onslow, NS) to his back bumper. They raced hard into the first two corners, with Rogers able to get to the inside and pass Cormier coming to the white flag. Rogers would slip up the track in the second corner on the last lap enough for Blackburn to position his car to the inside of the No. 12. The two raced side by side through the final corners with Blackburn edging Rogers by a half car length for the win.
“This is unbelievable,” said an excited Blackburn in victory lane. “Sam and I raced clean and I came out with my first win. We couldn’t have done this without the opportunity from Bryan Naugle, his team and our sponsors.”
Rogers and Cormier completed the all Fleet Brake Atlantic Rookie podium at Speedway 660 in the King Freight Lines 50. Point leader Shelby Baker (Fall River, NS) finished fourth and expanded his point lead with one race to go in the Series. Austin MacDonald (Pictou, NS) came home fifth in the 14-car field.
Austin MacDonald and Craig MacDonald drove to victory lane in heat race action for the Maritime League of Legends Tour.
Sam Rogers swept Bandolero competition on the weekend to win his third consecutive Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandolero Blast. Rogers won the 20-lap INEX National Qualifier on Saturday from behind after the car shut off on the pace lap and failed to fire. Once the field took the green, Rogers was a half lap behind the field but was able to catch up and pass Owen Mahar (Hubley, NS) for the lead prior to a caution with three laps to go in the race.
Rogers, after winning his heat race on Sunday, started scratch on the six car field and wasted little time getting to the front to sweep the action on the weekend. Mahar was second again on Sunday while Dylan Dowe (Bedford, NS) was third. Chase MacKay (Bear Cove, NS) was strong in his first appearance to Speedway 660, finishing a close fourth on both races while Nyk Pothier (Halifax, NS) and Ayden Christensen (Windsor Junction, NS) rounded out the field.
The Maritime League of Legends will close their 2018 season with the Atlantic Fleet Completion Centre 50 at Scotia Speedworld on Saturday, September 15th.
For complete information on the Maritime League of Legends Tour, please visit MaritimeLegends.ca.
About King Freight Lines:
In 1975 President, Mr. Roland (Rollie) MacDonald formed MacDonald’s Excavating as primarily an excavating company. Growth into the transportation side of the business was progressive and in 1986 the name of the company was changed to King Freight Lines Limited to better reflect the now dominant transportation side of the business. King Freight Lines, based out of Pictou NS, now operates throughout Canada and the United States with a fleet of modern equipment. For more information please visit www.kingfreight.com or call toll free 902.485.8077
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 2018, 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 Speedway 660:
Speedway 660 is one of Canada’s premier stock car racing facilities. Located in New Brunswick’s Fredericton region, it attracts race teams and fans from the Maritimes, New England and Quebec. The Speedway 660 racing season runs from mid May until Labour Day Weekend. SpeedWeekend, one of the most prestigious short track events in eastern North America, wraps up Speedway 660’s racing season.
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