(July 18, 2016) After an unexpected weekend off, Speedway 660 kicks up the action a notch or two with a great sportsman race this coming weekend. The Clark Chevrolet Firecracker 150 is on the agenda as well as street stock and sharp shooter action. We’re taking the long holiday weekend in August off and then will go full tilt until SpeedWeekend 2016 wraps up on Labour Day weekend.
The Martins Home Heating Sportsman Division cars run a 40 lap feature during Speedway 660’s weekly championship point racing events. But on three occasions each year they run big races in the Geary Woods. The Martins Home Heating sponsored race, held in June, had been 100 laps in the past but this year was extended to 125. The Firecracker and SpeedWeekend Sportsman races have always been 150 laps.
Dave O’Blenis, a five-time pro stock champ, is running a part time schedule in 2016. He’s run a few races in his pro stock, but ran the Martins Home Heating 125 and took his car to victory lane. As a matter of fact O’Blenis has rattled off several big sportsman wins at 660 in the last two or three years. If anyone else has their sights set on the checkers in this weekend’s big race, they’ll have to contend with Mr. O’Blenis.
Dave O’Blenis won the Martins Home Heating 125 by drawing on his many years of experience, especially on restarts late in the race. It’ll be interesting to see if the young drivers O’Blenis out drove that night can take the lessons they learned and get a win on Saturday night.
Martins Home Heating Sportsman point leader Ryan Messer and Drew Greenlaw, who is currently second in points, are two young drivers who just might be ready to end Dave’s winning streak. Look for Jacob Logan, the leading candidate for rookie of the year, to have a good run this Saturday night. Lonnie Sommerville and Matt Harris, two pro stock drivers are also expected to run the 150. We should have a few out of towners as well to make things more than a little interesting.
The DMR Street Stock Division has provided fans with lots of excitement in 2016. Courtney O’Blenis, Dave’s daughter, and Robert Raynes, the defending champion, are embroiled in a fierce battle for this year’s title. That rivalry will continue this Saturday night.
The Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters have been setting the Geary Woods on fire this season. Kyle MacKinnon is currently leading the points, but there are a couple of other drivers, including Kyle Boudreau, who are within striking distance.
Our little sharp shooters have provided fans with lots of exciting action this season. These drivers think nothing of going three-wide at Speedway 660 in an effort to get to the finish line first!
Saturday night will be a big night at Speedway 660. The focus will be on the Clark Chevrolet Firecracker 150, but the action will also be exciting when the street stocks and sharp shooters roll out on the speedway. Saturday will be our last race until August 6th when we begin a busy stretch run in the Geary Woods.
Most drivers downplay point standings early in the season, but we’re far enough along that most people are really starting to pay attention. There will be four straight weeks of championship point racing in August, leading up to SpeedWeekend. During that stretch the championships will play out and finally be decided during the Night of Champions on August 27th.
Things might get a little crazy when the DMR Auto Sales Street Stock drivers go racing on Saturday night. Drivers will do whatever it takes to rack up as many points as possible!
There are only a handful of race dates remaining in the 2016 racing season. Before you know it SpeedWeekend will be here and the curtain will come down for another year. So if you are a race fan, please make sure to take it all in.
Congratulations to Donald Chisholm, winner of this year’s IWK 250. Craig Slaunwhite, who is pretty popular up our way, finished a strong second while Greg Fahey was the top New Brunswicker coming home 10th. 
Congrats to Donald Chisholm, winner of last weekend’s IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway. It had to be a thrill for Donald to win his home track’s biggest race of the year. Hopefully he will come up our way for the 250 on SpeedWeekend!
The Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stocks won’t be back in action until after the long weekend. We’ll see them on Saturday, August 6th.
But this weekend, we’ve got the must see Clark Chevrolet Firecracker 150 featuring the best field of sportsman cars in Atlantic Canada. It’s going to be a great race and I hope you’ll be in the stands to see it.
We’ll see you at the races!
