It’s been seven years since the Carquest Pro Stock Tour had a repeat champion, but Shawn Turple is on an early course to pull it off.
The Enfield native went wire-to-wire for a big victory in the tour’s Lockhart Truck Centre 100 on Saturday at Scotia Speedworld. He led for the full 100 laps and held off a late push from Shawn Tucker of Fredericton, N.B., for a 0.305-of-a-second triumph.
Turple, who claimed his first tour title last September, also has third- and fourth-place finishes this season, and is the unofficial series leader three races in.
“It’s been a great start to the season,” Turple said. “But we’re just so early into it, we just have to try and win some races and worry about the points later.”
The tour is counting points from the 250-lap Triple Crown events toward the point standings, meaning there are still nine events remaining in the season.
If Turple is to repeat for the first time since Halifax’s John Flemming in 2002 and 2003, Saturday’s win can’t be his last.
“I think to be able to win it you’re going to have to win a couple of more races, for sure,” he said. “It’s the same usual suspects in the top 10 every week. When you’re that even, you’ve got to get some bonus points and get some wins.”
