(September 20th, 2024) – After a thrilling and successful 31st season of action, Speedway 660 stock car competitors see their 2024 seasons come to a close on Saturday September 21st as the first of two back-to-back weekends of excitement to close out the summer in the Geary Woods.

This weekend’s Riverview Honda Weekend of Champions sees five (5) classes in action, with four (4) crowning a champion as the sun sets on Saturday with the fifth class holding their penultimate race of a two-track series. The Re/Max East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock, Shur-Fit Automotive Bumper to Bumper Street Stock and Changing Hands Thrift Shop Sharp Shooter divisions along with the Atlantic Modified Tour will all crown Speedway 660 track champions and Rookie of the Year winners, with Summit Dodge Sportsman drivers will race for valuable points in the fifth of six races in the mini series between Petty International Raceway and Speedway 660.

A seventy-five (75) lap feature is in the cards to crown a champion for the Re/Max East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock division. Leading the charge in search of his first track championship is young second generation star Ian Rasmussen (#81). Rasmussen’s father Glenn has climbed the mountain of being a division champion four (4) times – in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Ian was only young watching his father dominate in the Geary Woods, but two decades later finds himself in position to etch his name into the history books as well. It’s been a breakout season for Rasmussen – who is the most recent winner in points championship competition after earning his first career victory – and a career defining moment potentially lies ahead.

Rasmussen holds a twenty-nine (29) point lead over a veteran competitor who has chased a track championship for decades. Kevin Moore (#88) has a mighty challenge in front to overcome his deficit to Rasmussen, but Moore is bound and determined after coming up close so many times – finishing runner-up in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Behind Moore is the leading Rookie in the class, as Marcel Leblanc (#30) has improved all season long and now finds himself third in points. A strong run could launch Leblanc ahead of Moore for second overall, which would be a monumental end to a rookie campaign. Just a few points behind Leblanc is Clark Moore (#54) who will be driving to break into the top three in standings during his final opportunity. 

Through five races, four different drivers have earned victories. In addition to Rasmussen, Greg Fahey (#20), Devin Snell (#10) and Steve Halpin (#03), with Halpin being the only multi-time winner. Fahey will be hungry for redemption after a heartbreaking late race defeat in the Yard Gear 250, while a popular star will look to avoid a shut-out in 2024. “Big Orange” Ryan Messer (#1) has been a fixture atop the Pro Stock and Super Late Model ranks since making the leap to the class in 2017. Messer has won a feature during every single season he has competed – except for 2024. Saturday will see one last opportunity for the #1 team to extend their streak to 8 consecutive seasons with a feature win.

Summit Dodge Sportsman drivers have produced elite caliber races all throughout the summer, and now they race into their final two races in the six-race series between Petty International Raceway and Speedway 660. With no track champion being crowned, this is for all the marbles and atop the standings is a longtime star hoping to finally earn a season long triumph – but the margin is as close as it gets! 

The “Old Musket” Richard Atkinson clings to a narrow one-point lead after his victory at Speedway 660 on August 17th. Atkinson maintains that one-point gap over Kenny MacKenzie Jr (#85) – but that’s not all! Atkinson leads by just three (3) points over Koven Lewis (#46) and four (4) points over Jacob Logan (#37). Simply put, there are four drivers separated by four points and anyone could come away with the title. Fifth place is sneakily keeping himself in the mix as well, with Charles Mercer (#19) trailing by just ten (10) points in a five-car fight for the championship.

It will be a seventy-five (75) lap feature for the Summit Dodge Sportsman drivers before they race back to Petty International Raceway on Saturday October 5th to crown the champion. Last year it was the winner of the Riverview Ford Sportsman 150 on SpeedWeekend in Drew Greenlaw (#23) earning the title, but with Greenlaw not chasing points this season, it’s a wide open race.

It has been one of the most action packed divisions in 2024, and now it sees one of the closest points battles waiting to be settled. The Shur-Fit Automotive, Bumper to Bumper Street Stock division competitors have a fifty (50) lap affair awaiting on the horizon to crown the 2024 division champion. It’s shaping up to be a duel between two former track champions, each looking to earn their second division triumph. Riley Goodwin (#77) – the 2021 track champion – leads defending champion Justin Cole (#38) by just eight (8) points in the standings. Cole and Goodwin have captured one win each this year – with Cole earning a podium finish in each points-paying race except for one. A finish outside the top ten on August 17th may prove to be detrimental to his title defense if he cannot overcome the deficit on Saturday. For Goodwin, he has earned a podium in every race except for two – but both of those being top five finishes have enabled him to climb to the top.

A longshot bet for the title is third place Luc McLaughlin (#11), who leads the division in wins with three this season. Unfortunately, engine issues on opening day buried McLaughlin in a deficit he has yet to overcome as his top competition has run consistently well every race. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t love to play spoiler on Saturday.

It’s been a year of first-time winners in the class, with the last two points paying feature seeing drivers pull into Riverview Ford Victory Lane for the first time. Ron Enkel (#52) and Jonathan Hanley (#71) each earned emotional and thrilling feature victories, showing the level of competition the class has produced this summer. Another first-time winner could be in the works for Saturday – could it be fourth in points Kyle MacKinnon (#22), leading Rookie contender Dan Gillespie (#83), or a heat winner from earlier in the summer in Jimmy Sommerville (#5).

