With just over 24 hours to the first Border Challenge, the expected driver's list has surpassed the 25 mark and may well reach 30 by tomorrow morning. Drivers are expected from Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, Kindersley, Edmonton, Calgary, Wetaskiwin, Sherwood Park, Red Deer, and Cranbrook, with an outside chance that a driver or two from Montana may still make their way up to Auto Clearing Motor Speedway for tomorrow's big race. The large turnout of cars is sure to provide race fans with the most Super Later Model cars ever to race on a track in Saskatoon. 

Calgary drivers include; #54 Craig Ball, #55 Gary Lister, and #7 Jarrod Johnson. Expect #41 Kevin McMillan, #15 Fred Whiteman, #94 Ernie Ricard, #67 Dean Craig, and #76 Garth Hazelhurst from Edmonton. Wes and Greg Ratzlaff from Westaskiwin will be here, as will #9 Clint Habart and Randy Rothwell from Cranbrook, BC and George Demers from Red Deer and Bill Royce from Sherwood Park. Combine the out-of-town drivers with Auto Clearing Motor Speedway's local crews and it all adds up for some fast paced action packed 150 laps of good hard solid racing. Many of the drivers expected participate in either the NASCAR Dodge Super Late Model Weekly Series out of the Edmonton International Speedway or the NEWALTA Super Late Model Series out of Calgary.

Not only will race fans see 150 laps of Super Late Model action, the NAPA Pro Trucks, Hertz Equipment Rental Thunder Stocks and Saskatoon Hyundai Mini Stocks will also be driving hard to the finish line. Front gate open at 12:30 pm and racing starts at 2:00 pm. Please click here for a schedule the schedule of Sunday's events.  

The winners of Friday night's three feature races, #98 Bryan Johnson (Tiger Automotive Street Stock), #46 Dan Shirley (Canadian Forces CASCAR Sportsman) , and #70 Trent Seidel (Trader Publications Super Late Model) were all presented with trophies in recognition of George Frey, in what has become know as the George Frey Memorial race. Coincidentally, all three also ended the year with the most feature wins in each of their respective divisions.

All three winners of Friday night's feature races had relatively little trouble; all winning by comfortable margins. The closest finish was in the Super Late Model race, where Seidel held off a hard charging #38 Dave Bone. Just past the half way mark in the race, Bone received a black flag and was sent to the back of the pack. He quickly worked his way up through the pack into second place, but ran out of laps. Seidel took full advantage of an accident on the front straight which saw #01 Alex Leschenko's car catch on fire after being pushed hard into the wall. Leschenko emerged from his car, apparently unharmed. Prior to the accident, #53 Earl Harms had an eighth of a lap margin over the rest of the field, however, once the field was bunched up after the caution, Seidel wasted no time in getting to the front and never looked back.

In the CASCAR Sportsman feature race, #46 Dan Shirley was never really challenged once he took the lead in the 2nd lap. While Shirley had clear sailing, #03 Rusty Martin and #95 Paul Savoie fought it out the entire race. Savoie made continual attempts to pass Martin throughout the race, with Martin holding him off until the final turn, when Savoie was able to get the advantage and cross the finish line for second place. For full results from Friday's race program click here. 

CASCAR Sportsman #7 Nick Allen has been doing a bit more than stock car racing this summer. Since early June he has been drag racing his motor cycle in a series of 6 drag races across Western Canada. Over the course of the 6 races, Allen amassed a total of 643 points, good enough to capture the Western Canadian Championship in the Screamin' Eagle V-Rod Destroyer class. Congratulations Nick Allen!

With September drawing to a close, the last evening race of the season is set to take place this Friday night. The action on Friday night will be fast and furious as the Tiger Automotive Street Stocks, Canadian Forces CASCAR Sportsman, and Trader Publications Super Late Model's all take to the track. Several Super Late Model cars from Alberta are expected to be on hand tomorrow night so they can get a race in on the track prior to Sunday afternoon's Border Challenge.

