Historic 30th Anniversary Season Culminates with Riverview Honda Weekend of Champions!
(September 21st, 2023) – It’s hard to believe another season has come and gone, as the Riverview Honda Weekend of Champions at Speedway 660 will see the tracks historic 30th anniversary season get capped off with an exciting double header. Saturday September 23rd at 4pm, three champions will be crowned as the Re/Max East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock, Shur-Fit Automotive Bumper to Bumper Street Stock, and Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter divisions all crown their 2023 division champions. Sunday September 24th at 2pm, the season will end with a bang with Enduro action wrapping up the season.
From first-time champions to possibly a seven-time champion, fast paced racing action to plenty of spills and thrills, this weekend will have it all as fans will witness the Geary Woods roar to life for one final time until May of 2024. The racing action all summer has been top notch, filled with unforgettable finishes, plenty of monumental wins, and all sorts of emotion.
As the season ends, Saturday the great fans of Speedway 660 will be saluted with an on-track autograph session commencing at 3pm. Always a treat as fans get to interact with the cars at stars of Speedway 660, be sure to arrive early and enjoy a meet and greet with your favorite drivers!
Dave O’Blenis Eyes Another Monumental Pro Stock Accomplishment
At 51 years of age, it has already been a historic season for Dave O’Blenis (#48). His storied career has featured many big wins and championships, but just a few weeks ago he captured a monumental win in the 23rd Annual Pro Stock 250. A win he dubbed the biggest of his career, O’Blenis outduelled Ryan Messer (#1) on a late race restart to earn the win, setting a record winning what was his second 250 twenty-one years after his first.
A six-time Re/Max East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock champion – with titles in 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2018 – O’Blenis has now scored four total wins this year, including three of the four Re/Max East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock division points races held. Despite three wins – and a runner-up finish in the fourth race – O’Blenis does not have an easy path to victory. Young Hudson Weston (#43) in his first full year of competition has finished on O’Blenis’s bumper in every feature, keeping the gap to just ten (10) points. Even in the Pro Stock 250, Weston found himself on O’Blenis’s bumper at one point, running second until finding the beach in the final 50 laps.
It’s a heated battle for third in points – and potentially higher depending how things unfold this weekend. Two points separate Ian Rasmussen (#81) and Clark Moore (#54), with Rasmussen holding the edge. Rasmussen has successfully finished in the top three several times in seasons past, and would like to accomplish this again, while Moore would like to finish his first full season strong. Rasmussen has consistently finished top five, but Moore has been coming on strong with a pair of podium finishes in recent events. This will be another battle to watch on Saturday.
Will it be a first-time champion from a newcomer, or a historic seventh championship in Speedway 660’s Re/Max East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock division? Either way, history will be made when the dust settles after seventy-five (75) laps Saturday evening.
Drew Greenlaw Seeks Continued Sportsman Dominance
Drew Greenlaw (#23) had been having a flawless season at Speedway 660, remaining undefeated through the first three races. On SpeedWeekend, it appeared Greenlaw would challenge to keep the streak alive – until a massive pile-up just after halfway saw everything fly apart.
For Greenlaw, thankfully the Riverview Ford Sportsman 150 was not a points race – but a lot of hard work and preparation has gone into getting back on track. The 2018 Sportsman champion is seeking another championship – this time in the combined Speedway 660 / Petty International Raceway Sportsman series – and will enter the Riverview Honda Weekend of Champions with a commanding lead heading into the final few races of the season. With victories in four of the six contested races, Greenlaw has a 25-point lead over the O’Blenis sisters.
After a two-season reign on top, all signals point to the end of Alexandra O’Blenis’s (#74) title streak. It has been a tough season for the older O’Blenis sister – who sits third in the combined points – being held winless after amassing eight victories at Speedway 660 between her two championship seasons – where she quite literally won every Sportsman division championship in the province of New Brunswick. Fortunes seemed to be poised to change on SpeedWeekend – but her hood would fly up while leading the race, forcing her to pit. While their father has basked in success all season, it’s been a trying season for both Alexandra and her sister Courtney O’Blenis (#48), particularly at Speedway 660, but Courtney finds herself with the edge as she is second in points and does have a feature win to her credit at Petty International Raceway.
Rounding out the top five to date in the combined points is “The Old Musket” Richard Atkinson (#40), and BJ Gillespie (#69) who is aiming to wrap up his rookie campaign in respectable fashion. Also competing will be Caleb Urquhart (#11), returning to the track in his SpeedWeekend winning car that Ashton Tucker drove to victory after Urquhart was unable to attend. Brody Seveck (#44) has had a stellar season as well at Speedway 660, with many strong runs thus far.
A fifty (50) lap feature will conclude the 2023 season for the Speedway 660 Sportsman division on Saturday, before the drivers head back down the Trans-Canada Highway to conclude the inaugural joint points title.
Icing on the Cake of a Dream Season One Race Away For Justin Cole
Justin Cole (#38) has long dreamed of a Shur-Fit Automotive, Bumper to Bumper Street Stock championship at Speedway 660. In 2023, in what has already been a dream season, one final dream could become a reality.
