SCOTIA SPEEDWORLD: There’s been a lot of talk around the Mini Stock division at Scotia Speedworld this year, and Friday night’s Thunder on the Hill 75 should give the teams plenty more to talk about.
The race has actually been part of the Scotia Speedworld schedule since 2001, and while it has always had its place in the history of the division, this year there has been an effort to make the event a little bigger and start turning it into what we hope will eventually become a true classic.
The Diamond Water Treatment Thunder on the Hill 75 will feature a 32-car starting field competing for 75 laps around the 3/10-mile oval, with more than $4,000 available between the purse and the various contingency awards.
The winner will also take home something you don’t see every night at the racetrack — a roughly seven-foot-tall grandfather clock.
Green flag for Bay Equipment Rentals weekly series racing action is set for 7 p.m.
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That might be the biggest trophy ever presented at Scotia Speedworld, and it should make for an interesting trip home for whoever ends up winning the race.
“This race builds champions,” said Scotia Speedworld Race Director Kyle Gammon.
“When you look back at some of the drivers who have won Thunder on the Hill over the years, names like Ken Zwicker, Jamie Arsenault, Dave Matthews, Jeremy Hallett and Tim Webster along with a plethora of other drivers who have become legends here, you realize there is already a pretty good history attached to this race.
“We’re not trying to change what the race has been. We’re trying to build on it.
“The hope is that Thunder on the Hill becomes one of those races that drivers really want to have on their resume and that, years from now, people still remember who won it.”
There will be some extra incentive for drivers throughout the night as well.
East Hants Pizza will pay $100 to the winner of each heat race. Hibby’s Garage has put up $250 for the fastest lap, while Xander Sign Group will award $250 for the Eye of the Storm/Best Looking Car award.
MacDonald Motorsports will award $150 to the halfway leader, while Johnson’s Rust Repair has a $100 hard charger award. Blacks Racing will award $100 for most laps led, Auto Rock Radio has a $100 award for the top finishing rookie and Miller Racing has put up $100 for the hard luck award.
Conway Customs is providing the physical contingency awards and Neil Mouisse has also donated trophies for the event.
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The qualifying format should make for an interesting night.
Thirty of the 32 positions in the 75-lap feature will be earned through the normal qualifying process. The final two positions will be filled through what is being called the Lightning Provisional.
The highest finishing non-qualified driver from each of the two 50-lap qualifying races will earn one of those final starting spots, but there is a catch. Drivers have to compete in all of the qualifying events to remain eligible.
So if a driver doesn’t make the show early in the night, they still have a way in. They just have to keep racing.
The Mini Stocks will also start the night with a four-wide salute to the fans before the heat races get underway.
For Diamond Water Treatment owner Perry Gammon, being part of the event is an opportunity to support a division that continues to grow at Scotia Speedworld.
“This is about supporting the racers and supporting the track,” said Gammon. “The Mini Stock division has become a big part of Scotia Speedworld, and we wanted to help make this year’s Thunder on the Hill something the teams and fans could really get excited about.
“Hopefully we’re helping build something that continues to grow for many years.”
With a strong field expected, a 75-lap feature, a good payday and a grandfather clock that is going to be hard to miss, Friday night’s Thunder on the Hill should be a pretty good show.
And somewhere around 10 p.m., one Mini Stock driver is going to have to figure out how to get a seven-foot grandfather clock home.
