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NBIS Prepares for 5th Annual SPEEDWEEKEND Irving 250 Highlights Weekend of Elite Racing August 27th - Fredericton – Geary may be but a small community on the New Brunswick map for most of the year, but for the past five years, it has become a hub of activity on Labour Day for one reason – Speedweekend. The region’s stock car fans descend on New Brunswick International Speedway from September 1st-4th to enjoy a weekend festival of stock car racing, highlighted by the Irving Oil 250. With less than a week to the big event, every indication is that the event will grow once again. NBIS management will be working on the final preparations this week, but ready or not, Speedweekend kicks off with the free Bridges Farms Corn Boil on Friday night at 7pm (Sept 1). The racing starts at 7pm on Saturday, September 2nd with the O’Leary Pontiac Excitement Sportsman 150 and Atlantic Open Wheel (AOW) feature. Last year almost 40 sportsman attempted to qualify for 26 spots on the starting grid. “The sportsman race was originally a support class, but the Saturday show has evolved into a huge event of its own,” said co-owner Chris Johnston. “The car counts keep growing every year and we expect it will again this season.” The big show is on Sunday, September 3rd with the Irving Oil Pro Stock 250 Presented by Coca Cola. A full card of racing is slated for the day with action starting at 2pm with pro stock qualifying another AOW feature, and a Street Stock 50 lapper. After a brief break in the action, the green flag for the 6th Annual Irving Oil 250 will drop at approximately 7pm. NBIS caps off the weekend with an Enduro 200 at 2pm on Monday, September 4th. The Irving Oil 250 Presented by Coca Cola will showcase the NBIS CARQUEST Pro Stocks against the best pro stocks of the Eastern Canada and the New England including Busch East veteran Brad Leighton and NASCAR’s Johnny Benson. It is billed as the Largest Racing Event in Atlantic Canada with a purse OVER $60,000 with a possible winner’s cheque of $28,500. This includes a guaranteed $15,000 to the event winner. Initial estimates have the expected car in the area of 35-40 pro stocks from the Maritimes and Maine. For a relatively young event, Speedweekend has already staked its claim as the premier annual stock car weekend of the season. Last year, the event attracted over 13,000 people with approximately 7,500 attending the Irving Oil 250 on Sunday. Camping has also proved to be a popular side attraction with just over 400 campers enjoying the weekend last year, many of them rolling in well before the event. This year, reservations for camping spots and tickets has kept the NBIS office hopping for much of the month of August, indicating another increase in camping and crowds. “We are certainly expecting a lot more people this year,” said NBIS co-owner Chris Johnston. “Most of the people who attended last year circled the date on their calendars so we’ve been fielding calls since at least June. And for the past three weeks, we’ve been dealing with a flood of ticket and camping reservations. More than last season.” Given that the crowd was near capacity last year for the Irving Oil 250, the speedway will be installing some new grandstands in anticipation of a larger audience and working on creating additional parking and camping areas. “We still have a lot of work, but basically this week we are concentrating on preparing the facility for the 13,000 or more people that are expected for the weekend. It’s a nice problem to have.” stated Johnston. The Irving Oil 250 The 2006 Irving Oil 250 will take place on Sunday, September 3rd, 2006 and will be the highlight of the fourth annual Speedweekend. The event will showcase the NBIS CARQUEST Pro Stocks against the best of the Eastern Canada and New England. The purse for 2006 will be over $60,000 with a guaranteed $15,000 to the event winner and possible winner’s cheque of $27,500. Three years ago, the late Scott Fraser took home a record $25,400 including lap money. Only six years old, the event as grown in crowd, atmosphere, and car count every year since its inception. Over 7,500 people attended the 2005 event to break attendance records at Canada’s Fastest Short Track. A record 39 pro stock cars, including several Maine drivers, attempted to qualify for 28 spots on the starting grid. Visit www.nbisonline.com/250 for more info. Speedweekend Just like the Irving Oil 250, Speedweekend continues to grow every year with over 12,000 people attending the weekend in 2005. In 2006, the four-day stock car fest is scheduled for September 1st-4th and includes a corn boil on Friday night, O’Leary Pontiac Excitement Sportsman 150 race on Saturday night, the Irving Oil 250 on Sunday, and finishes up with an Enduro 200 on Monday. While the Irving Oil 250 is the highlight of the racing events, the weekend has developed into an event on its own with over 400 campers turning NBIS into a small town over the weekend. It has become the destination of choice for the region’s stock car fans. New Brunswick International Speedway New Brunswick International Speedway is Canada’s Fastest Short Track. The 1/3 of a mile high-banked paved oval features three classes of racing on a weekly basis: CARQUEST Pro Stocks, Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman, and Coast Tire Street Stocks. Over 60,000 people are expected to attend over 25 events during the 2006 season. NBIS is located off Highway 7 on Route 660 in Geary, NB, and is within minutes of Saint John and Fredericton. NBIS can be found online at www.nbisonline.com.
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