I hope everyone had a great time during the New Brunswick Day Holiday Weekend. I know a lot of race teams and fans were on vacation and I hope you are all rested up because this Saturday night things are going to be hot at Speedway 660.

That’s because the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman drivers and visiting teams will compete in the Firecracker 150. This is one of my favourite races of the year. A hot August evening, great competitive race car drivers and you – that’s a great combo!

If our Sportsman Division was any more competitive and exciting it would be illegal. These guys get fired up for a regular race night, but this Saturday night they will turn the heat up another notch. Its fun to watch for more than a couple of reasons, but I will tell you about two of them.

Some guys will rush out and try to get to the front right away and lead as many laps as they can. Other drivers will bide their time and try to be within striking distance of the leaders with 25 to go. The other thing I will be looking for is lane choice. Many teams will set their cars up to run the second groove while a few will prefer to run the inside lane.

Myles Harris will be a patient driver on Saturday night when he tries to win the Firecracker 150, the second major Sportsman event of the year at Speedway 660

Back on July 11th, Myles Harris played his cards perfectly in the Martin’s Home Heating 100. He took his time for the first three-quarters of the race and then stepped up in the last 25 laps. While most drivers were happy in the 2nd groove, Myles stayed low and passed some great cars on his way to the Auto Pride Victory Lane.

It will be interesting to see if any of the other drivers adjust their strategies, based on the success Myles had almost a month ago. This is the last major tune-up for Sportsman drivers before SpeedWeekend, when they run the O’Leary Pontiac Excitement 150.

I know some of you may be headed to Halifax this weekend for the second Triple Crown pro-stock event. Wayne Smith won the IWK 250 at Riverside in July and will try to win the Atlantic Cat 250 this weekend at Scotia Speedway. If Smith wins, he will be eyeing that fifty thousand dollar bonus that goes to any driver who can win all three Triple Crown races.

I hope our New Brunswick pro-stockers have a good weekend at Scotia. There are several who could drive to victory and I wish them all the best. And if you are going to “The Ocean Playground” this weekend, please drive carefully, enjoy the races and be sure to invite everyone to SpeedWeekend.

As for me, I am more than happy to stay close to home this weekend because the Sportsman drivers will be lighting off 150 firecrackers in the Geary Woods.

We’ll see you at Speedway 660 this weekend when you come out to cheer for your Saturday Night Hero!