2007 Race Results

Race Weekend #14: Final MPST Points Race - Parts for Trucks 200

The final Maritime Pro Stock Tour points race at Scotia Speedworld on September 8th proved to be a disappointing one for the Dexter racing team. Going into the race as points leader by a narrow margin it was important to have a good finish. Since Shawn practiced with the team earlier in the week, there wasn't much to do to the car during practice. The car was good, and Shawn was confident. So confident we skipped the last practice session and were ready for time trials. Shawn posted the fastest time in time trials of 14.552 seconds. Shawn drew for position in the Dash & finished 6th. Shawn Tucker accepted the Pole challenge moving Shawn to the 5th position. Shawn started out well gaining the lead early & then losing it to his buddy, Craig Slaunwhite. Way to go Craig! Shawn stayed close to the front until lap 49, when Shawn & Kent Vincent were in lap traffic. Somehow the two of them got tangled together & hit the wall hard. The oil pump went in the car & ended our night short. Ah well, it was a good season none the less! Shawn & the team are definitely looking forward to next year.

1. Mike MacKenzie  2. John Flemming  3. Wayne Smith

Race Weekend #13: Peterbilt 250 at NBIS

The 2007 Peterbilt 250 Speed Weekend at New Brunswick International Speedway proved to be an entertaining one with beautiful sunny days and cold nights. Thousands of race fans filled the grandstands and the campground with hoots and hollers, beer and lots of food. The race weekend resembles what one would find at any Nascar race! With no sportsman car this year, Shawn was a little less busy and maybe a little more focused. He wanted to win the prestigious race and was working hard to do it. After lots of practice Saturday & Sunday, Shawn ended up with a car that could have won the race. He drew well, starting on the pole of the 4th heat. Shawn won the 20 lap heat, putting him in the 4th starting position for the race. The race ran well with not too many cautions and lots of good racing. Shawn found himself chasing down old car owner Frank Fraser for the first 63 laps and then was able to grab the lead. He didn't hang on to it long though as the race had a lot of good drivers there was a lot of lead changes. Shawn stayed close to the front and pitted about halfway. The 2nd set of tires weren't as good as the first and so Shawn found himself in the pits again. With no bottom groove on the track and Shawn constantly having to restart on the inside, he didn't get to far unfortunately and settled for a 9th place finish. 

1. Johnny Clarke  2. Travis Benjamin  3. John Flemming

Race Weekend #12: MPST Race 9 of 10

Finally we headed back to the all-newly paved PEI track in Oyster Bed Bridge for the 2nd last points race of the year. With Shawn still leading in points but no official wins, our team was thirsty for a good race with an even better finish. Unfortunately the one groove track in PEI didn't deliver with single file restarts making for a fairly boring but fast race. Shawn time trialed 4th quickest, drew 7th for the heat, stayed there for the start of the main and only was able to make it up to 5th position for a finish. Not a bad run but not exactly what we were looking for either. I guess the final points race on Sept 8 at Scotia Speedworld will be an even more action-packed night with any of the Tour top five drivers able to take home the Final Points Championship!

1. Wayne Smith  2. Kent Vincent  3. Kris Fournier

Race Weekend #11: MPST Race 8 of 10

Back to Riverside Speedway again just two weeks later. The race was rained out early and run Sunday afternoon. This race marked our good friend Craig Slaunwhite's Pro Stock debut & what a debut it was! Shawn & Craig time trialed 2nd & 3rd fastest respectively - Shawn had a fast time of 14.534 while Craig earned a fast time of 14.535! Do I sense an exciting and fun rivalry for 2008? Absolutely! After the draws for the heat and that was finished, Shawn stayed in 3rd for most of the race until a rain delay with 16 laps to go. At that point Shawn & Shawn Tucker had a great battle going with neither car being very good really. In the end Shawn earned 4th place but was lucky to get that considering his left front tire had a slow leak where there was a small puncture. With just 7 lbs left in the tire, it's a good thing we didn't get a complete flat! Craig did awesome finishing just two spots behind in 6th.

1. Wayne Smith  2. Kent Vincent  3. Shawn Tucker

Race Weekend #10: PASS Atlantic Cat 250

The PASS drivers finally seen some nice weather in NS for the Atlantic Cat 250 at Scotia Speedworld. The Dexter construction team had high hopes for the high profile race after having a really good run in Antigonish with PASS before getting a flat tire. Unfortunately, the race was short lived for Shawn, just 10 laps in and the rear end broke on the car. The axle actually broke off in the locker, meaning it couldn't be fixed at the track.

