Comprehensive Summer Clash 250 Recap

Photo Courtesy of: WingNut Productions

August 12th, 2023

Engines roaring, rubber burning, and the heart-pounding spectacle of Late Model racing--
this is the electrifying atmosphere of the Summer Clash 250! Set at Scotia Speedworld, this year's race was a jump out of your seat showdown, with veteran drivers and fresh faces alike vying for the coveted title.

Gaining traction in the 2000s, Scotia Speedworld's Atlantic CAT 250 which would later be renamed the Toromont CAT 250, was a who's who of top PASS Super Late Model champions, and top Maritime racers. While the 2000s were largely dominated by the best of PASS, the 2010s saw a balance with PASS Champ Cassius Clark and Nova Scotians like Slaunwhite, Blenkhorn, and Cole Butcher taking the checkered flags. Post-COVID, the race was reborn as The Atlantic Tiltload & Superior Foundations Ltd. Summer Clash 250. Hosted by recently inducted NS Motorsports Hall of Famers Ann & Darrin Butcher, this East Coast International Pro Stock Tour event aims to rival the prestige and scale of the famed IWK 250. The latest edition showcased an electric race and a vibrant crowd, reaffirming its iconic status at Scotia Speedworld, bringing the biggest crowd in many years.


The night started off on a touching note, as Ann Butcher was asked about the recent, tragic loss of Butcher Racing team mate George Doane. Talking through her tears, she expressed her love and gratitude for George. It was a sad, but beautiful moment, seeing one person who embodies the heart of what makes grass roots racing great, and keeps it going, mourning the recent loss of someone close, to whom the same could be said for.

Fittingly to honor the memory of a beloved race team member, and die hard fan of the sport, the stage was set for what would soon go down as a classic race.

Defending 2022 champion, #2 Ashton Tucker, returned to vie for victory against formidable opponents. Before the feature race even began, the narratives were set in motion. Cory Hall, an occasional racer in the Pro Stock Tour but a familiar force in the New Brunswick scene, who also not long ago showcased his prowess south of the border in the #83 car. Despite occasional mechnical issues, Hall, along with 2 hot up and coming American late model drivers stole the show at the week long Pro Late Model portion of Florida's World Series of Asphalt racing. Hall secured the fastest qualifying time for The Clash, followed by returning champion Tucker, ensuring both a front-row start without needing to run heat races.

#99 Craig Slaunwhite, the Pro Stock Tour's points leader, audaciously accepted the Scott Fraser Challenge, a nod to his Fraser Racing heritage, upon being asked by Darrin Butcher: 'What would Scott Fraser do? I know you know the answer to that'. Agreeing to start from the back, he was enticed by a special reward for a potential victory and to honour the memory of Fraser. Simultaneously, the highly-regarded Maritime Late Model driver, Dylan Blenkhorn, made his awaited season debut. During pace laps, he had an unexpected pit return, possibly for a radio glitch, putting him at the back, inadvertently handing Slaunwhite his first pass.

Cory Hall kicked off the race with exceptional speed, lapping his first opponent by the end of lap 15 and overtaking another on the very next straightaway. Meanwhile, full-bodied car rookie, Danny Chisholm (#89), held his own in 3rd place impressively, finally getting challenged for position by Nicholas Naugle (#08). Despite a good restart, Naugle's car seemed attuned for the race's progression, becoming notably better with each lap, giving the impression he would be a threat on long green flag runs. Concurrently, Slaunwhite leading Blenkhorn were masterfully navigating their way up the pack, with both inside and outside passes.

Unfortunately Chisholm's promising run was halted on lap 35 when a caution prompted him to the pit due to rear-end issues, and despite a return to the track, his day would ultimately end early, presumably related to these issues. When the dust settled and racing resumed, Hall and Tucker still shone brightest, but it was a heated battle with Chris Reid (#31), Naugle, Jarrett Butcher (#54), and Brad Eddy (#7) all mixing it up in and around the top-5 . Russel Smith Jr. (#88) lurked close behind, ready to pounce. Amidst this fierce competition, Slaunwhite and Blenkhorn's aggressive push continued; especially Blenkhorn who managed to overtake Slaunwhite and secure a top-10 position all before lap 40.

Every lap Hall led not only added $75 to his pocket but also contributed $25 to The Boys & Girls Club. Having already led the first 64 laps, he had to have been feeling good. Yet as the sun dimmed, a slight waver in Hall's dominance emerged. Tucker, perhaps sensing the shift, or just finding a new gear of his own, began to get closer and closer, looking for an opening to make a move, and challenge Hall's supremacy, meanwhile Jarrett Butcher, from the third position, surged forward with a car that seemed to have caught fire, drawing closer with each lap, and taking advantage of the leaders' battling. Blenkhorn stalked just outside the top-5, with Slaunwhite trailing, both waiting for an opening to exploit.

