(GEARY, NB – June 19th, 2019) – It’s big race season at Speedway 660! Over the next four weeks, each of the four Speedway 660 House Divisions will compete in major extended distance marquee events that are expected to draw the best drivers in the province to the Geary woods to compete for the checkered flag and hardware. The first up of these events will put the focus on the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman division as they will race for 100-laps on Saturday evening in the Martin’s Home Heating 100. The RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock and Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter divisions will play support with point paying features. Racing on Saturday evening begins at 6:30pm.
Albeit early in the year, the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman division has produced some of the most intriguing racing at Speedway 660 so far in the 2019 season. From the new Five Star Generation Two Late Model body winning the Riverview Ford Lincoln Season Opener with Richard Atkinson (Geary, NB), to Alexandra O’Blenis edging out sister Courtney O’Blenis (both of Boundary Creek, NB) by one thousandth of a second on Week Two, to Curtis Collins (Barnesville, NB) winning the last two features, the storylines have been plentiful.
While the top four in the standings have been writing their own headlines, several drivers have been plugging away at their early season setups and could be worth keeping an eye on during Saturday night’s Martin’s Home Heating 100. Saint John, New Brunswick drivers Clark Moore and Ryan Raynes each have podium finishes this season while reigning track champion Drew Greenlaw (Eastport, ME) has two third place finishes in his two appearances this season at Speedway 660. Hudson Weston (Saint John, NB) has had strong showings in extended distance races in the past and will be joined by fellow full-time point drivers in Robert Raynes (Saint John, NB) and Destiny Enkel (Royal Road, NB) in search of a breakthrough win in 2019.
With this being the first extended distance race of 100 laps or more in Atlantic Canada for the Late Model Sportsman division and $1,200 on the line for the winner, some traveling teams are expected to race into Geary for their share of Saturday night glory. Matt Rodgers (Smithtown, NB), who has several podium finishes in this event, was at Speedway 660 two weeks ago to shake down his No. 14 car. Matt Maillet (Burton, NB), Mark Harris (Rusagonis, NB) and Late Model rookie Luc McLaughlin (Geary, NB) have also made select starts over the first four weeks of the season with hopes of fine tuning their cars for a big run on Saturday.
The RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock and Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter divisions each found their first repeat feature winners of 2019 last Saturday night. Dave O’Blenis (Boundary Creek, NB) was able to return to victory lane one week after his first triumph of the Pro Stock season. It took BJ Gillespie (Harvey, NB) a few weeks to circle his way back to Riverview Ford Lincoln Victory Lane but was able to become the first two time feature winner in an ultra-competitive Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters division. Brent Roy (Hanwell, NB) and Brody Levesque (Lincoln, NB) are the point leaders after four weeks in the Pro Stock and Sharp Shooter divisions, respectively.
Please note, the DMR Auto Street Stocks have a scheduled weekend off this Saturday and will return to action on June 30th.
The Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100 kicks off a busy four week stretch leading into the traditional mid-Summer break. Next week, on a special date of Sunday, June 30th, the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters will highlight the afternoon card with the Gunslinger 50 presented by Fredericton Gun Shop and Fairview Jeep Ram. The Gunslinger 50 features one of the richest Four Cylinder purses in Atlantic Canada with $3,500 on the line for the drivers in the race.
Saturday evening racing returns on July 6th with the Best of the Best Pro Stock 100 for the RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stocks. The Second Annual Ricky Bobby 150 presented by DMR Auto for the Street Stock division, the longest race for the Street Stock division in Atlantic Canada, will take place the next week on Saturday, July 13th.
Returning for 2019, children aged 15 and under will be admitted to the grandstands for free to every stock car event at Speedway 660. The admission structure makes it easier for families to attend race events at the track and received positive feedback from fans when implemented mid-season in 2017.
Adult grandstand admission price for Saturday’s Martin’s Home Heating 100 is $20 (aged 16 and up). Pit admission is $25 and is restricted to those 16 years of age and older. Tickets are available at the gate on race day. Pit gates for competitors will open at 1pm, grandstand gates open for spectators at 5:30pm with racing getting underway at 6:30pm. A complete race day format will be available via Speedway660.com later in the week. Should inclement weather interfere with Saturday’s schedule, a rain date of Sunday, June 23rd at 2pm has been set aside for the running of the Martin’s Home Heating 100.
For more information about the Saturday’s Martin’s Home Heating 100, or any event at Speedway 660, visit Speedway660.com, like @Speedway660 on Facebook or call the Speedway 660 Raceline at (506) 454-7223.
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.
