The story of the day was Dylan Storey
21 cars started out the Spring Smash Demolition Finale, and only one driver made it out. Dylan Storey crashed and bashed his way to the first Demo Derby win of the 2024 season. the #85 fought until the very end in a slow paced battle between the remaining 5 competitors; Mitch Brideau, Cody Legere, Dylan Doucet and Rejean Robichaud. Big hits were thrown from all angles throughout the derby, and you could tell the drivers were excited to knock some rust off after those long winter months!
Mother Nature tried and failed to ruin our afternoon by dropping a downpour over the track a mere 20 minutes before the green flag was set to fly. But with the help of track vehicles and the girls from the Powder Puff class, we dried it off and went underway an hour late.
Kicking the day off for the stock cars were the Mini Stocks. We had a very small field of only 3 cars that made it out, but they managed to put on a show for a 10 lap Heat and 20 lap Feature. During the heat race, Rob Poirier pushed his #0 Acura in the rear bumper of JR Lawson's #81 only 2 laps in, showing him and everyone at the track he meant business, and their 20 lap Feature did not disappoint. Lawson and Poirier remained door to door, neck and neck throughout the 20 lap feature battling it out. No stranger to podium finishes and checkered flags at Speedway Miramichi, JR Lawson emerged victorious in both the heat and feature races, cementing his top position for the start of the 2024 season at the track following his 2023 Championship run.
Our Street Stock division also suffered from a small car count with only four 8 Cylinders making an appearance.
Their 10 lap heat saw #27 Jason MacCallum come out with the checkers after battling Street Stook Rookie and Bomber star Axten MacLean in the #28, followed by Shawn Furlong's #97x and the # 93 of Alex Michaud. The 20 lap feature saw Axten MacLean have some Carburetor issues early on and fall behind leaving the field of 3 evenly paced throughout the 20 laps. Alex Michaud did what he could to put on a show, throwing his #93 sideways across a couple of the turns. Ultimately, Jason MacCallum finished the 20 lap dash off with the checkered flag, followed by Shawn Furlong and Alex Michaud respectively.
The largest count of cars in the Stock Cars was without a doubt the Bombers! 16 drivers sent 'er through 2 heat races of 10 laps and 8 cars each, and all 16 came out for the 30 lap feature. Heat 1 saw super tight racing from front to back and things got hairy early on when Randy Girouard's #8 got loose between turns 3 & 4, but being a seasoned racer, Randy regained control and avoided the yellow flag. Alex Duguay and Axten MacLean battled it out for the lead with the #11 crossing the line ahead of the field. Heat 2 saw some tight quarters racing between 2 veterans of the division, John Dickson and Riley Connell. The battle for the lead up to checkers went to the 2023 division champ John Dickson and his #3. The first 30 lap feature of the night went beyond expectations. 16 cars on the track battled it out with only a couple yellows thrown and 0 wrecks. John Dickson was in the top portion of the pack and had to pull into the pits during a quick caution and came out too late, forcing him to the back of the field. But he managed to fight his way back up to the top, finishing the 30 lapper in 5th place. Speedway Miramichi demo legend Robert Legere made his Bomber debut in the 04x, starting near the back of the field. Once he got a good feel for the track again and how the 6 cylinder handles, he climbed his way up to finish 4th. The battle to watch was definitely for 2nd place between Riley Connell and Axten MacLean, with Axten getting the better of it with the silver spot on the podium. But the race remained smooth sailing throughout for Alex Duguay as no one was able to get around him on the track, earning the #11 the first Feature win of the 2024 season and a top spot in Bomber points!
Lastly for the Stock Car portion of the day was the Atlantic Modified Tour. 10 Open-wheeled beasts made it out to the track to bring the thunder after the rain. Two 5 lap/5 car heats were contested with wheel to wheel, bumper to bumper action throughout. With Doug Matchett and Tristan Harris emerging victorious in each. The 30 lap feature was more of the same pack racing, tight cars and the deafening rumble of the engines as the Maritime's best battled it out! From the get-go, I don't think anyone could pinpoint a winner with 100% certainty. After a lot of position changes behind him though, Doug Matchett maintained the lead throughout the day to come out with the Feature win followed closely behind by Conrad Murphy and Braxton Stafford.
Once the Stock Cars had cleared the track, we opened up the gates to the Demo division for the remainder of the day. The Dash for Cash saw over 20 cars go to war for 10 laps and the money pot! All of which was given to Mathieu Brideau after he steered his little #99 Kia clear of spinning cars, dead stops and flying debris all over the track.
