By 
**POSTPONED TO MONDAY, MAY 19TH AT 2 PM**
(CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – May 15th, 2025) – It was in 1981 when three Prince Edward Island motorsports enthusiasts – two of whom were Kevin Power and James “Merrill” Cronin – purchased a drag racing facility in Oyster Bed Bridge named Raceway Park. Three years later, having found great success and gained respect from local race teams and supporters, the drag building was burned down by arsonists.
As Power and Cronin, the only remaining owners at the time, were left to rebuild the operation, they recalled the persistent inquiries from the locals about building an oval track. The locals’ wishes were obliged as the two not only rebuilt the facility but expanded upon it with a quarter-mile dirt oval track (later upgraded to a paved oval in 1987), beginning a new chapter of stock car racing in Canada’s smallest province. Opening night in 1985 – 40 years ago – drew over 2,000 spectators. As they say, the rest is history.
40 years later, the track now known as Oyster Bed Speedway kicks off its 40th anniversary season in style on the May long weekend with the annual A&S Scrap Metals Season Opener and Demolition Derby on Sunday, May 18th, celebrating four decades of high-octane oval racing entertainment at the tight, high-banked oval atop the North Shore’s red, rich soil.
The race card for the first of two 2025 events on a statutory holiday weekend will feature six house divisions – the Reliable Motors Beginner and Outlaw Bandoleros, Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bombers, Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stocks, Moore Well Drilling Outlaws, and Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stocks – which all open their seasons this Sunday.
Power Wheels kid races will start the event before the stock cars hit the track, and the $1,000-to-win crash-for-cash Demolition Derby will commence following the Street Stock feature, which maintains a tradition in recent years with an extended distance race length to start the season. Fans will be greeted with an A&S Scrap Metals tent and setup when entering the gates – the event’s title sponsor will have giveaways throughout the event, and a car crusher demo to show off after the Demolition Derby.
Event Information
Date: Sunday, May 18th, 2025 at 2:00pm
Important Times: Pits and grandstands open at 9:30am, practices from 10:00am to 1:00pm
Classes: Bandolero, Bomber, Mini Stock, Outlaw, Street Stock, Demolition Derby, Power Wheels
Ticket Prices: Adults – $20 | Youth (8-15) – $10 | Children (7 and under) – FREE | Pits – $25 with electronic e-waiver
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/
Rain Date: Monday, May 19th, 2025 at 2:00pm
40th Anniversary Season Opening Storylines
PEI’s Youngest Ready To Progress and Impress in Bandoleros
While discussions are ongoing within the Reliable Motors Bandolero class regarding two separate divisions being sanctioned – Beginner and Outlaw – the hope is to continue the same trend for a third consecutive year.
Out of last year’s Beginner group, three drivers will start the new season in Beginner and continue to gain crucial seat time – reigning Rookie of the Year Charlee Rayner (#24), Landon MacBeth (#32), and Regan MacBeth (#34). Charlee had a solid start to her racing career, winning a feature in her second start and totalling three wins and three feature podiums across eight events. Fresh off a podium finish in last year’s season finale, Charlee is poised for a breakout summer and to visit victory lane many more times. The MacBeths – one of which won a race in 2024, Regan – look to use valuable experience gained as rookies to put up stronger results and pick up the pace as sophomores.
Charlee hopes to eventually follow in her younger brother’s footsteps, as Oliver Rayner (#23) joins Juliana O’Connor (#10), Payton Gallant (#42), and Hudson Linzel-Waddell (#57) in the move to Outlaw. Oliver impressed in his second season with three feature wins and two Best Looking Car awards – one from Oyster Bed Speedway, shared with Charlee, and another from Tim’s Corner Motorsports in the support class category. O’Connor scored her first career qualifier wins last year and looks to cross a feature win off her bingo card next. Gallant, a fourth-generation driver within the family tree of Eddie Duskey, Ralph Hickox and Mike Duskey, exploded from one win in 2023 to eight in 2024, and looks to keep her upward trajectory going.
Linzel-Waddell made the Beginner division his playground in 2024 with as consistent a championship-winning campaign as you could ask for – the Fair Isle Ford #57 led the standings after all but one event and won a division-high 10 times, including in the Tim’s Corner Motorsports September Shootout Beginner feature. He’s achieved a grand slam in the last two season openers he’s raced in – does he maintain and expand the streak in his third run?
Linzel-Waddell and former Beginner Bandolero champion Mason Gillis (#9) are the last remaining past Bandolero champions and set to compete against each other for the first time since 2023, a year when the two duked it out alongside Andrew O’Connor in an exciting championship battle, with Gillis barely coming out on top – he then moved to Outlaw and finished sixth in points. This year, he looks to get his MacKinnon Construction and R&R Maintenance #9 back into championship contention.
Gillis is one of five returnees from the 2024 Outlaw Bandolero group who are keen to capitalize on the departure of two graduates – defending champion Landon Pierce and former championship runner-up Cole Doyle, with the latter now in the Legend class. Younger brother Simon Doyle (#91) is now the last Doyle standing and will continue to be a championship favourite.
