Get ready for the Riverside International Speedway Season Finale.
Catch all the details for the upcoming event, including drivers like Cole Butcher, Ashton Tucker, Owen Mahar, Austin MacDonald, and NS, competing in the Fort Garry Industries Pro Stock Tour, Dulux MASS Sportsman Series, and #88.
Riverside International Speedway will throw the checkered flag on the ’26 season this Saturday with the Summer Sizzler Presented by Wilson Equipment, Benefitting Christmas Daddies. It will feature the second last race of the season for the Fort Garry Industries Pro Stock Tour, the championship race for the Dulux MASS Sportsman Series, and the only stop at the high banks this year for the Hot Rod Classics Vintage Race Car Series, Powered by Kimco. Racing starts at 5 p.m.
Featured guests will include NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver Cole Butcher, from Nova Scotia and now residing in North Carolina, and CTV’s Suzette Belliveau who will bring greetings from Christmas Daddies with the event dedicated to fundraising for the annual show that helps less fortunate children better enjoy the holiday season. Butcher will drive the #88 Christmas Daddies car out of the Nova Racing stable, a teammate to hometown favourite Donald Chisholm (Antigonish). A couple of special guests from the North Pole are expected, too, and they’ll be handing out candy canes and spreading cheer. 100% of the proceeds from free-will offerings and other fundraising efforts during the day will be donated to Christmas Daddies during their annual telethon on Saturday, December 5, broadcast live on CTV.
With the regional race season winding down, several significant storylines set the stage for an exciting show... New Brunswick’s Ashton Tucker leads the championship battle for the Fort Garry Industries Pro Stock Tour with a 46-point advantage over second-place rookie Owen Mahar, from Hubley. Pictou’s Austin MacDonald is only nine markers behind Mahar, and Dartmouth’s Jordan Veinotte a mere two points behind MacDonald. Gage Gilby, from Enfield, trails Veinotte by just eight points. With only two races remaining to settle the series championship, Tucker will be looking to pad his lead so he can clinch back-to-back titles and the $15,000 cheque that goes with it.
The official entry list sees 17 cars as of Wednesday morning and besides Cole Butcher and the top five points runners, includes hometrack favourite Donald Chisholm (Antigonish), 2026 IWK 250 champion Nicholas Naugle who also won the series June race at Riverside and will be going for a hat trick on the high banks this year. Russell Smith Jr. (Timberlea) will make his first pro stock start this year as substitute driver in Ryan VanOirschot’s #25 while Ryan attends a friend’s wedding. Kelsey Hann (Pictou) was impressive in her first pro stock race in the July Dash 4 Cash and will make her second start on Saturday. Brad Eddy (Halifax) will be back in the driver's seat, for the first time since 2024.
EXPECTED ENTRY LIST – FORT GARRY INDUSTRIES 150 – SUBJECT TO CHANGE 1. (07) Kelsey Hann, New Glasgow, NS 2. (08) Nicholas Naugle, Dartmouth, NS 3. (0) Colton Noble, Upper Nine Mile River, NS 4. (2) Ashton Tucker, Miramichi, NB 5. (7) Brad Eddy, Halifax, NS 6. (11v) Jordan Veinotte, Porters Lake, NS 7. (13) Austin MacDonald, Pictou, NS 8. (24) Ayden Christensen, Shubenacadie, NS 9. (25) Russell Smith Jr., Timberlea, NS 10. (25g) Gage Gilby, Enfield, NS 11. (26) Braden Langille, Shubenacadie, NS 12. (30) Stephen Lively, Shubenacadie, NS 13. (36) Gary Elliott, Murray’s Siding, NS 14. (54) Jarrett Butcher, Enfield, NS 15. (66) Owen Mahar, Hubley, NS 16. (88) Cole Butcher, Troutman, North Carolina (via Porter’s Lake, NS) 17. (89) Donald Chisholm, Antigonish, NS
The Dulux MASS Sportsman Series 2026 title will be decided Saturday in the NAPA/Henry’s AUTOPRO 100, and the battle for the top spot is tight with only nine points separating the top three contenders: Dawson Noble (rookie, Upper Nine Mile River), Brady Creamer (Miramichi, NB), and Matt Vaughan (Lantz), respectively. With Sara Thorne (Chance Cove, NL) and Mike Riley (Halifax) rounding out the top five and on the heels of the top three – the championship is up for grabs. Like Naugle in the pro stocks, Creamer has won both sportsman series races at Riverside this year and is also going for a hat trick on Saturday. A field of between 16 and 20 cars are expected to make the trek to Riverside for Saturday's series season finale.
The region’s only vintage race car series, the Hot Rod Classics Powered by Kimco, will make their annual stop at Riverside for the Anchor Toyota Classic. The popular series features race cars that honour our motorsports heritage with replicas of cars ran back in the day along with purpose-built cars that pay tribute to a bygone era that laid the foundation for the racing we enjoy today. Twelve Hot Rods are expected with five new-for-’26 at Riverside entries. Several of these cars will be on display Saturday at Anchor Toyota in Stellarton from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; drop by for a chance to win two tickets to Saturday night’s show.
Heat races will set the feature lineups in all three series. To help get everyone in the Christmas Daddies spirit there will be an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest for the fans with the winner getting a season pass for free admission to all of the races next year. Just wear your ugliest sweater, ask for a contest ticket on the way in, and hope you’re in the top five finalists – to be determined by a random draw from the tickets. The audience will decide the winner.
Continuing the Riverside tradition of affordable family entertainment, kids 15 & under get FREE grandstand admission on Saturday and adult tickets are only $30 (tax included). Tickets are available online at www.riversidespeedway.ca and at the gate on race day. Those with advance tickets get advance entry to the grandstands, at 2 p.m. when practice starts. Race day ticket sales start at 3:30 p.m. Racing starts at 5 p.m. The pit opens at Noon. There is plenty of free spectator parking on-site and free camping for Saturday ticket holders, starting at Noon on Thursday. RVs must be self-contained – there are no services.
Fans should stay tuned to Riverside’s website (www.riversidespeedway.ca), social media (Facebook, X, and Instagram), and sign up for the electronic newsletter (www.riversidespeedway.ca/media/newsletter) for announcements regarding the 2027 season at Riverside.