Podcast Companion: SLMS & the Pro Stock Tour
November 26th, 2023,
A few days ago I participated in this Podcast Episode hosted by Jon, for the Maritime Racing Network: https://themaritimeracingnetwork.buzzsprout.com/ A relatively new Podcast for all things local racing. He had a chat with Brent Roy, owner of the Super Late Model Series (SLMS) www.slms.ca and also owner of Speedway 660. Some of the interview focused on the SLMS, such as a question posed about if the series was pulling from the same pool of talent as the Pro Stock Tour does. I don’t want to do much paraphrasing, I want people who are interested to listen to the episode. But in short, Brent was of the stance that they do not pull from the same pool of talent in any significant way. On my segment, I listened to the Brent Roy interview, and gave some of my own thoughts, and reached some conclusions by looking at some numbers. I wrote this companion mainly to add a few more figures, and share a few more opinions.
[Author note: I already wrote a comparison during the season of the two series’ as far as aspects outside of the actual on-track product was concerned: https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/super-late-model-series-vs-east-coast-international-pro-stock-tour and a condensed version: https://www.maritimelatemodels.ca/articles/condensed-super-late-model-series-vs-east-coast-international-pro-stock-tour
In this comparison, one thing I said about both series', although gave more credit to SLMS, was their web presence, timely updates, etc. Due in part to my own ignorance at the time, both series have done a better job at this than I realized, although SLMS has been the stronger of the two. I wasn’t aware of just how much focus was put onto the social media pages at the time. Having gotten some experience myself, I better understand the utility and flexibility/alternate nature it offers to a website, but I do think there could be some way for the respective websites to better integrate or direct to the facebook, and other social media content, particularly for an older contingent of fans who may use the website, but not social media platforms. Regardless, I think SLMS does a really good job with it’s online presence, and the Pro Stock Tour has shown improvement in this area, too.]
Introduction
In the fast-paced world of regional motorsports, the inaugural season of the Super Late Model Series (SLMS) has made a significant impact. Balancing between re-invigoration and tradition, the series has introduced a fresh approach to racing in the Maritimes, complementing the established Maritime Pro Stock Tour. This article delves into some nuances of these two series, exploring their coexistence and some emerging trends in local racing circuits.
The Emergence of SLMS and its Strategic Success
Analysis of the SLMS’s format/Impact on driver participation and car counts
[Opinion] I think the region was in need of some re-invigoration, car counts on the Pro Stock Tour were getting pretty thin on some nights, for example at a Scotia Speedworld 150 in 2022, they started 14 cars for race number 4. Add in losing guys like Dylan Blenkhorn, Cole Butcher, and Jonathan Hicken in recent years from full-time status, and that is a lot of talent to see slip away, as well. Of course, there is always new talent coming up, too, though. Along with things like the new Podcast linked above, the SLMS series was certainly a high mark this year in the re-invigoration sense, and all 3 of the 250s (an unsanctioned race at Speedway 660, the New Brunswick 250, along with the two Pro Stock Tour sanctioned 250’s, the IWK 250 @ Riverside, Antigonish, and the Summer Clash 250 at Scotia Speedworld, outside of Halifax), as well as the Mike Stevens Memorial 254 at the end of the season were all huge this year.
I think what Brent said about maintaining the same format in terms of 6 races, 3 tracks, 2 races at each, and all 150 lap features makes sense. To quickly note, as well, it has struck me in recent years that there have been strong Late Model races/fields taking place unsanctioned, or as part of mini-track series events, etc. in New Brunswick/PEI, and I think that some of this is the natural alignment and formation, involving drivers who were already only infrequently running the Pro Stock Tour races as it was, such as #1 Ryan Messer. Note that I have not spoken to Messer or asked him about this, or any of the involved tracks, etc. It is just speculation.
Back on track: with the success that the SLMS had, I can appreciate the risk of over-expanding too quickly.
This is not really meant as a direct comparison at all, and there are significant differences overall, but with the exception of 2020 due to lockdowns, The Pro All Star Series (PASS) North, in the Northeastern US has run 17 to 18 point race schedules for years now. In 2022, 3 drivers ran the full schedule. In 2021, you had 6 drivers run the 17 race schedule.
This year, 6 drivers ran the full 15 race schedule. PASS for a long time now has typically run no less than 15 races, and up to 18, and they've often had around the 4, 5, or 6 racer mark in terms of drivers to run each event, going back more than 10 years.
