We just completed another exciting season of short-track racing at Speedway 660. We started with a format change that extended the numbers of laps in feature races for our top three divisions and ended with a record pay-out in the Irving Blending & Packing 250. 

2015 in Review!  

 

The 2015 season kicked off on May 24th. There were two big news stories. First, the 10 lap Dash races for Street Stock, Sportsman and Pro Stocks were eliminated and the features for those divisions were extended to 30, 40 and 50 laps. And second,  the RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock Division got a whole lot more competitive with the full-time return of Lonnie Sommerville, Greg Fahey and Matt Harris.Matt Harris won the first 50 lap Pro Stock race of the season on the long weekend in May. Matt was one of three veteran drivers who came back this year to run full-time in our top division.  

We likely didn’t think too much about it at the time, but Robert Raynes won the DMR Street Stock feature in week one. Rob would be on the podium every single race of 2015! Other winners on the Riverview Ford Season Opener were Brent Roy (Sportsman), Jeremy Doran (Sharp Shooter) and Ashton Tucker (Bando).

We got rained out on May 30th and came back to the Geary Woods on the first weekend of June  for the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100. Twenty-seven cars showed up and we were all excited to see Sportsman racing on the rise again. Dave O’Blenis won the MHH 100 on June 6th. O’Blenis would be tough to beat in these big Sportsman races in 2015. Matt Rodgers was second, while Drew Greenlaw proved he could run with the big boys by finishing third.

Ryan Raynes won his first-ever Street Stock feature on June 6th. Matt Crocker won the Sharp Shooter feature while Braden Langille took the checkers in Bando. The Pro Stocks had the night off.

We had a great show on June 13th. Greg Fahey won the Pro Stock feature to serve notice that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with this season.  Rob Raynes grabbed his second Street Stock feature of the year while Jeremy Doran took top honours in Sharp Shooter and Braden Langille won the Bando feature for the second week in a row. We also had another first-ever winner that night too! Devin Snell grabbed his first-ever Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman feature on June 13th. It was a break-out season for Devin who was in the championship hunt all season long.

BTW, we held our first Capital City Auto Parts ENDURO 200 that very same weekend. The car count was a little disappointing, but the action was outstanding! Jesse Madore had a great Sunday afternoon and took the checkered flag in the first ENDURO race of the season. Unfortunately the next ENDURO, scheduled for a Saturday night in July got washed out.

The next Saturday night was June 20th and  we picked up the action at Speedway 660 with Kid’s Night. It was a great night of racing and the kid’s enjoyed their annual Candy Scramble on the front stretch. Another Pro Stock driver stepped up for his first win of 2015 and set his sights on the championship.June 20th was Kid’s Night at Speedway 660 and the two happiest kids in the house were Madison and Katie Sommerville. Their Dad Lonnie won the Pro Stock feature that night.

Devin Snell won the Sportsman feature for the second week in a row. Geoff Tugwell was the Street Stock winner while Ira Farnell won the  Sharp Shooter feature  and Braden Langille scored yet another Bando victory.

On June 27th Lonnie won the Pro Stock feature for the second week in a row. The Pro Stocks weren’t the only ones running 50 lappers on this night.  Rob Raynes continued his impressive start to the 2015 season by winning the 50 lap Street Stock feature. And we had another fifty lap race that night.The Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters had the fans on the edge of their seats and Kyle MacKinnon came out on top of that 50 lapper and was a happy camper in the Riverview Ford Victory Lane.

Also on the 27th, Randy Moore scored an impressive win in the Sportsman feature, while  Braden Langille won the Bando feature yet again.

We celebrated America’s Birthday with a visit from the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour on July 4th. The tour has been coming to the Geary Woods since we started racing here back in 1994, but they did something on this night that they never have done before!  The “Maritime Pro Stock Tour” ran 100 laps in a record setting pace of 35 minutes on July 4th. Cole Butcher won the race, while Dylan Blenkhorn and Darren MacKinnon drove home 2nd and 3rd.

Alexandra O’Blenis won the Sportsman feature on the 4th and Geoff Tugwell was the big Street Stock winner. Our Pro Stocks and Bandos had the night off.

July 11th was one of the most exciting nights of the season. Geoff Tugwell won the Street Stock 75 lap race that night and Alexandra O’Blenis won the Sportsman feature for the second week in a row. Hudson Weston finally broke Braden Langille’s streak and took the Bando feature.Noah Gillespie won his first-ever Sharp Shooter feature in mid July. Noah, is the nephew of seven time Speedway 660 champ Brian Gillespie (3rd from left). Brian retired after the 2014 season.John Rankin was spectacular on July 11th. He won his  heat race and followed that up with a first-ever victory in the Pro Stock feature.

Our ENDURO  got rained out on July 18th, but we  came back for an incredible night of racing on July 25th.  We saw Jeremy Doran take the Sharp Shooter checkers and MacKenzie Brewer win the Bando feature.  But we also had three other big wins that night.Greg Fahey won the Best of the Best Pro Stock 150 for the third time in his career.  Cassius Clark (we’ll have more on him later!) was second and Lonnie Sommerville came home third.July 25th was the night Courtney O’Blenis won her first-ever DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock feature. She would score one more feature win, seven podiums in all, third place in points and Rookie of the Year! The last weekend in July was a time to remember for Braxton Stafford too. The kid from Blackville won his first-ever heat race and forgot to go to victory lane, but then came back out and won the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman feature. 

