Saturday is Kids Day at Speedway 660. The focus this week is on our youngest fans and it’s always amazing to see just how many kids come out onto the track during the intermission for our famous candy scramble!

Race fans saw some great action during last week’s Riverview Ford Lincoln season opener. Race teams in all five divisions were well prepared and we had one of the biggest season opening crowds in recent years. The great weather had a lot to do with that, but I also know that folks were anxious to get back to Speedway 660 after the long winter.

There were several highlights from week one, but I couldn’t get over just how good Glyn Nott and Greg Fahey were in their Sportsman and Pro Stock cars.

Fahey had to be good to win the A.L. Gullison Disaster Clean-up Pro Stock feature over former Speedway 660 champions Dave O’Blenis and Chris Duncan. And good news – O’Blenis hinted during his post-race interview that he hopes to run full-time with us this year! Dave is a class-act, a real gentleman and a great dad too!

Daughters Alexandra and Courtney both run Bandoleros full time, which takes a lot of dad’s time and efforts.

As for Glyn Nott, no-one could touch the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman driver as he scored a natural hat-trick – winning the heat, dash and feature. Could this be the year that the elusive sportsman championship trophy ends up in Team Nott’s garage? They have come oh so close so many times over the years and if week one is any indication of what’s to come, Glyn Nott will be a force in Sportsman.

Fans were on the edge of their seats and driving right along with Heidi Cooper in the RV World Street Stock division feature last week. Heidi had a fantastic run, leading the first 17 laps before giving up the lead to Rick Cashol who admitted in Victory Lane: “that little lady can wheel a car”. And that’s about as big a compliment as I have ever heard Cashol give to any driver!

The Hanwell Village Mart Bandoleros and 4 cylinder divisions continue to prosper and grow at Speedway 660. Speaking of growing, my jaw dropped when I saw young Drew Greenlaw climb out of his Bando car after finishing 3rd in the feature. I’ll bet that kid grew over a foot, since I last saw him at SpeedWeekend 2011! Cole Boudreau, our 2nd place finisher, has lost his little boy’s voice and feature winner Cole Tanner is racing with a lot of confidence after claiming the Canadian Outlaw INEX title in 2011.

I want to end this week by encouraging business people to consider sponsoring racing at Speedway 660. I know economic times are pretty tough right now, but race fans are loyal and support the businesses that support racing. And during tough economic times, folks need something to get exciting about and for lots of us, racing is that something.

Greg Fahey, our defending pro stock champ, does not have a major sponsor. And Kenny MacKenzie, who won the last two sportsman titles, doesn’t have ANY sponsors on his pro stock car! These two Speedway 660 racing stars aren’t the only racers who could use a little corporate support.

Right now our sport needs more people like Richard and Anne Martin, from Martin’s Home Heating; Larry Gullison, from A.L. Gullison Disaster Clean-up and; Everett Gilmore from Riverview Ford Lincoln. They sponsor racing because they love the sport and I hope fans remember all of our great sponsors when they go shopping for products or services.

So I hope more sponsors step-up in the weeks to come to help our race teams and Speedway 660 continue bringing us the best short track racing in Atlantic Canada. And don’t forget its Kids Day at Speedway 660 this Saturday night. The pits are open for all fans at 5:30 – Bando and 4 cylinder heats go at 6:20 and regular racing starts at 7PM. See you at the races!