(FREDERICTON, NB – July 22nd, 2020) – Two weeks after a successful Riverview Ford Lincoln Season Opener, the cars and stars of Speedway 660 return to the track this Saturday for the second event of the 2020 season. The Fog City Auto Spa Sportsman 125 will be the highlight of the evening with support from the RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock, DMR Auto Street Stock and Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters. Racing action begins on Saturday, July 25th at 6:30pm with Late Model Sportsman Time Trials beginning at 6pm.
The extended laps in the Late Model Sportsman division this weekend are already grabbing the attention of part time drivers and traveling teams looking to make their mark. Reigning New Brunswick track champions, Curtis Collins of Saint John, New Brunswick and Jordan Veinotte of Porter’s Lake, Nova Scotia will lead the field into battle on Saturday evening. Collins is the reigning champion at his home track of Speedway 660 while Veinotte, the 2018 Scotia Speedworld Sportsman Champion, is the most recent track champion at Petty International Raceway in River Glade.
Both drivers are making their first starts of 2020, something that Veinotte said could be an uphill battle, even for a driver who is no stranger to winning.
“With this race being 125-laps and our team not having a chance to test, this will be a great way feel out our race car,” said Veinotte. “We hope to be a contender at the end of the race as long as nothing breaks over the extra laps.”
The first Late Model Sportsman race of 2020 at the track saw another former track champion in Brady Creamer (Miramichi, NB) make a spirited late race charge to take the victory. Creamer made the winning move at the Riverview Ford Lincoln Season Opener around multi-time Speedway 660 track titlist Luc McLaughlin (Geary, NB) coming to the white flag. Richard Atkinson (Haneytown, NB), Matt Rodgers (Smithtown, NB) and Clark Moore (Saint John, NB), who led the opening laps in the Riverview Ford Lincoln Season Opener, started 2020 with top five finishes on July 12th.
With a late moving and ever changing stock car season, several teams are still working at getting their cars ready for the season. Rumblings are abound that the Fog City Auto Spa 125 will be the first start for Hudson Weston (Saint John, NB) on the 2020 season and multi-time River Glade International Champion Laurie Cormier (Riverview, NB) is working towards having his car ready for Saturday evening.
With over three times the distance than that first race, drivers and teams will have to calculate their strategy in order to park it in victory lane when the checkered flag falls on Saturday evening.
The Fog City Auto Spa Sportsman 125 also marks the first race for Fog City Auto Spa as a presenting race partner at Speedway 660. It is a partnership that both the track and Fog City Auto Spa looked forward to prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and are excited to bring to life this Saturday.
“I feel like I owe stock car racing all that I can do to promote the sport that brought my son (Ryan) and I closer together,” said Ralph Raynes of Fog City Auto Spa on presenting this weekend’s event. “It is a family sport and I have been fortunate enough to do what we love. Racing is what we have in our blood.”
Along with being a major advertising partner on the Sportsman efforts of Ryan and Robert Raynes (Saint John, NB), Fog City Auto Spa has also played a key role in Kevin Moore’s racing efforts in the Pro Stock division in 2020.
One of the biggest stories out of the Riverview Ford Lincoln Season Opener came in the way of a Rick Cashol (Saint John, NB) victory in the DMR Auto Street Stock division. For the first time in six seasons, Cashol will enter Saturday as the most recent winner in the class. Justin Cole (Harvey, NB) and reigning track champion Chris Hanley (St. Stephen, NB) gave the veteran driver all he could handle but couldn’t best the No. 54 car at the finish of the 35-lap feature. The DMR Auto Street Stocks are expecting another healthy car count on Saturday as they hit Speedway 660 for the second time in 2020.
BJ Gillespie (Harvey, NB) parked his Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter in victory lane two weeks ago during the Riverview Ford Lincoln Season Opener. With well over a dozen Sharp Shooters at the track on opening day and the extended distance Gunslinger 50 on the horizon, the division is expected to see continued growth we get into the month of August.
The stock car racing card on Saturday at Speedway 660 will also see the RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock division race it out for 50-laps. The Pro Stocks are coming off a 100-lap feature two weeks ago and several drivers made the trek last Saturday to Petty Raceway for the Brycon Construction 150. Ashton Tucker (Lyttleton, NB) was the winner of both of those events driving for Brad Silliker Motorsports.
For the fourth straight season, 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 Fog City Auto Spa Sportsman 125 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 12pm, grandstand gates open for spectators at 5pm, Late Model Sportsman Time Trials at 6pm with racing getting underway at 6:30pm. Should inclement weather interfere with the Fog City Auto Spa Sportsman 125, a rain date of Sunday, July 26th at 2pm has been set aside. A complete race day format will be available via the track’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Speedway660, later in the week.
Please note, due to COVID-19 regulations in the Province of New Brunswick, Speedway 660 is required to collect contact information from every individual that attends this event.
For more information about the Saturday’s racing card, 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.