In 2023 PASS chose to re-shorten the schedule back to 15 because a lot of the teams found it more challenging with the bigger schedule. Regardless of a similar number of full-time racers to compete year-over-year, from the sounds of it, for many drivers it was easier and preferable for them to run the shorter schedule.
For a new series like SLMS, with a small team of I think 6 people operating it, I think it makes sense to stick to a formula that is working for all involved, and bringing out consistently large car counts, some of the biggest seen in the region on a regular basis for a really long time, and find ways for now to build upon it, without building out in an expansion sense.
Comparison with the Maritime Pro Stock Tour's model
The East Coast International Pro Stock Tour has a more ambitious schedule in terms of numbers of races, and differences between races. In 2023 they ran an 11 race schedule, between 4 tracks.
At Scotia Speedworld, they ran 2 150 lap distance features, along with a 250 lap race in August, and a 200 lap season finale. At Riverside, they ran 3 150 lap races, and 1 250 lap race in July, the IWK 250 - arguably the biggest annual race in the region. They made 1 stop to each of the 3 tracks run on the SLMS schedule, Speedway 660, NB, Oyster Bed, PEI, and Petty, NB each for a 150 lap event.
I do not know if this was a coincidence, or if it was related to the founding of the SLMS, but this is different from 2022 for example, where Petty had 3 150 lap races on the 12 race schedule (in recent years Petty had often had a 200 lap feature race during the season, as well). Oyster Bed on the other hand had 2 150 lap races. It had been a number of years though since the Pro Stock Tour had run at 660, it only ran at Oyster Bed & Petty as far as non-Nova Scotian tracks for a chunk of years, including 2022. One of the only differences for the NS tracks was that while Scotia Speedworld still had 4 dates, Riverside only had 3 - 1 less versus 2023. The schedule was also 1 race longer. Regardless, as we will go over, the make-up of full-time racers on the Pro Stock Tour was almost entirely Nova Scotian drivers in both 2022 and 2023, and the number of full-time drivers in 2023 improved compared to 2022.
Geographic Trends and Driver Participation
Overview of driver demographics in SLMS and Pro Stock Tour
On the Pro Stock Tour, you had 9 drivers run the full 11 schedule, with Slaunwhite running 10, because Hicken piloted the #99 for one race, making 10 full-time cars. After that, a handful of drivers ran 5 races. In 2022, the Pro Stock Tour had 5 drivers run the full 12 races, with Jarrett Butcher, Gary Elliot, and Greg Proude all running 11, making 8 cars who nearly ran the full schedule. The only driver who ran FT in 2022 that did not in 2023, was Greg Proude (PEI), who did run 5 of the 6 SLMS races, and 5 of the 11 Pro Stock Tour Races. I am under the impression that this was for reasons unrelated to the introduction of the SLMS, though.
It was interesting to see that this year, the Pro Stock Tour did see an increase in full-time drivers year-over-year, during the debut season for The SLMS. Judging by the pro-activity taken by the SLMS team and their attitude, and the level of commitment required from drivers/teams, plus the tire and payment structure (Brent outlined this in the Podcast), I have confidence in them retaining a similar, consistent car count next year, if not close. This first season had 15 drivers run all 6 races, and and another 5 cars run 5. That's almost a 20-car field locked in off the bat, then you have plenty of part-timers and one-off drivers to fill out an even fuller field every single night.
All drivers to run 5 or 6 SLMS races this past season were from NB and PEI, with a few more from NB. Naugle was the only driver with more than 1 start from Nova Scotia, with him having 2 starts. On the Pro Stock Tour side of things, the top 10 cars for points were all from Nova Scotia, with the exception of Mike Rodgers. To be fair, 2022 was similar, when there was no SLMS, too. Considering the two series can't be directly compared beyond this year though, and with uncertainty factors/shortened schedules due to COVID making me switch all the way back to 2019 before that, where it was a bigger mix of NS and PEI for the top-10 points cars, it feels a bit too far to look back for a direct comparison.
Now, I do see, for example, Darren MacKinnon who before COVID was running the Pro Stock Tour full-time consistently, who was full-time in SLMS this year, and only raced once in the Pro Stock Tour. However, last year with no SLMS, he didn’t run full-time, either. He did run 5 races of 12 that year, compared to only 1 (at home in PEI) this year, but I don’t think there is enough there to speculate on the reason, or the role SLMS had, nor are there enough drivers in a similar situation. Perhaps the presence of SLMS did influence his Pro Stock Tour schedule to be a few races shorter this year, maybe not. But I am inclined to believe that more times than not, we are simply seeing drivers who wouldn’t have been running full-time Pro Stock Tour schedules regardless, and they may have run SLMS for other reasons.
