What great fans we have at Speedway 660! Last Saturday, everyone was excited about a full night of racing that included the Best of the Best Pro Stock 150 and the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100. Bandoleros, 4 cylinders and street stocks were also on the schedule.
The sun was shining but it was a little muggy when the first green flag of the evening flew. After an hour or so it started to rain. Sun shining, rain falling! I don’t think anyone left the premises. It took over an hour to dry out the track and resume action. With the rain delay we lost the hour we anticipated gaining by starting at 6 o’clock. So it was a late night and by the time all was said and done it was “mid-night-ish” when we hit the road home. But our fans hung in there and certainly got their money’s worth on an exciting night of racing.
The bottom line is this: fans make racing. You can have lots of sponsors and race teams, which are extremely important, but without a strong fan base you won’t be able to run a race track for long. And Speedway 660 certainly has got the fans. We appreciate your support and thank-you for making our brand of short-track racing a big part of your summer fun.
Saturday Night Hero
There were a few strong performances worthy of our Saturday Night Hero Award. Matt Maillet had an awesome night, winning the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman 100. Greg Fahey flexed his Charlotte County muscles and dominated the O’Leary Auto Group Best of the Best Pro Stock 150. And Shannon Brake made an incredible last lap pass to win the RV World Street Stock feature. All three of these guys were strong candidates for this week’s Saturday Night Hero.
However, when I thought it over, it came to me that perhaps someone else deserved recognition and maybe for being more than a race car driver. So my Saturday Night Hero is Dave O’Blenis and if you keep reading I will tell you why.
Last weekend Dave brought four cars to Speedway 660. He had Sportsman and Pro Stock cars to drive himself, because this was a good test for his plan to run double duty on SpeedWeekend 2011. But he also brought a pair of Bandolero cars to the track for daughters Alexandra and Courtney to drive.
Dave O’Blenis has won two or three Pro Stock championships at Speedway 660. He also won an AutoValue 250 on SpeedWeekend a few years ago. He is still a young man and in his prime as a driver. But Dave is first and foremost a family man. The last couple of years he has only run a part-time schedule and has scaled back his racing to be able to spend more time with his family.
Some weeks his pro stock and sportsman cars are left home and Dave brings the girls and their Bando cars up to race. Other weekends he stays away from the race track to go on family camping excursions. Dave O’Blenis is a great racer, but he’s an even greater Dad and that’s why he is our latest Saturday Night Hero.
By the way, in case you missed it, O’Blenis finished 2nd in the Best of the Best Pro Stock race. And while running 3rd in the sportsman race, with less than a lap to go, he was unceremoniously dumped by a driver who must have thought he was competing in an Enduro race!
First Enduro of the Year
Speaking of Enduros, our first one of the season goes this weekend at Speedway 660. Enduro racing is an important division at Speedway 660. Over the years some pretty good drivers have competed in Enduros and then moved up to other divisions. It’s a rough and tumble brand of racing and unlike Sportsman racing, it’s OK to “invite” another driver to the beach!
The Buzz about Jimmy
Fans are excited about Jimmy Spencer’s plans to come to Speedway 660 to enter the AutoValue 250. Jimmy’s a pretty popular guy and everyone is looking forward to meeting him and watching him race. Landing Jimmy Spencer for the 250 is like icing on the SpeedWeekend cake.
The Enduro’s take over Speedway 660 on Saturday night. The action kicks off at 7 o’clock. It’s bound to be a blast! See you at the races.
