All their hard work came to fruition this past weekend as those drivers were crowned as the champions in their respective divisions for 2017 following a full schedule of entertaining racing at the 3/8 mile track located in Avondale, just 30 minutes from St. John’s.
Wayne Walsh’s bright yellow No. 99 car captured the top division of racing at the track, being crowned the NAPA Sportsman Division 1 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion, outlasting a host of tough competitors to win the points title.
Walsh claims the Eastbound International Speedway Track Championship, provincial championship and rookie of the year for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
In the Atlantic Dodge Dealers Hobby Stock Champion - Division 2 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, Shayne Petten’s No. 4 car emerged as the 2017 winner.
Lloyd Eason Jr.’s No. 117 car earned the title in the Hanlon Realty US Legends division.
The final championship handed out on Sunday went to the No. 9 car of Owen Groves in the Automotive Supplies Bandolero division.
“There are 60 tracks across North American that compete in this championship which is the heart and soul of NASCAR,’’ Mike James, event director at Eastbound Park said Friday.
“He (Walsh) was ranked 107th out of thousands of drivers in North America with only 12 national qualifying events, compared to the No. 1 seeded driver with 45 starts,’’ he added.
Walsh will be a part of the Night of Champions in November at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. This event will host Xfinity, Camping World Trucks, Whelen All-American, Pinty’s, K&N East and West, Euro and Mexican Series participants and champions.
“The biggest players and names in the stock car racing world will be rubbing elbows with Wayne Walsh on the red carpet at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as he becomes Newfoundland and Labrador’s 2nd NASCAR Champion,” James said.
The following is a list of the final standings in the four divisions from Eastbound International Raceway’2017 campaign:
NAPA Auto Parts Sportsman Series
Driver Points
Wayne Walsh 439
Jason Groves 358
Shane Coffen 331
Mark Best 303
Ches Cole 302
Mitchell Fahey 297
Brandon McFarlane 253
Jamie Druken 246
Scott Wright 230
Justin Ryan 216
Gerald Hicks 214
Ross Thorne 194
Phil Fowler 192
Dean Martin 171
Tom Druken 138
Shane Sceviour 138
Jason Gosse 136
Josh Collins 117
Rachel Cole 98
Scott Waterman 74
Shannon Squires 74
Jesse Hicks 68
Graham Tweedie 64
Brad Melendy 56
Doug Collins 46
Cory Reid 44
Robert Petten 24
Pat Squires 22
Cyril Robson 22
Allan Comerford 8
Shane Eason 6
Atlantic Dodge Dealers Hobby Stock
Driver Points
Shayne Petten 252
Robbie Cable 238
Shane Collins 233
Andrew Morgan 233
Randy Cable 200
Cody Lake 196
Devon Morgan 192
Kevin Lane 184
Mark Best 168
Ricky Hineman 152
John Bishop 140
Roger Ryan 134
Cody Johnson 124
Craig Reid 122
Ryan Walsh 92
Mackenize Upshall 82
Andrew Janes 66
Stephen Guest 62
Nathaniel Wall 58
Travis Fagan 52
Matthew Druken 50
Jordan Abbott 32
Travis Sheppard 18
Keith Wall 12
Jacob Ryan 4
Hanlon Realty Legend Series
Driver Points
Lloyd Eason Jr. 173
Johnathon Norman 164
Chris Cooper 163
Ryan St. George 126
Chad Lawrence 116
Josh Weir 114
Ryan Murray 107
Gavin Antsey 78
Robert Quinton 60
Doug Collins 54
Zack White 54
Bob Tracey 44
Walter Norman 42
Andrew Quinton 40
Morgan Oates 36
Cody Johnson 28
Noah Waterman 8
Sara Thorne 8
Jason Weir 4
Automotive Supplies Bandolero Series
Driver Points
Owen Groves 205
Michael Neary 186
Sara Thorne 151
Nick Codner 138
Matthew Rideout 130
Jacob Lawrence 128
Kyle Hedderson 118
Joey Arsenault 104
Kirsten McFarlane 74
Noah Healy 72
Johnathon Upshall 50
Gracie Melendy 28
Austin Hiscock 22
Luke Arsenault 20