Speedway 660 SpeedWeekend Preview September 1, 2021 Regional While all the buzz centers around the 21st Annual RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock 250 this Sunday, September 5th at Speedway 660, there is plenty of motorsport action to keep fans on the edge of their seats all weekend. From when the green flag drops on Friday night, September 3rd for the SpeedWeekend Kick-Off leading to Sunday evening’s main attraction, well over a hundred teams will have left their best efforts on the track in hopes of picking up a SpeedWeekend victory. In all, 11 support features between eight different classes and sanctioning bodies will be contested over a three-day span prior to Tim Elliott waving the green flag on the Pro Stock feature on Sunday. What can fans expect on track this weekend in Geary? Here’s a brief preview of the support class action on deck at Speedway 660. FRIDAY NIGHT – SPEEDWEEKEND KICK OFF – GREEN FLAG AT 7:30 PM The Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter division has done nothing but thrill fans this season at Speedway 660. From action-packed features to exciting finishes and even one caution-free affair in August, the class has put forth a unique brand of racing while maintaining both quality of racing and quantity of race cars on track. In six races, both Matt Martin (Geary, NB) and BJ Gillespie (Harvey, NB) each have a pair of feature victories. Martin is the most recent winner, taking home the Gunslinger 50 two weeks ago while Gillespie paces the championship points with one race to go on September 25th. Daniel Atyeo (Chipman, NB) and Malcolm Suley (Clarendon, NB) also have feature victories in their back pocket. In total, 34 different drivers have raced at least once in the division in 2021. The Sharp Shooters will be competing in a 35-lap feature to open SpeedWeekend 2021. The Atlantic Modified Tour will shakedown for their SpeedWeekend Sunday feature with a 35-lap event on Friday evening. Chris Wilson (South Esk, NB) is the reigning champion of the Modified Friday feature and was a winner at the track in July during the Chess Piece Café 35. The RE/MAX East Coast Elite Pro Stocks will take to the track for a one-hour “Happy Hour” practice session. This is the second consecutive year for the event and gives Pro Stock teams a testing session under the lights in similar conditions to what the 250 will be run in on Sunday evening. The evening concludes with a Turn Five concert featuring popular local band Hazzard. The 19+ concert will take place in the Turn Five Beer Garden outside of Turn Two. Admission to the concert is included with your Friday night pass and is scheduled to begin at around 10:30 pm. Grandstand admission to the Friday night show is $5. SATURDAY NIGHT – SPORTSMAN SHOWCASE – GREEN FLAG AT 5:30 PM The Late Model Sportsman Showcase highlights the Saturday evening, September 4th show. The Sportsman Showcase is typically one of the jewels of the weekend and will test driver and equipment over 125 green flag laps on Saturday. Alexandra O’Blenis (Boundary Creek, NB) has to be the favorite on paper heading into the race. Of the five Late Model Sportsman races contested at the track in 2021, she has won three of them including the Firecracker 150 in July. In addition, O’Blenis has won some big races around the Province and will look to put her name on a SpeedWeekend Sportsman win on Saturday night. She will be in tough though from several Sportsman standouts, including the likes of most recent winner at the track Clark Moore (Saint John, NB), reigning track champion Curtis Collins (Barnesville, NB), 2021 feature winner Richard Atkinson (Geary, NB) and the defending SpeedWeekend champion – and Alexandra’s sister – Courtney O’Blenis (Boundary Creek, NB). A full entry list was unavailable at press time but early indications point towards around 20 cars making their way to Speedway 660 this Saturday night. The Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour will be making their annual pilgrimage to Speedway 660 for the Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50. The race is the fourth round of the Series and will see several of the top Mini Stock teams from the Maritimes make the trip to SpeedWeekend. Defending Series champion Dave Matthews (Nine Mile River, NS) and Cody Byrne (Orwell Cove, PE) will look to continue their battle they had here in 2020 with a season long championship hanging in the balance. With the Joes Racing Products and CannaConnect Hometown Hero Award giving bonuses to local Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter teams to compete and $200 in the pot for the Giles Auto World Pole Challenge, there is some extra cash on the line for teams on Saturday evening. Saturday’s racing card will once again be anchored by an extended distance Sportsman show as a 125-lap feature for the class in on tap. The Maritime League of Legends Tour Cross Roads Cycles 40, Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50 and the Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandolero Blast play support to the Sportsman Showcase. The start time for the Saturday SpeedWeekend show is 5:30pm. DOUBLE DUTY – MARITIME LEAGUE OF LEGENDS AND TIM’S CORNER MOTORSPORTS BANDOLERO BLAST The Maritime League of Legends Tour and the Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandolero Blast will compete in two events