The Reverse Race was contested over 5 laps with Mathieu Brideau taking the lead early on but eventually spinning out and losing it. Randy Girouard seen his opportunity and took it as he flew the #8 through the field backwards up to the checkered flag.
Following the carnage, we unleashed the ladies of the Powder Puff division for a 15 lap Feature. The 2023 Champ, Hayley Waugh, chose to draw her chip for starting position last, a decision which cost her a lot of space on the track, starting 4 spots away from the back. After making contact with the 11 of Melanie Bastarache early on, she was forced to pit the car for a blown tire. Meanwhile, Monique Benoit took an early lead over the 17x of Jen Mills, a lead which she kept as she managed to overlap nearly the entire field for the first Powder Puff victory of the season.
The cars and stars of the Demo division returned to the track for an 8 lap Kidney race. The last car out made for some entertainment as the #99 of Mathieu Brideau had a suffering transmission after the Reverse Race, and would not run other than in reverse, so he made an attempt at the kidney race backwards and even managed to pass a car or two along the way. But the real battle was up front throughout the race with a lot of pushing and shoving to gain that checkered flag and that points advantage. Ultimately, Arthur Richard fought his way into the lead before crossing the finish line.
The last preliminary demo qualifier contested an 8 lap figure 8. 16 cars took part and there was great action throughout all the twists and turns and some close calls in the X. The #94 of Shawn Sisk fought its way through the #21 of Jean-Francois Basque and the #22 of Mitch Brideau up front for the win.
Of course, we can't forget the crowd favorite burnout competition, contested by 10 cars and trucks. The cheers of the crowds weren't unanimous as it was real close between the 02 of Dylan Doucet and Alex Duguay with his #11 Firebird. After one final vote between the two on the front stretch, it was obvious that the crowd had voted Alex Duguay, who has become a sort of burnouts legend at the track!
All in all, the Spring Smash season opener was a great success! our next event will be on June 22nd for the Day of 8's! We're hoping to get larger car counts and even more fans in the stands! Thank you to all our sponsors, all our drivers and staff, which none of this would be possible without! And most importantly, thank you to all the fans of the track who keep coming out month after month and allowing us to entertain them with these adrenaline-pumping shows!
We look forward to seeing you all at the Day of 8's!
STOCK CAR RESULTS
Mini Stock Heat
1st - 81 JR Lawson
2nd - 0 Rob Poirier
3rd - 52 Joel Despres
Street Stock Heat
1st - 27 Jason MacCallum
2nd - 28 Axten MacLean
3rd - 97x Shawn Furlong
Bomber Heat 1
1st - 11 Alex Duguay
2nd - 13 Axten MacLean
3rd - 8 Randy Girouard
Bomber Heat 2
1st - 43 Riley Connell
2nd - 3 John Dickson
3rd - 18 Billy Pelletier
Modified Heat 1
1st - 75 Doug Matchett
2nd - 91 Braxton Stafford
3rd - 17 Joe Hoyt
Modified Heat 2
1st - 7 Tristan Harris
2nd - 55 Zean Dutcher
3rd - 58 Yves McCray
Mini Stock Feature
1st - 81 JR Lawson
2nd - 0 Rob Poirier
3rd - 52 Joel Despres
Street Stock Feature
1st - 27 Jason MacCallum
2nd - 97x Shawn Furlong
3rd - 93 Alex Michaud
Bomber Feature
1st - 11 Alex Duguay
2nd - 13 Axten MacClean
3rd - 43 Riley Connell
Modified Feature
1st - 75 Doug Matchett
2nd - 89 Conrad Murphy
3rd - 91 Braxton Stafford
DEMO RESULTS
Dash For Cash
1st - 99 Mathieu Brideau
2nd - 81 Marc-Andre Benoit
3rd - 307 Rhys Robichaud
Reverse Race
1st - 8 Randy Girouard
2nd - 81 Marc-Andre Benoit
3rd - 16 Zachary L'Huillier
Kidney Race
1st - 44 Arthur Richard
2nd - 22 Mitch Brideau
3rd - 21 Jean-Francois Basque
Figure 8
1st - 94 Shawn Sisk
2nd - 22 Mitch Brideau
3rd - 21 Jean-Francois Basque
Powder Puff
1st - 007 Monique Benoit
2nd - 11 Melanie Bastarache
3rd - 19 Jocelyn Murdock
Burnouts
Alex Duguay
Demolition Derby
1st - 85 Dylan Storey
2nd - 22 Mitch Brideau
3rd - 04 Cody Legere
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