News

"We hoped for a solid run at OCS,"commented Team Owner Chris "Woody" after Saturday night's outing at the Rougemont, NC track.

The team practiced well on Friday and hoped to find more speed on Saturday but it wasn't to be. "We backed up from Friday's practice and everyone moved forward,"stated a disappointed Ryan Mackintosh. "We will regroup and be ready for South Boston in 7 days."

The #03 Scotia Hyundai Allison Legacy managed to limp home in 9th place after an incident saw contact with the car of Ben Klatt late in the race.

The series heads to South Boston in Virginia for the 5th event of the season. Mackintosh and the Chris Woods racing team are looking to put it all back together to continue to build on the momentum from Rockingham.

The 2011 season schedule still continues to evolve for the #03 and Ryan Mackintosh.  The team is scheduled to run all of the Allison Legacy Touring Series events as well as race in some other divisions during the year.

"The Legacy Series has had to reschedule some events because of weather and rearrange some dates due to the closing of North Wilkesboro",commented team owner Chris "Woody" Woods.

The changes in the primary Legacy schedule has left the Amherst, Nova Scotia driver with some question marks surrounding the entire season's schedule.  Mackintosh stated,"We hope to run a few events in Canada but we are not able to commit to the dates yet."

The team is looking at running addtional Legacy dates in the Legacy North Series as well as some INEX Bandolero races in the North East. The team also hopes to race in Canada with some possibility of an open wheel start.  Mackintosh laughed and said,"I am not sure how that would go but it would be fun to race in a new car in a different series. I have watched some of the races online and it looks like a good, close and competitive series."

The team will announce additional dates and events in the very near future.

When asked about Orange County Speedway, driver Ryan Mackintosh smiles and states,"no question, one of my favorite tracks."

Mackintosh has had the opportunity to race the Rougemont, NC track on several occasions in his INEX Bandolero and this will be only the second time Mackintosh gets to re-visit a track in the Allison Legacy Touring Series. 

Last year Mackintosh took on the .375 mile, high banked, track in his first ever Legacy race. "The track is a lot of fun and I just love racing there,"commented Mackintosh. The Legacy Series rookie picked up a 9th place in his first ever outing after running a good portion of the day in the top 5 or 6 positions.

This season has seen Mackintosh quickly move along the learning curve but has also seen bad luck prevent some higher finishes. The Amherst, Nova Scotia driver was chasing down third spot in the last race at Rockingham Speedway prior to having a suspension problem with 3 laps to go that took him out of the race.  Two weeks ago the team had a top 2 car on the speed charts in practice at Florence Speedway before the sky opened up and the event was postponed due to weather.

Team owner Chris "Woody" Woods is confident,"we are making progress everytime we are on the race track and the results will come if we keep working hard." Woods continues,"Ryan getting a chance to see some of these tracks for a second time will certainly be big for the team."

The June 4th race at O.C.S will bring together the very competitive Allison Touring Series drivers with the best drivers from the Allison Legacy North Series. The 75 laps will see great action as drivers fight for position and also drive hard to represent their own series.

The Allison Legacy Touring Series event at Florence Motor Speedway was postponed due to unsettled weather in South Carolina.

The Chris Woods Racing team was dissappointed with the turn in events after a afternoon of practice sessions. Chris "Woody" Woods stated,"we were good in practice and were looking forward to the 50 lap feature."

The Legacy event was scheduled to run 50 laps on the 4/10 mile oval in Timmonsville,SC.

Driver Ryan Mackintosh commented,"I was looking forward to racing tonight. The #03 was fast in practice and I was learning more about the track each time out."

The next event on the schedule is Orange County on June 4th. It is a 75 lap event which is billed as a the North-South Shootout with teams coming from ALRS North to take on the Southern Touring competitors.

Florence Motor Speedway (Timmonsville,SC)

Two events on the 2011 Allison Legacy Touring Series schedule are now in question with the announcement Monday night that Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway would once again be closing its doors.

The former home to NASCAR events for over 30 years found new life a year and a half ago as local investors leased the track for a three year term. The track has held numerous late model events as well as other races and has met with a good response from competitors and fans alike. Unfortunately, the local economy and the lack of certain companies to follow through on their previous commitments has caused the track to once again close.

The Allison Legacy Series officials were not available for comment at the time of the closure announcements but driver Ryan Mackintosh had this to say. "I am dissappointed for sure. I was looking forward to getting a chance to race at such a great track not once but twice this season." " We will have to wait and see what replacement dates are worked into the schedule."

