Special to The Record
Sandy Livingston Jr. is a veteran driver with a career that began in Go-Karts. Sandy was a true champion, even in those days, capturing
titles all along the way. At the tender age of fifteen, (they lied about his age in order to race), Sandy entered the Street Stock wars at River Glade Speedway, before switching over to the Centre for Speed facility in Shediac.
Championship honours again fell his way and Sandy then graduated to the Sportsman class, where he campaigned successfully for several years. In 2004, Sandy moved up again, this time to Pro Stock, as Centre for Speed was starting a weekly class in this division. Although the class itself was less than successful, Sandy kept his foot on the pedal, again taking the championship title.
When this class folded at Centre for Speed, Sandy moved on to the Carquest Pro Stock Tour, where he has campaigned ever since. The Championship lies just beyond his grasp at this point due to a lack of corporate sponsorship and funding in a competition where the average sponsorship total runs around 25,000 a year while Sandy has been racing with a budget around the three thousand dollar mark. Still, the
Springhiller has always finished the season near or in the top half of the field.
When Sandy turned to Pro Stock back in 2004, he was the only driver in Canada to compete with a crate motor. This is a prebuilt and sealed
engine straight from the factory. Since then, over half the cars on the Pro Stock Tour have turned to crate motors. Sansdy was awarded a
certificate from the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for his pioneership in crate engines in the Fall of 2004. Sandy was also the first to win a
race in Canada, using a crate engine.
The 2009 season was a nightmare for the Sandy Livingston Jr. Racing Team and there were no tears shed when it finished. The season began with little sponsorship, and although Paizano’s Pizza, and Pharmasave once again got on board as sponsors, it simply wasn’t enough.
The motor was way down in horsepower, the result of five previous campaigns on the Carquest Pro Stock Tour, and although everything else
was working the best it ever had, there is no substitute for horsepower at this racing level.
Even so, the Livingston team was holding its own through the first eight races, sitting mid pack in the standings, due in large part to their dogged determination to succeed.
Unfortunately, the race in PEI became their undoing as the car started breaking down early in the practice session, forcing them to park it
back on the trailer as they were unable to diagnose the source of the problem.
Their first assumption was that the motor had finally let go, ending the season, as there were no funds to replace it. It was later determined
that the problem was actually electrical but without funds, the season was still over.
Compounding the problem was that the last installments of the little sponsorship they did have, was also cancelled because they weren’t
racing, creating a real catch 22 situation.
As the 2010 season rapidly approaches, little has changed except that they have managed to repair the electrical system. The motor is still in
need of replacing and the body needs work to bring it up to spec.
Tires are another big problem, as the tire bill for a top running team is almost six thousand alone. Transportation and race fuel add up to
another three or four thousand dollars a year.
The Carquest Pro Stock Tour is considered the fastest and most successful tour in Canada but as with any sport, the higher the level of
competition, the higher the price of competing.
Livingston Racing is the only Cumberland County based and owned Pro Stock team and desperately needs your support. If you or your business would like to get into the sport of Stock Car Racing at a competitive level, this is definitely the right time and Livingston Racing is the right team. Contact Sandy Livingston Sr at 763-2239 or Bruce Langille at 257-2997 for more information on a sponsorship package that will suit you.
Remember, time is moving fast and your quick response would be greatly appreciated.