For the first time in track history, a Speedway 660 Atlantic Modified Tour champion will be crowned. Drivers have been racing for Speedway 660 points in conjunction with their season long Atlantic Modified Tour championship. Through five (5) of six (6) races, there have been five (5) different feature winners – with two (2) exhilarating races on Lyle Bongard’s RV Sales SpeedWeekend producing two (2) first-time winners.

Conrad Murphy (#89) was awarded the win following post-race technical inspection during the Friday night George Fitzpatrick Memorial feature, while Tristin Harris (#7) cruised to his first career AMT win on Monday afternoon. Murphy and Harris joined Yves McCray (#58), Chris Wilson (#2W) and Doug Matchett (#75) as feature victors in the Geary Woods this summer.

Matchett leads the way in Speedway 660 points with a comfortable lead he will look to maintain. Mr. Excitement sees seventeen (17) points in his mirror back to Wilson, who is narrowly ahead of Harris by just one point after Harris’s SpeedWeekend triumph. With McCray and Murphy rounding out the top five in points, the five (5) feature winners are showing the way, but everybody behind them looks to make it six (6) winners in as many races. 

Sixth in points is most recent AMT winner from Petty International Raceway Joe Hoyt (#17) – yes, the same Joe Hoyt that crashed in spectacular fashion on lap 98 of the Yard Gear 250. Hoyt is a veteran Modified driver and never skipped a beat, going from flipping over the backstretch bank in a wild crash to parking in victory lane less than two weeks apart. If Hoyt has found redemption, Kevin Bailey (#2) might be next to do so too. Bailey initially crossed the line first in the George Fitzpatrick Memorial, but lost the win in the tech shed. Drivers like Zean Dutcher (#55), TJ Leighton (#29), Braxton Stafford (#91), and Robert Miner (#84) will look to spoil the party at the front for the championship contenders and earn a big win late in the season during their thirty-five (35) lap feature.

Overall Atlantic Modified Tour points – for a class which has produced a total of eight (8) winners in ten (10) races – sees Wilson narrowly ahead of Matchett in what has been a head-to-head duel all season long between the Miramichi drivers.

In what potentially could be one of the largest margins of victory in Speedway 660 championship history, BJ Gillespie (#69) is on the verge of locking up a record third career Changing Hands Thrift Shop Sharp Shooter title. Previously winning titles in 2021 and 2022, Gillespie enters the Riverview Honda Weekend of Champions with a massive eighty-seven (87) point lead – just shy of a full race worth of points. However, anything can happen and fans will want to keep an eye on the competition Saturday.

Last race on Lyle Bongard’s SpeedWeekend produced a first-time winner in Wayne Fox (#00), who made the trip from Spud Speedway country in Maine to wheel to a big victory and stun the local contingent. Gillespie had a restart slip-up which trapped him deep in the field, and he was never able to overcome it entirely as an epic battle unraveled for the final podium positions.

The points picture behind Gillespie sees top rookie Tyler Collett (#21) sitting impressively second in points – having come up just short of a feature win on several occasions. He’ll have one last opportunity on Saturday, and is the only contender mathematically capable of topping Gillespie for the title. Defending champion Darren Wilcox (#32) finds himself third, and looks to wrap up another podium finish in points – but he finds himself in a tie with Curtis Tremblay (#00), who has been one of the most improved drivers all season. Brain Maillet (#83), with both Maillet and Tremblay seeking career best finishes in final points. Austin Harnish (#13), Matt Martin (#33), Braden Carr (#74), Todd Day (#4) and Robert Kamphuis (#99) all aim to make one final push to break into the top five in points.

It will be a thirty-five (35) lap feature to conclude the 2024 campaign for Changing Hands Thrift Shop Sharp Shooter competitors this weekend.

Pre-race fans will be treated to an on-track autograph session beginning at 3:00pm. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and meet their favorite stars of Speedway 660’s stock car racing classes before they go race for their respective championships.

Take note of the start time as action begins at 4:00pm on Saturday September 21st with heat racing starting the night off. Grandstands open at 2:00pm while pit gates open at 10:30am. Grandstand tickets are just $20, and as always, kids fifteen (15) years of age and under are admitted free! Please note that pit access is restricted to those aged sixteen (16) years of age and older, except for youth who are direct family members of a driver, who can enter the pits with proper signed waivers. All entrants to the pits must complete the e-waiver prior to entering the pits.

For all up-to-date info from Speedway 660, check us out online at Speedway660.com, or find them on Facebook at “Speedway 660”.

 

About Speedway 660:

Speedway 660 is one of Canada’s premier stock car racing facilities. Located in New Brunswick’s Fredericton region, it has attracted race teams and fans from the Maritimes, New England and Quebec since 1994. The Speedway 660 racing season runs from mid May until late September. SpeedWeekend, one of the most prestigious short track events in eastern North America, is the marquee event of the Speedway 660 season on Labour Day Weekend.