The 69th lap was a pivotal moment, marking the first time Hall had to relinquish his lead, conceding to a relentless Tucker. By lap 81, the competition caution saw notable names like Smith Jr., Eddy, and even Slaunwhite dart into the pits for either/or repairs, adjustments, fuel and tires. In a strategic twist, either out of necessity or to leap frog in track position when the other leaders had to go pit side later, Slaunwhite made another pit-stop during the yellow to equip his only available pair of tires, in this 6 tire (4 you start on, plus 2 in the pit) race.

Post-lap 81, the race roared with more fervor. Blenkhorn, starting in 5th, was clawed his way up. Naugle managed to outmaneuver Hall, while a faltering officially Chisholm bid his farewell and parked the car on lap 97, hobbling off the track. The drama peaked at lap 110 when, after a fierce tussle with Hall for the third spot, Blenkhorn's usually impeccable control faltered, causing him to spin and summon a caution. Without hesitation, he shot back to the pit, indicating something was amiss with his car.

In the aftermath of Blenkhorn's unexpected spin, the pit lane buzzed with activity. Amidst this chaos, Blenkhorn, initially signaling a potential exit by dropping his window net and stepping out, made a relieving re-entry into the cockpit. He'd borrowed parts from Chisholm's parked vehicle to resurrect his own race ambitions. As the engines roared back to life on lap 110, a fortuitous false start allowed Blenkhorn's crew precious extra seconds to finish up, as he remained pit side.

When the sea of cars surged forward, Naugle snatched the lead with Slaunwhite hot on his tail. Blenkhorn, showing true grit, rejoined the fray under the green flag but found himself two laps adrift. Almost immediately after rejoining the field, Reid made contact with the #41 Mike Rodgers in front of him, leading to Reid checking up and lifting off the gas, causing a now much faster faster #1 of Ryan Messer, and #97 of Chris Duncan behind him to accordion effect stack up bumper to bumper, resulting inearly front-runner Hall first making contact with Duncan, and then a hard impact with the outside wall – a collision that, sadly, would ultimately shut him down for the night.

The race's pulse quickened at the restart: Naugle and Slaunwhite locked in an electrifying door-to-door tussle. Their wheels inches apart, they swapped leads and perhaps a smidge of paint. Naugle made a big move in turns 1/2, nudging Slaunwhite slightly up the track to snatch the juicy $1,000 bonus for leading at the lap 125 halfway mark. All the while, #11 Jordan Veinotte and Messer edged their way into the limelight, announcing their top-5 intent.

The drama didn't end there. By lap 128, Blenkhorn's resilience shone brightly. After deftly manoeuvring past many competitors, he was awarded the lucky dog by virtue of track position, gifting him a lap back. A testament to his unwavering spirit, and keeping his comeback dream alive.

The adrenaline from the race's first half barely had time to subside as the early second half took hold. At lap 132, Slaunwhite blazed at the helm, shadowed by Tucker, Butcher, Eddy, and Smith Jr. Within moments, Tucker snatched the throne, powering past Slaunwhite. Meanwhile, a single-lap-down Blenkhorn was already threatening the top-5, on track.

As the race thundered past lap 160, Naugle, getting better as the run continued, slid past Butcher for 3rd, bearing down on Slaunwhite. Choosing to preserve his machine, Slaunwhite began caressing the middle groove, but it appeared he was fighting free conditions. Eddy maintained the rhythm in 5th, with Blenkhorn's relentless chase ever looming, but still tantalizingly a lap behind. As Blenkhorn's charge seemed unstoppable, the leaders put #30 Stevie Lively in their rearview, setting Blenkhorn a new challenge: Outpace Lively to ensure he'd grab the next lucky dog, with few laps remaining before another competition caution. However, the lap 171 caution played spoiler, casting Blenkhorn behind the main contenders, only to have to work his way through the field yet again.

On the ensuing restart, Tucker, the unstoppable force, led Naugle, Slaunwhite, Butcher, and Eddy. Outside this formidable pack, Messer lurked with intent. Slaunwhite's battle with his own car continued, his discomfort evident on the inside lane, he ran a convervative middle lane.