The competitors (back) gate opens tomorrow at 4:00 pm, with 10 minute practice sessions, followed by 5 minute practice sessions at 5:45 pm. There will be a drivers meeting in the pits at 6:45 pm. The order of racing is: Street Stock Heats (2 if necessary), Super Late Model heats (2 if necessary), the CASCAR Sportsman heat, Street Stock Qualifiers (2 if necessary), CASCAR Sportsman feature, and Street Stock feature, and Super Late Model feature. Front gates open at 6:00 pm.  

#8 Stew Pearce maintained the points lead in the Hertz Equipment Rental Thunder Stock Division on Wednesday night, even though #18 Bill Zubrecki finished ahead of him in 2 out of the three races. The leaders in the other divisions also all maintained their positions. For a complete listing of points after Wednesday's race program please click here.

#78 Matt Bartsch appears to have found the secret to winning at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway. Bartsch won 3 times on Wednesday night. He won the Saskatoon Hyundai heat and qualifier races, placed 3rd in the first feature and won the second feature. #59 Frank Vangool won the first feature. #44 Jesse Krahn had a strong night, placing 2nd and 3rd in the feature races and 3rd and 4th respectively in the heat and qualifier races. #92 Clay Ballard took 2nd in the second feature race.

In the Hertz Equipment Rental Thunder Stock Division, #18 Bill Zubrecki and #8 Stewart Pearce continued to battle it out. Zubrecki won the heat (Pearce was 2nd), Pearce finished 4th in the qualifier (Zubrecki was 5th), and Zubrecki was 2nd in the feature (Pearce was 3rd). #19 Ray Utigard had a good night, taking the feature race and finishing 3rd in both the heat and qualifier races. #2 Sheldon Bradlow won the qualifier.

In the Tiger Automotive Street Stock Division, #98 Bryan Johnson won the qualifier and the feature, #69 Robin Drysdale won the heat race and finished 2nd in the qualifier. For complete results of Wednesday's racing action please click here.

Due to Saturday's race postponement, Sunday's race program will now take place tomorrow night, Wednesday September 27. Front gates open at 6:00 pm and racing starts at 7:00 pm. Wednesday's race program will consist of and be run in the following order: Saskatoon Hyundai Mini Stocks, Hertz Equipment Rental Thunder Stocks, and Tiger Automotive Street Stocks.

For competitors, the competitors gate will open at 4:50 pm. Competitors will get two test sessions, one starting at 6:00 (8 minutes each for the Mini's, Thunders, and Streets in that order) and another starting at 6:25 pm (5 minutes each in the same order). There will be a drivers meeting at 6:45 pm, Mini stocks will be called to the staging lane at 6:55 pm and racing will commence at 7:00 pm.

Trader Publications Super Late Model Points Leader #70 Trent Seidel is turning into a truck driver - a super truck driver that is. Seidel received an exploratory telephone call from one of the Super Truck drivers, #48 Dave Saunders (Wetaskiwin, AB), on Monday morning asking if he would like to drive a Super Truck this weekend. Seidel offered a 'yes I'm interested' to Saunders and soon after that the deal was done. "I always knew I was born to drive the big rigs", said an excited Seidel Tuesday afternoon. 

"From the sounds of it they plan on bringing upwards of 20 trucks to Auto Clearing Motor Speedway on Saturday and thought that a local driver might add some extra interest to the show", explains Seidel. "One of the regular drivers, #24 Mark Ringrose (Ardrossan, AB), owns 2 trucks and offered me a ride in one of them." continued Seidel. "These guys (super truck drivers) are truly pumped about coming to Saskatoon and racing on our new track. They really want to put on a good show. I respect the way the truck guys race, they race fast and clean, they're a good group of guys that are into it for the fun, so why wouldn't I help them out".

"The super trucks have a little less power than I'm used to and are a little heavier, but I'll tell you one thing, I'm told that the #42 truck I'll be driving is a pretty strong truck so you can bet your bottom dollar l'm going out their to win!"

