Petty Raceway to Kick Off 2020 Season on Saturday

RIVER GLADE, NB – The stock car racing season in New Brunswick has received the green flag and engines will roar to life on Saturday at Petty International Raceway. The event dubbed as the “Kick the COVID-19 Pandemic” will see non-point racing action in five divisions, highlighted by an A.E. McKay Builders Late Model Sportsman 69-lap feature. The Street Stock, Mister Transmission Mini Stock, Kings County Performance Women on Wheels and Leisure Days RV Bandolero classes will also contest their first racing events of 2020 on the high banked bullring. Racing begins on Saturday, June 27th at 4pm.

With recent restrictions lifted last Friday in the “Yellow Phase” of recovery for the Province of New Brunswick, fans will be permitted to attend and there is no limit to the amount of crew members a team can bring to the race track. There will be social distancing measures in effect at the facility, including every second row in the grandstands being closed and groups having to maintain a minimum six foot distance between them. A full list of updated policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic can be found at www.PettyRaceway.com.

The Late Model Sportsman race will be the first for the division in Atlantic Canada in 2020. The pre-registration list for the event sits at over a dozen drivers and includes several big names in the New Brunswick short track scene. Former track champions Brady Creamer (Miramichi) and Kenny MacKenzie Jr. (Salisbury) have signaled their intent to compete this Saturday. Dave O’Blenis and his daughters Alexandra and Courtney (all from Boundary Creek) will look to add to their impressive racing resumes with a win in the Season Opener. Neal Crawford (Salisbury), Justin Beers (Moncton) and Marcel LeBlanc (Bouctouche) are former Sportsman feature winners at Petty International Raceway and will look to strike first on Saturday. Luc McLaughlin (Geary), Clark Moore (Saint John), Koven Lewis (Salisbury), Nick Cudmore (Petitcodiac) and rookie Logan Power (Riverview) complete the stout list of early entries for Saturday.

A strong list of 15 Street Stocks are pre-entered for Saturday’s return to racing with the Street Stock portion presented by Westwood Estates. Several Provincial track championships are represented in the field, led by two-time and reigning Petty Raceway Street Stock titlist Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois). Former Speedway 660 track champions Shawn Hyslop (St. Stephen) and Roger Slocum (Chipman) are looking at making the haul to Petty Raceway as is North Shore standout Brad MacLean (Miramichi).

Ryan Richard (Douglas), Adam Lemon (Lutes Mountain), Scott Habkirk (Petitcodiac), Patricia Taylor (Salisbury) and Caleb Layton (Moncton) will all try to defend their home turf in the 50-lap main event. They’ll all be challenged by some of the best in New Brunswick trying to start the Summer off with a win. James Matchett (Miramichi) is always a threat to win whenever he slides through the window of a race car. Tristin Harris (Harvey) enters his freshman Street Stock season off a Sharp Shooters championship and is joined by Caleb Urquhart (Fredericton) in their maiden voyage in the class on Saturday. Danny Bourque (St. Stephen), Riley Goodwin (McAdam) and sophomore Jamie Jardine (Napan) will look to write the headlines for themselves on Saturday.

The Mister Transmission Mini Stock division has 18 pre-entries for the season, led by former track champion Rob Poirier (Irishtown). Poirier picked up a victory last weekend at Speedway Miramichi but was challenged all the way by BJ Gillespie (Nackawic) and early by Matt Martin (Haneytown). All three are entered for this Saturday and should give fans a great show after the appetizer round last Saturday. Chris Garnett (Havelock) has his car ready to go for the 2020 season and Ryan McKnight (Sussex), Mike Edwards (Penobsquis) and Ryan Crawford (Salisbury) are among the pre-entries that will be on their game when the green flag flies on the season.

Entries also continue to trickle in for the Leisure Days RV Bandolero and Kings County Performance Women on Wheels races. Both divisions are sure to see action packed events when the track goes hot on Saturday. Entries are based on pre-registrations for the season and are subject to change without notice.

Grandstand admission prices for Saturday’s event are $20 for adults and $10 for youth aged eight to 18, while children seven years of age and under will be admitted free. Pit admission is $25 and is restricted to those 16 years of age and older. Pit gates for competitors open at 11am, grandstand gates open for spectators at 2pm with racing getting underway at 4pm. There will be an open practice for competitors on Friday evening from 5pm to dusk. Cost for the Friday night practice is $10 per person.

An updated schedule of events for Petty International Raceway following Saturday’s race is expected to be released soon. For complete, up-to-date information on Petty International Raceway, please visit PettyRaceway.com, follow us on Twitter (@PettyRaceway_NB) and like us on Facebook (@PettyInternationalRaceway).

About Petty International Raceway:
Petty International Raceway is located on Highway 106, just 40 km west of Moncton, New Brunswick. To learn more about Petty International Raceway, its location, admission, policies, history, and more, please visit www.pettyraceway.com.

source – track communications