SLMS Island-Bound for Round Three of Six on ’24 SEason June 11, 2024 Regional OYSTER BED BRIDGE, PE – With the halfway point of the season approaching at an incredible rate, competitors on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series prepare to haul across the Confederation Bridge to tackle Oyster Bed Speedway for a Father’s Day Weekend spectacular. It will be the Universal Truck and Trailer 150 – slated to go green on Saturday at 6 pm – and it promises to deliver another exhilarating display of speed and skill from the best Super Late Model competitors around. Past races at Oyster Bed Speedway have been thrilling and dramatic – but predominantly controlled by Prince Edward Island stars, who led every lap of feature competition at the ¼ mile bullring in 2023. Since the last trip to Oyster Bed Speedway in August, no Prince Edward Island driver has claimed the $4000 grand prize for winning an Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series event, and they will be hungry to try and end a dominant streak out of New Brunswick drivers. A twenty-four (24) car field is expected – with the entry list being relatively evenly split between Prince Edward Island and mainland drivers – setting up a cross-bridge war over 150 laps in the Universal Truck and Trailer 150! Fast Facts Date: Saturday June 15th, 2024 | Start Time: 6:00pm Pit Gates Open: 11:30am | Grandstands Open: 4:00pm Event: Universal Truck and Trailer 150 /Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series Round Three Track: Oyster Bed Speedway Location: 4751 Route 6, Oyster Bed Bridge, Prince Edward Island, Canada Track Size: 1/4 Mile | Race Distance: 150 Laps Support Classes: Crossroads Maritime League of Legends, A&S Scrap Metals Street Stock Super Series, Moore Well Drilling 4-Cylinder Outlaws Race Day Tickets: Purchased at the Oyster Bed Speedway ticket booth, debit/credit is accepted. Ticket Prices: Adults – $30 | Youth (8-15) – $10 | Children (7 and under) – Free | Pits – $40 Speedway 660 Pit E-waiver: SLMS.ca/ewaiver 2023 Oyster Bed Speedway Winners: Greg Proude #29, Dylan Gosbee #16 SUPER SIX Super Late Model Series Storylines Kent Vincent Riding Hot Start Into Home Track Return Two races into the 2024 Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series season and a veteran star has been writing many storylines of his own – with performances that have made him among the pre-race favorites for the upcoming Universal Truck and Trailer 150! Returning to full-time competition after several years of part-time efforts – or being out of the seat entirely – Kent has wasted no time getting acclimated to being a contender once again. A stout fourth place finish at Petty International Raceway was backed up at Speedway 660 where Kent earned the EIT Race Radios Pole Award and ran in the top five until the closing laps when he would ultimately succumb to mechanical issues. Known for his extended distance race prowess and family racing legacy on Prince Edward Island, a win for Kent would be monumental and trigger a Prince Edward Island party for the ages. Can Defending Champion Dylan Gosbee Rebound On Familiar Turf? Who had this one on their bingo cards for 2024? The defending Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series champion is mired deep in seventeenth (17th) in point standings through two events. It’s been a remarkable tumble from the top for the Prince Edward Island driver, who asserted himself as the one to beat with six top ten finishes and three podiums en route to the championship one season ago. After a hard fought twelfth (12th) place finish at the Fog City Auto Spa 150, Gosbee finished dead last at Speedway 660 in a wild turn of events after a mechanical issue on the NAV Canada machine. Luck has to turn around eventually, and for Gosbee and the Kent Livingston Racing team, they now look forward to returning to Oyster Bed Speedway where they ended up in victory lane the last time the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series rolled into town. It’s been a slippery slope for the team since that win, as despite winning the championship, they have not earned a top five since! Could they book-end a tough stretch with Oyster Bed Speedway victories? A Tale of Two Streaks for Ashton Tucker Points leader Ashton Tucker (#2) has been lights out as of late in Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series competition. Dating back to the end of the 2023 season, Tucker has won three (3) consecutive feature events – ending the inaugural season by taking the checkered flag in the Old Fashioned Meat Market 150 at Petty International Raceway and then doubling up when the 2024 season kicked off at Petty with the Fog City Auto Spa 150 victory, and just two weeks ago Tucker earned a monstrous win in the Castle Building Centres 150 presented by Taiga Building Products at Speedway 660. Now for the elephant in the room – Ashton Tucker has never finished a race at Oyster Bed Speedway. Finishes of twenty-second (22nd) and twenty-third (23rd) were the ultimate demise of his championship hopes during the inaugural season. With momentum on his side – and some motivation to exercise the demons faced on Prince Edward Island one season ago – fans will be intrigued to find out which side of the pendulum Tucker winds up on after 150 laps on Saturday. While Tucker has taken a grip on the lead for most series wins, his biggest rival on track as of late has not let himself be outdone by Tucker. Cory