The Touring Series heads to Florence Motor Speedway in Timmonsville,SC this weekend.  The 50 lap race will take place on the 4/10th mile track on Saturday.

Race#3 of the Allison Legacy Touring Series took place on Sunday at Rockingham Speedway. The Legacy cars took to the 1/2 mile track at the Speedway, "Little Rock".

Chris Woods Racing driver Ryan Mackintosh qualified his Scotia Hyundai Legacy as the 6th quickest but was required to start at the back of the field due to some technical issues following European style qualifying.

The 50 lap feature saw Mackintosh pick up 2 spots on the first lap of the race prior to an early race caution. By lap 10 the #03 moved up to 6th place and then in 5 more laps Mackintosh moved into 5th place.

On lap 25 the the caution came back out when the #10 of Ben Klatt spun off the track. On the restart Mackintosh started behind the #07 of Quinn Fowler and pushed him hard for 10 laps with both cars racing hard and side by side for several laps. The Mackintosh car made contact with the #07 and damaged the front end.

The impact to the Chris Woods Racing entry did not become evident for the next few laps. The #07 and #03 battled for a two more laps until the Fowler car spun in the turn and Mackintosh took over 4th place.

In the closing laps Mackintosh pushed hard to make a pass on the #51 of John Nemechek. "The car would not turn to the bottom, it had a huge push",commented Mackintosh. "I fealt something let go in the front end and Quinn (Fowler) was able to get under me." Fowler completed the pass and Mackintosh was attempting to complete a crossover move when a heim joint broke in the front right.

"We were right there with 4 laps to go", commented Crew Chief and Team Co-owner Chris Woods. "I am dissappointed we didn't get the finish we deserved."

The unofficial scoring saw Mackintosh hold onto 7th place as several cars were down multiple laps at the finish of the race.

The next event in the series will take place on the 4/10 oval at Florence Motor Speedway in South Carolina on May 14th.

Video Recap Here

After a four day holiday back in Canada for some visiting with family and friends, Ryan Mackintosh is ready to take on the the half mile "Litttle Rock" at Rockingham Speedway.

"We have had a better car than our two 7th place finishes",commented Mackintosh via telephone from Mooresville,NC. "The Chris Woods Racing team has put me out there in a good car both races."

Mackintosh will need a solid effort this Sunday to move up in the standings. Garrett Bunch, a series regular from 2010, will be back in an Allison Legacy and will be ready to do battle up front with series point leader Tyler Hill.

"We should be ready. Along with Woody working on the car this week, we have had Daniel Hemric helping us out."stated Mackintosh.

Racing at Rockingham should be exciting with Andy Hillenburg's "Little Rock" being designed to challenge the driver. The track, built in 2009, is used regularly by NASCAR Sprint Cup teams to test.

#03 Ryan Mackintosh at Hickory Motor Speedway (Steve Hogue Photo)

The Allison Legacy Touring Series held its second event of the season at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Canadian driver, Ryan Mackintosh, drove the Chris Woods Racing #03 entry. This start was Mackintosh's 5th start in a Legacy and his first at the historic Hickory.

Afternoon practices saw Mackintosh near the top of the speed charts with the 4th fastest lap of the second session. In qualifying Mackintosh was able to put the car on the inside of row #4 for the start of the race.

The team had late model and legend standout Daniel Hemric in the spotter's stand for the race and he was able to get Mackintosh up to 6th after the start. Mackintosh held this position until 25 laps later when he was overtaken by th #27 of Justin LaDuke.

The first 47 laps of the race went caution free and when the yellow did fly Mackintosh was still in 7th. On the restart Tyler Hill was able to pull away and capture the win. Mackintosh completed the race in 7th and fellow INEX Bandolero graduate Ben Klatt brought home 11th.

"Ryan had a good day, we need to get him more comfortable in the car for the long runs. The Legacy cars put a lot of pressure on the driver in the corners due the speed they can carry"commented Hemric after the race. "We will make some adjustments this week that should make Ryan a lot more comfortable in the seat."

The series heads to Rockingham next week to take on the steep banks of the 1/2 mile Little Rock. The Legacy cars will reach speeds in the 100 mph plus range on Sunday.

Hickory Motor Speedway is located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of racing's most storied venues. The track is usually called "The World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars".

The track has been re-configured 3 times in its history. The track became a .4-mile (643.738 meters) dirt track in 1955, which was paved for the first time during the 1967 season. In 1970, Hickory was shortened a second time to its present length of .363 miles (584.192 meters).

The Allison Legacy Touring Series will be storming into Hickory on April 23. The 50 lap feature will be the 3rd event on the schedule but only the 2nd race of the season due to rain cancellation of OCS last week.

