(Aug. 3, 2015) Speedway 660 heads into its 2015 stretch run this weekend. We’ve got lots of great action from now right through the Irving Blending and Packaging SpeedWeekend. Big races, championship point battles and the biggest event on the Maritime racing calendar are all coming your way! 

 It’s time to go for it!

 

I hope you all had a nice New Brunswick Holiday Weekend and got a chance to charge your batteries for the busiest five weeks of our racing season. The Dog Days of August always provide Speedway 660 fans with some of the best racing of the year.

It all begins this Saturday night with the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter 40. Then on August 15^th, we’ve got the Sportsman Firecracker 150, followed the next two weekends by Fan Appreciation Night and the Night of Champions. And that will set the stage for the 2015 edition of the Irving Blending and Packaging SpeedWeekend.Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday, August 22nd, is one of our must-see events this month. Before the races fans are invited out on the track to meet Speedway 660’s drivers and check out the cars.  

It’s a busy five weeks with lots on the line. The 2015 Speedway 660 champions and rookies will be decided on August 29^th this year. We’ve got some great battles that will come right down to the wire in that final point race.

The RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock championship is our most coveted title. Dave O’Blenis has won five of those, including the last three in a row. But a sixth championship and fourth in a row is far from certain. Lonnie Sommerville leads the championship standings by 13 points over Kevin Moore.  O`Blenis is only two behind Big Kevin, with John Rankin and Greg Fahey rounding out the top five. There`s only 34 points separating first from fifth!  It`s pretty clear that the driver with the best stretch run will win the title.One year ago this month Dave O’Blenis made history by becoming the first driver, in any division, to win back-to-back-to-back championships. He’s gonna need a big August this year to make it four RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock titles in a row.  

There’s just 18 points separating first from fifth in the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman division. Devin Snell leads it by just two points over a rejuvenated Randy Moore. Richard Atkinson, Alexandra O’Blenis and Drew Greenlaw are third, fourth and fifth.  The Sportsman title likely won`t be decided until the points are tallied up after the final feature on the Night of Championships.After taking a year off Richard Atkinson is back better than ever. Could this be the year for this proud member of the Canadian Forces to win his first Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman championship? 

If there’s one division where a driver has a little breathing room heading into August, it’s the DMR Auto Sales and Service Street Stocks. Robert Raynes has been the class of the field all season long and currently holds a comfortable 31 point lead. Geoff Tugwell is second, but is only up a couple of points on Courtney O`Blenis. Ryan Raynes and Roger Slocum round out the top five and there`s a 58 point spread between first and fifth. Raynes, who finished second in Street Stock points the last two years, has got to stay focused and consistent the rest of the season. He knows, more than most drivers, that one off week can see that title slip away.Rob Raynes has had a dream season so far at Speedway 660. He is chasing his first DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock championship. 

Jeremy Doran is gunning for his second straight Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter title.  Jeremy has a 26 point lead over Kyle Boudreau. Neil Miousse, Malcolm Suley and Brody Levesque are the other drivers in the top five. There`s 53 points between first and fifth place. It’s pretty tight in this little division all the way back to tenth so it’ll be fun to watch how things play out for the Sharp Shooters!Malcolm Suley has quietly gone about his business in 2015. Malcolm is one of the drivers giving Jeremy Doran a run for his money in the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter title chase. 

Braden Langille has been one of the most dominating drivers in any division at Speedway 660 this season. Braden has won more features than anyone else, but despite that he still only has a seven point advantage over Ashton Tucker heading into the stretch run. There`s 60 points between first and fifth. MacKenzie Brewer, Riley Goodwin and Hudson Weston round out the top five. Heading into the stretch run it looks like Langille or Tucker will likely win the Bando title, but don`t tell that to MacKenzie, Riley or Hudson!Braden Langille (#51) and Ashton Tucker (#32) have been Speedway 660’s top two Bando-Boys of 2015. With the West Wood Estates Bandolero title on the line fans can expect to see more side-by-side racing from these two kids in August. 

So the 2015 championships at Speedway 660 are far from decided. That’s one of the things that makes the month of August so incredible. Drivers in all five of our divisions will be running as hard as they can to rack up as many points as they can. Even if a championship is not in the cards for some drivers, you’ll see them run hard to crack the top five or top ten in points.Winning a Speedway 660 championship is a pretty big deal. Just ask Luc MacLaughlin who won the DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock title one year ago. 

So, I hope you’re ready for an exciting five weekends at Speedway 660. Be sure to take it all in and savour every moment, because it won’t be long before the curtain comes down on the 2015 season. Time flies when you’re having fun, so come on down to Speedway 660 on Saturday to help us kick off our stretch run. We’ve got the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter 40, plus points racing in the other four divisions.

It’s the first of five FAN-tastic weekends of racing in the Geary Woods.

We’ll see you at the races!