Late Breaking Peterbilt 250 News...
Posted August 31/07; Source: NBIS

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With this weekend's Peterbilt 250 on the brink of happening, momentum is at an all-time high with fans, sponsors and racers all wanting to be a part of the action...The track issued several releases Thursday with late-breaking news for the weekend, as follows...

Fast Eddie Racewear Award Announced
Another addition to the awards package for the weekend has been announced. Fast Eddie Racewear will be awarding each winning teams in the O Leary Pontiac Sportsman 150 and the Peterbilt 250 with 6 crew shirts for their teams. The teams will be allowed to order these shirts from stock designs and order the appropriate sizes for team members. "We are very excited to partner with NBIS is this great weekend of racing" said Tony Payton of Fas Eddie Racewear.

Bulletproof Solutions Announces $1000 Halfway Award!!!
Bulletproof Solutions Inc is proud to announce that they will be sponsoring the Halfway Award for the Peterbilt 250 this coming Sunday. The Fredericton based company will provide $1000 to the leader of lap 125. “We are very excited to be involved with the Peterbilt 250 again this year,” said Bob Buchanan , Chief Operating Officer for Bulletproof Solutions. “This event continues to grow and the talent level of this years event is simply staggering.”

Additional Parking Available For Expected Crowd
You might think that the NBIS owners spent most of the winter planning the 2007 season. Well, they did, but they also had a few items that kept popping to the top of the list – Leisure Family RV Centers SPEEDWEEKEND, more parking, more camping, and more seating. After lots of planning and even more labour, co-owners Steve Burns, Tracy Burns, and Chris Johnston have the capacity for the 14,000 plus fans and over 550 campers they are expecting this coming weekend for the sixth annual Leisure Family RV Centers SPEEDWEEKEND featuring the seventh annual Peterbilt 250.

Every year, the owners have gradually tried to accommodate the expected growth and every year it’s gotten a little bigger than anticipated. “It been an ongoing challenge for the past few years,” said Johnston, “A great problem to have, but one we have to solve. We want the fans to enjoy every part of the event – from the racing to where they sit or stay over. However, every year the event grows. You bring in more seats and those are filled. We make more parking and the camping grows and takes over what was intended to be overflow parking.”

Right, the camping. Just when most people are putting away the tents and campers and preparing for fall, your typical Maritime stock car fan is bucking that trend. This weekend, they’re packing up the cooler, tent, 5th wheel or whatever passes for shelter and heading for Geary. NBIS has of today 550 reservations. There were already 240 campers on site as of Thursday.

So less parking this year? No, more camping and more parking – a lot more. “We added more camping area, but even better we added more parking behind the speedway”, said Johnston, “It gives us a lot more parking than we’ve ever added. We’ve also introduced a shuttle on Sunday that will bring people back and forth from their cars. If you told me six years ago that we would be parking behind the speedway and shuttling people I would not have believed you, but we’ve had incredible response to this weekend.”

As for the stands, NBIS built up the area around turn 2, put up more fencing, and added more stands in the area, providing another 1000. “ All in all these changes are focused towards improving the fan experience at NBIS over the weekend”.

Ramstrom Set To Be Youngest Driver Ever to Compete in Peterbilt 250
How’s this for a “what did you do over the summer essay”?? Derek Ramstrom of West Bolyston, MA will be attempting to become the youngest driver in history to compete in the Peterbilt 250. No seriously, Derek is 16 years old and he races pro stock cars. How many grade 10 kids do you know that can wheel a pro stock car at 100 mph inches from a pack of other cars?

Derek has been racing on the Pro All Stars Series full time this summer and has 6 top 10 finishes in 14 starts. Pretty impressive to say the least. Even more impressive is the fact that Derek won the Pro All Stars Series Outlaw Championship last season at the very mature age of 15yrs.

“I cant wait to get to Fredericton” said the excited 16 yr old, “We’ve been talking about this race for over a year now and I’m really excited. I’ve been learning a lot this summer on the PASS tour and its really great for me to be able to come to events like the Peterbilt 250 and run against the top notch teams”.

Derek will have some local support this weekend , O’Leary Pontiac owner Jerry OLeary is increasing his exposure once again for this weekend by sponsoring Derek for the Peterbilt 250. “I simply cant believe this kid is only 16 yrs old” said Oleary, “ I’ve been in these cars and its not an easy task run one of these cars at the front. With everything we’ve seen from Derek this summer, he’ll be a top running car come Sunday afternoon”. Derrick will also be flying the colours of the Fredericton Inn this weekend.

Robin’s Inn Rewards NBIS Drivers
Robin’s Inn is proud to announce that it will provide a $300 bonus to the highest finishing NBIS CARQUEST Pro Stock regular in the Peterbilt 250. This is the second year that the Waasis area motel will sponsor the contingency award.

Locally owned and operated, the Robin’s Inn has been the sponsor of the popular Hat Trick Award provided to the driver who wins his heat, dash, and feature in a single points event. In order to be eligible for the Peterbilt 250 contingency, drivers must have participated in at least 60% of the NBIS pro stock events this season (points races and/or Best of the Best events). The only other condition is that if a local driver wins the event, the award goes to the next highest finishing local car.

The competition has gotten stiffer over the past few seasons but NBIS regular Dave O’Blenis won the race in 2002 and local drivers have fared very well over the past few years by claiming podium finishes. But, it’s always nice to know that there is a little more on the line for those that make the effort to put on a show for the fans all summer long.

“We appreciate Robin’s Inn participation this coming weekend,” said co-owner Chris Johnston. “They are with us every week and it’s only fitting that they are part of the biggest race of the year and rewarding the drivers who our fans see each and every week.”

The Peterbilt 250
The 2007 Peterbilt 250 will take place on Sunday, September 2nd, 2007 and will be the highlight of the 6th Annual Leisure Family RV Centers SPEEDWEEKEND. The event will showcase the NBIS CARQUEST Pro Stocks against the best of the Eastern Canada and New England. The purse for 2007 will be over $70,000 with a guaranteed $15,000 to the event winner and possible winner’s cheque of $28,000. Four years ago, the late Scott Fraser took home a record $25,400 including lap money. Only seven years old, the event as grown in crowd, atmosphere, and car count every year since its inception. Over 7,500 people attended the 2006 event to break attendance records at Canada’s Fastest Short Track. A record 44 pro stock cars, including several Maine drivers, attempted to qualify for 28 spots on the starting grid.

Leisure Family RV Centers SPEEDWEEKEND
Just like the Peterbilt 250, Leisure Family RV Centers SPEEDWEEKEND continues to grow every year. Over 14,000 people attended last year’s four-day stock car fest that includes a corn boil on Friday night, O’Leary Pontiac Excitement Sportsman 150 race on Saturday night, the Peterbilt 250 on Sunday, and finishes up with an Enduro 200 on Monday. While the Peterbilt 250 is the highlight of the racing event, the weekend has developed into an event on its own with over 475 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, and Coast Tire Street Stocks. Over 70,000 people are expected to attend over 20 events during the 2007 season. NBIS is located off Highway 7 on Route 660 in Geary, NB, and is within minutes of Saint John and Fredericton.