on the weekend with racing both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The Cross Road Cycles Twin 40s will serve as the fifth and sixth rounds of the popular touring series. After a stop at Oyster Bed Speedway last Saturday night, Craig MacDonald (Waverley, NS) has taken the point lead by three markers over Sam Rogers (Lower Onslow, NS). Speedway 660 has been MacDonald’s Achille’s Heel and will finally look to break through this weekend while Rogers is a three-time Bandolero Blast Champion at the track. Scotia Speedworld Weekly Series point leader Danny Chisholm (Canning, NS) is the most recent winner on the Series after taking the Island ICF and Toymaster Motorsports 50 last Saturday evening over MacDonald. A dozen Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandoleros will look to race for the Bandolero Blast Championship Trophy. The championship trophy, produced in 2021 by Plasma Works Metal Art, will go to the top drivers between the two features combined on the weekend with qualifying times from Sunday being the tiebreaker, if necessary. The 2019 TCM Bandolero Blast Champion Chase MacKay (Bear Cove, NS) leads the field into the competition but with over a dozen cars expected for the event, it will be a hotly contested two days on a track the field only sees once a year. Scotia Speedworld and Oyster Bed Speedway point leader Tanton Wooldridge (Summerside, PE) won the Saturday feature in 2020 at Speedway 660. Ayden Christensen (Windsor Junction, NS), Teagan Dempsey (Fredericton, NB), and Caden Tufts (Timberlea, NS) are among the pre-entries that have seen Outlaw wins around the Maritimes during the 2021 season. SUNDAY AFTERNOON – $1,000 TO WIN D. GILLESPIE & SON TRUCKING STREET STOCK 100 – GREEN FLAG AT 2 PM Sure, there’s a $10,000 to win Pro Stock 250 and all kinds of prestige to talk about on Sunday, but we can chat about that later. Let’s shed some light on the thunder leading up to the 21st edition of the RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock 250. D. Gillespie & Son Trucking has put up some extra coin for the DMR Auto Street Stocks and created another big race in the middle of “big race” season for the class. With the Ricky Bobby 150 looming large at the end of the month, the Street Stocks will race for 100-laps on Sunday afternoon with $1,000 on the line for the winner. Shawn Hyslop (St. Stephen, NB) is the most recent winner and shares the distinction of being the only two-time winner in the class at Speedway 660 in 2021 with Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois, NB). Cormier was the winner of the Maritime Street Stock Series Urquhart Construction 100 ahead of James Matchett (Miramichi, NB) and Riley Goodwin (McAdam, NB), who is positioned to win the 2021 DMR Auto Street Stock track title as long as he checks into the next two races. The Heart of a Champion Hot Rod Classics powered by Conrad Bros. will make their Speedway 660 debut with the Clash of the Classics presented by Steele GMC Buick and Fredericton Hyundai. The Hot Rods have visited four tracks this season and the Series has produced three different winners including Tylor Hawes (Porter’s Lake, NS), Jeff Ainslie (Halifax, NS), and Stacey Clements (Timberlea, NS). The Atlantic Modified Tour will return on Sunday for the Northside Auto Parts 35, the eighth round of the point championship on their 2021 title chase. In three points races at Speedway 660, the Series has seen three different winners in Yves McCray (Neguac, NB), Chris Wilson (South Esk, NB), and Joe Hoyt (Waasis, NB). Fourteen drivers are expected for Sunday’s race. For a complete preview, visit AtlanticModifieds.com. A preview of the 21st Annual RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock 250 is expected late Thursday afternoon as officials continue to put together an entry list for the event. SpeedWeekend 2021 will be capped on Sunday, September 5th with the 21st Annual RE/MAX East Coast Elite Pro Stock 250. The 250 is expected to draw the best talent from across Atlantic Canada to compete for the $10,000 top prize. The Atlantic Modified Tour will be back to contest their eighth scheduled point race on their 2021 season. The DMR Auto Street Stocks will race in a 100-lap feature presented by D. Gillespie & Sons Trucking. The Maritime League of Legends Tour Cross Road Cycles 40, Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandolero Blast, and the Heart of a Champion Hot Rod Classics Clash of the Classics presented by Steele GMC Buick and Fredericton Hyundai will round out the Sunday show. Qualifying begins at 2 pm on Sunday, September 5th. Advance tickets and campsites for SpeedWeekend 2021 are selling fast and are available now by calling the Speedway 660 office. For more information about SpeedWeekend 2021, or any event at Speedway 660, visit Speedway660.com, like @Speedway660 on Facebook, or call the Speedway 660 Raceline at (506) 454-7223. About Speedway 660:Speedway 660 is one of Canada’s premier stock car racing facilities. Located in New Brunswick’s Fredericton region, it has attracted race teams and fans from the Maritimes, New England, and Quebec since 1994. The Speedway 660 racing season runs from mid-May until late September. SpeedWeekend, one of the most prestigious short track events in eastern North America, is the marquee event of the Speedway 660 season on Labour Day Weekend.