1. Mike Rowe  2. Travis Benjamin  3. Johnny Clarke

Race Weekend #9: MPST Race 7 of 10

Our third trip to Riverside Speedway on August 4th won't be our last - the Maritime Pro Stock Tour visits the awesome Antigonish track again on August 18th. The Dexter Construction Monte Carlo worked well throughout the day, with Shawn posting the fastest time in two of three practice sessions. Shawn was up first for time trials and ended up 5th fastest with a time of 14.509 seconds. Shawn drew 4th for the Dash and finished 3rd, putting him in a great starting position for the Main Feature. The 7th race of the Tour proved to be a great one to watch, with not too many cautions and very tight racing. Shawn led at least 9 laps of the race and moved around in the top 5 throughout the night. The car was free exiting the corner and then tightened up as the race moved along. After the race it was discovered tire bleeders stuck and caused low tire pressure in 3 of the 4 tires. In the end a 2nd Place finish was earned. 

1. Kent Vincent  2. Shawn Turple  3. George Koszculics

Race Weekend #8: MPST Race 6 of 10

Our second trip to NBIS for the season ended up being less controversial than the first (our first race there saw Shawn get 2nd by a mere .004 seconds). It was a very hot day, July 28, and it was hard to tell what the car would do as the day moved along. Shawn was 4th fastest in time trials and drew 2nd for the heat, and that's where he finished. The main feature ended up being another long race with a lot of cautions and a rain delay at almost halfway. Shawn was leading at the time so we were anxious to get at least to halfway, especially so we wouldn't have to return to the track again on Sunday. Eventually the rain clouds subsided and the race ran through til the end. the car - or the track I guess, tightened up after the rain and Shawn's car was not as good as it was for the first half of the race. He held on to a good 3rd place finish in the end. Next up: Antigonish again!

1. Shawn Tucker  2. Wayne Smith  3. Shawn Turple

Race Weekend #7: PASS IWK 250 at Riverside Speedway

After much anticipation, the IWK 250 has come and gone. Thank god we got it in! The weather certainly was the pits but we went from one extreme to the other - pouring down rain to sunny and hot! Shawn drew 36th in the random draw for heat starting position which meant a 5th place start in the 3rd heat. The Dexter Construction #0 was good in practice on Friday & continued that trend for Sunday. Shawn finished 3rd in the heat and therefore started 9th in the feature. The car felt good for Shawn for the first half of the race and he was able to stay up near the front of the pack. Being a 250 lap race a mandatory caution was thrown halfway, at that point Shawn was in 4th. After a 10 minute cool down and some fresh tires, Shawn was ready to challenge for the lead. The #0 seemed even better in the second half of the race with Shawn nipping at Mike Rowe's heels at around lap 200 when he (like many other drivers) blew a right front tire and whammed into the wall. The tire picked the worst time to blow - right when Shawn was going into Turn 1 and a car was close behind. With no where to go the car got into Shawn and propelled him into the wall. Unfortunately major front end damage was done to the car and it ended Shawn's day. Shawn still got an 11th place finish out of the race since only 8 cars were running at the end.

1. Mike Rowe  2. Ben Rowe  3. Regan Smith

Race Weekend #6: MPST Race 5 of 10

Can you believe we're halfway through the Maritime Pro Stock Tour season already?! I guess time does fly when you're having fun! Although it has been a fun season, the past few days have been sad for our team and many others who knew and loved Cathy Ledwidge. Cathy was an integral part in getting Maritime racing to where it is today, strongly supporting her husband Ernie Ledwidge for many many years in and around the local race scene. Cathy will be missed but never forgotten. Shawn competed in the Carquest 100 at Scotia Speedworld on July 7th, posting fastest time in time trials and drawing the pole for the dash. Shawn hung on to the pole for the main feature and had a very close race with Kent Vincent, Shawn Tucker, and Wayne Smith. In the end Shawn earned a good 2nd place finish.

1. Wayne Smith  2. Shawn Turple  3. Kent Vincent

Race Weekend #5: MPST Race 4 of 10

For Canada Day weekend the Maritime Pro Stock Tour was once again in Oyster Bed Bridge, PEI. Except this time instead of being on a rough, worn out track, the track was brand new and super-fast! Raceway Park received a major uplift thanks to many of the Island drivers and truly looks great - now everybody just has to get use to the speed - which was evident in this long Saturday night race. Shawn started the day off right, posting the fastest time in practice of 13.189 seconds - on practice tires. During time trials he was a tiny bit slower, but still qualified 4th fastest, drew 7th for the dash, and finished 3rd. Shawn started 3rd in the Parts For Trucks 100 and stayed up around there for about 25 laps until he got a right front flat and had to pit. Shawn started from the back and luckily missed a lot of wrecks. Considering the crazy full moon 2 1/2 hour race, Shawn and the Dexter Construction team were very happy with a 3rd place finish.

