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Photo by Karly Leclair
(CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – May 20th, 2025) – Oyster Bed Speedway kickstarted its 2025 stock car racing season with a rare but once traditional Victoria Day special – the 40th Anniversary A&S Scrap Metals Season Opener and Demolition Derby – on Monday, May 19th, 2025. Six house divisions contested races that saw many dramatic finishes and several first-time and triple winners, and a demolition derby and car crusher captivated a strong crowd for an event postponed from Sunday due to inclement weather.
Four drivers emerged as triple winners on Monday – three took home grand slams for the first time in their racing careers, and two became first-time feature winners within their respective divisions. In addition, a driver from afar visited Palmer Automotive & Truck Center victory lane twice during their first trip to Oyster Bed Speedway.
Charlee Rayner (#24) dominated all three Reliable Motors Beginner Bandolero races in the start to her sophomore campaign, with one being her second career feature win, her first since Fan Appreciation Night in June last season. She finished ahead of Regan MacBeth (#34) and Landon MacBeth (#32) in both races, who each put up strong performances.
The Reliable Motors Outlaw Bandolero division wasn’t shy of controversy throughout its 15-lap feature, especially at the end. On the final lap, major contact in turn four on the final lap between Andrew O’Connor (#63) and reigning opening day feature winner Simon Doyle (#91) allowed for Mason Gillis (#9) to steal the win in a three-wide sprint to the finish alongside Oyster Bed Bridge natives Hunter MacKinnon (#07) and Wyatt Peters (#33). It was Gillis’s first feature win in the Outlaw division, third in the Bandolero class, and second career triple win, with his last coming during his 2023 Beginner Bandolero championship run.
MacKinnon cracked the feature podium for the first time in years. Reigning Beginner Bandolero champion Hudson Linzel-Waddell (#57) finished fourth in his Outlaw debut while Nova Scotia’s Irelyn Rose (#47) – who came across the line fifth – had a roller coaster of a race in their second run of the weekend following Scotia Speedworld’s season opener on Saturday.
Rose started on the front row and ran into mechanical issues likely caused by an incident earlier in the day, forcing them to the pits following a caution just seconds later for a single-car spin; since the first lap wasn’t completed, a full restart was executed, and Rose, who was able to make it back onto the track in time, regained her position and shot away from the field. With a first career feature win only one lap away, a multi-car incident on the last lap re-racked the field for a green-white-checkered attempt, paving the way for a crazy finish.
That wasn’t the last of climactic finishes – the Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bomber division saw Spencer Paton (#35) pick up his third career triple win, albeit facing an extremely close call approaching the final lap for the 20-lap feature. Caycie DesRoches (#16) and Randy Perry (#33) were each jumped on the first lap by Paton and Jamie Ronaghan (#59) – the latter went from fifth to second in one lap. Ronaghan eventually caught Paton about halfway through the race, and the two were side-by-side with six laps remaining.
Lap traffic became a major factor, with the two having to squeeze by rookie Jason Arseneau (#68) down low – they were successful that time, but once they caught up to rookie Kate Bridges (#96) coming to the white flag, the three cars sandwiched down the frontstretch, sending Paton and Bridges into the pit entry guardrail. While Bridges’ day was done, Paton managed to keep going despite carrying big damage on his left front, and he held off Ronaghan in a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Perry and DesRoches rounded out the finishing field – Arseneau left the feature early.
Before finishing third in the feature, Perry notably had a wild ending to his semi race run – coming to the checkered flag in a battle for third, he and Arseneau made contact, sending Perry around and across the line with his back bumper still beating Arseneau.
The final of the triple winners was a massive statement, as sophomore driver Brady Albert (#12) shined in the start to his sophomore campaign in the Moore Well Drilling Outlaw division, winning all three of his races in a new car formerly owned by past track champions Mitchell Montgomery and Ricky Millar. Albert, whose best feature finish was ninth across 10 starts in 2024, started at the back for his heat race and surged to the front within a few laps, and later dominated his semi race.
In the 20-lap feature, he and multi-time champion Kendell Palmer (#45) fought a spirited battle for the lead within the first six laps, trading some paint until Albert finally cleared ahead and led the rest of the way en route to his first career feature and triple win. Palmer kept Jordan LeClair (#47) at bay for second, with rookie and reigning Mini Stock champion Cash Bridges (#69) recording his first Outlaw feature top five ahead of defending champion and opening day feature winner Brandon Forsyth (#3).
While Corey Bridges (#04) didn’t get the feature finish he would’ve desired after collecting heat and semi race wins, it was still a solid start to his second year in Outlaws, coming off a tumultuous summer in 2024. For a second consecutive year, Jessie LeClair’s (#46) season began with misfortune as his engine expired during pre-race practices. Jamie Cummings (#81) suffered the same fate and will have to wait another weekend to debut his new look.
Two other divisions had drivers nab their first wins of 2025 during the feature, each coming out of the Gauthier’s Auto Repair shop. In Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stock action, 2024 Rookie of the Year Campbell Stewart (#3) saved his best performance for last, improving from third and fifth-place qualifier results with a dominant 20-lap feature win. The win didn’t come too easily as, while he led every lap, fellow sophomore Austin Corrigan (#10) never let him get away and made a big impression in the start to his second season in Mini Stocks.
