Speedway Miramichi Opens Sunday with Spring Smash Event

The highly anticipated kick-off to the 2022 season at Speedway Miramichi is almost here! On Sunday May 29^th, another summer of excitement fires up at the 54-year-old venue. Billed as Canada’s Demolition Capital, the spotlight of the annual Spring Smash at Speedway Miramichi will fall to the wild and crazy warriors of the Demolition division! The 2022 season is set to mark another season of big money Demolition Derbies and is expected to pay upwards of $2000 to the winner! Stock car competitors also begin their hunt for the year-long championship at the Spring Smash, and the Sickles Showdown grudge match is sure to excite! Action kicks off at 2pm on Sunday. Note that the date of the event has been changed to Sunday May 29^th due to weather.

There will be storylines aplenty heading into opening day. Tyler Chamberlain (#24) enters as the defending Demolition champion following a tumultuous season finale that saw Chamberlain emerge as an unlikely champion. Chamberlain did not claim a checkered flag during the entire 2021 season, and the champ looks to change that stat early in 2022.

Another driver will be looking to avenge the result of the 2022 season. Marc Andre Benoit (#81) was on pace to earn his first track championship before a penalty up ended his title run. Benoit is a four-time Derby winner and has been one of the most successful drivers in recent years. Having won the 2018 Spring Smash, watch for him on Sunday.

A deep talent of field is slated to enter the event. Defending Spring Smash winner Randy Girouard (#8) will seek to defend his Spring Smash win from one season ago. Ricky Boudreau (#764) nearly missed out on a track championship in 2021 and enters hot following a Halloween Spooktacular Demolition win as a title favorite. Billy Pelletier (#333) was the only two-time Demolition winner last year, and the Gladwyn driver is an early favorite for this summer. Mitch Brideau (#22) was just short of claiming back-to-back championships, and the 2020 champion will strive to take his #22 machine to the top in 2022. Gary Caissie (#28) looks for a jump in points in the Demolition division after he nailed down a top-10 finish in points last season boosted by winning the Firecracker Demolition. Two-time Demolition champion Jean-Francois Basque (#21) is also fired up to kick off his 2022 season.

With upwards of 40 cars anticipated, it will be a stacked field competing. Some notables who are expected to be in the field includes a returning Jason Savoie (#06) coming back for one more event, Zachary L’Huillier (#16), Dylan Doucet (#02), Remi Rouselle (#010), Jonathan Leclair (#10), Colby Walsh (#506), Dylan Phillips (#32), Tommy Morel (#33), Dylan Storey (#85) and Julien Benoit (#47). Terrence Whitney (#08) will also get back behind the wheel for the first time since his Firecracker Night went up in a blaze in the Dash for Cash last July.

A large field of cars is anticipated for the Spring Smash – with track management preparing for the single largest opening day car count in Speedway Miramichi history. Chaos is sure to be aplenty, with a full slate of Demolition preliminary races preceding the Spring Smash Demolition. The Dash for Cash, Powder Puff, Back-Up, and Figure 8 races will entertain fans as drivers try to qualify for the big prize!

Spring Smash Expected Entries

#02 – Dylan Doucet
#06 – Jason Savoie
#08 – Terrence Whitney
#09 – Stirling Anthony
#010 – Remi Rouselle
#022 – Kerrie Lineker
#5 – Dakota Wray
#8 – Randy Girouard
#10 – Jonathan Leclair
#16 – Zachary L’Huillier
#21 – Jean-Francois Basque
#24 – Tyler Chamberlain
#28 – Gary Caissie
#32 – Dylan Phillips
#33 – Tommy Morel
#47 – Julien Benoit
#70 – Danny Chiasson
#74 – Pascal Charest
#81 – Marc Andre Benoit
#85 – Dylan Storey
#99 – Mathieu Brideau
#327 – Douglas Fearn
#333 – Billy Pelletier
#506 – Colby Walsh
#666 – Norm Robichaud
#764 – Ricky Boudreau
#777 – Jesse Meszaros
#TBA – Michael Corbett

Entry list subject to change.

Past Winners of the Spring Smash Demolition

2014 – Kevin Lee Brideau #8x
2015 – Cancelled due to rain
2016 – Stephane Poirier #75
2017 – Randy Dick #6
2018 – Marc Andre Benoit #81
2019 – Joey Pitre #20
2020 – Not held due to COVID-19
2021 – Randy Girouard #8

The Atlantic Modified Tour thunders into Speedway Miramichi for round 2 of their 2022 season. Defending Speedway Miramichi Modified champion Chris Wilson (#2W) enters as the most recent winner on the tour after outduelling Braxton Stafford (#91) to the checkered flag in an exciting feature. These drivers have combined to win the last three features at Speedway Miramichi, and thus are the early favorites to win the Blackville Auto Value 35. However, the level of competition on the Atlantic Modified Tour is tight – with this class having saw 7 different winners in 11 races one season ago.

Travis Conroy (#7) captured the Atlantic Modified Tour title in 2021, but came one turn away from a feature win and championship at his home track of Speedway Miramichi – in 2022, redemption will be the story the talented youngster hopes to write. Yves McCray (#58) has been the top driver in the Modified division in recent years and will look to break a winless streak at his home track. Despite not scoring a feature win in Miramichi in 2021, Joe Hoyt (#17) had more podium finishes than any other driver at the North Shore oval and is always a threat to win.

