(July 4, 2016) Over the last couple of years there has been a lot of “new blood” arrive on the racing scene. From NASCAR to our local Maritime tracks we’ve seen many veteran drivers hang up their helmets and lots of eager youngsters take their places. That was very evident during the running of the Cummins 100 last weekend at Speedway 660.
The Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour replaced the old MASCAR series as the premier Maritime touring series back in 2001. Between 01 and 2014 three drivers claimed 11 championships. John Flemming owns an amazing five trophies while Wayne Smith and Shawn Tucker each have three.
John Flemming is one of the legends of Maritime motorsports. He won lots of big races and championships and always had time to sign autographs for the kids and talk to avid race fans. John provided an awesome example for the next generation of drivers who have come along to take his place.
But on Sunday when the tour took the track, the three king-pins were not behind the wheel of the 97, the 44 or the 52. Their absence has left a major hole in the tour roster, at least for those of us who have been around racing for several years. However, I’m sure that Flemming, Smith and Tucker will all tell you that the new kids on the track are doing just fine!
The guys we used to call young guns are quickly becoming veterans. Tour drivers like Cassius Clark, Craig Slaunwhite and Shawn Turple as well as some of our Speedway 660 drivers like Brent Roy, Greg Fahey, Lonnie Sommerville and Derek Christie. I’m not sure these guys like the label veteran, but that is what they have become.
I remember when Leon Christie’s boy jumped into a street stock car a few years ago. Derek has since worked his way up through the ranks and is a “veteran” Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stock driver.
And along with a bunch of “new veterans” we’re seeing a new group of youngsters jumping into our sport with both feet. Tour drivers like Dylan Blenkhorn, Cole Butcher, Sarah McKay and Dylan Gosbee as well as some pretty impressive youngsters in the Geary Woods including Ryan Messer, Alexandra & Courtney O’Blenis, Drew Greenlaw and Ashton Tucker.
Courtney and Alexandra O’Blenis are two rising stars in our sport. Their Dad Dave has five pro stock titles and a SpeedWeekend 250 pro stock win at Speedway 660. Dave is not ready to retire from racing just yet, but like the rest of us, he’s not as young as he once was!
The same thing is happening at the highest level of our sport. My favourite NASCAR drivers have pretty much all retired. Bill Elliott, Mark Martin and Darryl Waltrip have not only stepped aside, but have welcomed the next generation with open arms.
Bill Elliott is my all-time favouritie NASCAR driver. Now his son Chase is fast becoming a fan favourite at the highest level of our sport.
Every time I see Rick Cashol bring his number 54 street stock out onto Speedway 660 I take notice. I wonder how much longer the future member of the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame will continue to race. I’m sure Rick will admit that he’s in the twilight of his racing career, but we sure don’t want to see him retire, not just yet.
It won’t be too long before we’ll be telling new race fans about the five championships that Rick Cashol racked up at Speedway 660. We’ll fondly tell folks we were in the house when Shawn Tucker won three SpeedWeekend 250 pro stock races. And we will gladly remember the “good old days” when our heroes ruled the racing roost!
Rick Cashol (left) and the late “Smokin” Joe Albert are two of the biggest legends in the history of Speedway 660. These two had a fierce rivalry and some wicked battles on the track, but they always respected each other and enjoyed trading more than a little bit of paint!
Does anyone under 30 know anything about the early days of Speedway 660? Does anyone remember Donnie Sheils, Dave Smith, “Hokey Wolfe, “The Caribou Kid”, Nevin Mullin, Gerry Tremblay or John Ridgeway? Wade & Jody Harris, Michael Banks, Jack Finnie, Larry Gulliver or Jack Lane?
The point I think I’m trying to make is that racing is like life. Time marches on and when our racing heroes retire there’s always a new generation of drivers ready to entertain a new generation of fans. Our sport has peaks and valleys. Attendance and car counts go up and down, but one thing is certain, racing is a phenomenal sport. But it’s much more than that. Racing is all about family and friends and all about spending time together on a Saturday night, never knowing what’s going to happen when the green flag flies.
And you know what? We need to share our sport with other folks. We need to be ambassadors for racing. We need to encourage people we know to come out to the race tracks in our region to see what this sport is all about and what it has to offer. They’ll get to see some awesome racing and soon they’ll discover their own favourite drivers.
Racing is fast, exciting & entertaining. But more than that it’s about people: drivers & race teams; sponsors & marketing partners; staff, volunteers & track owners and; first and foremost its about the fans. There’s nothing like it, so get out and enjoy racing and meet some of the awesome people involved in our sport.
Thanks for reading this edition of the weekly and thanks for being a fan of racing. Even though we’ll long remember the exploits of John Flemming, Wayne Smith and Shawn Tucker we are all looking forward to the future of our sport and are anxious to see who will drive their way into our hearts as the new heroes of racing!
BTW we’ve got an awesome street stock 75 lapper at 660 this weekend.
We’ll see you at the races!
