Double-Header Weekend in the Woods: Pro Line 100 on Saturday; Points Racing on Sunday

Gord Curran, General Manager, New Brunswick International Speedway

August 3rd, 2005, Fredericton, NB – There will be no shortage of excitement in the Geary woods this weekend as NBIS has back-to-back events on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday night, the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour (CPST) is scheduled to make their second appearance of the season with the Pro Line 100. Then NBIS comes back on Sunday afternoon with points racing in all three divisions including a 50 lap CARQUEST Pro Stock event. The Sunday event is a make up of a rained out event from May.

The CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour continues to produce excellent cars counts and Saturday should be no different as several NBIS CARQUEST Pro Stock Division regulars expected to join the event. NBIS regulars Matt Harris, Paul Gahan, Dave O’Blenis, and Jerry Curtis participated in the tour’s first visit to NBIS on June 18th resulting in a 30-car count.

In addition to the NBIS regulars, CPST will be bringing several familiar faces starting with Fredericton’s Shawn Tucker, who is the defending CPST Points Champion and Irving Oil 250 champion. The race will also feature three-time NBIS CARQUEST Pro Stock Division Champion Brad Mann (Glen Livet, NB) and Kevin Moore (Fredericton, NB), who won the June 18th race and has his sights on a sweep of the NBIS CPST races.

Current points leader and Canadian Motorsports Hall of Famer Rollie MacDonald (Pictou, NS) holds a slim 3-point lead over Wayne Smith (Timberlea, NS) with rookie contender Shawn Turple (Enfield, NS) sitting third. Tucker and Mann sit fourth and fifth respectively. In addition to the Pro Line 100, fans will be treated to points racing in the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman (30-lap feature) and Coast Tire Street Stocks (20-lap feature). Green flag is scheduled to fly at 7pm (6:10 start for time trials).

Atlantic Lottery’s PRO LINE will offer Maritime race fans a chance to win a trip for two to the UAM-GM Quality 500 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fans can fill out their ballots for the trip by stopping by the PRO LINE tent where they can also try their hand at wagering on professional stock car racing.

On Sunday afternoon at 2pm, NBIS returns for another full schedule of events with the points racing in all three divisions including a 50-lap CARQUEST Pro Stock feature. The Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman will run a 30-lap feature, while the Coast Tire Street Stocks will run a 20-lap feature. Several CPST drivers are expected to stay over to get some laps in for the Irving Oil 250 on September 4th. The Caribou Kid, Dale St.Peter, is expected to make a return to the Geary facility on Sunday. St.Peter was a regular in the CARQUEST Pro Stock Division for several years before taking a hiatus. He returned for one race last season, but intends to race more this season. Kirk Thibeau, one of the big event warriors at NBIS, will also be racing on Sunday. Thibeau was inaugural winner of the Irving Oil 250 in 2001.

The two points events in both the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman and Coast Tire Street Stocks will either give the current points leaders some breathing room or really shake up the standings. The Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman will likely experience the greatest movement as points leader Bradley Logan holds an eight point lead over Brian Gillespie. Michael Banks sits only 12 points back and Steven Rodgers 18 points back. Greg Fahey, Wade Harris, and Brian MacNaughton are all within 34 points of Logan, creating a logjam at the top of the standings. However, Logan is currently on a tear, having won the Sportsman 125 on July 23rd and finished fifth in the last points race on July 16th.

In the Coast Tire Street Stocks, points leader Rick Cashol has a little more comfort room. He has a 29 point lead over Joe Albert with Street Stock 75 lapper winner Mike Francis sitting in third, 61 points behind. Francis has started to pull in some top finishes, so that battle may tighten up over the remainder of the season. Meanwhile sophomore driver Robert Raynes rounds out the top four, 77 points out of first.

The CARQUEST Pro Stock Division may only have one points race this weekend, but it may shuffle the deck a great deal. Defending champion Dave O’Blenis and last season’s Rookie of the Year Paul Gahan are tied for the points lead. Behind them are a pride of drivers looking for a good run – Glenn Rasmussen (tied for third, five points behind), Hal O’Neal (tied for third, five points behind), Jody Harris (fifth, eight points), Leon Christie (sixth, 12 points), and Mike Stevens (seventh, 15 points) are within 15 points of the leader.

A full schedule of events including start times for time trials can be found on the NBIS website http://www.nbisonline.com/ or the CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour website http://www.maritimeprostocktour.com/. Weather looks clear for the weekend, but fans and drivers should call 506-454-RACE (7223) for event status before leaving home if the weather looks doubtful.