By 
Photo by Clark MacIntyre
(CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – September 4th, 2025) – Oyster Bed Speedway is set to conclude its 40th-anniversary celebration with an instant classic of a season finale under the lights, just days after its most popular annual event on Labour Day Monday.
PEI’s premier auto racing facility will host five racing classes for its final 2025 show on Saturday, September 6th, with two regional tours, two track championship finales, and its yearly crown jewel race wrapping up a wild, fast-paced summer.
In regional touring competition, the Fort Garry Industries Maritime Pro Stock Tour will embark on its second and final trip to the ¼-mile oval in 2025 for an early-September showdown, the Mr. Lube + Tires 150, round eight of 10 on the Tour’s calendar. The Pro Stocks will be joined by the Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour for their seventh of 10 rounds this season, the Island ICF 50, which marks another visit to the Island by them as well.
In local action, the Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stocks, which crowned a divisional champion this past Monday, will contest the 15th Annual Emmett Donahue Memorial 100, a special non-points race featuring a purse of upwards of $14,000 and a $3,000 base-winning prize, with whoever claims the checkered flag after 100 laps having their name engraved onto the prestigious Piston Cup.
The Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bombers and Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stocks will play support and be the final track-sanctioned classes to award a championship this season.
Event Information
Date: Saturday, September 6th, 2025
Important Times: Pits and grandstands open at 12:30pm, practices from 2:00-4:50pm, racing begins at 6:00pm
Classes: Fort Garry Industries Pro Stock Tour, Maritime League of Legends, Street Stock, Mini Stock (Domestic), Bomber (V6)
Ticket Prices: Adults – $30 | Youth (8-15) – $10 | Children (7 & Under) – FREE | Pits – $40 with electronic e-waiver (must be 8+ to enter)
Ticket Info: Tickets can only be purchased at the gates on race day. Cash, credit, and debit are accepted.
eWaiver Link: https://os.speedwaiver.com/
Race Day Storylines
$14,000+ Purse, $3,000+ To Win, 100 Laps On Tap for Street Stock Memorial Finale!
It’s a quick turnaround for the Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stocks after their championship finale this past Labour Day Monday. While their points are done for the season, they still have one race left to conclude their 2025 campaign, dedicated to one of the track’s toughest competitors to roar around its tight confines, making it all the more fitting for one of the most difficult and demanding stock car races to win in the Maritimes.
Emmett “The Legend” Donahue raced for over 25 years, garnering great respect among his peers and collecting many wins and awards. Sadly, the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee passed away in December 2024; shortly thereafter, Oyster Bed Speedway management unanimously agreed to dedicate the next and 15th edition of the Piston Cup 100 in his memory. Fittingly, an illegal piston from one of his engines is attached to the front of the acclaimed Piston Cup trophy, making it even more special for whoever can outlast the competition on Saturday.
The Street Stocks are used to running 40-50 laps total per Oyster Bed Speedway event on average; but, 100 laps, on top of a 12-lap heat race for each car, is in a whole different ballpark. With no halfway break and no competition cautions, each racer will be put to the test to see who, between man and machine, can survive the endurance and obstacles of the tight, high-banked bullring and outlast a hungry field desperate for money and to have their name carved on the illustrious Piston Cup.
In addition to what the 100-lap feature will offer, the qualifying procedures will have an interesting twist compared to past years, with a “Passing Points” +/- system being utilized within the heat races this year to determine the feature starting lineup. After a random draw at the driver’s meeting to decide heat race lineups, drivers must capitalize on passing cars across 12 laps, while simultaneously finishing high in case of tiebreakers. Whoever records the highest passing points score (ex. start 5th, finish 2nd = +3) will start on the pole for the main event.
As of press time, the expected entry list includes nineteen (19) Street Stocks, with fourteen (14) hailing from the Island and looking to keep the trophy on red soil, and five (5) trekking across the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick.
