Courtesy Gord Curran
September 29th, 2005, Fredericton, NB – NBIS management have really lost their minds. No doubt about it. No rules? Almost ready to close the book on the 2005 season, New Brunswick International Speedway has thrown out the rule book and unshackled the drivers for this weekend. NBIS will host its first ever Outlaw Race on Saturday, October 1st at 2pm. The event will allow drivers to make almost any modification they wish to their cars except for a handful of rules and feature a 50-lap street stock Outlaw Race and a 100-lap pro stock and sportsman combined Outlaw Race. The season will officially conclude the following day when NBIS hosts its final Enduro 200 of the season on Sunday, October 2nd at 2pm.
The Outlaw concept has been around for many years, but it is new to NBIS. “We wanted to have a fun, interesting race at the end of the season and this was a different approach for us,” said NBIS co-owner Chris Johnston. “Basically, except for a few basic performance rules and all of the safety rules, drivers can get creative and basically do whatever they want to make their car faster.”
NBIS also decided to put on two Outlaw Races, giving the street stock their own 50-lap race while combining the pro stock and sportsman into a single 100-lap race. The performance abilities between street stock and pro stock are substantially different, making the combination of those two divisions difficult. There are differences between sportsman and pro stock, but they are not as pronounced as the street stocks. So, do the sportsman drivers have a chance? Well, it could be interesting. The sportsman cars have gotten faster in the past few years and many claim that they are almost as fast as a few pro stocks. This is a good chance to see how accurate that claim is.
While seeing a sportsman go up against a pro stock may be attractive to some, the real point of interest will be the creativity of teams. “We’ll have everything from souped up engines to totally modified bodies, including huge spoilers,” said Johnston. “There will be some wild stuff.”
NBIS has put up $2000 to win the combined pro stock and sportsman race and $300 to win for the street stock. As an added incentive for the sportsman, there will be a $250 bonus for the highest finishing sportsman.
The Outlaw Race is not the only thing on tap for the weekend. On Sunday, October 2nd, at 2pm NBIS will end the season with their final Enduro 200 of the season. The event was originally scheduled to take place in May, but rain forced its postponement to this coming weekend. The four event series will crown their champion following the event. Co-drivers Dale Hathaway and Benji Ruff in the #8 car currently hold a slim lead over Pat Sharpe in the #51 car with past champion Ed Vallis within striking distance in third. Nathan Gallant and Trent Noble are also contenders going into the event.
Once the event ends on Sunday, NBIS will officially close the books on 2005 and look forward to 2006. Season passes will go on sale in mid-November and then the banquet will be at the end of January. Next season is actually not that far off.
Please contact Gord Curran at New Brunswick International Speedway (direct 506-455-3181, page 506-462-8116 or gord.curran@nbisonline.com ) if you have any other questions.
Saturday, October 1st, 2005 Event:
Outlaw Race
Pit gates open at 10am
Grandstands open at noon
Racing starts at 2pm
50-lap Street Stock Outlaw Race PLUS 100-lap Combined Pro Stock and Sportsman Outlaw Race
Ticket Prices:
Adults (16 and over) $16
Youth (ages 9-15) $13
Children (ages 8 and under) FREE
Family Pass: Two adults, Two youth plus 4 pop and 4 fries for $55.
Sunday, October 2nd, 2005 Event:
Enduro 200
Pit gates open at 11am
Grandstands open at noon
Racing starts at 2pm
Ticket Prices:
Adults (16 and over) $8
Youth (ages 9-15) $5
Children (ages 8 and under) FREE
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, and Coast Tire Street Stocks. Over 60,000 people are expected to attend over 25 events during the 2005 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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