What a way to kick-off our 2015 Saturday night schedule! The Martin’s Home Heating 100 takes center stage and will feature the best Sportsman cars, drivers and teams from New Brunswick and beyond. This is always a great race and we can expect another dandy this weekend. 

You gotta love a big Sportsman race! 

 

There’s nothing like a Saturday night at Speedway 660. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy those early season Sunday afternoon events, but Saturday nights in the Geary Woods are something special. And this week’s first night race of year will be extra-special. That’s because it’s the first event of a three race series, at three different tracks, that will end up crowning the first ever NB Sportsman champion in the fall.

We’ve got a strong stable of Sportsman cars right here at Speedway 660 and can expect some pretty stellar competition from Petty International Raceway and Speedway Miramichi, the two other tracks involved in this three race Sportsman series. Don’t be surprised if we see a team or two from Nova Scotia or PEI make the trip too.The year was 2008 and Glyn Nott was the winner of the Martin’s Home Heating 100. Later that summer Nott’s hot streak continued with a Firecracker 150 victory!

The Martin’s Home Heating 100 is always one of the most exciting races of the year. Back in 2008 Glyn Nott held off Brian Gillespie for the win in one of the great Sportsman races of all time.  Remember  2009 when everyone was running the high groove and Myles Harris roared by them on the inside for the win? How about 2010 when Michael Banks took the checkered flag for his mentor and car owner, the late Jack Finnie?Where were you in 2009? Myles Harris was in Speedway 660’s Victory Lane celebrating his big win in that year’s Martin’s Home Heating 100!

Then there was Matt Maillet who won the race twice (2011 and 13). His second win was quite spectacular, Matt came from somewhere out of the weeds to score an impressive victory. In 2012, two-time Sportsman champ Ken MacKenzie was the winner and last year, Andrew Rodgers became the youngest driver to go to victory lane in this prestigious race.Andrew Rodgers was all smiles last year after the biggest win of his racing career. Richard Martin congratulates Andrew in victory lane after a very exciting Martin’s Home Heating Sportman 100. 

Who will it be this year? Last year’s points champion Brent Roy won our first Sportsman feature of the year. We’ve got a bunch of kids who look pretty impressive too. Drew Greenlaw, last year’s Sportsman Rookie of the Year, had a podium in our only race of the year. Alexandra O’Blenis might become the first young lady to win this race. Dawson McIntee won a feature last year and Ryan Messer has moved up after a championship season in the AOW series.

Then there are veterans. Will we see Dave O’Blenis and Lonnie Sommerville? Those two former Auto Value 250 champs are part of our Pro Stock roster, but they both have a habit of rolling out their Sportsman rides for these big races! George Jamieson is another vet who looked great with a 2^nd place finish in our first event of the year.Lonnie Sommerville knows a thing or two about winning races in the Geary Woods. Will the two-time Re/Max Pro Stock 250 winner show up in a Sportsman car this weekend? And if so, will he take the checkers in the big race?

I should also note that Luc Bourgeois was the winner of the only Sportsman race of the season down the road in Petty. The aforementioned Ms. O’Blenis was second and Kenny MacKenzie Jr. was third. We should see some folks from the Miramichi with us this weekend too. Like us, they got rained out this past Sunday.

Speaking of which, there’s not much you can do about the weather, but it really bites to lose a race date. And we’ve lost two of three so far in 2015! But that’s the nature of our sport. We need good weather to race and we’ve had our fair share this spring, only problem is, we haven’t been getting it on race day!

In the event we do get another batch of inclement weather on Saturday, the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100 will take the green flag on Sunday at 2PM. As usual keep an eye on your favourite weather source – Environment Canada, the Weather Network or the United States Weather Service for the latest forecasts.Matt Maillet knows a thing or two about winning the Martin’s Home Heating 100. Matt will try to win his third 100 this Saturday night. 

I’ve been going on about the Martin’s Home Heat 100, but don’t forget we’ve got some other awesome action on the sked this weekend. Ashton Tucker, who won a feature here and has also scored a victory down in Petty, will be out for another checkered flag in the West Wood Estates Bandolero division. Jeremy Doran, will be gunning for a second straight win in the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter Division. And Rob Raynes will try to follow up a dominating performance in the DMR Auto Street Stock Division.Our little Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters always put on a BIG show for race fans. They’ll mix it up again this Saturday night at Speedway 660!

It’s all happening on Saturday night at Speedway 660. And please take note that we’ve moved back the start time to 6:30PM for our Saturday events in an effort to accommodate fans and race teams who travel to the Geary Woods.

So spread the word – Speedway 660 is the place to be this Saturday night for the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100 plus Street Stock, Sharp Shooter and Bando action.

We’ll see you at the races!