Six track champions across multiple divisions are entered, with that number recently going up courtesy of veteran Matthew Ford (#86) this past Labour Day Monday. Two previous Piston Cup champions from the Island, Colton Ford (#35) and Mike Duskey (#42), will vie to join defending victor Michael Cormier (#68) as the next two-time conqueror of the event.
Ford, Duskey, Keaton Vessey (#001), and rookie Devin Gallant (#36) are all fresh off race victories on Labour Day, with that day also seeing some old-timers make long-time-no-see returns to the speedway, including Gordon Stewart (#24) and two-time Street Stock champion Darrell Ford (#53).
From the mainland, it’s one of the most exciting and star-studded crops in years, with Michael Cormier returning to defend his 2024 crown and being joined by fellow multi-time Petty International Raceway, Mike Stevens Memorial, and River Glade International champion Kenny MacKenzie Jr. (#85), who is excited for his first PEI start in four years.
Veteran Drew Lewis (#61) and second-year driver Joel Leblanc (#27L) will tag along, with Lewis making his first Island start since 2022, and Leblanc set for his Oyster Bed Speedway debut as the reigning Petty Raceway Street Stock Rookie of the Year; notably, he recently finished second at Speedway 660’s SpeedWeekend 100.
And, of course, we can’t have an “Emmett Donahue Memorial” without car #28, which will be driven by his best friend, Tom “Big Poppa” Nicholls, in his first PEI start since 2022. Nicholls was the track’s 2011 Street Stock Rookie of the Year and is a three-time R&R Speedway (Miramichi) champion – twice as a driver, once as a car owner – and the 2024 Maritime All-Star Series Street Stock owner’s champion.
15th Annual Emmett Donahue Memorial 100 Expected Entry List (19 Cars)
*List Subject to Change Without Notice*
#001 – Keaton Vessey – Charlottetown, PE
#05 – Jason Arsenault – Winsloe, PE
#4 – Andrew Thompson – Hartsville, PE
#24 – Gordon Stewart – Breadalbane, PE
#26 – David Griffin – Charlottetown, PE
#27 – Nick Chaisson – North Milton, PE
#27L – Joel Leblanc – Shediac, NB
#28 – Tom “Big Poppa” Nicholls – Estey’s Bridge, NB
#35 – Colton Ford – Oyster Bed Bridge, PE
#36 – Devin Gallant – Rustico, PE
#42 – Mike Duskey – Hampshire, PE
#51 – Mitchell Arsenault – Summerside, PE
#53 – Darrell Ford – Oyster Bed Bridge, PE
#61 – Drew Lewis – Petitcodiac, NB
#66 – Brodie MacQuarrie – Brackley Beach, PE
#68 – Michael Cormier – Grand-Barachois, NB
#77 – Randy Millar – Freeland, PE
#85 – Kenny MacKenzie Jr. – Salisbury, NB
#86 – Matthew Ford – Ellerslie, PE
Cory Hall vs. The Field – Will The IWK 250 Champion Go Unbeaten on PEI in 2025?
He led every lap with the Super Late Model Series in June. He dominated the latter half of the previous Maritime Pro Stock Tour race in July. He went from ninth to first in just over 20 laps and never looked back with the Super Late Model Series in August. The question is, will “Hurricane Hall” rain, pour, and roar loud one more time?
Being the most recent winner on the Pro Stock Tour at Riverside International Speedway and having gone 3-for-3 in Pro Stock competition at Oyster Bed Speedway in 2025 thus far, Cory Hall (#83) has an opportunity to accomplish something we haven’t seen in over half a decade.
While the last time a driver won all Pro Stock races at Oyster Bed in the same year – Cole Butcher across two Pro Stock Tour races in 2018 – was at a time when there was just one tour, that only makes what’s possible this time around even more incredible and monumental if Hall can seal the deal.