Speedway 660 always takes a break on the New Brunswick Day Holiday Weekend to give everyone a breather before the stretch run. We came back on August 8th and saw Greg Fahey win another Pro Stock feature. Randy Moore proved he was a championship contender by winning the Sportsman feature, Geoff Tugwell won another Street Stock feature and Ashton Tucker got another Bando win. But the big race of the night was the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter 40. Matt Crocker, Mister Maritime Hustle, had a great night on August 8th. Matt drove his little double zero home in first place in the Sharp Shooter 40.

On August 16th we were back in the Geary Woods for the Firecracker 150.  The Pro Stocks and Bandos had the night off. Curtis Collins won the Sharp Shooter feature, but the night belonged to Team O’Blenis. Courtney won her second feature of the year, setting the stage for another awesome run by her Dad. Dave O’Blenis took first place prize money in the second big Sportsman race of the season on August 16th. The Firecracker 150 ran on Sunday after being postponed by inclement weather the night before.

I remember how disappointed we all were when an inaccurate weather forecast claimed Fan Appreciation Night on August 22nd.  Losing an important point race so late in the season is always disappointing.

But we combined  Fan Appreciation Night with the Night of Champions on August 29th. Kevin Moore (Pro Stock), Ryan Messer(Sportsman), Geoff Tugwell (Street Stock), Matt Crocker (Sharp Shooter) and Ashton Tucker (Bando) were our feature winners. It was one of the best nights of racing of the season and we ended up with five first-time champs.  Lonnie Sommerville, his family and the entire crew were ecstatic to win the RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock Championship. Lonnie had to hold off strong challenges for the title from Kevin Moore, Dave O’Blenis and Greg Fahey.Randy Moore came close a time or two in the past, but a championship had always eluded him until he won the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman title this year. Rob and Vicky Raynes celebrated a DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock Championship on a hot August night. After missing the title by a mere two points in each of the previous two years, Rob finally got his just reward in 2015. Kyle Boudreau won the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter Championship without winning a feature. As a matter of fact, Kyle only had one podium all year long!Ashton Tucker was our top Bando Boy in 2015. His consistency and determination payed off with the Westwood Estate Apartments Bandolero title.

We also crowned our 2015 Rookie of the Year Award winners on the Night of Champions.  Adrian Stairs (Bando), Noah Gillespie (Sharp Shooter), Courtney O’Blenis (Street Stock), Ryan Messer (Sportsman) and Alexandra O’Blenis (Pro Stock) were all awesome in 2015.Ryan Messer won his first-ever Sportsman feature on the last point race of the season. Ryan, who finished fourth in points, led an impressive group of six rookies in our Sportsman division. 

It was hard to believe the season was almost over, but we still had Irving Blending & Packaging SpeedWeekend to look forward to. After a few rain-outs earlier in the season, we deserved awesome weather for SpeedWeekend and that’s exactly what we got. Dave O’Blenis won the Irving I24 Sportsman 150 on SpeedWeekend. That gave O’Blenis a clean sweep in the three major Sportsman races of 2015!Cassius Clark won the Irving Blending & Packaging Pro Stock 250 and claimed over $30 thousand! It was the biggest payday ever in a short-track race in Atlantic Canada. Pat Sharpe and his mighty team from Woodstock won the last race of 2015 at Speedway 660. The win gave Pat his 5th ENDURO Championship.

There were a few other notable events at Speedway 660 in 2015. In August a stray bullet, fired by negligent target shooters near Speedway 660, struck a fan in the campground.  At last report, police still had not apprehended the culprits, but the injured man is making a recovery.The biggest wreck of the season didn’t occur until the Pro Stock 250 on SpeedWeekend. It left Glyn Nott’s car mangled. Not a great way to end a season. Brent Dunphy (right) became our new Race Director in 2015. He worked closely with Donnie Greer (left) our Technical Director. They established a starter’s box which improved race starts and re-starts. Brent and Donnie were firm but fair in their dealings with drivers and earned the respect of race teams in the Geary Woods.The biggest news of 2015 was the announcement of a partnership between Irving Blending & Packaging and Speedway 660. With Irving B&P on board as the major marketing partner for SpeedWeekend it gave our biggest event additional exposure and credibility. We look forward to working with the fine folks from Irving for many more years.

There were a lot of great moments and highlights in 2015 at Speedway 660. I’ve tried to mention most of them in this article, but I’m sure I’ve not captured them all. This was another great year of short-track racing and we’re already looking forward to next season.

A special thank-you goes out to all of our fans, drivers and their race teams, marketing partners and Speedway 660 staff and volunteers.   You made 2015 a season to remember.

Please have a safe and productive fall, winter and spring. When May rolls around we’ll all be anxious and ready to return to Speedway 660 for the 2016 season.

It’s time to sign off until sometime in May. Thanks for coming to our web site and checking out these Weekly postings.

And it won’t be all that long before we can say “We’ll see you at the races!”