Sadly on lap 194, Messer's valiant run came to a grinding halt, stopping dead heading for the outer pit to park it for the night, falling pray to mechanical failure. Blenkhorn seized his chance, clinching the free pass with 56 laps on the horizon, hoping it would be the final time he would be tasked with carving his way through the field, getting sent to the back, along with his free pass.

The raceway was alight with intensity as Tucker and Naugle duelled, tires smoking, in an electrifying dance for dominance. They swapped the lead with a ferocity that left spectators on the edge of their seats. All the while, Slaunwhite shadowed closely in 3rd.

Post-restart, Slaunwhite forced onto the inside of a 2-wide battle, using every ounce of his driving prowess manhandled his car, unable to glue it to the inside line. This side-by-side combat drew Blenkhorn's closer to the front-runners. Butcher and Smith Jr. too, felt the pull. In a tense moment, Butcher dove inside of Eddy, with Slaunwhite  finally clearing Eddy and going to the high side, initiating a thrilling three-wide standoff, before the racers re-calibrated, setting their sights on the laps ahead, resuming Slaunwhite, Eddy, Butcher, in order.

As the race neared its twilight on lap 225, Naugle's machine threatened Tucker, marking them as the titans to watch. Amidst the fray, Eddy felt the bite of recurring contact, slowing slightly, while Smith Jr., was on the march. All the while, Blenkhorn set his sights on the Smith-Butcher tussle for 5th.

Drama intensified with merely 13 laps left. Butcher and Reid's duelling turned fierce, their cars clashing metal and rubber. Just as Slaunwhite, no longer preserving, and having seemingly tightened up a bit, began to roll through the turns smoother and on the inside line, reeling in the Tucker-Naugle showdown, as dramatic caution flag waved, gathering the field tightly together for a late race shootout.

Butcher and Reid, using every inch of the track, partly veered onto the inside apron. Reid, sailing it in hard, collided heavily with the back of Butcher, leading to a damage and a spin. Lively, with no where to go, crashed headlong into the spun Butcher machine. The aftermath saw Reid with a torn off front end, and Butcher, second in points going into the race in a tight battle, also contending for this race win, saw their contender-ship chances in this one vanish, along with Reid & Lively, too.

In a heart-pounding showdown with just 12 laps left, Naugle on the inside and Tucker on the outside ignited the track. As Eddy pushed Slaunwhite high, close to the outside wall for 3rd, Slaunwhite seemingly kissed the wall or lifted off the throttle to narrowly avoid a collision, Blenkhorn riding in 5th sensed that the door was open. He seized the moment, full sending it and diving to the inside to make it 3 wide. As Naugle and Tucker's battle intensified, Naugle briefly led after running Tucker a little up the track with 10 to go. A chrome horn bumper to bumper tap from Tucker sent destabilized Naugle, as Blenkhorn dove to the inside of Tucker's rear quarter panel.  In turn 3 of lap 241, Blenkhorn made light contact with Tucker's rear quarter panel, as Tucker lifted Naugle under the rear bumper, causing Naugle to need to make a good save, as he slid up the track sideways, with Tucker needing to go up to the third groove to get around him, and Blenkhorn on the inside line throttling through to take the late lead in a spectacular show of timing, execution, and hunger. Eddy to take 3rd, and by lap 242, Tucker was already back and breathing down Blenkhorn's neck.

In the final laps, every spectator was on their feet, eyes glued to the front-runners. Tucker and Blenkhorn pulled away, proving that they had the strongest cars on the track that night. With only a couple of laps remaining, Tucker was had his eyes stapled to the back bumper of Blenkhorn, hoping for a weakness, searching for a spot to make a decisive move.

Naugle, still reeling from the contact, trying to hold onto fourth, actually came back for 3rd, as Smith  pressed the issue, fighting for every inch of the tarmac. Meanwhile, Slaunwhite, having recovered somewhat from the earlier challenge, was looming in the rearview mirror, waiting for any mistake from the front-runners to pounce on, rounding out a stout top-5.

The white flag waved, signifying the final lap. Blenkhorn not more than a few car lengths ahead of Tucker safely drag raced along the final straight away taking the checkered flag.

With a burn-out, engine roaring, tires burning, and smoke billowing, the crowd cheering wildly, as Blenkhorn claimed victory in the Summer Clash 250.

As the dust settled, all eyes turned to the points tally. Heading to Riverside Speedway, Butcher maintained his 2nd spot, but with Naugle just 7 points adrift and Smith Jr. stalking just a point behind Naugle, the title chase couldn't be closer. Slaunwhite, 54 points ahead, knows every race could reshuffle the deck. The looming contest in Antigonish, NS promises high stakes and even higher tensions.