Whether Seidel will be able to master driving one of the Super Trucks on Saturday remains to be seen. For more information on the Super Truck Racing series please visit their web site. In addition to the Super Trucks, Saturday's race program will include, a guest appearance by the Street Stock Trucks (formerly Flatlander Trucks), and our own NAPA Pro-Trucks and Canadian Forces CASCAR Sportsman cars. Race time on Saturday is 6:00 pm with the front gates opening at 4:30 pm. For a tentative list of Saturday's events please click here.

Ever wanted to test drive your car on a race track. On September 9th you will have your chance to do just that. Anyone with a street legal car will be able to get onto the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway and run a few laps in their own car - and get an official lap time in the process. All you have to do is show up at the competitors gate (back gate) on Saturday September 9th. Timed laps will take place between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm so you should get their around 3:00 pm or so. You must have a valid vehicle registration and drivers license to participate. Helmets are also required - we have some available if you don't have your own. The cost for this experience is $25 which includes registration for both the car and driver. Spectators that want to come out and watch are welcome to do so - the front gate admission price is $5 per person. This event is sponsored by Jaltronix Technologies Inc., Ellenn Plastices Manufacturing Ltd., and PGI Printers. More information can be obtained by calling (653.4461) or emailing Cliff Yelland.

Stock car drivers, #28 Cale Siemens (Street Stock), #46 Dan Shirley (CASCAR), #48 Terry Forbes (Mini Stock) along with local Legends driver Lane Sorenson were all on hand Sunday to participate in CKOM's Cruise Weekend display of cars in downtown Saskatoon. A reported 50,000 people strolled through several blocks of downtown Saskatoon on Sunday, taking in the excellent weather as well as marveling at the 1,000 or so cars, trucks, and motorbikes that were n display. The Auto Clearing Motor Speedway drivers were all busy answering questions about and promoting both their own cars as well as the new track. Thank you drivers and crew for taking time out of your busy schedules to tell a few more people about our great facility.

There were three different winners in the three Tiger Automotive Street Stock races on Friday night. #91 PJ Kondra won the heat race, #99 Cory Kallis won the qualifier, and #99 Bryan Johnson finished first in the feature. #88 Brad Wrennick raced a solid feature finishing 2nd to Johnson. Johnson did no worse than 3rd on the night, with a 2nd in the qualifier and a 3rd in the heat race. In addition to his heat win Kondra also took home 3rd in the qualifier. Reginian, #42 Dean Osborne had a good night with a 2nd place showing in the heat race and a 3rd place in the feature. For the full results from Friday's race program please click here.

#44 Jesse Krahn finally got his first win of the 2006 race season Friday night as he outlasted #59 Greg Vangool in the Saskatoon Hyundai Mini Stock feature race. When asked about his win Krahn said, "we finally got to get some practice, I played with the wheel alignment, toe, and swaybars a bit, but most of all I would like to thank the Vangools for wrecking their car so I could finish first". Vangool did finish 2nd in the feature ahead of #41 Jim Barnsley who had his car put together after some rough luck in last week's heat race sent him to the pits for the remainder of the evening. In the Mini Stock qualifier the #19 Anderson/Voss car was first followed by #43 Todd Ferguson and #44 Jesse Krahn. Anderson/Voss finished ahead of Ferguson in the heat race, but both were behind Vangool who finished first. For the full results from Friday's race program please click here.

#2 Sheldon Bradlow cracked victory lane Friday night as he took the checkered flag in the Hertz Equipment Rentals Thunder Stock feature race. Bradlow started in the pole position and never had to worry about anyone in front of him the whole race. "I was definitely getting a lot of pressure near the end, Stew (Pearce) wanted by me in a bad way", an excited Bradlow said in the pits after the race. Bradlow's car is the car that he drove when he went to college. This spring he and his dad stripped it down and turned it into a Thunder Stock car. Other than starting in the pole position Bradlow didn't make many adjustments from previous races, "I messed around with some tire pressures, and put a new tire on, that's about it" he said.

