THE 21ST RE/MAX EAST COAST ELITE REALTY 250 ANCHORS SPEEDWEEKEND 2021 SUNDAY AT SPEEDWAY 660
(FREDERICTON, NB – September 2nd, 2021) – SpeedWeekend 2021 at Speedway 660 is highlighted by the 21st Annual RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty 250 on Sunday, September 5th. Qualifying for the Maritime crown jewel event begins at 2pm with heat races with the 250-lap feature happening later that evening at the Geary, New Brunswick oval.
At press time, two dozen drivers are expected to race for the $10,000 top prize and their share of the $60,000 purse. The resumes of these drivers are extensive. Of those include five former RE/MAX 250 Champions, a half dozen East Coast International Pro Stock Tour race winners, several Speedway 660 track champions and even more that have won major races and championships in different diciplines throughout Atlantic Canada and beyond.
Leading the list includes two-time and defending RE/MAX 250 Champion Ashton Tucker (Lyttleton, NB). While three others had won multiple 250s before Tucker won his second, he is the only driver to win the event in back-to-back years in the 20 year history of the race. He will look to become only the third three-time winner of the race on Sunday, joining Shawn Tucker (Fredericton, NB) and last weekend’s Oxford 250 champion Cassius Clark (Farmington, ME) at that mark.
Lonnie Sommerville (Barnesville, NB) is the only other multiple time winner of the race on the entry list. Sommerville won the event in 2006 and 2009. Ryan Messer (Harvey, NB) brought the hometown crowd to their feet in 2018 with his 250 victory. The 2008 winner Craig Slaunwhite (Terence Bay, NS) enters this weekend’s event as one of the hottest Pro Stock drivers in the region after two straight wins on the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour. Dave O’Blenis (Boundary Creek, NB) is a six-time track champion at Speedway 660 and was the RE/MAX 250 winner back in the second year of the event in 2002.
Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB) has been riding a wave of momentum of big New Brunswick wins including a Pro Stock 100 win on the New Brunswick Day Long Weekend in August. Nicholas Naugle (Dartmouth, NS) is a winner this season on the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour at Riverside International Speedway. Austin MacDonald (Pictou, NS) is a 2020 feature winner in the RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock division and is coming off a CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour Super Late Model start at Radford, Virginia last weekend. Former MASCAR and East Coast International Pro Stock Tour titlist Wayne Smith (Petitcodiac, NB) is also entered in the RE/MAX 250.
The talent pool gets deeper from there. From podium finishes in the 250, track championships or feature wins, the likes of Steve Halpin (Saint John, NB), Brent Roy (Hanwell, NB), Kevin Moore (Fredericton, NB), Devin Snell (Saint John, NB), John Rankin (St. Martin’s, NB) and Chris Duncan (Hampton, NB) strengthen an already tough field of drivers. The up and coming stars and established young guns like Andrew Rodgers (Smithtown, NB), Ben Pelletier (Saint John, NB), Dustin Tucker (Darling’s Island, NB), Brad Eddy (Lower Sackville, NB) and Ian Rasmussen (New Denmark, NB) will look to make a splash in the 250 pool on Sunday evening with their first podium runs in the big dance.
Established veterans like a returning Robbie MacLean (Winsloe, PE), Chris Hughes (Brackley Beach, PE), former NAPA Sportsman Series champion Chris Reid (Sydney, NS), Robert Lee (Fredericton, NB) and Calvin Rankin (Quispamsis, NB) are itching to get on track and add a RE/MAX 250 title to their storied resumes if the chips falls their way at the end of 250-laps.
EXPECTED ENTRY LIST
21st Annual RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty Pro Stock 250
Speedway 660 – Sunday, September 5th, 2021
1 Ryan Messer – Harvey, NB
2 Ashton Tucker – Lyttleton, NB
03 Steve Halpin – Saint John, NB
08 Nicholas Naugle – Dartmouth, NS
7 Robbie MacLean – Winsloe, PE
10 Devin Snell – Saint John, NB
13 Austin MacDonald – Pictou, NS
14 Andrew Rodgers – Smithtown, NB
23 Lonnie Sommerville – Barnesville, NB
24 Ben Pelletier – Saint John, NB
26 Brent Roy – Hanwell, NB
31 Chris Reid – Sydney, NS
32 Chris Hughes – Brackley Beach, PE
41 Robert Lee – Fredericton, NB
45 Calvin Rankin – Quispamsis, NB
48 Dave O’Blenis – Boundary Creek, NB
52 Dustin Tucker – Darling’s Island, NB
72 Brad Eddy – Lower Sackville, NS
77 Wayne Smith – Petitcodiac, NB
81 Ian Rasmussen – New Denmark, NB
83 John Rankin – St. Martin’s, NB
83H Cory Hall – Jolicure, NB
88 Kevin Moore – Fredericton, NB
97 Chris Duncan – Hampton, NB
99 Craig Slaunwhite – Terence Bay, NS
SpeedWeekend 2021 will be capped on Sunday, September 5th with the 21st Annual RE/MAX East Coast Elite Pro Stock 250. The 250 is expected to draw the best talent from across Atlantic Canada to compete for the $10,000 top prize. The Atlantic Modified Tour will be back to contest their eighth scheduled point race on their 2021 season. The DMR Auto Street Stocks will race in a 100-lap feature presented by D. Gillespie & Sons Trucking. The Maritime League of Legends Tour Cross Road Cycles 40, Tim’s Corner Motorsports Bandolero Blast and the Heart of a Champion Hot Rod Classics Clash of the Classics presented by Steele GMC Buick and Fredericton Hyundai will round out the Sunday show. Qualifying begins at 2pm on Sunday, September 5th.
Advance tickets and campsites for SpeedWeekend 2021 are selling fast and are available now by calling the Speedway 660 office. For more information about SpeedWeekend 2021, or any event at Speedway 660, visit Speedway660.com, like @Speedway660 on Facebook or call the Speedway 660 Raceline at (506) 454-7223.
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.
Photos by Michelle Roy