Thursday, October 7, 2010

JACK CANFIELD MEMORIAL THREE HOUR ENDURO RACE SET TO RUN MONDAY AT AMP

(Halifax, NS, October 6, 2010) – Atlantic Motorsport Park (AMP) will host the third annual Jack Canfield Memorial Enduro Race on Monday, October 11th. The 1.6 mile circuit, located just outside of the town of Shubenacadie, will see a variety of racecars and sports cars in the three-hour race, including the Maritime League of Legends, who will make history when they hit the road course for the first time. The car with the most completed laps after the grueling three hours will be declared the winner. Paddock opens and registration begins at 8:00am and admission is FREE! For more information please visit www.atlanticmotorsportpark.com

Jack Canfield was a motorcycle racer and car racer in Atlantic Canada from the 1960’s until he hung up his helmet in the 1980’s. He was instrumental in the founding of AMCRA, the club that organized motorcycle racing in Atlantic Canada. Later in the 1970’s he was a moving force and founding member of Atlantic Motorsport Park, the first and still only road racing circuit in the Maritimes. Because of his efforts to help and promote motorsports, Jack has been inducted into both the Canadian and Maritime Motorsports Halls of Fame.

Beginning in 2008, the car racers began to organize a three hour endurance race at AMP to honour Jack’s memory. This year’s race is the third annual event and its popularity increases each year. Teams from the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and the Eastern United States will travel to AMP to participate. Most of the teams utilize two drivers which requires a pit stop and allows more racers to take in the event.

The Maritime League of Legends will be holding their final race of the season at Atlantic Motorsport Park. Although Legends Cars race on road courses all over North American and Europe, on Monday the 2.5 Kilometer, 11 turn road course will host the first race of this type in Atlantic Canada. The drivers, who are no strangers to competing on oval tracks in the Maritimes and North Eastern United States, will certainly have their driving skills tested and challenged by this very technical track.

The number of entries from the League of Legends is growing daily and includes the likes of 2009 Maritime Pro Stock Tour Champion Shawn Turple, Canadian Masters Champion and local favorite Cy Harvey, 2010 Scotia Speedworld and Maritime League of Legends Tour Champion Paul Blenkhorn, two- time Canadian Legends Champion Justin MacNeill and seasoned road racer Todd Roberts.

To make this race possible the volunteer organizations that regularly help out each race weekend donate their time and expertise for free. Atlantic Motorsport Park waives the rental fee for the day. Bluenose Autosport Club who usually provide timing and scoring efforts donate their fee for the event. ARRCA, the Atlantic Region Race Control Association, the flag marshals who make the racing as safe as possible, do their valuable job without pay to honour Jack Canfield’s memory. Sponsors also help pay the cost of race insurance which is the only necessity not free for this event. In the end, several thousand dollars will be raised and donated to the upkeep of AMP the only club-owned and non-profit circuit in Canada.