Veteran Randy MacTavish (#76) nearly stole the runner-up position in the closing laps but was narrowly edged out. Ricky Bedell (#2) and sophomore Corbin MacAulay (#17) rounded out the top five. Bud’s Speedway regular Mikey MacDougall (#7) – the owner of a division sponsor at the Sydney, Nova Scotia track – spoiled the PEI party during the heat and semi races but ultimately finished sixth in the feature in his Oyster Bed Speedway debut. Rookie Claya Cole (#21) improved her career-best feature finish to seventh after claiming ninth in her one-off debut last August.
The other Gauthier’s Auto Repair machine in feature victory lane was Tyler Gauthier (#30) in the Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stock division – while fiancée Sarah Jay started the event and completed the qualifiers, Gauthier hopped in and took on a hard charger challenge for the extended 35-lap feature, which he executed with ease. The two-time Street Stock champion went from eighth to first within about 20 laps, passing Mike Duskey (#42) en route to back-to-back feature wins within the division, his last coming at last year’s season finale.
Duskey’s runner-up finish followed a semi race win in a photo finish with Randy Millar (#77). Millar won his heat race and finished second in the semi race, but a brake issue during the feature held him back to ninth. Matthew Ford (#86) started reeling Duskey in for second as the laps wound down but had to settle for third. Three-time champion Nick Chaisson (#27) scored fourth over rookie and former Outlaw champion Devin Gallant (#36) and two-time champion Colton Ford (#35). Colton’s return – his first start since the 2023 Piston Cup 75 – was highlighted by a podium finish in the heat race.
Former Eastern Super Mini Cup Series competitor David Griffin (#26) made his first start at the quarter-mile oval in several years. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned, as after spinning in both qualifiers, particularly suffering heavy front-end damage during the semi race, Randy Snow (#26) filled in for the feature and brought the car home in eighth.
Eddy Wells, from Miscouche, won the demolition derby and went home $1,000 richer. Cole Peters won the Power Wheels race.
Oyster Bed Speedway’s 2025 stock car racing season continues on Saturday, May 24th, with the year’s second event headlined by the PiccottCare Legend Super Series opener and its first of four $300-to-win rounds across the summer. It’ll be the first time since 2019 that Oyster Bed Speedway has sanctioned a Legend division with a championship at season’s end. Five house divisions will play support, including Beginner and Outlaw Bandoleros, Mini Stocks, Outlaws, and Street Stocks. The event has a tentative start time of 6pm.
Reliable Motors Beginner Bandolero 10-Lap Feature Results
1. #24 Charlee Rayner
2. #34 Regan MacBeth
3. #32 Landon MacBeth
Reliable Motors Outlaw Bandolero 15-Lap Feature Results
1. #9 Mason Gillis
2. #07 Hunter MacKinnon
3. #33 Wyatt Peters
4. #57 Hudson Linzel-Waddell ®
5. #47 Irelyn Rose
6. #23 Oliver Rayner ®
7. #91 Simon Doyle
8. #42 Payton Gallant ®
9. #63 Andrew O’Connor
10. #10 Juliana O’Connor ®
Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stock 20-Lap Feature Results
1. #3 Campbell Stewart
2. #10 Austin Corrigan
3. #76 Randy MacTavish
4. #2 Ricky Bedell
5. #17 Corbin MacAulay
6. #7 Mikey MacDougall
7. #21 Claya Cole ®
8. #13 Rosie Kitson
Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bomber 20-Lap Feature Results
1. #35 Spencer Paton
2. #59 Jamie Ronaghan
3. #33 Randy Perry ®
4. #16 Caycie DesRoches
5. #96 Kate Bridges ®
6. #68 Jason Arseneau ®
Moore Well Drilling Outlaw 20-Lap Feature Results
1. #12 Brady Albert
2. #45 Kendell Palmer
3. #47 Jordan LeClair
4. #69 Cash Bridges ®
5. #3 Brandon Forsyth
6. #49 Bradley Richard
7. #38 Tayler Albert
8. #04 Corey Bridges
9. #95 Jeff Bridges ®
10. #11 Ethan Albert
DNS – #33 Dre Folland, #46 Jessie LeClair, #81 Jamie Cummings
Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stock 35-Lap Feature Results
1. #30 Tyler Gauthier
2. #42 Mike Duskey
3. #86 Matthew Ford
4. #27 Nick Chaisson
5. #36 Devin Gallant ®
6. #35 Colton Ford
7. #4 Andrew Thompson
8. #26 Randy Snow
9. #77 Randy Millar
More Information
Stay up-to-date on our website and social media pages for more breaking news and updates as they happen across the 2025 season and beyond.
Oyster Bed Speedway can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at @oysterbedspeedway, and @obspeedwaypei on YouTube and X.
Merchandise is available at www.obsmerch.ca. Shop Samantha Busch merch is available.
About Oyster Bed Speedway
Oyster Bed Speedway is Prince Edward Island’s premier auto racing facility and features fun and excitement with multiple stock car racing events throughout the season. The 1/4 mile paved oval is located in Oyster Bed Bridge at the intersection of routes 6 and 7, halfway between Cavendish and Charlottetown on beautiful Prince Edward Island.
Website: www.oysterbedspeedwaypei.ca
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