.png)
.png)
(August 17th, 2024) - It was hyped as the greatest championship battle in Atlantic Canadian stock car racing history. Cory Hall (#83) and Ashton Tucker (#2) entered the 2024 Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series season finale event in a dead heat in points. Hall - after his win at Oyster Bed Speedway - led the standings for the first time all season by just three (3) points over Tucker before action began. Ironically, the season finale was the ReCar 150 presented by Wonder Auto & Tire at Speedway 660 - a race where Hall and Tucker took the checkered flag beating and banging on each other one season ago,
But on this day, Ashton Tucker would not be denied. Nearly everything went the way of the Brad Silliker Motorsports team, and Tucker would dominate the race - holding off Hall through a few restarts mid-race - to earn the race win, and the 2024 Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series championship in a tiebreaker! Hall and Tucker each achieved 580 points through the season (96.7% of possible points), but it came down to a tiebreaker as outlined in Rule 14.7 to decide the champion. With the first tiebreaker being feature wins, Tucker’s four (4) feature wins trumped Hall’s two (2) to emerge as the series champion.
The day started with heat races - and with the points so close, heat races meant everything. Looking to close the gap, Tucker drew pole for his heat race and cruised to victory in heat one. Hall meanwhile, had his work cut out for him. He managed to gain three positions in his heat - climbing to second - but that second place finish still enabled Tucker to gain one point, setting up a winner-take-all main event.
Hall earned a +3 passing points tally - but being the most recent winner, could not start higher than 50% of the field. No other driver in the field earned higher than a +1, which propelled Tucker to his first career EIT Race Radios Pole Award, while Hall started tenth. The race went green, with Tucker getting the lead and Hall going to work and make up ground.
Hall would quickly slice and dice his way towards the front, hitting the runner-up position with just under 100 laps remaining. Despite a pair of restart opportunities, he would have to settle for second as Tucker drove off with the lead, and led wire-to-wire to capture the win and the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series championship!
From the heat win, to the pole, the feature win, and the championship, it looked like everything went Tucker’s way on the day - until his victory lap when he suffered a track bar failure just after winning the championship. Ironically, 2023 champion Dylan Gosbee (#16) had a transmission malfunction on his celebratory lap one season ago, marking the second consecutive season of the champion suffering misfortune in the moments following their triumph.
Hall crossed the line in second after finishing second in his heat race. Those results left Hall and Tucker - the duo which combined to win every race in 2024 - tied atop the point standings. Per rule 14.7, the first tiebreaker goes to feature wins. Earning his fourth win of the season - and fifth of his career on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series - Tucker captured the tiebreaker over Hall’s two feature wins. It was a strong season for Hall nevertheless. Having never finished worse than second in any race all season, Hall was a perennial contender equally worthy of top honors.
While fans were treated to another edition of the Tucker-Hall show, a first-time podium finisher crossed the line in third - a monumental day for a young driver and a massive storyline in itself. Defending Rookie of the Year Hudson Weston (#43) crossed the line in third, stealing the final podium spot from the clutches of Ryan Messer (#1) in the closing laps to earn his first career podium finish on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series.
Messer - after winning his heat - crossed the line fourth, while Greg Fahey (#20) crossed the line in fifth at the end of the night.
Robbie MacEwen (#40) was the third driver who entered the day with a mathematical chance at winning the championship. While acknowledging Speedway 660 to be his weakest track, MacEwen vowed to put forth his best effort. It was a sixth place result for MacEwen - good enough to maintain third overall in points, while extending his top ten finish streak through two consecutive seasons and twelve consecutive races.
Curtis Collins (#27) crossed the line in thirteenth place at the end of the night to wrap up Rookie of the Year honors for the 2024 season. Despite having a few tough breaks through the season, Collins ran a very respectful and commendable rookie campaign worth celebrating.
Tucker and Messer earned heat race victories, as did defending series champion Dylan Gosbee. Nineteen (19) competitors were in attendance for the ReCar 150 presented by Wonder Auto & Tire - a race which took 51 minutes and 15 seconds to complete. Only three (3) cautions slowed the pace throughout the duration of the event.
With tonight's victory, Ashton Tucker regained the lead as the winningest driver in series history, breaking a tie with Cory Hall with his fifth career victory. He also became the second champion of the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series, following in the footsteps of inaugural series champion Dylan Gosbee from one year ago. This concludes the 2024 Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series season. Final points will be posted on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series website - SLMS.ca.
For all news and information on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series, be sure to follow us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube at @SLMSeries, or on our official website at SLMS.ca. A full race replay of the ReCar 150 presented by Wonder Auto & Tire will be available in the coming days on YouTube.
About the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series
The Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series is Atlantic Canada’s newest stock car racing series. Formed in Fall of 2022 through a partnership between Oyster Bed Speedway, Petty International Raceway, and Speedway 660, the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series contests a six-race schedule with some of North America’s top racing talents. The 2024 season will mark the second season of competition. Fans can find more info online at SLMS.ca, or through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X at @SLMSeries.
About Easy-Kleen Pressure Systems
Easy-Kleen Pressure Systems Ltd. has been manufacturing high pressure wash systems since 1982. Over 100,000 companies spanning various fields in both the commercial and industrial sectors are utilizing our machines for their everyday cleaning needs. Easy-Kleen is dedicated to continuing to build the world’s most heavy duty, hardworking, reliable, and efficient high pressure cleaning systems. Our machines are known by our customers to last decades, with many units performing for over 25 years. Visit EasyKleen.com to learn more about the products and services offered by Easy-Kleen Pressure Systems.
ReCar 150 presented by Wonder Auto & Tire Results
Commentaires