Flemming is lights-out at Speedway 660!
July 6, 2013
Fredericton, NB -John Flemming won the Irving Blending and Packaging 100 at Speedway 660 on Saturday night for his third Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour victory of the year. But it wasn’t easy. Flemming had to overcome two red flag stoppages after electrical issues forced officials to stop the race when the lights when out at the track. Then he had to reel-in Shawn Tucker, the race leader, and make a late pass to seal the deal.
“Our car was great on the long runs and I was happy we had over forty laps of green flag racing to take us to the win” said Flemming. “Shawn was tough especially on those short runs we had around the middle of the race, but I thought we had something for him if the race stayed green.”
Tucker, the winner of the Irving Blending and Packaging 100 in 2012, had to settle for second place this year. He passed Dave O’Blenis for the lead on lap 42, but couldn’t hold off Flemming in the final ten laps.
“Our car was good, but not good enough for the win so we’ll have to settle for second place for the second week in a row” said Tucker. “We were loose at the end of that long run and John had a better car tonight, so we’ll have to go back to the shop and continue to work hard to try to get to victory lane.”
O’Blenis won the Atlantic Tiltload time trials and the King Freightliner dash. He also led most of the first half of the Irving Blending and Packaging 100 before he was forced to pit under caution with a flat rear tire. Starting deep in the field on the re-start, Speedway 660’s RE/MAX Group Four Realty Pro Stock point leader made a charge for the front. But O’Blenis ran out of laps and had to settle for a third place finish.
“We had a strong car tonight and were really hooked up on the outside after pitting for that flat tire and tried our hardest to get back up front with the leaders” said O’Blenis. “John and Shawn were both strong and I am not sure if we had anything for them if we had of been able to catch them, but it sure would have been fun to try.”
Dylan Blenkhorn and Steve Halpin won the Parts for Trucks Tour heat race. In other action, fans saw great racing in the DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock and Martins Home Heating Sportsman division.
George Jamieson had a strong run in his sportsman car. He won the feature and his heat race, while Randy Moore won the other heat. Andrew Rodgers had his best finish ever, finishing second in the feature, while Jason Shannon came home third.
Robert Raines was impressive in the street stock feature, taking his number 41 to the Riverview Ford Lincoln Victory Lane. Raines held off Rick Cashol, who finished second and rookie Luc MacLaughlin who took third. Justin Cole and Rob Pethick won the heat races.
Next Saturday night Speedway 660 hosts weekly points racing. Fans will see action in five exciting divisions. Heat races for street stock, sportsman and pro stock start at 7PM. Bandolero and four cylinder heats go at 6:10PM