(July 12, 2017) By now we should have been ready for a well deserved break, that is had we not suffered three rain-outs. But this coming weekend is a pre-scheduled silent Saturday in the Geary Woods and ready or not we’re taking a break. Our next action is set for July 22nd with the Firecracker 150.
Rain-outs have always plagued racing and this year we lost the season opener, the Pro All Star Series and the East Coast Mini-Stock Tour events. We had to use rain dates for the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour and the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100, but we did get them in.
Greg Fahey’s win in the Cummins 150 has got to be the biggest story so far in 2017. Greg dominated the race becoming the first Speedway 660 Pro Stock weekly driver to win a Pro Stock Tour race since 2005.
The most exciting moment of the season belongs to Greg Fahey for his amazing win in the Cummins 150. It has been 12 years since one of our weekly Pro Stockers has been able to beat the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour regulars. Greg did it in convincing fashion and although he had a mechanical issue last Saturday night he is headed to Riverside International Speedway this weekend for the IWK 250. Dave O’Blenis is headed to Nova Scotia as well and we wish both of these guys good luck in the our region’s first big 250 of the season.
Ryan Messer’s rookie Pro Stock season is another big story in 2017. Ryan has been great in everything he has ever driven on a race track, but now he is playing in the Big Leagues. Ryan has won a feature and been on the podium a couple of more times. If he keeps this pace up he’ll be in contention for a top five finish in RE/MAX Group Four Realty points.
It didn’t take Ryan Messer very long to establish himself as a RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock star. He won a 50 lap feature in mid June and has run up front with the “Big Boys” since the season began.
Speaking of Pro Stock points Brent Roy and Ashton Tucker are pretty serious championship contenders. Big Kevin Moore is lurking near the top of the standings, but Dave and Greg are further down the list than normal. Still some pretty serious racing to go, so it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out.
John Rankin’s return to Sportsman has made that division a lot more competitive. John won the Martin’s Home Heating 100 and has been swapping the points lead back and forth with Drew Greenlaw. Drew has finished second in points two years in a row and hopes this is his year.
John Rankin dominated the Martin’s Home Heating 100 on Father’s Day and has been a force in the Sportsman division this season. John will try for another big win in the Firecracker 150 on the 22nd of this month.
Until last weekend everything was going right for Luc MacLaughlin in the DMR Auto Sales Street Stock division. Two feature wins and two other podium finishes put him at the top of the points. But last weekend things went south for Luc in the 75 lapper. Mechanical issues forced him to retire from the race. Riley Goodwin has also won two features this year, but landed on his roof one week and has suffered from mechanical breakdowns a couple of times himself.
Luc MacLaughlin has had some big moments with two feature wins in 2017. He leads the points and will try to bounce back when we resume racing, after he had car troubles during the DMR Auto Sales Street Stock 75.
Brody Levesque is having a dream season in the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter division. He only has one feature win, but has been on the podium every single week that we’ve been able to race. Kyle MacKinnon has won two features, but the defending champ has gone to the pits before the checkers were waved on more than one occasion.
Brody Levesque finally got that elusive Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter feature win a couple of weeks ago. Brody leads the Sharp Shooter points and looks to continue his impressive streak of podium finishes when we get back to racing.
So we’re off this weekend. Some of you will be off to Antigonish for the IWK 250. Many others have other plans with family and friends. Enjoy responsibly!
When we come back on the 22nd we’ll have a couple of big shows back-to-back. The Sportsman Firecracker 150 will be up first, followed by the Clark Chevy Best of the Best Pro Stock 150 on July 29th. We’ve got the long weekend in August off, before the 2017 racing season stretch run begins.
Believe it or not SpeedWeekend is about a month and a half away. Time flies, especially during our short summer season, and it won’t be long before our biggest weekend of racing arrives.
That’s it for this week. We’ll be talking firecrackers in the next weekly.
We’ll see you at the races!