#8 Stew Pearch and #18 Bill Zubrecki finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the feature. In the qualifier #18 Zubrecki, #19 Utigard, and #8 Pearce finished 1,2,3 and in the heat race #19 Utigard took first, followed by #8 Pearce and #2 Bradlow. For the full results from Friday's race program please click here.

Mac's Convenience Stores would like to congratulate the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway executive, club members and volunteers for hosting a truly great event this past weekend. We thank each and everyone involved in making the 2006 Inaugural Froster 50 a success.

I can not tell you the number of racers that commented on the fantastic hospitality of your club. Of course this came as no surprise to me as I have met and worked with so many of the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway members as well as Herm, Ken and the team at K3 Kensulting Inc. in preparation for this event and on race day it self.

You truly have the best facility in Western Canada and also the best group running it.

The 2007 Mac's Froster 50 will be even better as we will engage and involve the fans even more. We could see it was appreciated and Mac's will be back with more stuff for those in the stands.

Mac's is proud of it's partnership with Auto Clearing Motor Speedway and looks forward to many years of involvement and support.

Ron Thompson, Marketing Manager

Mac's Convenience Stores Inc.

Western Division

Mac's......here, when you need us.

Current NAPA Pro Truck points leader #71 Trevor Freemantle continued reaching victory lane Saturday night as he won the opening NAPA Pro Truck heat race, closed with a win in the feature race and, in between, placed third in the qualifier. After finishing 6th in the heat race, #67 Ken Ross made some pretty good adjustments and not only won the qualifier but finished second to Freemantle in the feature. While #8 Andrew Clewes, #18 Stan Caron, and #48 Roger McConnell each claimed one of the top three positions in either the heat or qualifier races, the driver that had the most reason to celebrate Saturday night was #64 Stan Reddekopp. "I actually finished 2 races tonight, and finished third in the feature" an excited Reddekopp explained on his way for a celebratory pop at the end of the night. For full results of Saturday's race program please click here.

The #59 car driven by Greg Vangool captured all three Saskatoon Hyundai Mini Stock races on Saturday night. Vangool opened by winning the heat race and followed up by also winning the qualifier and the feature races. Vangool's job was made a little easier after current points leader #41 Jim Barnsley's car suffered considerable damage in the heat race after being spun into the wall. Barnsley was done for the night after that. "It's too bad Jim (Barnsley) couldn't race, that's why we come out here ... to race Jim" offered Vangool in the pits after the race. Even without Barnsley in the field Vangool's car seemed to be running better than in previous outings. "We changed some suspension and away she goes" was Vangool's reasoning for the improvement. "The toughest thing for me tonight was watching out for the mustang, we just didn't know what the mustang was up to:.

#43 Todd Ferguson continues to improve with a second place shoeing in the qualifier and a third place finish in the feature. #78 Matt Bartsch also finished the night with a 2nd (feature) and a third (qualifier). #92 Clay Ballard and #44 Jessie Krahn were the only other drivers to finish in the top three Saturday night. For full results of Saturday's race program please click here.

After being narrowly edged out by Mike Dionne in the last Tiger Automotive Street Stock feature race, #98 Bryan Johnson made no mistakes on Friday night as he captured the 40 lap feature race and returned to victory lane. "That was an incredibly fast feature, right from the drop of the flag" noted Johnson after the race. "This is one fast field of race cars and some good quality drivers as well.".  #99 Cory Kallis couldn't catch Johnson on Friday night and had to settle for second fiddle. #88 Brad Wrennick took home third spot. Wrennick's #1 fan (his mother) gleefully explained that "Brad ran the race like he had a bee in his bonnet."   Wrennick finish on Friday night is all that more impressive when you consider that he hit the wall a few weeks back and "broke a lot of parts" as he put it. "The only real adjustment we made today was tire pressure" Wrennick explained. The quote of the night Friday, belongs to #33 Shawn Hill - shortly after taking over the lead near the half way mark in the race, Shawn had an encounter with the wall on the back straight away, his second visit to the wall this year. When asked what happened, Hill replied "ego overtook ability". For full results of Friday's race program please click here.

