(May 11, 2016) This weekend everyone is excited to head down to the Geary Woods to kick off the 2016 racing season at Speedway 660. After a tech inspection and practice on Saturday, racing begins on Sunday at 2PM. For many years Riverview Ford has been one of our biggest supporters and marketing partners. We recently caught up with Everett Gilmore, from Riverview Ford, to talk about our sport. 

A Conversation with Everett Gilmore

Wade: Hello Everett, the Riverview Ford Season Opener is this weekend and everybody is pretty excited to go racing in 2016.

Everett: Well after a typically long New Brunswick winter everyone is looking for some entertaining excitement and Speedway 660 is the place to be this weekend. It’s always great to start a new season and get back down to the Geary Woods to see some good short-track racing. This year it looks like there will be lots of rookies, especially in pro stock, so it will be interesting to see how they make out. It’s also nice to see how good the cars look after the race teams put in a lot of work over the winter. And it’s also pretty special to see folks who we haven’t seen since SpeedWeekend last September.

Wade: You personally are a big race fan and Riverview Ford is one of our biggest marketing partners. How did you guys first get involved with racing down here in the Geary Woods?

Everett: I’ve loved racing ever since I was a kid and when Speedway 660 opened in 1994, it didn’t take long before I became a weekly fan. From a business perspective, it’s the ideal marketing medium for Riverview Ford. Our dealership got involved way back in the early days by sponsoring a couple of local racers as well as the late Scott Fraser. Then we were approached by the previous owners to take on a bigger role and we haven’t looked back. We provide the pace car and have been the title sponsor for the season opener for several years and more recently we expanded our marketing efforts by taking on victory lane.  It has been a real good fit for our customers, staff and our dealership. Riverview Ford is one of the most visible marketing partners at Speedway 660. 

Wade: As you mentioned Riverview Ford has provided the pace vehicles for many years, brought our great fans the season opener and sponsored the Riverview Ford Victory Lane. You are obviously happy to be a part of the racing community.

Everett: Our involvement has been very positive. There are a lot of race fans in the greater Fredericton area and our association with Speedway 660 is a natural partnership. Ford is a big player in NASCAR and it only makes sense for us to help bring fans really good racing in our local area. Riverview Ford’s sales department, service department, parts department and collision repair center all support racing at Speedway 660.When the checkers fly, every driver in every division wants to be the one who gets the photo-op in the Riverview Ford Victory Lane.

Wade: Riverview Ford is one of the best known car dealers in Fredericton. You have a great line-up vehicles, the company is also focussed on the community and is a great corporate citizen.

Everett: Absolutely, our company has a history since day one of proudly supporting many local groups, sports teams and charitable organizations. Riverview Ford believes in working with a wide range of partners to make a strong community and we’ve always been willing to play a role in making that happen.

Wade: Every year you bring an incredible line-up of vehicles down to the track to showcase to our fans, during the Riverview Ford Season Opener. What can we expect to see this weekend?

Everett: This year we will feature the capable, convenient and versatile new 2017 Ford Escape. Of course we’ll bring some of our great cars and the UNDISPUTED truck leader the Ford F series. At Riverview Ford we’ve got a lot of incentive programs that will make it easy for you to get into a Ford. So in addition to seeing some great racing this weekend, we’re looking forward to showing race fans the new line-up of Ford vehicles.The Ford formula for the compact crossover combines space and utility with off-road capability and an elevated seating position. The brand new 2017 Ford Escape will be on display at Speedway 660 this weekend.

Wade: Marketing the Riverview Ford brand is a big part of your involvement with Speedway 660, but I also know you are a big fan of short-track racing. What is it about racing that excites you?

Everett: I enjoy the competition, good clean hard side by side racing with the odd little bump and run. That is short track racing at its best and that’s what fans expect when they visit Speedway 660. The racing has been consistently good for over two decades and I know that we’re going to see some mighty good action this weekend at the Riverview Ford Season Opener.Drivers and fans alike are excited about the Riverview Ford Season Opener. We haven’t seen this kind of action since SpeedWeekend 2015!

Wade: There have been a lot of changes in racing over the years and a lot of changes in the automotive industry. What is the number one thing Ford provides to its customers?

Everett: Ford Motor Company is the industry leader in vehicle safety and innovation. We have vehicles that have systems that will assist drivers with collision avoidance and parking. Above all, Ford takes a lot of pride in producing extremely safe vehicles.Ford builds some of the safest vehicles in the world. The Ford Motor Company’s commitment to safety is their top priority!

Wade: I want to thank you and all of the folks at Riverview Ford for your continued support of racing. Our fans, race teams and the Speedway 660 staff and owners sure appreciate everything you do for us.

Everett: Everyone at Riverview Ford is really happy to have the opportunity to be associated with racing in our local area. Speedway 660 has very loyal fans and many of them drive Fords. So we are really pleased to offer them great vehicles and service. As I said before Speedway 660 is an ideal marketing medium for Riverview Ford to promote our product, our staff and our complete organization.It’s always a thrill for a young driver to win a feature and drive into the Riverview Ford Victory Lane. Dawson McIntee hopes to take his Sportsman car back there a few times this season.

Wade: Thanks for taking time to talk with us Everett and we all look forward to seeing you this weekend at the Riverview Ford Season Opener!

Everett: Thank you Wade, we’ll see you at the track and look forward to a great year of Speedway 660 racing in all divisions. I want to wish all of the drivers and their race teams lots of luck this season and hope we get excellent weather too.