June 9, 2007 - James River (near Antigonish), NS - Mike MacKenzie of Dartmouth, NS won the PIONEER COAL 100 for the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour at Riverside Speedway, near Antigonish, NS on Saturday night. MacKenzie, whose last win was 2004, took the lead on lap 95 from Bob White and held off a late charge from Wayne Smith to win the second race of the season. White, of Kennetcook, NS ended up second, ahead of Smith of Timerblea, NS. Shawn Tucker of Fredericton, NB and Donald Chisholm of Antigonish, NS rounded out the top five. Smith won both the Fast Track RV Sales Halfway award and the Most Laps Led Award. Smith led from lap 3 until lap 58 when contact with Shawn Turple resulted in a penalty. Over 5000 fans saw 6 cautions slow the event, which took 1 hour and 14 minutes to complete.

Greg Proude of North Wiltshire, PE, Tucker and White won heat races. Lonnie Sommerville of Saint John, NB won the Dash for the Pole, featuring the top nine finishers in the Atlantic Tiltload Time Trials. Turple of Enfield, N.S. debuting in Steven Henderson’s car, had the fastest time on the 1/3 mile oval, at an average speed of over 92.9 miles per hour. None of the top five cars opted to take the Dartmouth Bottles and Metals Pole Challenge. Thirty-three of the Maritimes top drivers attempted to qualify for the Main Feature. The Urquart MacDonald Associates “B” Feature determined the final qualifying positions for the main event. Darren MacKinnon of Winsloe, PE won the event over Cy Harvey of Elmsdale, NS and Dean McInnis of Whycocomagh, NS.

The next stop on the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour is on June 16th at the New Brunswick International Speedway, located in Geary, NB, near Fredericton for the Parts for Trucks 100.

With nearly 4000 locations in North America, CARQUEST Auto Parts supplies the professional automotive service repair industry as well as do-it-yourselfers with replacement parts, tools and equipment.

The CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour is operated by the Maritime Pro Stock Tour Limited and features a ten race series at five different venues throughout the Maritime Provinces. Top drivers from all three provinces compete, including previous champions Rollie MacDonald, Shawn Tucker, John Flemming and Wayne Smith. For more information, visit maritimeprostocktour.com or call our administration office Monday to Friday at (902) 481-2531.