(July 28, 2015) The long weekend in August is our traditional time of year to cool our jets at Speedway 660. After the New Brunswick Day Holiday Weekend everyone, including our awesome staff, heads back to the Geary Woods for the 2015 season stretch run. Our people are the best in the business and the racing community is fortunate to have these dedicated folks at their posts on race day. 

 A Big Thank-You to the Speedway 660 Staff

 

We all come to the races to see the awesome action out on the track. The drivers deservedly get the credit for putting on an incredible show every week. But they all have families, crew members and sponsors supporting their efforts. And that support is crucial.

At Speedway 660 we’ve got lots of  support too. There are many folks who work tirelessly, often behind the scenes, to make sure the races go off without a hitch. Buddy Munn has been around Speedway 660 since the first bulldozer was unloaded in the Geary Woods back in 94. Our Emergency Medical Team works closely with Fire & Rescue to keep our drivers safe.

Let’s look at the Speedway 660 office. What can I say about Wanda Campbell? She does everything! She’s the go-to-person and if she can’t fix a problem, answer a question or solve an issue, she’ll find someone who can. She knows everybody associated with racing and everybody loves Wanda. Her passion for our sport and her race day smile are infectious.Wanda Campbell does just about everything at Speedway 660, including driving her grandson Mackenzie around in the family golf cart. Better slow down Wanda because Kyle, our head Security guy, might give you a ticket! BTW, why don’t you let MacKenzie drive? 

Lori Scott and her crew at the ticket office welcome fans to Speedway 660, sell tickets and send folks off to the grand stands to see the best racing in our region. They sign in staff and guests and provide a positive first impression to everyone who comes out to the races.Our awesome “Speedway 660 Greeters” welcome you to the Geary Woods every week. They are so busy selling fans tickets and doing lots of other things, that they rarely get to watch the races!

Joyce’s Pit Stop is the Speedway 660 Food Court! If you think the action is fast and hot on the track, you should check out the kitchen on a hot summer night.  Betty McCoy and her staff, including some great students,  do an awesome job serving up cold drinks and great food.Would you like some of our Famous Speedway Fries with that? Betty and her team, down in Joyce’s Pit Stop, work hard to keep everyone happy on race day.

On the way to the pits, the race teams have to stop, check in and register with Mike McGraw. Mike also plays an integral role in the tower during the races. Drivers also hook-up with Lisa Fagan to get their electronic scoring transponders.Fire & Rescue have to really be on their toes when the Capital City Auto Parts ENDURO races are being held. 

Josh Jonah is our tire guy.  We “impound” the RE/MAX Pro Stock tires after every race, so Josh has got to get the tires out to the drivers early on race day and stay late to gather them back up.  Rick Arbeau Sr. drives the water truck, which helps keep the dust down in the pits and on the track.Ricky Sr. is a “jack-of-all-trades” around Speedway 660. When there’s potential for a little dust in the wind, he’ll jump in his water-wagon and dampen the dust!    

Donnie Greer and his capable team, run the cars through the tech shed to make sure safety equipment is up to par. They also hang around long after the races to run the top finishers in each division through tech to make sure all of our technical rules have been followed.Brent Dunphy, our Race Director, checks his notes prior to a driver’s meeting. Donnie Greer (the man in black), our chief tech inspector, and his dedicated staff make sure the cars are safe and legal before they hit the track.  

The Infield Crew is more visible to fans during the races. Buddy Munn, his incredible Emergency Medical Team and Shane MacFarlane and his awesome Fire & Rescue Team have the biggest responsibility of anyone at Speedway 660. Their job is to keep the drivers safe and they are the best in the bizz. Jim MacLeod, Gary Carr and Ricky Arbeau Jr. are our track stewards.Speedway 660 has an awesome “Inside the Fence” team. Former Street Stock driver Kevin Peterson now runs the Phil’s Auto & Recreation push-wheeler and gives stalled cars a little help back to the pits.

We’ve also got the Service Master Clean Broom Crew. Some nights Ryan and Chris Chapman wear out their arms and a few push brooms to keep the track clean. We’ve also got Kevin Peterson on the Phil’s Auto & Recreation Push-Wheeler and RJ Driscoll and Rob Saunders in the Dunphy’s Tow Truck. And then we’ve got Tom Gilmore behind the wheel of the Riverview Ford pace-car. “Hurry Hard” – Ryan and Chris are always on the move when a caution comes out. These guys give Speedway 660 a clean sweep before we go green!

In the tower Wallace Carr and Jessica White head up our team of Official Scorers. On top of the tower, you’ll find our Race Director Brent Dunphy and his assistant Raymond Couglin. And on the flag stand we’ve got our Official Starter Tim Elliot.Race officials on the flag stand as well as inside and on top of the tower are busy on race night.  

Who am I missing? I never get to go over to the Alpine Zone, but I know Kevin MacDonald and Madison Nystad are over there looking after their patrons. And Kyle Levesque heads up a great Security Team. Granted, race fans are pretty well behaved, but Security does an awesome job keeping an eye on things and helping folks out if they need a hand.Dunphy’s Tow truck, Phil’s Auto & Recreation Wheeler and a fast acting, capable infield crew work hard on race day. We appreciate their efforts!  

Oh yes, I almost forgot Lisa MacIntosh. Lisa is an incredibly successful RE/MAX Group Four Realty real estate agent. But on race day she is our incredibly cheerful 50/50 lady! And Cheryl and Wayne Smith are the team leaders for Speedway 660 Ministries. Then there’s Michelle Roy who takes those great photos we use on our web site.Wayne and Sheryl Smith head up Speedway 660 Ministries. They are dedicated race fans and have been involved in our sport for many years. Wayne headed up our Fire & Rescue Team for several seasons.

Speedway 660 has been blessed with three sets of incredible owners. Jerry O’Leary built the track and started it all back in 94, then the Burns and Johnson families owned the facility for more than 15 years and now we’ve got the Roy and Foley families. Ownership is a big responsibility and over the years we’ve been fortunate to have great owners.Lisa Fagan, our “Transponder Lady” and Gary Foley, one of the Speedway 660 owners share a chuckle down in the pits before the races. BTW, what in the wide-world-of-sports is Tim Terry doing in this photo? 

It takes a lot of dedicated people to make race day run smoothly. What I find amazing is that some of these folks are so busy doing their jobs that they don’t even get a chance to watch the races. Danny McCoy and his team keep the grounds clean and haul away the garbage. Then there’s Randy Titus who heads up maintenance and does 101 things to keep Speedway 660 looking good and running smoothly.Our Race Director Brent Dunphy (the young guy) takes a break from his busy race day routine for this photo-op with Max Roy, one of the Speedway 660 owners. 

It’s our off-weekend. Everyone deserves a break, especially Speedway 660’s incredible staff. We’ll be back next weekend to begin the stretch run. I want to wish everyone a great time, during the break, be safe and enjoy yourselves.

We’ll all be back at our jobs on Saturday, August 8^th.

We’ll see you at the races!