The Best of the Best: Looking Back to the 2014 race
(July 19, 2015) The Best of the Best Pro Stock 150 is one of our biggest and most exciting races of the year. It ranks second only to the Irving Blending and Packaging 250 on SpeedWeekend. This year McLaughlin Roof Trusses has stepped up to present the Best of the Best 150 to our fans. While we wait in anticipation for this year’s race, lets look back to 2014 and remember the race everyone wants to win!
Best of the Best 2014 Photo Album
Brian Gillespie won the first heat to qualify for the 2014 Best of the Best 150. After 21 years of competition in the Geary Woods, Brian would hang up his helmet at the end of the season.Ben Rowe drove “Hurricane” Hal O’Neal’s car to a win in the second heat. Ben won the Best of the Best race for Hal back in 2012. Two-time Irving Blending and Packaging 250 winner Lonnie Sommerville takes the checkered flag in the third heat race. Alicia Mowat unveiled her Pro Stock car on this night. The former Bando driver finished 15th in the race. This year Alicia is in the running for the RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock Rookie of the Year.Early on in the 2014 Best of the Best 150 two of the heat winners battle hard for the lead. Sommerville gets an outside run and finally gets around the “Nackawic Nite Train” for the lead.The other heat race winner also ran up front for most of the 150. Ben Rowe was particularly good on the long green flag runs.The action really starts to pick up later in the race. Rowe goes low on Sommerville, while Dave O’Blenis and Kevin Moore are right in the thick of things too!It really looked like these two guys were going to run side-by-side right to the finish, but they got a little too close for comfort and spun out late in the race. No fault racing rules put them to the back of the pack on the re-start.After the spin Dave O’Blenis inherited the lead, but Kirk Thibeau put lots of pressure on the 48 as the laps wound down.O’Blenis held on for the win and a guaranteed starting spot in the Pro Stock 250 in the 2014 SpeedWeekend. It was Dave’s second straight Best of the Best win and the fourth of his career! Big Kevin Moore had a strong finish and came home in 2nd place. Under the new format for the 2015 McLaughlin Roof Trusses Best of the Best 150, second place will also qualify for the 250.Chris Duncan’s team celebrate a 3rd place finish in last year’s 150. We haven’t seen Chris in 2015 and miss the two-time RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock champion.So that’s our photo flash-back to the 2014 Best of the Best Pro Stock 150. Dave O’Blenis, Big Kevin Moore and Chris Duncan were on the podium one year ago. We’ll have to wait until next weekend to see who flashes the biggest smile in the Riverview Ford Victory Lane.