(June 28, 2016) The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour rolls into Speedway 660 this weekend for the Cummins 100. The Maritime tour’s annual visit to the Geary Woods is one of our biggest races of the season. In this week’s Conversation we catch up with Craig Slaunwhite from Terrence Bay, Nova Scotia. Craig has run a lot of laps at Speedway 660 and won our biggest race in 2008. 

A Conversation with Craig Slaunwhite 

Wade: Hello Craig. Fans always look forward to seeing the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour come up our way. How are things going on the tour this season and how is your team doing so far?

Craig: Hey Wade, things are good. We are only four races in so far and it’s been good despite a bad finish in Antigonish a few weeks ago. First race of the year at Scotia we finished 3^rd, then went to Riverside had a great car all day in practice and the heat race. We started P10 in the feature and I was riding P6 50 laps in when two cars checked up in front of me and I didn’t get slowed up enough and tore the nose off.  We ended up 11 laps down in P17. At Scotia we were good and ran top two for 120 laps or so then my brakes faded and I had to settle for fourth. Last week at Petty we were leading with 13 laps to go and had another brake issue and finished a disappointing 8^th. We do have a well prepared car, but we just need a little lady luck on our side. We’re fourth in points but we really need a win and hopefully we can make that happen at 660 on Saturday night.Craig runs side by side with Cassius Clark down at Scotia Speedway in the first Parts for Trucks Pro Stock race of the season. Cassius has won two of four tour races this season and Craig hopes to get his first win of the year when the tour rolls into the Geary Woods this weekend. (Image by McCarthy Photographic)

Wade: You’ve had a lot of success up here. You are one of only two Nova Scotia drivers to ever win our Pro Stock 250 on SpeedWeekend. So you likely feel pretty good about your chances this weekend.

Craig:  Yes I’ve been pretty fortunate to have that SpeedWeekend Pro Stock 250 on my resume! Especially, like you say, to be one of two Nova Scotia drivers ever to win that race, with the other being the late Scott Fraser. I definitely feel good about our chances this weekend but again there are ten other guys with great equipment who can wheel these cars around 660 so we will go prepared, focused and see what the day gives us. Craig won the Pro Stock 250 at Speedway 660 in 2008. Wayne Smith (right) was second, while Travis Benjamin was third.  

Wade: Some guys from Nova Scotia tell me this is one of the toughest, most intimidating tracks in the Maritimes. What do they mean by that?

Craig: That’s pretty funny Wade. What they mean is the track is an absolute tricky drivers track! There is no margin for error because you have to be constantly up on the wheel because one slip-up and you’ll end up in the beach as everyone calls it at 660. It’s a track where you are always turning and when you think you should let off for the corner you should keep your foot on the gas for two more car lengths, if you dare.Craig felt pretty confident when the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour lined up for driver introductions last year. But the car didn’t respond they way he had hoped it would and the 99 team only managed a 13th place finish. Craig is hoping for a much better result this time out.

Wade: How about telling us about how you got started in racing and what are some of your career highlights?

Craig: My cousin Troy Slaunwhite put the race car drive into me. Troy was a well known Street Stock and Sportsman driver and was my idol when I was a kid. I hung out in the shop with him and Big Joe working on the car. I started as the decal patcher and worked on the car all week but had to sit in the stands on race day because I was too young to get in the pits. That was a killer! When I became old enough to get in the pits it was so much fun traveling with the boys in the hauler and being part of the race day team that I decided to go racin myself. I started with hobby stock at Exhibition Park Speedway in Goodwood, NS back in 2000 and won my very first feature race. Craig started racing Hobby Stock back in 2000. Over the years he worked his way up through the divisions and now is one of the best race car drivers in Canada.

Then I bought a street stock from Roy Scott for 2001 and blew a fair number of motors that year because Dad and I kept buying cheap motors and putting good heads and cams in them, but they wouldn’t last any longer then two or three weeks. I won a few street stock features, but with all the blown motors it got too costly for me to keep going so I sold that car.A young Craig Slaunwhite moved to Street Stock in 2001 and also changed his number.  You can see the latest version of #99 when you come to see Craig race in the Cummins 100 on Saturday night.

I decided to go Motorcross Racing for 2002 and that was a lot of fun until I busted my ankle. So I thought I better get back in something with a roll cage and bought Phil Barkhouse Jr’s sportsman car for 2003. That car treated me well for five years. We racked up 20 plus feature wins, four 100 lap features and three championships –  2006 at Scotia and 2007 at both Scotia and Riverside! Shawn Turple, one of my best friends, helped me a lot with the sportsman car in 06 and 07!Here’s Angela & Craig Slaunwhite with the sportsman car that he drove for five seasons. Craig won lots of races and championships and caught the eye of one of the legends of Maritime motorsports.

Then I got a call from Curtis Lindsay in 2007 saying Frank Fraser wasn’t able to run the Maritime Pro Stock Tour race the next day in Antigonish and did I want to drive. I live about 50 minutes from Scott Fraser Racing and I believe it only took me 25 to get there that day to scale the car. I finished 6^th so it was surreal. The SFR team led by Frank Fraser Sr. and Curtis Lindsay made me who I am in the pro stock ranks today. Frank brought me on as their driver for 2008 and the season was an unreal experience and a success. We started slow but we ended up winning rookie of the year and four feature races. The highlight of the year was winning the 250 on SpeedWeekend  and getting the Scott Fraser Memorial Trophy with the Scott Fraser Racing team. How much better could you get right?On SpeedWeekend 2008 Craig Slaunwhite became only the second driver from Nova Scotia to win our 250. That’s “Fearless” Frankie Fraser next to Craig holding the trophy that bears the name of Frank’s son Scott. 