Hall (#83) is also riding a streak of three consecutive runner-up finishes, and four straight podiums accounting for his win at the 2023 ReCar 150 at Speedway 660. Unlike Tucker, Hall has conquered Oyster Bed Speedway in the past – and returning to the track may provide Hall an opportunity to exploit the weakness and crack the armor of points leader Tucker in an ongoing showdown for top honors. Big Season Debut for 01 Motorsports It was one spot short for Troy Burke (#01) the last time the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series raced at Oyster Bed Speedway. After leading the most laps, Burke lost the lead to eventual winner Dylan Gosbee late before settling for second – a performance which helped propel Burke to 5th overall in 2023 points. Scaling back some in 2024 to refocus his efforts, Burke will take to the track for the first time this season at home, with last year’s narrow defeat still fresh in mind. Burke led laps in both Oyster Bed Speedway races, and the multi-time track champion seeks a breakout win on the biggest stage this weekend. It will be a different scene in the pits for Burke’s team, with a teammate in Tanton Wooldridge (#24) racing alongside him. Wooldridge recently teamed up with 01 Motorsports, and the rising prospect has circled the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series dates at Oyster Bed Speedway as races to battle for wins at. Wooldridge has had plenty of success in Bandolero and Legends ranks, and is a driver tabbed by many as a future star. Home Track Advantage Could Lead To Monumental Performances Rolling into Oyster Bed Speedway presents a golden opportunity for local drivers to capture breakthrough wins. Eleven (11) of the entries for the Universal Truck and Trailer 150 hail from Prince Edward Island, with each driver looking to steal the spotlight. While drivers like Kent Vincent, Troy Burke, Dylan Gosbee, Robbie MacEwen (#40), Darren MacKinnon (#18), and Greg Proude (#29) all have taken extended distance feature wins at home, the balance of the PEI field hopes their day is coming soon. Notably, Chris Hughes (#32) has long been eluded by a major win at his home track – despite being so painfully close. As a whole, Hughes has had a rough start to 2024, but that could change as he returns to competition on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series where he notched a pair of top ten finishes in 2023. Brodie Lewis (#22) is sure to be one of those drivers, eying up a career best finish on home soil. Lewis has seen an improvement in average finish this season in New Brunswick, a trend he looks to continue at home. A pair of well known PEI drivers will make their first starts on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series. Brandon Snow (#7) will take the reins of the car his father drove last season – Snow is no stranger to Oyster Bed Speedway and will take to the track with much fanfare. Meanwhile, teaming up with Trevor Lambe Racing will be Street Stock star Mike Duskey (#28). Duskey is also a well recognized driver with past Super Late Model starts and will be eying up home track success this weekend. Hudson Weston’s Quiet Consistency Paying Off After a tumultuous start to 2023, Hudson Weston found his groove with the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series – taking a late season surge to earn Rookie of the Year honors last year, and rolling that momentum into back-to-back career best finishes in each of the first two races of 2024, good enough for seventh in points heading to Oyster Bed Speedway. Flash back a calendar year to the first stop at Oyster Bed Speedway, and Weston was unable to start the feature event due to mechanical issues. When the series return in August, it was a ninth (9th) place finish for the driver of the #43 – his first top ten finish which marked a career best at the time. It was truly the turning point, as since that point Weston has amassed four (4) top ten finishes in the five races contested – with the lone miss being a narrow one with an eleventh (11th) place finish. Weston is making a great habit of getting the most out of his equipment at the finish of every race, and continues to improve as he gains experience. Is a first top five finish around the turn at the same venue he notched his first top ten finish at? Entry List – Subject to Change Stay Up To Date As race day nears, fans are encouraged to stay tuned to social media for breaking news as it happens! The Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series can be found on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X (formerly known as Twitter) at @SLMSeries. Also be sure to check out our official website at SLMS.ca. For more information on the Universal Truck and Trailer 150, check out Oyster Bed Speedway on Facebook, and online at oysterbedspeedwaypei.com. About the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series The Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series is Atlantic Canada’s newest stock car racing series. Formed in Fall of 2022 through a partnership between Oyster Bed Speedway, Petty International Raceway, and Speedway 660, the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series contests a six-race schedule with some of North America’s top racing talents. The 2024 season will mark the second season of competition. Fans can find more info online at SLMS.ca, or through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X at @SLMSeries.
