2023 PST Re-Cap Programme

JARRET

BUTCHER’S BREAK OUT

DYLAN

2023 CHAMPION CRAIG SLAUNWHITE PHOTO

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BY JT RACING PIX

CRAIG SLAUNWHITE - 2267 POINTS

JARRETT BUTCHER - 2214 POINTS

RUSSELL SMITH JR - 2189 POINTS

NICHOLAS NAUGLE - 2183 POINTS

MIKE RODGERS - 2126 POINTS

RYAN VANOIRSCHOT - 2077 POINTS

MATT VAUGHAN - 2054 POINTS

JORDAN VEINOTTE - 2047 POINTS

STEPHEN LIVELY - 2030 POINTS

GARY ELLIOTT - 1963 POINTS

LECLAIR/SMITH - 1648 POINTS

NOVA RACING - 1539 POINTS

ASHTON TUCKER - 1030 POINTS

GREG PROUDE - 988 POINTS

CHRIS HUGHES - 918 POINTS

TYLOR HAWES - 878 POINTS

CHRIS REID - 756 POINTS

TANTON WOOLDRIDGE - 732 POINTS

BRAD EDDY - 586 POINTS

AUSTIN MACDONALD - 572 POINTS

JOHN RANKIN - 557 POINTS

RYAN MESSER - 382 POINTS

DEVIN SNELL - 379 POINTS

HUDSON WESTON - 371 POINTS

ROBBIE MACEWEN - 368 POINTS

LEIGH PETTIPAS - 362 POINTS

KYLE REID - 335 POINTS

LONNIE SOMMERVILLE - 334 POINTS

GARTH BEZANSON - 326 POINTS

WYATT MCCULLOCH - 276 POINTS

DYLAN BLENKHORN - 211 POINTS

DARREN MACKINNON - 206 POINTS

TROY BURKE - 205 POINTS

DUSTIN TUCKER - 201 POINTS

BRADEN LANGILLE - 196 POINTS

CARSON HOCEVAR - 189 POINTS

COLTON NOBLE - 188 POINTS

ANDREW RODGERS - 185 POINTS

MARTY PREVOST - 177 POINTS

CORY HALL - 175 POINTS

KEVIN MOORE - 174 POINTS

ALLISON MCKINNON - 174 POINTS

CHRIS DUNCAN - 165 POINTS

RICK SPENCER-WALT - 158 POINTS

DWAYNE BAKER - 158 POINTS

WAYNE SMITH - 155 POINTS

IAN RASMUSSEN - 150 POINTS

PHOTO OF 3X CHAMPION CRAIG SLAUNWHITE

BLENKHORN’S COMEBACK

The #67 Never Left

Recent Pro Stock Champion, Dylan Blenkhorn, made his awaited season debut. During pace laps, he had an unexpected issue, putting him at the back of the competitive field. While Blenkhorn was masterfully navigating his way up the pack, with both inside and outside passes, he earned a top-10 position within just 40 laps. By lap 70, he was already stalking the top-5. The drama peaked at lap 110 when, after a fierce tussle with Hall for the third spot, Blenkhorn's usually impeccable control faltered, causing him to spin and summon a caution. Without hesitation, he shot back to the pit, indicating something was amiss with his car. The pit lane was buzzing with anticipation, and a prior eliminated car, Danny Chisholm loaned him parts, at a time when Blenkhorn was sure his day was over. Now 2 laps down, and approaching the mid-way point of the 250 lap Summer Clash at Scotia Speedworld, Blenkhorn was able to maneuver his way into a lucky dog freepass. He even got himself up into the top-5 track position wise, but was still a lap down. He faced the risk of another car being passed by the leader, though, and them getting the lucky dog instead. As luck would have it, Blenkhorn could not catch the recently lapped Lively before an untimely caution sent him to the back of the field yet again on lap 171. Finally, with about 50 laps to go, Blenkhorn got back on the lead lap, and he put on a clinic. Muscling his way through traffic 3-wide, and ultimately seizing a last few laps opportunity when there was contact between the leaders, and he snuck through, making for one of the best races seen at Scotia Speedworld, and an amazing showing of resilience.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS

SERIES CLOSER>

The#2Ashton TuckerShow

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shtonTucker put on one a very impressive performance to win the Pro Stock Tour season finale, beating series champion #99 Craig Slaunwhite in the process. Tucker made limited starts in the Pro Stock Tour in 2023, He was untouchable at Petty Intetrnational Raceway, leading 131 of the 150 laps. He led 208 of the 250 laps at Scotia Speedworld, before battling with #08 Nicholas Naugle for the lead provided Blenkhorn the opportunity to squeeze through for the win And finally, with just a few laps left to go, his conservation strategy paid off, and he was able to get around #99 Craig Slaunwhite for the 200 lap Scotia Speedworld season closer - Slaunwhite had led 142 laps

AWARDS>

JordanVeinotteRookieoftheYear

ordan made the jump from Sportsman where he had many accolades and in a season peppered with top-10s, and multiple 6th place finishes, he earned the honours of the 2023 ECI Pro Stock Tour Rookie of the Year Veinotte showed improvement all season long.

#54 Jarret Butcher: He was overdue for his break-out season, and he sure got it With a series most 3 wins, he backed that up wtih an additional 8 top-5s in 11 races, and completing every lap all season Backed by a consistent crew and an excellent spotter that work well with him in Craig Langille, it’s easy to argue that Jarrett Butcher is the favourite for the 2024 championship

BIGGEST WINNER>

NASCAR STAR VISITS

Carson Hocevar didn’t disappoint - qualifying fastest, winning the pole dash race, and leading 207 laps, before ultimately falling back late, and being overcome by the local hero #99

3 straight PST titles

Craig Slaunwhite of Terence Bay, Nova Scotia. What else can be said about the guy - in the 250 lap race at Scotia Speedworld, he was asked if he wanted to do a challenge where he would have to start at the rear of a competitive Scotia Speedworld fieldmind you, he was first in the points, and had the potential to not win the championship. While 250 laps is a lot of time to work your way forward, there is also more risk in getting caught up in heavy traffic, 2-wide battles of slower drivers, and wrecking. After several drivers declined the money-paying if you win the feature challenge, Darrin Butcher asked Slaunwhite: “What would Scott Fraser do?” and the rest was history

While victory alluded him, he was a contender for that win. But he did win the other 250, the IWK 250, besting the aforementioned Carson Hocevar at the end, when it counted the most. But his biggest win of the season was his championship victory over runner-up Jarrett Butcher, for a record most consecutive East Coast International Pro Stock Tour Championships While Slaunwhite may not end up running full-time in 2024, we can expect to see him continue to be a major threat to the rest of the field anytime he does grace us with his name on an entry list.