Fredericton, NB – It was a beautiful day for racing at Speedway 600 as the first Enduro is finally in the books .  This being the first event of the season for the Enduro drivers, everyone is starting out fresh.  This was the first points week for the drivers and yet they still raced as if it was the final tell all race.

There were 15 cars that took the green flag as the first 75 laps got under way.  The # 44 of Steve Seveck started on the pole.  As the day went along and drivers got a feel for being back to the track, things really started to heat up.  Pat Sharpe showed them how it was done as he drove his # 51 to victory lane.  Sharpe was multiple laps ahead of #8 of Dale Hathaway and Benji Ruff who finished in second and finishing in third place the # 11 of Barney Jeffrey.  Ruff and Hathaway are no strangers to Enduro driving as they have had a lot of previous success here at Speedway 660.  This was the first race ever for Barney Jeffrey who used to work at the speedway.

One of the big stories of the day was Courtney and Kim Barton’s #21, which sparked a lot of excitement.  The two sisters shared the driving.  After each competition yellow, fans would wait to see who was in the white and black spotted cow car.   Courtney Barton come out in the second 75 laps and made things very exciting as she showed how the race was supposed to go.   Bumping and trading paint with drivers is exactly what she came to do.  There was a huge bull’s-eye on the lead drivers and Courtney new exactly how to fix that.   In the third and final 50 laps, Courtney’s sister, Kim came out until she was called in for a driver change late in the race.  This really got everyone’s attention.  Courtney made a last attempt to knock Pat Sharpe out of the top spot by giving him a bump but was unsuccessful is taking the win away.  There were many lead changes and couple red flags but the first Enduro race was very exciting and fans will want to come back and see what happens in the next one.

Next week fans can see Enduro cars back at the speedway.  They will be racing front wheel drive cars.  This is something new that is in the transition stage, as it is harder to find rear wheel cars for the Enduros.  The hope is that by racing the front wheel drive cars it will draw more cars for the Enduros.  If anyone wants to register their Enduro car for next weekend they can do so  by calling Angela at the speedway office @ 454-RACE (7223).  The final race for the Enduro division will be SPEEDWEEKEND on September 7th.

So don’t miss it next weekend race fans. There is a lot more racing to come in another Double Header weekend.

ENDURO 200
#    Driver    Hometown
1    51    Pat Sharpe    Woodstock, NB
2    8    Dale Hatheway & Benji Ruff    Bath, NB
3    11    Barney Jeffrey    Penniac, NB
4    72    Rheal Kenny & Justin Kenny    Wirral, NB
5    44    Steve Seveck    Temperance Vale, NB
6    70    Tyler Seveck    Temperance Vale, NB
7    38C    Ed Vallis    Welsford, NB
8    2    Randy Mercer & Clifford Mercer    Norton, NB
9    69T    Tavis Marr    Fredericton, NB
10    21    Courtney Barton & Kim Barton    Minto, NB
11    88    Josh Vautour    Saint John, NB
12    42C    Chris Titus    Nerepis, NB
13    10    Carmen McKeen    Harvey Station, NB
14    68    Todd LeClair    Lower Hainesville, NB
15    69    RJ Driscoll, Joey LaViolette, Clifford Biggart JR., Travis Dorcas    Fredericton, NB