Sunday’s Blackville Auto Value 35 will be the first of four stops for the Atlantic Modified Tour in Miramichi in 2022 as drivers chase a Speedway Miramichi championship in addition to the overall Atlantic Modified Tour championship.

The “rock ‘em, sock ‘em, travelling sideways thrill show”, the Bomber division, will take to the track for it’s third season of competition. With defending champion Mark Kingston moving up to the Street Stock division, opportunity is wide open for someone to emerge on top of the division. Tyson Donovan (#63) challenged Kingston for all of 2021, scoring a feature win en route to a runner-up finish in points. Timmy Blakely (#69) is the most recent Bomber feature winner, and he and wife Samantha Blakely (#96) return to do battle this year. The husband-and-wife duo both claimed top 5 finishes in points last season.

While many remember Johnathan Dickson’s (#3) big flip in the 2021 edition of the Spring Smash, Dickson will look to re-write the history books with the new season. To do so, he’s called in a big name to be a co-driver for 2022 – Miramichi Pro Stock star Ashton Tucker will park his Brad Silliker Motorsports ride for the weekend and will instead make his Bomber debut. Opportunities for Tucker to race in Miramichi at his home track have been few and far between, and he will strive to make the most of his seat time in the #3 car. There is another substitute co-driver getting behind the wheel this weekend – Blake Bransfield (#60) earned his first feature win last year, but it will be another former feature winner in Jacob Smith wheeling his car for opening day.

Youth will be served in the Bomber division in 2022, led by defending Rookie of the Year Dylan Doucet (#02) who scored a feature win on Fall Shootout weekend last Fall. Riley Connell (#43) captured a pair of podium finishes in his rookie season last summer, and will be chasing his first feature win. Axten MacLean (#13) has been itching all winter to find redemption after he almost earned a feature victory in last seasons finale. Connell and MacLean hope to get their sophomore seasons started on a high note.

Rookie of the year competition will be fierce. Ericka Lesage (#19) showed speed in the first two starts of her career. Young burnout phenom Alex Duguay (#11) will turn laps for the first time in his career in the Bomber division. Three more experienced rookies are slated to partake in Bomber competition, setting up what could be a heated rookie of the year battle this summer. Dylan Phillips (#32), Ricky Boudreau (#66), and Corey Barton (#995) all will add Bomber racing to their resumes, after years of experience in Demolition competition.

Entering 2022, the story once again is JR Lawson (#81) and his dominance in the Mini Stock division. Lawson has earned 19 career feature victories and 4 track championships at Speedway Miramichi – those stats include Lawson winning his last 16 starts and the last 3 track championships. His dominance has been impressive, but the field is eager to pounce and dethrone the reigning champ during Sunday’s season opening 30-lap feature.

A stout field is set to challenge Lawson. During races which the 81 car did not start in 2021, Neil Miousse (#71), Chantel Lawson (#30), and Mitchell Poirier (#28) carried checkered flags. These drivers aim to step up a level and topple the reigning champ. Mathieu Mallet (#80) has been one of the top drivers over the past several seasons, and despite top 3 points finishes and many podiums, is still on the hunt for his first feature win. Conrad Murphy (#89) turned up the wick as the candle burned out in 2021, the youngster from Sunny Corner nabbed a pair of heat wins and a runner-up finish at The Very Best Fall Shootout, establishing himself as an early season favorite. Guy Basque (#27) is bringing out a new car for 2022 with high hopes, while Chris Garnett (#66) has signalled intentions to chase a Speedway Miramichi championship this summer. Garnett is fresh of a runner-up finish in October’s “Outlaw Race”.

Defending rookie of the year Jamie Turner (#26) returns amped up for his sophomore season, while Tom Ackles (#130) will be looking to find improvements after suffering from some tough luck this past season. An exciting rookie of the year battle appears to be on tap for the 2022. Kevin Kinney (#17) moves from the Bomber and Demolition division into the Mini Stock division, while fourteen-year-old Nathan Richard (#35) will make his racing debut. Watch for these drivers to battle it out for rookie of the year honours all season long.

A special feature is lined up for the Spring Smash – the first grudge match race of the new season. Things will come in threes for this grudge match – it will be the first three-driver grudge match held to kick off the season. The Sickles Showdown will pit three #03’s against each other, with Chris Sickles facing daughters Amber and Krysta in a highly anticipated shootout! You won’t want to miss this one.

Pit gates open at 9:30am on Sunday for stock car drivers and teams, while the pits will open at 11:00am for Demolition drivers and teams. Grandstands open to spectators at 11:00am. Racing begins at 2pm with stock car action followed by the Demolition portion of the show. Grandstand admission is $20 for adults, $10 for youth ages 8 to 17 years old and seniors over the age of 65, while kids 7 and under are free. Pit passes are $25 and pit access is restricted to those over the age of 18, and those aged 8 to 17 with proper parental waiver forms. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to avoid long lines.

A crew from Tim’s Corner Motorsports will be at the facility with a LIVE Broadcast from Speedway Miramichi. The racing action and the TimsCorner.tv (TCMtv) live broadcast begins at 2:00pm Sunday. A portion of sales go back to support Speedway Miramichi and the race tracks the TCMtv crew visits. Please note, all pass prices will be listed in USD. TimsCorner.tv is a member of the Speed Sport TV network.

For more information, stay tuned to Speedway Miramichi’s social platforms, “Speedway Miramichi Inc.” on Facebook, “speedway.miramichi” on Instagram and Tik Tok, and our website at speedwaymiramichi.com.

source – track communications