Season Opener Take Two: Wade’s Weekly ’14 #2
Is everybody set to go racing? I thought so! Hopefully Speedway 660 will dry out enough to allow us to start the 2014 season this weekend. The Pre-Tech and Practice Day is set for Saturday and the Riverview Ford Season Opener goes Sunday afternoon.
Get Ready, Get Set, Let’s Go Racin!
Race fans aren’t about to let a little Spring-time precipitation get the better of them. Last weekend was wet, especially Saturday. Speedway 660 officials were wise to make the call to postpone the opening weekend of racing early last week. Even if it hadn’t rained on Saturday the Geary Woods was just too soggy to allow us to race. So we’re hoping for some solid sunshine, temps in the high teens and a nice southerly breeze this week to dry things out enough to go green this weekend.
With the 2014 season just about to get underway, fans, race teams, our marketing partners and Speedway 660 owners, staff and volunteers are anxious to return to the scene of so many exciting race events.
Speedway 660 has five strong divisions of racing that thrills thousands of fans each year from the middle of May until Labour Day weekend. Short track racing is great family entertainment and we look forward to seeing your family when we go racing this weekend.
I was looking at the schedule the other day and like the idea of starting a little earlier than we have in recent years. It’ll be nice to build some early momentum and watch the rivalries heat up as we head into the summer months. This weekend’s Riverview Ford Season Opener will be followed by Kid’s Night. We’ll race this coming Sunday at 2PM, before switching to our regular 7PM Saturday time slot on the 24th.
Following a regular points racing event on May 31st, we’ll welcome the Pro All Star Series drivers to the Geary Woods. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen these guys. Last year their only Atlantic Canadian race date was cancelled because of rain and because they had so many rain-outs last season, we didn’t see their top drivers at SpeedWeekend either, because they had to re-schedule one of their point races for the same weekend.
The week after the PASS event, look out for a new event on the race schedule. Speedway 660 will hold the Bandolero Blast 30. These Bando boys and girls are amazing and I am pretty stoked that we are featuring a special event for them. On June 21st, we’ll be entertained with the Martins Home Heating Sportsman 100. These extended lap Sportsman races are always a great night of action. Next up will be an exciting doubleheader weekend.
On June 28th we’ll showcase the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter 30. The drivers of these little cars are going to put on a great show for us with their first extended feature race. The very next afternoon, hold onto your hats, because Enduro madness breaks out at Speedway 660. It’ll be the first of three Enduro events of the 2014 season.
Our Sharp Shooters are intense! These little four cylinder cars are evenly matched and it often comes down to the driver who lets it all hang out. But sometimes that leads to an exciting dust-up or two!
On July 5th we welcome the Maritime Pro Stock Tour to our track for a 100 lapper. It’s always an amazing night of action when our friends from the tour come to town. They always put on an awesome show and in addition to running for tour points, they use the race to prepare for the Auto Value 250.
The week after the tour runs here, we’ll witness more of the hardcore action that only comes with the Enduros. They’ll run their only Saturday night show of the season. It’s great to see the Enduros race, especially when they take the green for their only night race of the year!
Next comes the DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock 50. Don’t miss this one, because rivalries are bound to boil over when these drivers let loose on Canada’s fastest short-track! Street Stock racing reminds me of the kind of action I used to see when I was a kid, lots of beating and banging with the odd temper flare-up.
Our Street Stock Division provides fans with “old school” racing. These drivers will do whatever it takes to get to the front when they run their fifty lapper in July!
Next up are two big 150 lap races. On July 26th we’ll see the Best of the Best Pro Stock 150, followed by our traditional mid-season break, on the August long holiday weekend. But we come back with a bang when Speedway 660 ignites the Sportsman Firecracker 150 on August 9th.
Then we’ll hold Fan Appreciation Night, followed the next week (August 23) with the Night of Champions. In the past these two events were combined on the same night, but I like the idea of splitting them up, because it will really allow us to highlight fans one week and champions the next.
Fan Appreciation Night is lots of fun for everyone, especially our youngest race fans. Everyone gets a chance to meet their favourite drivers before heading back to the grandstands to watch a awesome night of action.
By then, we’ll be into the last weekend of August and that means SpeedWeekend 2014. Harvey’s Corn Boil and the Re/Max Group Four Realty Concert go on Friday, August 29th, followed by the Irving Blending and Packaging Sportsman 150 on Saturday, the Auto Value 250 on Sunday and the Championship Enduro 150 on Monday afternoon.
Shawn Tucker loves Speedway 660! He’s had a lot of success here and last year became the first, three time winner of the Auto Value 250. You can bet Team Tucker will try for number four in 2014!
And that in a nutshell is what we’re up to at Speedway 660 in 2014. We’re all anxious to fly the first green flag of the season this weekend. Remember Pre-Tech and Practice runs Saturday at 1pm and the Riverview Ford Season Opener is scheduled for Sunday at 2PM. We’ll see you at the races!
