Mini Stock Tour Ready for Round 8/9 at Speedway 660

The Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour will visit New Brunswick for the final time in 2019 this Saturday night when the Series heads to Speedway 660 in Geary. The Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50 is the penultimate round of the 2019 season for the Four Cylinder Honda touring series. The 50-lap feature on Saturday is a part of SpeedWeekend 2019 at Speedway 660. Racing begins on August 31st at 5:30 pm.

Dave Matthews (Kennetcook, NS) is in firm control of the championship point lead on the Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour. He has won the previous two Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50 events at Speedway 660. With those two statistics alone, one would think he’s a sure thing to win on Saturday evening. Matthews though has fought mechanical gremlins over the last three weeks though. After motor and electrical issues have plagued the No. 99 in the Scotia Speedworld local Thunder division, the luck followed him to Riverside International Speedway where he was credited with a 16th place run. The only good news for Matthews is that his nearest championship contenders in Neil Miousse (Kentville, NS) and Jesse Deveau (Greenwood, NS) both struggled as well, finishing outside the top five in the 50-lap feature at Riverside.

Matthews does not want to falter though since the battle for the runner-up spot behind the No. 99 Honda Civic is a four-way dance. Miousse is second in the standings by only one point over Deveau, who has won twice in August alone. Cody Byrne (Orwell Cove, PE) finds himself only ten points behind second with Drew MacEachern (Dartmouth, NS) only nine points behind Byrne. All told, there are 19 points between second and fifth in the standings and with only two races to go, neither of the four wants to get lost in the Geary woods en route to the finish on Saturday.

The Rookie of the Year battle took another turn after Riverside International Speedway two weeks ago. Darrell Hulme (Sydney, NS) now finds himself in control of the freshman battle with Shay MacPhee (Yarmouth, NS) and Stephan Somerset (Nictaux, NS) playing chase. Hulme’s lead is 50 points and while that might seem to be a comfortable margin, it only takes one small rookie mistake to find a driver in a hole with only two races remaining in 2019.

James Sample (Antigonish, NS) and the JLS Autosport team will be making the trek to Speedway 660 for their inaugural SpeedWeekend adventure. Sample’s teammate Alex Landry has done the bulk of the driving this season for the team but with the former NAPA Sportsman Series driver back behind the wheel, the team is aspiring for big things out of the Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50 on Saturday. The team enters 10th in the championship standings.

The home province will be represented on the weekend by Mike Edwards (Penobsquis, NB) and Chris Garnett (Havelock, NB). Both experienced mechanical issues early in this 2019 season and the pair will both be looking to catch a break to get into Victory Lane at the end of 50-laps on Saturday.

The longest haul award for any SpeedWeekend competitor looks to go to Will Gibbons. The Cambridge, Ontario driver will haul east to make his Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour debut aboard his No. 10 Norm’s Fast Lube Honda CRX. While he’s raced this season at Flamboro Speedway, Sunset Speedway, and Sauble Speedway, this will be his first trek to the Canadian Maritimes and to the Geary woods for SpeedWeekend 2019.

The driver who qualifies on the pole position on Saturday evening will be the first driver offered the Giles Auto World Pole Challenge. The first driver to accept the challenge will fall to the back of the field and pick up cash bonuses based off where they finish the event. The EIT Race Radios Hard Charger and RockAuto.com Hard Luck Awards will also be offered during every event on the Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour.

SpeedWeeekend 2019 kicks off on Friday, August 30th with the popular weekend corn boil, bonfire and pre-event concert featuring The Walking Contradictions with DJ Dale Case spinning tunes throughout the evening. The festivities get underway on Friday evening at 7 pm.

The racing action on SpeedWeekend 2019 begins on Saturday, August 31st at 5:30 pm with the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100 as the opening act for the two-day short track showcase. The Maritime League of Legends Tour will contest INEX sanctioned action on Saturday a 50-lap INEX National Qualifier for Legends and the 25-lap Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandolero Blast Part One. Joining the Sportsman, Legend and Bandolero competitors on Saturday will be the Passione Flooring & Interiors East Coast Mini Stock Tour racing in the Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange 50.

The racing action gets underway at 2 pm on Sunday, September 1st with qualifying for the 19th Annual McLaughlin Roof Trusses 250. In addition to the Pro Stock action, the DMR Auto Street Stock, Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter, and Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandolero divisions will be in action along with the Atlantic Modified Tour.

Advance tickets and campsites are available now by calling the Speedway 660 office at (506) 454-7223.

Fans are encouraged to follow along with the ECMST on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ECMiniStockTour. You can also visit the ECMST website for complete series and event information at EastCoastMiniStockTour.com.

About Passione Flooring and Interiors:
Passione Flooring and Interiors offers the highest quality of products from the Quality Sterling Group. Whether it is tile, carpet, hardwood, laminate or the world-class service and installation, they can do it all! Their new state of the art location is now open at 64 Burbridge Avenue in Dartmouth’s Burnside Industrial Park. Visit them today or call (902) 832-9091 for expert advice on your next flooring and interior project! The Quality Sterling Group line of products and services can be found online at PassioneFlooring.com.

About the East Coast Mini Stock Tour:
The East Coast Mini Stock Tour was formed in December 2016 to give Mini Stock racing in the Maritime Provinces a unified home. Featuring four-cylinder Honda models, the series will host events at six oval race tracks throughout Atlantic Canada in their nine-race season. For complete information on the East Coast Mini Stock Tour, please visit EastCoastMiniStockTour.com

About Speedway 660:
Speedway 660 is one of Canada’s premier stock car racing facilities. Located in New Brunswick’s Fredericton region, it attracts race teams and fans from the Maritimes, New England, and Quebec. The Speedway 660 racing season runs from mid-May until Labour Day Weekend. SpeedWeekend, one of the most prestigious short track events in eastern North America, wraps up Speedway 660’s racing season.

Source – series communications