(July 20, 2015) The weather dealt us a nasty blow last weekend and washed out the ENDURO 200 night race. But the McLaughlin Roof Trusses Best of the Best 150 goes this Saturday night, just before we take the long weekend in August off. This year the winner and runner-up in the BoB 150 will be guaranteed spots on the starting grid for the Irving Blending and Packaging 250 on SpeedWeekend.
Top Two go to the 250!
It is always disappointing when the weather cancels a race date. The Capital City ENDURO night race got washed out last weekend. Fans were obviously disappointed and now will have to wait until the final day of the 2015 season to see the ENDURO drivers do their thing.
There was racing last weekend though. There was a short rain delay, during the IWK 250, but our friends at Riverside International did get their big race in. Congrats to Kent Vincent, from Crapaud, PEI for winning his second IWK 250. Our own Greg Fahey had a pretty good run finishing eighth and former Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman Rookie of the Year Sarah McKay drove home 13th. 
Kent Vincent and his team from Prince Edward Island won the IWK 250 on the weekend at Riverside International Speedway. Could this be the year that Vincent or another Islander becomes the first driver from that province to win our big race on SpeedWeekend?
Our attention now turns to one of our biggest Pro Stock races of the year. The McLaughlin Roof Trusses 150 is huge. Yes the prize money is really good, but a great run guarantees a driver a starting position in the Irving Blending and Packaging 250.
There are a couple of significant changes to the BoB Pro Stock 150 format this year. First, the top two earn starting spots in the 250. In the past, only the winner got a free pass into our big SpeedWeekend race. And the BoB 150 will run without a mid-race break. Previously, there was a competition caution at lap 75 and drivers could refuel on the front stretch and keep their position or pit to get tires and make adjustments to their cars and start at the rear.
The Best of the Best 150 always provides fans with some of the best action of the year. In the 2008 edition of the 150, Matt Harris, Lonnie Sommerville and Greg Fahey raced three-wide for the lead.
I really like the removal of the mid-race break. That makes the race more like the Irving Blending and Packaging 250, because race teams have to decide if and when they are going to pit. And obviously those stops have to come under a caution, if you plan on having a chance to win the race. It makes for more drama and that’s great for the fans. As far as the top two earning positions in the 250, that’s got to give more incentive to drivers to come out to Speedway 660 for this race.
Dave O’Blenis has punched his ticket to the 250 on four occasions by winning the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 150. He did it in each of the last two years as well as in 2010. I can’t quite remember the other time Dave won the 150, but it might have been in 07. Greg Fahey won the race in 09 and 2011. Other recent winners include Ben Rowe in 2012 and Kirk Thibeau in 08. These four guys will all tell you that earning a spot in the 250, a little over a month before SpeedWeekend, takes a lot of pressure off their race teams.
Remember when Dave O’Blenis ran a car that wasn’t florescent green? The year was 2010 and Dave captured his second Best of the Best 150.
Matt Harris sure is putting a lot of emphasis on the Best of the Best 150. Matt is bringing in Butch Miller from the Carolinas to be his crew chief this weekend. Miller, a former driver in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions, has worked with Matt in the past and Harris is hoping Miller’s experience, knowledge and presence will help him punch his ticket to the 250. (Editor’s note: Come back to www.speedway660.com later this week for a Conversation with Matt Harris).
Over the years, I’ve learned to wait until race day to see who shows up for these races. But we’ve averaged 15 RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock teams for our five point races this season. We’ve had a total of 18 different teams compete either full or part-time. So I would assume all of those drivers will be at 660 for the race. The Pro All Star Series and the Maritime Pro Stock Tour are both off this coming weekend, so we could conceivably get a few cars there.
When the sun goes down on Saturday night, fans are in for a treat. The McLaughlin Roof Trusses Best of the Best 150 will be one of our region’s most competitive Pro Stock races of 2015.
In recent years Ben Rowe has come up from the States to drive for “Hurricane” Hal O’Neal and Kirk Thibeau has also come up to race the 150. Rowe and Thibeau both have confirmed they will race on Saturday. We could also see Mike Rowe and Glen Luce from PASS. I hear John Flemming is a strong possibility as well one or two other MPST drivers. So again, it’s hard to predict how many entries we’ll get but I’d be surprised if we didn’t have at least 20 cars in the field. One thing is for sure, this is going to be a very competitive race.
Our weekly Pro Stocks have put on five incredible races this year. With so much on the line in the McLaughlin Roof Trusses 150 everyone is going to go all-out to win the race or come home second. And with the elimination of the mid-race competition caution, the drama will increase and it’ll be a lot of fun to watch how this thing plays out.
Kirk Thibeau, winner of the very first Pro Stock 250 at Speedway 660, also won the 2008 Best of the Best 150.
The Best of the Best is one of those race wins every driver wants to have on their resume. Dave O’Blenis, who has yet to win a Pro Stock feature this season, has been consistent in 2015 and sits in second place in the standings, just three points behind Lonnie Sommerville, who’ll also be gunning for a BoB 150 win. Kevin Moore, John Rankin and Matt Harris round out our top five in points, so they’ll all be in contention as will Greg Fahey, who won a feature earlier this year before a couple of sub-par finishes because of mechanical issues.
This is also the last race before our annual New Brunswick Holiday Weekend break. Beginning August 8th, when we come back for the stretch run, we’ve got some awesome events on our schedule. The Sharp Shooter 40, the Sportsman Firecracker 150, Fan Appreciation Night, the Night of Champions and Irving Blending and Packaging SpeedWeekend will provide fans with plenty of excitement.
Lonnie Sommerville has two RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock feature wins this year. Our point leader sure would like to park his Pub’s Drive Through Bottle Exchange Chevrolet in Victory Lane this weekend.
But first, we’ve got something to settle this weekend when the green flag flies for the McLaughlin Roof Trusses Best of the Best 150. There’s an old saying that goes like this: “To be the Best, you’ve got to beat the Best.” On Saturday night we’re gonna find out who earns the 2015 Best of the Best Pro Stock title.
So let everyone know this is a must attend event at Speedway 660. Fire up your social media and use FaceBook and Twitter or talk to folks the old fashioned way to encourage them to head down to the Geary Woods this weekend.
We’ll see you at the races!
