October 6, 2011 – Shediac (N.B.) – With Mother Nature forecasting lots of warm temperatures this coming weekend, drivers from the four Atlantic Provinces are set to converge at the Centre for Speed (CFS), Atlantic Canada’s Super Speedway and Metro Moncton’s ‘Playground of Power’, for two days of action-packed racing as part of the 12th Annual Atlantic Stock Car Championships.
Upwards of 85 drivers from throughout New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, as well as two drivers from Newfoundland and Labrador have so far registered to compete in FIVE stock car division events with additional drivers expected on race day. This weekend’s (October 8 & 9) end-of-season stock car celebration will include the Wilson’s Fuels / Go Stores Pro Stock 150 as well as a ‘door-handle-to-door-handle’ Streetstock 100 on Saturday, with over 30 Streetstock drivers registered. On Sunday, Atlantic Championship racing continues with heart-stopping action in Late Model Modified Sportsman, Atlantic Open Wheel (AOW) Modifieds, and Bandolero divisions.
A number of current and former track, tour and defending Atlantic Champions, will be competing in this weekend’s racing events, which begin Saturday (October 8) with qualifying heats at 12:30 p.m. and feature races at approximately 2:00 p.m. Top Pro Stock drivers from the Maritime Pro Stock Tour (MPST) and the Fredericton area who have so far registered for Saturday’s Wilson’s Fuels / Go Stores Pro Stock 150 include defending 2010 Atlantic Champion and three-time MPST Champion, John Fleming of Halifax, along with George Koszculics from New Glasgow, N.S., Bern Hickey from Avondale Speedway in Newfoundland, as well as local favorites Dave O’Blenis of Boundary Creek, N.B., Gary Hicks of Moncton and Michael Kyle of Berwick, N.B.
Saturday’s event will also feature some of the best Streetstock racing ever seen in the Maritimes with four former Atlantic Champions set to compete in the 100-lap finale, including 2010 Atlantic Champ and five-time Fredericton track champion, Rick Cashol of Saint John, Jamie Vassallo and Mike Rozicki from Cape Breton, 2011 Oyster Bed Speedway (PEI) Champ Nick Chaisson, as well as multi CFS Champions, Rémi Gaudet of Barachois and Don Marcoux of St. Charles, N.B.
Sunday’s (October 9) action, which gets underway with qualifying heats at noon (12 p.m.) and feature races at approximately 2:00 p.m., will include racing in the unpredictable Late Model Modified Sportsman 100, as well as the final race of the season for the Atlantic Open Wheel (AOW) Modified touring series (50 lap feature) and some of the best up-and-coming young drivers (aged 8 to 15) in the Maritimes in the Bandolero division finale (25 lap feature).
Sunday’s Late Model Modified Sportsman 100 will pit some of the top Modified division drivers from Oyster Bed Speedway (OBS) in PEI against some of the top Sportsman drivers on the mainland, with Sportsman cars having been beefed up with extra horsepower for this event. A number of Modified competitors from PEI, including 2011 OBS Modified Champion, Robbie MacEwen of Charlottetown, will pit their driving skills against mainland Sportsman competitors such as John and Calvin Rankin from Quispamsis, N.B. and Ronnie Lane of Pine Glen, N.B.
A reminder that on Saturday, October 15, CFS will host the final stock car racing event of 2011 which will include over 37 competitors in the Vance Hanes Auto Parts Sportsman 100 as well as over 40 drivers in the Four-Cylinder divisions vying for the 2011 Atlantic Championship titles. This event was originally scheduled for October 1, but had to be postponed due to inclement weather.
Admission prices, advance tickets and a full event schedules for all of these events are available at www.centreforspeed.com
The CFS speedway urges everyone to check the CFS web site (www.centreforspeed.com), the Racing Spectator website (www.racingspectator.ca) or call the speedway’s info line to check the status of these events before travelling as a rain date will be announced in the event of poor weather conditions.