For someone who just wanted to see how his Enduro car would stack up against the Hertz Equipment Rentals Thunder Stocks, #224 Bill Rae did rather well on Friday night. "Everybody left me alone and the car handled good" was Rae's reasoning for his 40 lap feature win. "this is just an Enduro car, I thought I would see how it raced against the Thunder stocks and it seemed to be quite competitive." The rest of the Thunder drivers had no choice but to leave Rae only, as they just couldn't catch him. ,Although he would have to make some adjustments to his car to race with the Thunders on a regular basis, Rae said "I might consider it". On the night there were several cautions when the Hertz Equipment Rentals Thunder Stocks were on the track, with several familiar names amongst the cars experiencing difficulty. For full results of Friday's race program please click here.

In only the second Canadian Forces CASCAR Sportsman race of the season, #95 Paul Savoie had a great night Friday night, winning both the heat race and the 50 lap feature race. "We did a bit of a gear change and it worked out well. Savoie explained after the race. "At the first race we were off the pace a bit, so we decided to make some changes .. and, as I've already said, they worked out rather well, I'm very pleased." Savoie continued. Savoie's double win night duplicated #46 Dan Shirley's double win night during the opening weekend of race a month ago and may well vault Savoie into top spot in the points race. A total of twelve (12) CASCAR Sportsman cars took to the track on Friday night which is up two from last season. For full results of Friday's race program please click here.

A full weekend of racing activity will be taking place at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway over the course of Friday and Saturday. The Bud Big Rig will be on hand both nights with live music. A tail gate party is planned for Friday starting at 5:00 pm, and will continue after the race program. Saturday will see the return of the Legends, this time for the Froster 50. Come and listen to some live music before and after Saturday's race as well.

The Auto Clearing Motor Speedway Junior Racing Program (ages 12-18) takes another step forward this Saturday July 29th. All interested 'juniors' are asked to be at the competitors entrance (back gate) of the track by 6:30 pm for an 'in pit' one race night orientation.  For insurance purposes, everyone entering the back gate must be a member, so before entering the pits each junior will be required to purchase a Junior Membership. These are $25 and are good for the entire year. The 'junior membership' age is indeed 12-18 NOT 14 as indicated previously.  The July 29th one race night orientation night will cover safety, do's / don'ts, racing language,  and provide an opportunity to meet competitors, and for Q's & A's among other things.  After the orientation, junior participants will have earned the opportunity to be a contributing pit crew member.  16 drivers have stepped forward and are more than willing, ready, and able to accept a future generation racer. See you there!

"We accomplished more than we figured we'd accomplish, " understated Les Hillacre when contacted Monday evening. "I've entered every Invitational for the last 4 years, and finished in the top 3 the last three years, it feels good to finally win one" continued Hillacre. Hillacre's win came just days after his close friend Mike Thompson from Warman twisted his arm and convinced him to pull his car out of storage and enter this year's Tiger Automotive Martensville 150 Street Stock Invitational. "The car worked really well, awesome in fact ...we worked the high groove and just a little over 50 laps managed to overtake #98 Bryan Johnson for the lead" explained Hillacre, "he (Johnson) then challenged me all the way to the end, staying right on my back bumper for the most part, he definitely put the pressure on me. I really enjoyed racing Bryan", Hillacre states. When asked about the track, Hillacre was quick to say, "awesome facility, smooth track, the grip was actually better than I thought it would be from watching the first few races." Having started racing on dirt in Rosetown some 6-8 years ago, Hillacre plans on racing a SRL Modified car for the rest of the 2006 season.  

The winner of the first ever Special Event race at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway, the Tiger Automotive Martensville 150 was #171 Les Hillacre. Finishing second was #98 Bryan Johnson. #69 Robin Drysdale was third. For a complete list of results click here.

Martinsville Mayor Kimble Reynolds might have thought he was seeing double Thursday when he received an e-mailed letter from Giles Saulnier, the mayor of Martensville. That is Martensville with an “e,” and it is located in Canada. For the complete story that appeared in the Martinsville Bulleting click here.