GEARY, NB – Just a few hours after rain forced postponement of the biggest race of Speedway 660’s season, fans returned to the Geary Woods on Monday morning to witness Travis Benjamin from Morrill, Maine, finally win his first-ever Re/Max 250 over two other American short track drivers . Benjamin battled Ben Rowe for the win in the last few laps, after duelling with Austin Theriault, who finished third, for much of the race. It will go down as one of the best Re/Max 250’s in the history of SpeedWeekend. Benjamin led 104 laps and won $20,200.00 in prize money. Joey Doiron, another American, was fourth while Lonnie Sommerville was the top Canadian at fifth. “Finally we got to win the big one at Speedway 660, this means so much to us, I love coming to this place and these great fans saw one heck of a race” said Benjamin from the Riverview Ford Victory Lane. “To win here in New Brunswick with an Irving logo on my hood is pretty special, they have supported me since 2000 and to win the Re/Max 250 right here in the heart of Irving country is a memory I’ll always cherish.” Ben Rowe really put the pressure on Benjamin in the last 20 laps. Rowe worked the low groove and the two Americans swapped the lead several times before Benjamin finally took the checkered flag. The race started with a 70 lap green flag run and took just a little over two hours to complete. “I love coming up here once or twice a year to run this car for Hal O’Neal and I really wanted to win the Re/Max 250 for Hal and his team and these awesome fans” said Rowe. “You gotta give Travis a lot of credit, he ran me clean and gave me lots of room on the low groove and as much as I wanted to win this thing he deserved the victory.” Austin Theriault, who led 94 laps, turned up the wick and passed Benjamin just before lap125 to claim the Modern Electric $1500 Half Way Challenge. Benjamin, winner of the 2014 Oxford 250 and Theriault, who finished second at Oxford, battled each other for the lead for much of the race. “This was my first time here and it was an awesome race, I love Speedway 660 because this is a driver’s race track and I’m putting the Re/Max 250 on my calendar for next year” said Theriault. “The hospitality here is tremendous, these fans love their racing and the folks at Speedway 660 really made me feel right at home here in New Brunswick.” The Re/Max 250 was scheduled for Sunday night, but rain forced postponement of the race until Monday morning. However, fans did see some incredible racing on Sunday afternoon. Dave O’Blenis, Dylan Gosbee, Austin Theriault and Kevin Moore won the Re/Max 250 qualifying heats. Matt Harris and Brady Creamer took the Last Chance races. A huge Sunday afternoon SpeedWeekend crowd also saw the DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock 50 lap feature. Geoff Tugwell out dueled Roger Slocum for the win, while Robert Raynes drove home third. TJ “Hollywood” Madore and Slocum won the Street Stock heat races. The Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters also raced on Sunday afternoon. Jeremy Doran, the 2014 Sharp Shooter champion, won the race. Curtis Collins was second and Matt Crocker was third. Doran and Collins won the Sharp Shooter heat races. SpeedWeekend Feature Results Sunday and Monday Re/Max 250 1. Travis Benjamin (Morrill, ME), 2. Ben Rowe (Beechridge, ME), 3. Austin Theriault, 4. Joey Doiron (Berwick, ME), 5. Lonnie Sommerville (Saint John, NB), 6. Kevin Moore (Fredericton, NB), 7. Sarah McKay (Quispamsis, ), 8. Paul Gahan (Lower St Mary’s, NB), 9. Derek Christie (Fredericton, NB), 10. Shawn Tucker (Killarney Road, NB), 11. Cole Boudreau (Chipman, NB), 12. Ken MacKenzie (Petitcodiac, NB), 13. Kirk Thibeau (Presque Isle, ME), 14. Dana Hamm (Fredericton, NB), 15. Greg Fahey (St. Stephen, NB), 16. Chris Duncan (Hampton, NB), 17. Glyn Nott (Burton, NB), 18. Matt Harris (Fredericton Jct., NB), 19. Dylan Gosbee (Cornwall, ), 20. Dave O’Blenis (Boundary Creek, NB), 21. John Flemming (Willamwood, NS), 22. Steve Halpin (Saint John, NB), 23. John Rankin (St.Martins, NB), 24. Cassius Clark (Farmington, ME), 25. Brady Creamer (Miramichi, NB), 26. Jason Carnahan (Moncton, NB), 27. Michael Kyle (Sussex, NB), 28. Robbie MacLean. DMR Auto Sales and Service Street Stock 50 Lap Feature 1. Geoff Tugwell (Moncton, NB), 2. Roger Slocum (Chipman, NB), 3. Robert Raynes (Summerville, NB), 4. Luc McLaughlin (Geary, NB), 5. Martin Landry (Shediac, NB), 6. Heidi Cooper (Hanwell, NB), 7. Destiny Enkel (Saint John, NB), 8. Andre Chamberlain (Fredericton, ), 9. Peter Martin (Saint John, NB), 10. Rick Cashol (Saint John, NB), 11. chuck mercer, 12. Adam Zalot, 13. Gary Wade (Hampton, ), 14. T.J. Madore (Geary, NB), 15. Mark Raynes, 16. Chuck Morton (Lincoln, NB), 17. Shawn Hyslop (St. Stephen, NB), 18. Ryan Donovan, 19. Benji Ruff (Carlow, NB), 20. Eric Matthew, 21. Tyler Seveck (Nackawic, NB), 22. Ryan Raynes. Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter 25 Lap Feature 1. Jeremy Doran (Fredericton, NB), 2. Curtis Collins, 3. Matt Crocker (Fredericton, NB), 4. Kyle MacKinnon, 5. Kyle Boudreau, 6. Neil Miousse (Fredericton, NB), 7. Ira Farnell (Lincoln, NB), 8. Mark Raynes, 9. Bryan Suttie (Keswick, NB), 10. Darren Beatty (Lakeville Corner, NB), 11. Ryan Richard, 12. Scott Goodine (Bear Island, NB), 13. Jarrett Westin, 14. Adam Gavel, 15. Evan Morgan (Fredericton, NB), Four Time ENDURO Champ Crowned Jesse Madore won the SpeedWeekend ENDURO 200 race, but Pat Sharpe drove away with the championship. Madore, who dominated Monday’s ENDURO, won two of the three races this year but it was Sharpe who took the title by the slim margin of two points. “This is probably the sweetest of the four championships we’ve won because we really had to dig deep and make an extra special effort to get it done here today” said Sharpe, who finished second to Madore in the final ENDURO race of the season. “I must have had about twelve flat tires today and my crew kept getting me back out on the track and their effort is the reason why we were able to nail down this fourth title.” Kim and Courtney Barton drove the Holstein Express to a third place finish behind Madore and Sharpe. Courtney also picked up a two hundred dollar bonus for spinning the most cars out in the last 50 lap segment of the race. “I run a Sharp Shooter here at Speedway 660 every week, but ENDURO racing is where the real fun is” said Courtney Barton. “I’ll be back here again next year in an ENDURO and I’m gonna try to move up to the Street Stock Division too.” Madore won all three segments of the ENDURO race on Monday, but he just couldn’t shake Woodstock’s Pat Sharpe. Had Sharpe finished third in the race, the two would have tied for first in the points and Madore would have won the tie breaker. “First off, congratulations to Pat and his awesome team they are true champions and deserve this title” said Madore. “I’m proud of our team too because we won two of the three ENDURO races this year and missed the championship by just two points.” The ENDURO 200 wrapped up SpeedWeekend and the 2014 season at Speedway 660. The 2015 season will begin in May with the Riverview Ford Season Opener. SpeedWeekend ENDURO 200 Results Jesse Madore, Pat Sharpe, Kim & Courtney Barton, Rheal Kenny, Nathan Gallant, Jeff Killam, Stephen Jensen, Richard Caissie, Roger Slocum & Rodney Ness, Matt Caissie, Steven Thibodeau, Shelby Hughes, Josh Barton, Dale Hathaway, Dale Gilbert, Marcus Stephenson, Chris Moore, Chalie Raynes. RELATED: Quick Results… GEARY, NB – Maine’s Travis Benjamin took the checkers in a rare Monday morning running of the Re/Max 250. Two other Maine racers. Ben Rowe and Austin Theriault, finished second and third, respectively. The race was postponed from Sunday evening after wet weather moved in over the oval just as the 250 was about to begin. Results are unofficial at the time of posting – stay tuned for official and complete results once available from the track. The race, which started at 10 a.m., took just under two and half hours to complete. Benjamin will take home $20,200 for his win (unofficial total). Cars sit on the grid awaiting the start of the Re/Max 250 – just as rain started to fall (photo – Ken MacIsaac) Rain Postpones Re/Max 250 to Monday Morning… Rain forced Speedway 660 officials to postpone the Re/Max 250 on Sunday evening. Precipitation started to fall just before the start of the feature; the rest of the show planned for Sunday was completed. The race has been rescheduled for 10 AM Monday morning. Weather permitting, the ENDURO 200 will follow the Re/Max 250 Monday afternoon.
