Revving up for Riverside

The News
PICTOU - Upwards of 8,000 race fans are expected to jam into Riverside International Speedway today for the IWK 250, the biggest event on the CARQUEST calendar.
And Pictou County drivers Rollie MacDonald and George Kozskulics will be looking to get into victory lane.
McDonald ran the fastest lap in testing on Thursday night, clocking in at 42.205 seconds, just ahead of NASCAR's Regan Smith, who's making his second appearance at Riverside.
But as crew chief Tony Russell did some minor adjustments to his car on Friday afternoon, MacDonald, a 64-year-old veteran driver, knows that race day is usually a different thing altogether.
"I've been good in practice before, then you go back on race day and things can change. Every day is different in racing."
MacDonald, the 2005 points champion, hasn't had a good year by his standards, but "hopefully, we're gonna be good Saturday," he added.
Kozskulics will be racing for just the third time in 2008. He's hoping for some good fortune tonight at Riverside to turn things around tonight. "The cars is good, we just need some luck."
By Friday afternoon, the motor homes already filled the main campground at Riverside as fans started hunkering down for race day. "Everything's looking good so far," he said.
Lonnie Sommerville is fifth in the CARQUEST points series in 2008.
Sommerville has no wins this year, but seven Top 5s in as many events, including two second-place finishes.
He said the CARQUEST regulars are looking forward to running against NASCAR drivers like Smith and Aric Almirola tonight.
"If we're in equal cars, there's no reason the rest of us can't run with them," said the Saint John resident, as he tinkered with his car at MacDonald's garage in Pictou.
By the time the main event starts, dusk could be falling on Riverside, adding to the atmosphere at the Antigonish County track, which underwent major upgrades in 2007.
"It's fun in front of a big crowd and this is the big race for us," MacDonald said.