"It’s our Daytona 500': Cape Breton’s Shawn Waterfield returns to IWK 250 after missing in 2025

Shawn Waterfield sat in the stands with his family and friends watching IWK 250 weekend at Riverside International Speedway in James River last summer. A well-known driver in the racing community, Waterfield elected not to enter his car in the NAPA/Henry’s Autopro Sportsman 100 as part of the biggest weekend in the stock car racing [...]

Shawn Waterfield sat in the stands with his family and friends watching IWK 250 weekend at Riverside International Speedway in James River last summer. A well-known driver in the racing community, Waterfield elected not to enter his car in the NAPA/Henry’s Autopro Sportsman 100 as part of the biggest weekend in the stock car racing in Atlantic Canada. “To be completely honest, it was awesome to see it on the spectator side of it, but as a driver, I felt like a big sooky baby,” laughed Waterfield.

“Last year was the first year in 12 years that I didn’t participate and that’s what put the kick in the butt to say I’m not doing that ever again.” Waterfield, a product of Sydney and now residing in Dominion, will be on the track for the sportsman 100 on Friday night, competing against a field of 32 as of Thursday morning. “Because it’s such a prestigious race, it’s always such a big field of cars,” said Waterfield.

“There’re a lot of great competitors in the field, I raced against probably half of them throughout the years. I’m looking forward to getting back on the track with them.” While he didn’t compete in IWK 250 weekend last year, Waterfield did make it on the track with the No. 23 for the annual Caper Memorial weekend at Bud’s Speedway in Sydney last October.

The car sat in the garage during the winter months with no work done to it before eventually being moved to Waterfield’s longtime friend Ronnie MacKay’s garage. MacKay and his brother Kent, along with Waterfield, have been working on the vehicle for the last month to have it ready for this weekend. “They took the car and checked it from front to back and did a whole nut and bolt check and fixed everything that had to be fixed and provided the new set up that Riverside requires versus when you’re here at Bud’s Speedway,” said Waterfield, noting MacKay is his spotter during the race.

“Ronnie is retired now and does this for a small living and for a handful of guys around here. He maintains their cars and checks their cars over, so it’s a small business that he created after his retirement, and he made sure he did mine as a favour.” HIGH COSTS Waterfield, who began his racing career in 1998 at Bud’s Speedway, recognized that the cost of participating in a race like the sportsman 100 was part of the reason he decided not to compete last summer.

“If you don’t have deep pockets in this world, it’s a lot of your own money,” said Waterfield. “Just your tires for that one race are upwards of $1,500 per race. It’s no gas, no entrance fee, no travel fees, you didn’t even buy a Happy Meal, it’s just the tires alone.”

Despite the high costs, Waterfield has received plenty of support from friends and local businesses, which has led to his return to the track for the prestigious event this year. “Some really great people jumped in and said they would be willing to help, and it wouldn’t be done without them,” said Waterfield. “My wife, of course, she has to be on board, it takes the family to agree to this.

You’re gone four days. You leave Wednesday and you don’t come back until Sunday, so it’s the entire experience you’re committing to.” While he wasn’t in the race in 2025, he had the opportunity to watch his friend Lynden MacDougall capture the sportsman 100 title.

MacDougall is registered to defend his championship this year as well. “I was very proud of him,” said Waterfield. “He did everything right.

He raced the race exactly how he should have, he didn’t miss a beat and he hit every point.” Waterfield, who won the then-NAPA sportsman championship as the top driver in Atlantic Canada in 2016, has expectations for the race, but the main one is to finish it. “I hope to stay on the board and be in the top 10,” said Waterfield.

“The first goal of every race is to finish it with all four wheels intact and the body still on the car. After taking some time off, you still have to knock the rust off yourself, so I hope to finish the race in the top 10, and shoot for the top five, depending on how many incidents happen throughout the night and provided that I’m not part of them.” Waterfield, who never won the sportsman 100 but has a third-place podium finish, believes patience will be key in the race.

“You can’t win the race from the first lap,” said Waterfield. “There are 100 laps to figure out the way through. Starting position is a big thing.

When we do the heat races, it determines the field for the main race, so a good finish in the qualifiers will provide you with a better starting position for the 100 laps, but the biggest thing is patience. “It’s our Daytona 500 race.” Waterfield and MacDougall won’t be the only Cape Breton drivers on the track for the sportsman 100.

Kyle Reid and Chris Reid, both originally of Howie Centre, will also be on the track. Dennis Nickerson, a familiar name at Bud’s Speedway, from Marshy Hope will also be in the field. Waterfield and the sportsman drivers were scheduled to have practice on Thursday afternoon.

Practice will also be held on Friday afternoon prior to the races, which begin at 7 p.m. The Superior Foundation/Piccott Care Legends Tour 50 will also take place on Friday night. There were no Cape Breton entries in that competition as of press time. IWK 250 RACE

The IWK 250, presented by Steve Lewis, is a community fundraiser for the IWK Foundation in Halifax. It attracts pro stock drivers from across Atlantic Canada as well as celebrity drivers. Bubba Pollard, an American professional stock car driver who has competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, ARCA Racing Series, and the ACRA Menards Series East, will be the celebrity driver again this year.

The last three IWK 250 champions will also be among the field this year. Craig Slaunwhite of Terence Bay, N.S., won the title in 2023 and 2024 will compete as well as Cory Hall of Plymouth, N.S., who won the caution-free event last July at the high banks of Riverside. Other well-known drivers in the field include Dylan Blenkhorn of Truro, Donald Chisholm of Antigonish, Jarrett Butcher of Porter’s Lake, Ashton Tucker of Miramichi, N.B., and Nicholas Naugle of Dartmouth.

As of publication time, 25 drivers were registered for the event. The Reid brothers are also scheduled to race in the IWK 250. Kyle will be driving the No. 42, while Chris will be behind the wheel of the No. 31.

When asked his prediction for the IWK 250, Waterfield said there are six or seven drivers he expects to be in contention for the title. Like many others, he hopes to see a close race. “You don’t want to see a car seven cars ahead for the last 20 laps and just absolutely owning it,” said Waterfield.

“You want to see a battle, a battle to the point where the two cars are not going to wreck, but they’re going to have a whole lot of marks on the doors.” The IWK 250 heat races are slated for Saturday at 3 p.m. The race itself is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.

On Wednesday night, the pro stock Dash 4 Cash was held at Riverside International Speedway to kick off the events. Overall, 13 cars were registered, including the Reid brothers. The results were not available at publication time.