1. Bob White  2. Wayne Smith  3. Shawn Turple

Race Weekend #4: PASS North Forbes 200

Luckily, the Forbes 200 race that has a history of bad weather, took place on Saturday, June 23, at Scotia Speedworld. It was honestly hard to tell if we'd get the race in or not with scattered showers happening all over Nova Scotia all day long. However, the clouds did part long enough for the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) to get their race in. Shawn started the day off right, drawing the top number for starting position in the heats. He started 1st and stayed there, hanging onto the Pole position for the main feature. Shawn led approx. 16 laps of the main race until Travis Benjamin got by him on a restart. The #0 car was not what we hoped it would be and a struggle for Shawn to drive. The race turned out to be a lot of green flag laps which ended up with all but the top 4 cars getting lapped. Luckily again, Shawn was the "lucky dog" with 40 laps to go and got his lap back. Shawn ended up with a 5th place finish & was definitely happy with that. Shawn also looks forward to racing the next PASS race in the Maritimes: the IWK 250 at Riverside Speedway on July 21st. Let's hope the car is handling as well there for that race as it was for the first race we had this year at Antigonish!

1. Cassius Clark  2. Mike Rowe  3. Trevor Sanborn

Race Weekend #3: MPST Race 3 of 10

Our first trip to NBIS in the Geary woods for 2007 did not disappoint. NBIS being Shawn's favorite track, he was looking forward to getting the opportunity to race with the new team there. Since the incident last weekend in Antigonish caused some serious damage to the new car, the team prepared last year's car for Fredericton. Luckily, it was just as fast! Shawn time trialed 2nd fastest with a time of 14.724 seconds and drew 5th position for the Dash. He finished 3rd putting him behind the leader for the main feature. The car was good and Shawn got the lead on lap 51. In a great battle for the last half of the race, Shawn led 29 laps but not the one that counts. After racing Wayne Smith side by side for 8 laps, we were sure Shawn got the win. Even the announcer named Shawn the winner until the transponders (which are located 12 inches behind the wheel base) revealed Wayne was ahead by .004 seconds. Wow that's close! Happy to have such an exciting and great race, but disappointed we didn't get the win we thought we had, our team protested and asked that the transponder location to the nose be measured on both cars as well as a video review. Shawn's transponder location is 2 1/4 inches farther back on the car than Wayne's and the video proved to be inconclusive because the flag stand blocked the view of the finish line. Race Director Mike Ledwidge said Wayne was just out front two feet before where the line should be & then Shawn is out front just after the flag stand. So what are ya gonna do? Ask that next time the camera can see the finish line, that's for sure!

1. Wayne Smith  2. Shawn Turple  3. Shawn Tucker

Race Weekend #2: MPST Race 2 of 10

On Saturday, June 9th, the Maritime Pro Stock Tour started of the fantastic Riverside Speedway's season. It was a sunny warm day with a full field of 34 cars hoping to make the show. This event also marked Shawn's first race in his new #0 Dexter Construction ride owned by Steve Henderson. And boy was that car fast! All day in practice Shawn posted the fastest times & continued the trend for time trials. With a time of 14.531 seconds on his second qualifying lap, Shawn had first draw for the Dash & drew 4th. Shawn finished the quick dash in 5th place and was happy with his starting position. Shawn's new #0 didn't slow down any for the feature & with Kent Vincent nipping at his heels quickly found himself on the outside pole for a few restarts. After getting by the #44 Wayne Smith on the second restart an altercation led to a crash involving many of the night's fastest cars. Luckily, the crew had plenty of time to fix the car & get back out before the green flag dropped. Shawn still had a great car surprisingly and ended up in 7th position. Congrats to our good friend Craig Slaunwhite on a dominant sportsman win & thanks for the help in getting Shawn back out for the 2nd half of the race! Same goes to our trusty old Atlantic Cat crew who gave us a much-needed helping hand too!

1. Mike MacKenzie  2. Bobby White  3. Shawn Tucker

Race Weekend #1: MPST Race 1 of 10

On Saturday, May 26th, the Maritime Pro Stock Tour kicked off the 2007 season with the Lucas Oil 100 at Scotia Speedworld in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And what a kick-off it was! With beautiful sunny weather, 33 pro stock cars attempted to qualify for the race - Shawn being one of them in the Atlantic Cat #0 car. Shawn time-trialed 10th quickest with a time of 14.736 seconds which put him on the pole of the first heat (not the dash). Shawn held on to the lead and won the heat! Shawn then started 10th in the main feature and spent most of the race in traffic. With 20 laps to go Shawn started to move toward the front and finished in a solid 4th place. All in all a good night - Shawn ran a great race!

1. Wayne Smith  2. Shawn Tucker  3. Mike MacKenzie

For 2006 Race Results Click Here

For 2005 Race Results Click Here