Chubbuck, Benjamin and Thibeau also looking to take the trophy back across the border!

Fredericton, NB – The biggest name in modern stock car racing in the Northeast, Ben Rowe has announced his intentions to compete in the 10th Annual Auto Value 250.  Rowe is a four time PASS North Champion as well as a two time winner of the Oxford 250.  Rowe will pilot a car prepared by O’Neal Racing crew, the same car Sterling Marlin entered in the 2009 event.   “This race has been on my radar for a while; my schedule has never worked out until this year.  I’m pretty excited to be taking a crack at it.  It’s a great race” said Rowe.

Another familiar southern face, Travis Kittleson, will also be returning to the Auto Value 250 for a 4th attempt at victory. Kittleson has been a force to be reckoned with in his last two starts in the Auto Value 250 and he doesn’t expect this year to be any different.  “This event is now on my radar every year.  I’m fortunate to be able to drive one of Lonnie Sommerville’s cars with the help of McKay Builders.” said Kittleson who currently resides in Mooresville, NC.  Most noticeably last year he dominated the early part of the race and led over 70 laps.   Travis has had some success in these Pro stock cars.  In 2006, he was touted as one of the top Pro Stock/Super Late Model drivers in America.  In 2005, Travis took part in Jack Roush’s Driver X Show and finished in the top 8 drivers vying for a chance to race a Craftsman truck for Roush racing.  All totalled Travis has over 190 starts in Pro Stock and ASA Late Model events.  54 of those events he won!!! And was in the top 10 in 138 of the 190+ starts.  Oh yeh, he’s also had 35 poles and 87 top 5’s.

Johnny Clark is also no stranger to Speedway 660 victory lane.  Johnny is a former Auto Value 250 champion and most recently captured the PASS 200 victory at Speedway 660 on June 12th.  In victory lane that day Johnny made his intentions clear when asked if he would be returning to compete in the 2010 Auto Value 250, “Are you kidding me, I love this place and I love the 250.  I won $20,000 here in 2007.  You bet I’ll be here”.    Johnny has three PASS North wins this season and is currently leading the PASS North points championship by 13 points over Ben Rowe.

Another familiar name that is making his way to Speedway 660 for the Auto Value 250 is 2005 Champion Scott Chubbuck.  Scott is coming off a 2nd place finish in the COASTAL Blending & Packaging 150 a few weeks back and is ready to roll this weekend.  “We love coming up here on labour day weekend.  The guys look forward to it all year.” Said Chubbuck.

Rounding out the registered US competitors are 2001 Auto Value 250 Champion Kirk Thibeau and multi-year runner up, Travis Benjamin.

Please contact Angela Coffey at Speedway 660 at 506-455-3181 or [email protected]  for any questions.

The Auto Value 250
The 2010 Auto Value 250 will take place on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 and will be the highlight of the 9th Annual SPEEDWEEKEND. The event will showcase the Speedway 660 Coastal Blending & Packaging Pro Stocks against the best of the Eastern Canada and New England. The purse for 2010 will be over $70,000 with a guaranteed $15,000 to the event winner and possible winner’s cheque of $28,000. Seven years ago, the late Scott Fraser took home a record $25,400 including lap money. Only ten years old, the event as grown in crowd, atmosphere, and car count every year since its inception. Over 8,000 people attended the 2010 event to break attendance records at Speedway 660.  Forty plus pro stock cars will be attempting to qualify for 28 spots on the starting grid.

SPEEDWEEKEND
Just like the Auto Value 250, SPEEDWEEKEND continues to grow every year. Over 14,000 people attended last year’s four-day stock car fest that includes a corn boil on Friday night, O’Leary Buick GMC Sportsman 150 race on Saturday night, the Auto Value 250 on Sunday, and finishes up with an Enduro 200 on Monday. While the Auto Value 250 is the highlight of the racing event, the weekend has developed into an event on its own with over 650 campers turning Speedway 660 into a small town over the weekend. It has become the destination of choice for the region’s stock car fans.

Speedway 660
Speedway 660 is WicKID Family Fun!  The 1/3 of a mile high-banked paved oval features three classes of racing on a weekly basis: Coastal Blending & Packaging Pro Stocks, Martin’s Home Heating, and Leisure Family Rv.com Street Stocks. Over 70,000 people are expected to attend over 18 events during the 2010 season. Speedway 660 is located off Highway 7 on Route 660 in Geary, NB, and is within minutes of Saint John and Fredericton. Speedway 660 can be found online at www.speedway660.com.