Cole set the tone early in the season winning the Targett’s Windows and Doors 100 in June after a pair of third place finishes. This win snapped a nearly four year winless streak, but Cole would only wait three weeks to strike again, this time winning the prestigious Ricky Bobby 150! With one more win to his credit – and the only strikes on his season being a DNF at the non-points SpeedWeekend race, and an eighth-place finish after a last lap altercation with Shawn Hyslop (#99) while battling for the final podium spot – Cole enters nine points up on his closest competition.
However, his closest competition knows their way to a title. Michael Cormier (#68) has amassed many career championships, and with two wins to date in 2023, is ready to vye for his first Speedway 660 crown. The 2018 track champion, Shawn Hyslop (#99) has a feature win from May and sits third in standings, twenty-three points out of the lead. Hyslop has a tougher path to glory, but could capitalize if the top two run into issues.
Kyle MacKinnon (#22) will wrap up a bounce back season with a top five – and maybe top three – result in standings – after motor issues over the course of his career. Defending champion Rick Cashol (#54) is fifth in points, and after his historic sixth title one year ago, will hand over the reign after Saturday.
It’s been a stellar season for the Shur-Fit Automotive, Bumper to Bumper Street Stock division, with four drivers finding victory lane. In addition to the top three in points, two-time champion Luc McLaughlin (#11) has two wins – including a dramatic D. Gillespie & Sons Trucking Street Stock 100 triumph on SpeedWeekend. McLaughlin has won two of the last three races and will look to finish the season strong and send a statement heading into 2024.
Darren Wilcox Leads Speedway 660’s Sharpest Shooters
Darren Wilcox (#32) has emerged on top of the point standings in the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter division heading into the Riverview Honda Weekend of Champions at Speedway 660. Wilcox has used consistency all season long, with one feature win, three podiums, five top fives, and seven top tens in eight points races. Wilcox’s lone win came during the Ricky Bobby 150 event, when he stole the lead in the closing laps after BJ Gillespie (#69) broke while leading.
Wilcox has been close before – he finished second in points to Gillespie in 2021. This weekend he will enter with a fourteen (14) point lead over GunSlinger 75 winner Alex Gallant (#5). Gallant is also a former bridesmaid in points – being second one year ago – and he has had a great season but finds himself still with a mountain to climb to end up on top.
While the top seven in points still have a mathematical chance, it’s really a two-horse race between Wilcox and Gallant. Randy Titus (#75) finds himself third in standings – a season long contender, a SpeedWeekend flip would be costly to his title efforts. He sits just a few points ahead of Todd Day (#4) with a first-time winner from SpeedWeekend in Terry Lawson (#14) rounding out the top five.
It’s been a competitive season for the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter division, with eight winners in nine races. In addition to Wilcox, Gallant, and Lawson, Mitchell Harvey (#19), Jason Duffield (#91), Daniel Atyeo (#15), Matt Martin (#33) and Ryan Bernard (#68) scoring wins, with Bernard being the only two-time winner.
With the tenth and final race of the season being the last, it will be the thirteenth time a champion is crowned in the division, with a first-time champion being guaranteed regardless of the outcome after Saturday’s thirty (30) lap feature.
Enduro Fireworks Conclude Season on Sunday
After four track champions are crowned on Saturday afternoon, dust will be kicked up Sunday afternoon with the second and final Enduro of the 2023 season. Corey Barton (#995) conquered an entertaining Enduro in July, and as the class rebuilds, even more entries are expected for this weekends show, and into 2024.
Fans can expect a full house of Barton’s as Kim, Katie, and Courtney will all compete. Daniel Atyeo (#15) will be back on track in Enduro competition, as will Riley Frost who was a contender to win in July. Brian Maillet, Mike Boone, and more entries can be expected as the field will continue to grow as Enduros roar back to life in the Geary Woods! Start time will be 2pm on Sunday September 24th.
Stay in the Know
Action starts at 4:00pm on Saturday September 23rd, with the pre-race autograph session getting underway at 3:00pm. Pits for competitors will open at 11:00am with practice getting underway at 11:45am. Action will begin at 2:00pm on Sunday September 24th with the Enduro competition.
Grandstand tickets are $20 for adults, and as always kids fifteen (15) years of age and under will be admitted free to the grandstands. Pit admission is $25 and is restricted to those at least sixteen (16) years of age and older, except for youth who are direct family members of a driver, who can enter the pits with proper signed waivers. All entrants to the pits must complete the e-waiver prior to entering the pits.
For all up-to-date info from Speedway 660, check us out online at Speedway660.com, or find them on Facebook at “Speedway 660”.
About Speedway 660:
Speedway 660 is one of Canada’s premier stock car racing facilities. Located in New Brunswick’s Fredericton region, it has attracted race teams and fans from the Maritimes, New England and Quebec since 1994. The Speedway 660 racing season runs from mid May until late September. SpeedWeekend, one of the most prestigious short track events in eastern North America, is the marquee event of the Speedway 660 season on Labour Day Weekend.