While he’s been snakebitten from a title for the past four years, his ability to stay clean and be consistent has always kept him high in the points – if he can keep that up and nab a couple more wins, it may be his turn to become the new dominant face of Bandoleros on PEI. His previous victory – his only in 2024 – came at the season opener, making him another driver with a season-opening feature crown to maintain.
Andrew O’Connor (#63) has the makings for a breakout season in his third at the quarter-mile oval. The 2024 Outlaw Bandolero Rookie of the Year comes off an impressive campaign highlighted by a runner-up championship finish and two feature wins, one coming at the season finale. On the mainland, he captured the Petty International Raceway Beginner Bandolero title in a one-two finish with his older sister Juliana, who reunites with Andrew for the first time in two years. Andrew’s momentum will be further boosted by a fresh, slick look for his McDonald’s and O’Connor Glass #63 car that was revealed at the Radical Speedsport car show in Moncton, New Brunswick in April.
Hometown heroes and heavy-hitters Hunter MacKinnon (#07) and Wyatt Peters (#33) return for their fifth season in Bandoleros. MacKinnon has gotten closer and closer every race to snapping a winless streak that goes back to 2022, while Peters claimed four qualifier wins in 2024 and eyes his first feature win since 2023.
It’ll be a busy summer for MacKinnon, Peters, and Nova Scotia’s Irelyn Rose (#47) – the latter recording a best feature finish of sixth three times last season. While the three are set for their first round of Bandolero competition this weekend, their Legend rookie campaigns begin just under a week later with the PiccottCare Legend Super Series season opener on Saturday, May 24th, with three more double-duty efforts to follow between June and September.
Bomber Year Two Brings Extended Schedule, Familiar Faces, Promising Growth
A season opener with a demolition derby wouldn’t be fitting enough without the presence of the Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bombers.
The six-cylinder division, which debuted in 2024 as part of four events and garnered widespread praise and interest for its entertaining racing product and cheap costs, is back for a second year with an extended schedule, which includes spots on the season-opening and season-ending race cards. Aside from one driver swap, the entirety of last year’s group is back to keep elevating the division’s ongoing growth and will be joined by a pair of newcomers who will help ensure it becomes a future track staple.
The driver swap comes in the championship-winning car, as defending champion Ryan Cormier has scaled back and given the reins to significant other Kate Bridges (#96), who made her racing debut at last year’s season finale in non-point competition. She will move to full-time in 2025 and add another “Bridges” to the Oyster Bed Speedway family.
Riding off back-to-back point-paying triple wins is Spencer Paton (#35), whose late-season surge wasn’t enough to beat Cormier in the championship, but it made quite a statement in his first runs at the track since the late 2010s.
Reigning Dave Mosher Memorial Award co-winners Zach Chappell (#44) and Jamie Ronaghan (#59) each come out of last season with a pair of feature wins and lots of motivation after being recognized at season’s end for their efforts in building the Bomber division. Joining them is the most recent Best Looking Car award winner, Caycie DesRoches (#16), who cracked the feature podium twice during her rookie campaign.
The new faces to the division – one coming out of a long hiatus within racing – are Randy Perry (#33) and Jason Arseneau (#68). Perry is no rookie to Oyster Bed Speedway as he previously raced Mini Stocks in the mid-2010s, notably collecting a Super Series championship and Most Dedicated Driver honours during that stint. Arseneau will hit the track for the first time, previously assisting Paton and Mini Stock driver Adam Holland in their racing endeavours.
It Could Be Anyone’s Championship in Mini Stocks
A changing of the guard is assured within the Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stock division, as someone new – and for the first time – will be crowned a champion at season’s end. Defending titleholder Cash Bridges and two-time champion Jeff Bridges have moved up to the Outlaw division, therefore, the 2025 championship will be wide open to snatch. Up to 10 drivers could produce an all-out war that may come down to the final race.
Last year, Ricky Bedell (#2) fell short of a “third time’s the charm” championship scenario in his third season by 28 points but still proved himself as a lethal title threat for years to come – the Bedell Racing team led the points for most events and was a consistent top-five driver, only finishing below fourth in a feature twice all season. With his 2024 championship rival now gone, this year is Bedell’s biggest opportunity to shine and take one step up the year-end podium.
Veteran Randy MacTavish (#76), who finished third in last year’s championship, is another driver with a season opener to defend, having won all three Mini Stock races on the previous opening day – he will pilot a team that includes daughter and rookie Chloe MacTavish (#5), and nephew Blaze Roberts (#6). Roberts had a – once literally – blazing run across eight races between September and October, recording three wins, one being a feature, and will be a driver to keep an eye on if his late-season pace transitions to 2025 on a larger scale.
Adam Holland (#01) also experienced big improvements last year en route to claiming Most Sportsmanlike Driver honours, pulling off a first career win in qualifying action and cracking the feature top five twice – does the Tony’s Tuna Fishing #01 have a breakout season in his cards?