What I hope has taken place, is that the Pro Stock Tour recognized in 2022 how Nova Scotian drivers dominated their full-time driver ranks, and that they were proactively reaching out to their drivers from PEI & New Brunswick to inquire about all of those drivers’ plans, what it would take to have them back, or have them full time on the PST, etc.
I think that because of the different purses/payment tiers, tire policies, etc. between the two series, it doesn’t surprise me a lot for a driver, if the race isn’t already really close to them, to not make the trip for a one-off ‘regular points race’ on either of the two series. So full-time commitment goes a long way here to drive consistent car counts. I would think it would be more enticing to more teams to pick an SLMS one-off, versus a 150 lap one-off for the Pro Stock Tour, though. If you aren’t running the Pro Stock Tour full-time, the incentive to do a 150 lap one-off that you need to travel for, is understandably perhaps not the strongest, unless you have high expectations of competing for the win, or you really want the seat or track time. That does leave the 250 lap events though, and the 200 lap finale as marquee races on the schedule though, which will be the ones typically to entice and attract a broader collection of drivers from all around.
Note: The dates do not overlap. The only overlapping date was SLMS race #5 with PST race #9.
63.2% of the 20 SLMS drivers to run 5 or 6 of the 6 race schedule were from New Brunswick, 36.8% from PEI. 0% were from Nova Scotia.
90% of the 10-ten for points in the Pro Stock Tour (smaller number of full-time racers, so I used a smaller sample) were from Nova Scotia, with 10% from New Brunswick.
Remaining Thoughts & Numbers
The Scotia Speedworld points finale 200 lapper drew 21 cars in 2023. When you ignore that race, and the 2 250s, there were 5 other races between Scotia and Riverside in NS. They averaged around mid-teens. Interestingly, the single Petty race drew 15, as well, so it seemed to have remained a similar contingent of drivers. The PEI date had 18 which was a bit above average for the 150 lap features, though. The 660 150 lap race had 21 cars, tied for the 3rd biggest field of the season with the finale, and only having the 250s ahead of them. On the SLMS side, one of the Petty races was the finale, but the lowest car count on the season was the other Petty date, though it did exceed the Pro Stock Tour by a margin of 22 cars to 15. Once again, it appears that the car counts were largely comprised of full-timers, with a little bit in excess of that, for both series’ at Petty.
For SLMS, down the road, perhaps we could potentially see more races added, or shows in Nova Scotia. I do like the trade-off of things being easier for local teams, of which there are many, to afford to run a higher horse power, Super Late Model, while saving some money on tires, and saving expenses from not running races that exceed 150 laps. It would be nice if the SLMS did have a marquee longer lap race, but that would also probably require a significant purse increase, and the crowd draw is already strong. In the long-run, I do wonder if there is room in the region for both to thrive, or how things will go, but if nothing else, SLMS has been a shot-in-the-arm, and some of their innovations and focuses and outreach/effort may serve as a motivation for the Pro Stock Tour to try to step their own product up, too. Perhaps some day the SLMS will see some minor expansion, and the Pro Stock Tour will see some minor contraction, and there will be room for both series’ to thrive.
To add to my point about liking the trade off of team expense saving efforts which probably help adherence to a fuller schedule/bigger fields, but also helps teams afford a higher horse power Super. I think the SLMS was smart to allow for both, that way if Nova Scotian drivers want to make a one-off start or more from the Pro Stock/Pro Late Model tour, they don't have to swap their engine and convert their car into a Super Late Model in order to adhere to the rules. On the other hand, if a SLMS driver is running a Super (some are, some are not), they may not have the incentive or have access to/be willing to convert their car into a Pro to run on the Pro Stock Tour. That said, it would probably not be wise for the Pro Stock Tour to become a Super Late Model Tour, as it would drive prices for teams up, and with their pay-out structure, tire policy, and lengthier schedule and smaller car counts, sticking to a pro is for the best there; especially when car counts are already on the low side for some of their races, and it may not be a good time to potentially alienate existing drivers, by either forcing them to get new engines and run a Super, or by allowing other teams to run Supers. I could see the possibility for controversy to arise from that, whereas the SLMS established a more open format from year 1 that everyone agreed to.