Another career highlight, yet not so much of a highlight due to the circumstances, was the race after Mikey Stevens passed away. Robbie gave me a bent steering wheel of Mikey’s  at his memorial service and I raced with that wheel on the car for the 2013 Atlantic Cat 250 and we won! There was a lot of emotion that day and for me to win and dedicate that race to Mikey, his family and team was unreal.Craig Slaunwhite won the Cat 250 with the steering wheel from Mike Stevens’ race car. Stevens lost his life in a tragic racing accident on Prince Edward Island in 2013. Mike ran with Speedway 660’s weekly pro stock division before moving on to the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour. (Image by McCarthy Photographic)

Wade: We’ve got a half a dozen rookies in our Re/Max Group Four Realty weekly pro stock division and I know there are a few young guns on the tour. After a short time in bando, legend or sportsman some of these youngsters are really lighting it up in pro stock.

Craig: Yes sir you are right. Some of these kids are real wheelmen or wheelwomen. The bandos and legends are really teaching these kids car control and that is a huge step in the development of young racers that is paying off all over the world. I follow all Maritime racing and yes I hear the names of these kids who have moved right to pro stock at 660 and they are having lots of success. And that’s great to see because these kids are the future of our sport.Ashton Tucker #32, who won the Speedway 660 bandolero title in 2015, jumped into a Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stock this year and is one of six rookies in our top division. Ashton is in the hunt for rookie of the year and as Craig says these kids are the future of our sport!

Wade: Great race car drivers need a lot of support and is usually comes from three different sources. Can you tell us a little bit about your race team, sponsors and family?

Craig: Where do I start? It would take a long time to mention everyone who  helped me over the years and even then I would forget some. So I will talk about the people I am involved with now. My race team consists of Matt Hines, Roderick Dean, Brian Thomas, Shane Lively, Mike Umlah, Kayle Ford, Sean Slaunwhite, Colin Smeaton and Gary Crooks.

My sponsors who make this all happen are Archibald Drilling and Blasting; Halifax Glass and Mirror; Howard Little Excavating; Stones RV; Tri County Waste; R. Stevens Mechanical and; Fall River Service Center. There are some other people who help out and they know who they are when I say this.

Last but not least is our families. I have to thank all of my crew guys families, I appreciate them so much for allowing their husbands/boyfriends/kids to spend their summers at race tracks with me. One thing we do well is to make this a family sport and most of us camp at the tracks every weekend so it makes it fun as well. My immediate family has also been incredible. Angela has been so supportive ever since we met and I can’t thank her enough for the love and support. My two girls Sydney and Madison are my biggest fans and it is so humbling to know how much they all enjoy racing. I also have to thank my parents Wanda and Wayne and in-law’s Nancy and Gord for their support over the years. My sister-in-law Amy and my brother Chris are also big fans of the 99.Sydney & Madison love to go to the races and cheer for their Dad. Craig has got lots of support from his family, friends, race team and sponsors.

Wade: You’ve already won the Atlantic Cat 250 at Scotia and the SpeedWeekend 250 at Speedway 660. You are only missing the IWK 250 at Riverside. That race is coming up on the 16^th of July. What would it mean to be the first driver ever to win all three of the biggest races in the Maritimes?

Craig: Oh man, you have no idea what it would mean to be the first to win all three major 250’s. I’m hoping we can shrug off the Riverside gremlin that’s been on my back at that place since 2008. It’s the flagship of race tracks in the Maritimes and we all want to succeed there. There are a lot of great teams and drivers rolling into the IWK 250 and we just need to go there with confidence and see what takes place. Craig Slaunwhite and his mentor Frank Fraser celebrate the Atlantic Cat 250 win at Scotia Speedway in 2013. Craig only needs an IWK 250 win at Riverside in a couple of weeks to become the first driver ever to win the three biggest races in the Maritimes.  (Image by McCarthy Photographic)

Wade: This weekend you’ve got the Cummins 100 at Speedway 660. What’s your plan of attack heading into the big race in the Geary Woods?

Craig: There is really no plan of attack, We love coming to 660 so hopefully roll up there this week with a well prepared car and go for the win.Craig Slaunwhite has lots of fans all over the Maritimes. They will be cheering for their favouritie driver to pick up the checkers this weekend when he comes to Speedway 660. (Image by McCarthy Photographic)

Wade: Thanks for doing this Craig. I know you’ve got a lot of fans up here and they are looking forward to seeing you on the weekend. Safe travels and good luck in the race?

Craig:  I appreciate the opportunity Wade. I look forward to coming up your way this weekend. You’ve got great fans at 660 and we’ve made lots of racing friends there over the years. It’s always a tough race to win, but we’re going to give it our best shot!

Editors Note: We wish to acknowledge McCarthy Photographic, official photographer of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour, for providing several of the images that were used in this story. Thanks Mike!