It should be noted that the Tour’s current points leader, up by four points over Ashton Tucker (#2) with three races remaining, didn’t have it so easy during the Tour’s previous visit to PEI. Had it not been for a late-race caution, PEI’s Darren MacKinnon (#18) was right on Hall’s back bumper, ready to fight him to the brink and possibly steal a victory.
MacKinnon and everybody else have one last shot to dethrone “Hurricane Hall,” with this Saturday’s field expected to include twenty (20) cars, a season-high that features two additions compared to the BJ’s Truck Centre 150 – an Island debut for Alex Johnson (#80), and multi-time OBS podium finisher Russell Smith Jr. (#88).
Perhaps The PEI Contingent is Saving Their Best For Last?
Speaking of the Cole Butcher 2018 fact, there’s more.
Since 2019, at least once per year, an Islander has ventured into Palmer Automotive & Truck Center victory lane in Pro Stock touring competition. A mainlander victory would end that long streak, of course, but if it’s Cory Hall, add brooms to the conversation. We do not doubt that the eight-car Prince Edward Island squad will refuse to let that happen, especially a full sweep by Hall.
With three races down and one more to go, we’ll find out on Saturday who’s done their home track homework for the grand finale. Both Darren MacKinnon (#18) and former Super Late Model Series champion Dylan Gosbee (#16) have yet to finish outside the top five in a PEI race this summer. MacKinnon finished second behind Hall at the BJ’s Truck Centre 150, while Gosbee looked to be the fastest in the early going, leading 39 laps, but had to settle for fourth.
2024 race winner Robbie MacEwen (#40) has been fast all summer, especially at home, and pulling off consistent top-5 and top-10 finishes, but is still looking for that extra speed and luck that helped him end a five-year winless streak one year ago. His most recent runs include a seventh at Speedway 660’s Pro Stock 250 and fifth at the Summer Clash 250. He has one podium – a third at the SLMS Island Construction 200 in August.
Chris Hughes (#32) has battled all sorts of adversity all season, including an early DNF at last month’s Summer Clash 250, but is back at the place where he calls home and recorded his best finish this season, sixth, at the BJ’s Truck Centre 150.
Super Late Model Series points leader Tanton Wooldridge (#01) is a significant addition after not competing at the BJ’s Truck Centre 150, and will be a name to keep an eye on considering his back-to-back Super Late Model Series podium runs – one being a runner-up – in June and August.
PEI veteran Allison MacKinnon (#07) and former track champions Matt Palmer (#28) and Mark Leclair (#51) will also be within the Island mix.
Recent Record-Breaking 5-Time SpeedWeekend 250 Winner Eyes First PEI Triumph
“The Sheriff” has conquered all but one Maritime oval in a Pro Stock. From the Summer Clash 250 in Halifax and a Pro Stock Tour 150 at Riverside to the Mike Stevens Memorial at Petty and many Pro Stock 250s at Speedway 660, the winning resume for Miramichi’s Ashton Tucker (#2) keeps filling up. However, there’s still one notable void – a win at Oyster Bed Speedway.
It was just two years ago when Tucker made his Prince Edward Island debut, but wound up with back-to-back Super Late Model Series DNFs. One year later, he cracked the podium and never finished worse than fifth. This year, running with the Pro Stock Tour instead and making his Island debut with them, he again emerged on the podium with a strong late-race push.
Heading into his second try in 2025 and sixth career Island start, just four points behind Cory Hall in the Tour championship, is it this race where he overtakes Hall again for the points lead and simultaneously helps Brad Silliker Motorsports overcome years of close calls?
Multiple Drivers on a Redemption Quest After BJ’s Truck Centre 150 Struggles
For the last two years, the Maritime’s best had just one opportunity to claim PEI glory. Now, in a year with a second race just days away, the Mr. Lube + Tires 150 offers an additional chance, especially for some who Lady Luck dealt a bad hand in July.
