(Fredericton, NB – August 3rd, 2016) – Speedway 660 is pleased to announce the addition of a Bandolero race to the annual Labour Day Speedweekend show on Sunday, September 4th. The 2016 edition of the Bandolero Blast continues to build on a history of the event which began in 2010 with the introduction of the Bandolero division to the track. This season, the division has lain dormant due to low car count within the province. With the amount of traveling cars that would like to make Speedway 660 and the Speedweekend event a stop on their busy schedules, the track has revived the Bandolero Blast race.
The race is expected to see entrants from at least three of the four Atlantic Provinces, with interest for the event coming in as far as Chance Cove, Newfoundland for the event. Eastbound Park point leader Sara Thorne and her sister Olivia will look to translate their high speed Bandolero experience to a track previously dubbed as “Canada’s Fastest Short Track.” At press time, Sara has five straight wins in seven races at the Newfoundland speed plant driving her #06 Bay by Bay Limited/Sub C Imaging Bandolero car.
Sara Thorne has lit it up at Avondale, Newfoundland’s Eastbound Park, winning five features so far in 2016. Sara and her sister Olivia will make the haul from Chance Cove, NL to compete in the 2016 Bandolero Blast on Speedweekend. Photo by NLPhotoMoto/Eastbound Park
They will be up against some of the stiffest competition in the Maritimes as the top young talent in the region will be converging on Speedway 660 on September 4th. Petty International Raceway point leader “The Flying Frenchman” Michael Cormier (Grand-Barachois, NB) and Scotia Speedworld Outlaw point leader Sam Rogers (Lower Onslow, NS) have signaled early intention to race in the Bandolero Blast. The Langille brothers, Josh and Nathan, of Coldbrook, Nova Scotia will look to build on their previous successes at Speedway 660. Josh Langille is a former INEX Canadian Bandolero Bandit champion and is a track champion at Scotia Speedworld.
Nathan Blackburn (Timberlea, NS) has gone to victory lane at Scotia Speedworld this season and is one of the top competitors when it comes to Bandolero racing in the region. Danny Chisholm (Canning, NS) recently scored his first feature win at Scotia Speedworld and will look to add a Speedway 660 Bandolero Blast trophy to his case in September.
In addition to Cormier, Greg Butler (Fredericton), Koven Lewis (Salisbury) and Max Alward (Moncton) run Bandolero teams out of the province of New Brunswick and will look to keep the Bandolero Blast title in their home province in 2016.
The format of the 2016 Bandolero Blast will see 10-lap heat races followed by a 25-lap main feature. The finishes of the heat races will set the starting field for the main feature. The heat race lineups will be set by random draw. The event will be run as a part of the undercard of the 17th Annual Pro Stock 250 at Speedway 660, meaning the youngsters will race in front of one of the biggest crowds of the year in Atlantic Canada.
The past champion’s list of the Bandolero Blast features a list of young drivers who grew up to be stars of the sport once they graduated from the Bandolero ranks. “Miss Rawdon Rocket” Emily Meehan (Rawdon Gold Mines, NS) won a wild inaugural event in 2010 and is the only female winner of the event. Cole Boudreau (Chipman, NB) won the race in back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012, while Drew Greenlaw (Eastport, ME) and Cole Tanner (Shubenacadie, NS) split opposite ends of the twin feature format in 2013. Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB – 2014) and Ashton Tucker (Lyttleton, NB – 2015) are the two most recent winners of the event. In fact, with the exception of Boudreau, every previous champion is expected to compete in Speedweekend 2016 into the division they graduated to from Bandolero ranks.
Emily Meehan (#75) and Cory Hall (#08) race at Oyster Bed Speedway (PE) last weekend in the Island Coastal Services 50. Both are previous champions of the Bandolero Blast and will compete in the Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour at Speedway 660 on Speedweekend. Photo by Racin Photos/Mike Francis.
Speedway 660 is also excited to welcome the Upper Clements Parks Maritime League of Legends Tour back to the Speedweekend event for the first time in over five years. The series will contest a 50-lap main event on Saturday, September 3rd, serving as their seventh of eight races on the year. At press time, Conception Bay South, Newfoundland’s Waylon Farrell leads the point standings over leading series rookie Craig MacDonald (Waverley, NS) and 2010 Bandolero Blast winner Meehan. In fact, if you include fourth and fifth place drivers in the standings, Hall and Emily’s brother Adam Meehan (Rawdon Gold Mines, NS), all of the top five in the series got their start racing Bandolero cars.
For complete information on Speedweekend 2016 and the seventh annual Bandolero Blast, please visit Speedway660.com or call the race office at 506-454-7223.
Past Champion’s List – Bandolero Blast at Speedway 660
2010 – Emily Meehan of Rawdon Gold Mines, NS
2011 – Cole Boudreau of Chipman, NB
2012 – Cole Boudreau of Chipman, NB
2013 – Cole Tanner of Shubenacadie, NS | Drew Greenlaw of Eastport, ME
2014 – Cory Hall of Jolicure, NB
2015 – Ashton Tucker of Lyttleton, NB
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 2016, one of the most prestigious short track events in eastern North America, wraps up Speedway 660’s racing season.
The inaugural Bandolero Blast winner in 2010 was “Miss Rawdon Rocket” Emily Meehan of Rawdon Gold Mines, NS. Photo by Max Roy/Speedway 660.