The historic Hickory track will certainly produce exciting racing amoungst the ALRS drivers as the jockey for points early in the season. Nemechek, Hill, Mackintosh, Hillenburg, Klatt and LaDuke are just some of the expected entries for the race.

The Allison Brother's Racing website describes the ALRS,

"MANY DRIVERS WHO ARE IN THE SPRINT CUP SERIES, NATIONWIDE SERIES AND CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES ALONG WITH THE MANY LATE MODEL DIVISIONS AT LOCAL TRACKS AND LATE MODEL  TOURING SERIES HAVE COME THROUGH THE ALLISON LEGACY SERIES.  IF YOU JUST ARE LOOKING FOR AN ECONOMICAL TOURING SERIES AND WANT TO HAVE FUN RACING, YOU HAVE FOUND THE RIGHT PLACE. Daytona 500 Winner Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith, Brian Vickers, Joey Logano, David Ragan and Kelly Bires are among the Allison Legacy Drivers who are racing in NASCAR'S most prestigious series and now 2009 Allison Legacy Race Series Champion Timmy Hill has joined the ranks of the NASCAR Nationwide Series."

This month marks the start of the third year of racing in United States for Ryan Mackintosh. "What started off as a reward for good marks in school has certainly gone way beyond that,"commented Keith Mackintosh, Ryan's father from Amherst, NS. "Ryan certainly would not have been able to have these opportunities without the amazing support of  Chris "Woody" Woods and Christi Woods."

Mackintosh attends school in Concord, NC where he maintains a 95% average in all of his classes. He also works in the Chris Woods Racing shop on his own car as well as on other cars that race for the team. "It has been a great chance to learn,"stated the Amherst, NS driver. "It is hard to believe this is the start of my third year racing here."

Mackintosh began his racing career in karts on the tracks of Maritime Provinces. He first competed in the INEX Bandolero class at Scotia Speedworld in Halifax in 2008.

Mackintosh has raced the last two seasons for Chris Woods Racing. This past year Mackintosh finished the points season in 5th place in the United States and picked up his third straight Canadian Championship in the INEX Bandolero Outlaw Series.

In the 2011 season, Mackintosh will again spend some time in the Scotia Hyundai Bandolero but will focus most of his efforts on the Allison Legacy Touring Series. The series competes in the United States Southeast from March until December. The Canadian driver is also looking at opporunities to compete in the Northeast as well as at home in Canada.

Rain moved into North Carolina Saturday morning and forced the cancellation of Saturday night's schedule at OCS.

"I am dissappointed but we will take the car back to the shop and keep making improvements," commented a driver Ryan Mackintosh.

Race #2 will be rescheduled later in the season.

Rougemont, NC is home to Orange County Speedway which will see action this coming Saturday. The Allison Legacy Touring Series will roll into town and take on the legendary 3/8th oval.

"I really enjoy racing at Orange County,"commented Ryan Mackintosh, the Amherst, NS driver. "The track is fast and people there are great."

The Chris Woods Racing team had a solid out last week in Dillon, SC and is hoping to build on this with another good race this Saturday.

Mackintosh currently sits 7th in points and hopes to improve on this coming out of the second event of the season.

"I would have like to have picked up a couple more spots and we had the car to do it,"stated Mackintosh in a post race interview from the Chris Woods Racing hauler. The #03 Scotia Hyundai Legacy qualified 5th and spent the entire 50 lap race battling for spots between 5th and 8th. "We had some good battles on the track,"commented Mackintosh.

The 50 lap Allison Legacy Touring Series race took place at Dillon Speedway in Dillon, SC. This was the first race of the season for the series and Legacy race was a support race for the PASS 150 Carolina Clash.

"This is a tough track and I think our driver gained a lot of experience tonight,"commented team Co-owner Christi Woods. "We need to get the restarts a bit stronger and we will be alright." The first 26 laps of the race were caution free with the last half seeing the yellow flag thrown five times for minor incidents.

Mackintosh and Chris Woods Racing will be back in action next Saturday at Orange County Speedway, Rougemont, NC, next weekend before heading to Hickory Speedway in 3 weeks.

Dillon Motor Speedway had to cancel last week's event with the weather that moved into the South. The entire card was rescheduled for this coming weekend.

"We were dissappointed but another week gives us a chance to make more improvements,"commented team Co-owner Chris "Woody" Woods. "We had some issues but we did get a some laps in."

The team will travel back to South Carolina at the end of the week where the Allison Legacy Series will be paired with the Pro All Star Series late models n the card.