Nova Scotia’s Ryan VanOirschot (#25) showcased a career-best pace at the BJ’s Truck Centre 150, leading 19 laps and displaying potential for an outstanding result. That was until a parts failure took him out just over 100 laps in. Coming off a top-10 run at his home track, Riverside International Speedway, what could we see out of the Antigonish native in his second try on PEI?
Fellow Scotian Sam Rogers (#0) came close to a top-10 finish in his first Pro Stock start at Oyster Bed over a month ago, even after sustaining early-race damage, but will still be hungry for better, especially after a recent early Summer Clash 250 DNF. He hasn’t cracked the top 10 since a Scotia Speedworld race in June.
Allison MacKinnon only managed to complete 19 laps in his first Tour start in two years before he was hit with mechanical issues. It’s been three years since his previous top-10 in the 2022 Summer Clash 250 – does the cold streak come to an end at home this weekend?
And then there’s reigning Tour champion Jarrett Butcher (#54) and last year’s Rookie of the Year, Gage Gilby (#25G), who had a major conflict in the closing laps of the BJ’s Truck Centre 150 that also collected Jordan Veinotte (#11v), resulting in significant championship implications.
Gilby managed to cross the line 10th, but Butcher’s 15th-place DNF cost him deeply in his ongoing hunt for back-to-back championships. The season is far from over, however, as three races remain at some of Butcher’s best tracks, with him 32 points behind Cory Hall.
While Gilby is a further 69 points back, all it could take is three races for a sudden sophomore surge to blossom, and it could start at a place where he finished runner-up last year.
Mr. Lube + Tires 150 Expected Entry List (20 Cars)
*List Subject to Change Without Notice*
#0 – Sam Rogers – Lower Onslow, NS
#01 – Tanton Wooldridge – Summerside, PE
#07 – Allison MacKinnon – Oyster Bed Bridge, PE
#2 – Ashton Tucker – Miramichi, NB
#11v – Jordan Veinotte – Porter’s Lake, NS
#16 – Dylan Gosbee – Cornwall, PE
#18 – Darren MacKinnon – Charlottetown, PE
#25 – Ryan VanOirschot – Antigonish, NS
#25G – Gage Gilby – Enfield, NS
#26 – Braden Langille – Shubenacadie, NS
#28 – Matt Palmer – Lot 16, PE
#30 – Stephen Lively – Shubenacadie, NS
#32 – Chris Hughes – Stratford, PE
#36 – Gary Elliott – Truro, NS
#40 – Robbie MacEwen – Sherwood, PE
#51 – Mark Leclair – Brackley Beach, PE
#54 – Jarrett Butcher – Porter’s Lake, NS
#80 – Alex Johnson – Enfield, NS
#83 – Cory Hall – Plymouth, NS
#88 – Russell Smith Jr. – Lakeside, NS
Maritime Legends Prep For Visit #2 to PEI Amidst Exciting Championship Battle!
After accompanying the Super Late Model Series in August for round one, the Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour will shadow the Maritime Pro Stock Tour this time for their second Island visit in 2025, which also serves as their seventh of 10 rounds on the season and second of four consecutive weekends of racing.
Currently, eighteen (18) Legends are expected to hit Oyster Bed Speedway’s high banks for the Island ICF 50, with the entry list featuring a mix of championship contenders, regional standouts, and local talents eager to make a name for themselves. Some weren’t with us for the PiccottCare 50 last month, including recent local podium finisher Campbell Delaney (#9), PEI’s Aiden MacDonald (#13), and the Waddens – Brayden (#14), Devin (#20), and Brad (#73).
Owen Mahar (#66) is atop the point standings with 579 points, coming off back-to-back podiums in a doubleheader at Speedway 660. He leads reigning champion Ayden Christensen (#24) by 36 points, with Christensen just one point in front of four-time winner this season, Danny Chisholm (#87). Mechanical issues in Fredericton routed Chisholm from what was a decent points lead; this Saturday, he returns to the place where he dominated last month, and is a former Bandolero champion.
It’s a 60-point bubble between first and sixth, which also includes 2023 winner Caden Tufts (#00), recent local champion Chase MacKay (#71), and Nathan Langille (#3), who won at Speedway 660 last Sunday. MacKay had a fantastic Labour Day weekend, from finally seizing his first career Maritime Legends win after three years of trying, to becoming the first PEI Legends champion since Kyle Mceachern in 2019.
Keep an eye on Kelsey Hann (#07), who’s been on pace all summer for a career-best campaign, which recently saw a first-career top-five finish at Speedway 660 last weekend. She finished 10th in the PiccottCare 50 at Oyster Bed in August.
From our PiccottCare Legend Super Series, which wrapped up its championship this past Monday, rookie Cole Doyle (#12) enters the Island ICF 50 having almost cracked the top-10 in his MLOL debut last month. This time around, he’s anticipated to bring along fellow rookies Hunter MacKinnon (#07H) and Wyatt Peters (#33) for their MLOL debuts.
Island ICF 50 Expected Entry List (18 Cars)
*List Subject to Change Without Notice*
#00 – Caden Tufts – Timberlea, NS
#07 – Kelsey Hann – New Glasgow, NS
#07H – Hunter MacKinnon – Oyster Bed Bridge, PE
#3 – Nathan Langille – Coldbrook, NS
#9 – Campbell Delaney – Halifax, NS
#12 – Cole Doyle – Stratford, PE
#13 – Aiden MacDonald – York, PE
#14 – Brayden Wadden – Hammonds Plains, NS
#14M – Samantha MacDonald – Lawrencetown, NS
#20 – Devin Wadden – Hammonds Plains, NS
#23 – Teagan Dempsey – Fredericton, NB
#24 – Ayden Christensen – Windsor Junction, NS
#33 – Wyatt Peters – Oyster Bed Bridge, PE
#34 – Stephen Piccott Jr. – Charlottetown, PE
#66 – Owen Mahar – Hubley, NS
#71 – Chase MacKay – Bear Cove, NS
#73 – Brad Wadden – Hammonds Plains, NS
#87 – Danny Chisholm – Port Williams, NS
Bombers and Mini Stocks to Crown Final 40th Anniversary Season Champions!
Five divisions down and two more left to write more names into the Prince Edward Island stock car racing history books, with each hosting extended-distance features to wrap up their 2025 campaigns.
It’s not just the Street Stocks with a rapid turnaround this week, as the Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stocks will return to action for one final time to crown a new champion. Reigning Rookie of the Year and three-time feature winner Campbell Stewart (#3) has one simple task to clinch his first career championship – start the event.
Behind him are three drivers battling for the two remaining championship podium spots. Veteran Ricky Bedell (#2), coming off a rough points day on Monday, looks to defend himself from sophomore and the latest heat and feature winner Corbin MacAulay (#17), who is 18 points behind. MacAulay also has to play defense against veteran Randy MacTavish (#76) at a nine-point deficit.
One house class that did not race on Labour Day but will entertain fans one more time at the season finale is the Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bombers. The track’s newest division will have somebody new wear the second-ever crown for the V6 machines after their heat and feature on September 6th.
Currently in line to join Ryan Cormier as the next titleholder is reigning Dave Mosher Memorial Award co-winner Jamie Ronaghan (#59), who leads rookie Jason Arseneau, the latest feature winner on August 16th, by 29 points. As long as Ronaghan starts the event and nothing goes wrong, the championship should be all but his. He seeks his first feature win since June.
Just like the Mini Stocks, there will be battles throughout the Bomber standings as well, filled with drivers hoping to end their season strong. Caycie DesRoches (#16) is 22 points behind Arseneau, but also leads a 15-point bubble for third that includes rookie Randy Perry (#33) and Paton. Do we see any of them visit Palmer Automotive and Truck Center victory lane in their pursuit of a championship podium finish to close out the season?
Race Day Format
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, notably featuring Shop Samantha Busch merch!
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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