All four drivers from the 2024 rookie group are ready to tackle their sophomore campaigns and wreak havoc against the rest of the competition. Campbell Stewart (#3) had a roller coaster of a start to his racing endeavours – on average, he either won with sheer dominance or had something go wrong out of his control. When we say won, we mean he drove his Gauthier’s Auto Repair #3 to an astonishing division-high 10 victories – one more than eventual champion Cash Bridges – and two triple wins. Hot off a season finale grand slam, which took him from down by five points in the rookie standings to stealing it by +28, Stewart has turned many heads and will look to continue making a name for himself.
Despite coming up barely short of achieving Rookie of the Year honours, Austin Corrigan (#10) still impressed with a fifth-place points finish and showed steady improvement over the season. His top goal in 2025 will be driving into victory lane for the first time, along with Corbin MacAulay (#17), who will run the newly-sponsored MacKinnon Bros. Service Centre and Shaw’s Towing #17 for his second season.
While MacAulay’s first summer was riddled with mechanical issues, he notably had a stellar run across three features between July and August, recording a podium and three consecutive top-fives – if things go more smoothly this time around, he may be your best bet for a sophomore surge. The fourth and final piece from last year is Rosie Kitson (#13), who will compete part-time in the DCD Auto Electric #13.
Three drivers will join Chloe MacTavish as fellow Rookie of the Year contenders in 2025 – Claya Cole (#21), who made one start in 2024, Devon Lund (#47), and Walker Simpson (#88).
The Pressure Is On for Brandon Forsyth – Can Anyone Dethrone His Honda Crown?
Arguably Oyster Bed Speedway’s toughest division to win in, the Moore Well Drilling Outlaws had a rookie champion crowned for the second time within three years between 2022 and 2024, with Brandon Forsyth (#3) writing his name alongside 2022 champion Layton Delaney (#7) in the history books.
Forsyth’s first Outlaw campaign was quintessential vintage NASCAR – while the Kevin’s Front End #3 visited victory lane just three times, Forsyth utilized incredible consistency in his transition from a superb six-year run in Mini Stocks, only finishing worse than fifth twice across all features – to put the icing on the cake, he even claimed the Super Series championship. If the momentum keeps up in 2025, Forsyth could be well on his way to becoming the first back-to-back Outlaw champion.
The pressure was on in year one for the rookie sensation, but that’s an understatement for year two, knowing nearly every other full-time returnee had a winning pace at some point but seemingly had something go wrong on a near-weekly basis.
The LeClair brothers look to bounce back from a year filled with rough luck that proved detrimental to their championship hopes. Although Jessie LeClair’s (#46) title run was quickly dashed early in the season due to a disqualification and motor failure, he fought back by executing a career-best season win-wise, recording eight victories (three features), the most of any driver. Jordan LeClair (#47) experienced his misfortunes later in the summer but was still within the title hunt from start to finish – his notable positives were two feature wins and a second-place Super Series points finish. If both drivers get better treatment from Lady Luck, they will each be undoubtedly dominant and hard to beat.
Corey Bridges (#04) knew the “motor failure” term all too well during his first season driving a Honda, as the Ignition Auto and Powersports #04 went through a whopping seven different motors over the summer and had many other mechanical woes. Through all the chaos, the multi-time 4-cylinder race winner claimed an emotional feature win in August dedicated to a friend and sponsor’s late father and later earned Hard Charger honours at season’s end. If the car demons are excorised this summer, Corey will be a guaranteed force and personality to be reckoned with – and he won’t be alone in terms of the “Bridges” name.
Cash Bridges (#69) and Jeff Bridges (#95) will take their talents and recent triumphs to the Outlaw division this year. Cash will pursue the championship in a car previously driven to two Petty International Raceway championships by Ryan McKnight. Cash had a career-best season in 2024, recording nine wins and going unbeaten across all three 30-lap Super Series races – he and Jeff combined for 12 wins, including five of 10 features. Their additions to an already star-studded and well-experienced Outlaw group will ramp the competition to an all-time high.
Noteworthy returnees who won in 2024 include Bradley Richard (#49), Jonathan Fitzpatrick (#78), and Jamie Cummings (#81). Fitzpatrick, a former Mini Stock champion who won last year’s Labour Day feature in dramatic fashion, will share his Fitzpatrick Consulting #78 with past Outlaw champion Tyler MacLean (#78) for a second consecutive year – regardless of who’s in the car, it’s always competitive when it hits the track and should be near the front all season long. The #5 Palmer Mobile Mechanic and Watson Automotive car owned by Matt Palmer is also back, but will be mostly driven by former Hobby and Street Stock competitor Ricky Myers.
Brady Albert (#12) returns for his second season with a new car and number – fun fact, the “new” car is Mitchell Montgomery and Ricky Millar’s former machine, which dominantly won the 2023 championship with 10 wins. Brady will have two other Alberts in Ethan Albert (#11) and past Dave Mosher Memorial Award winner Tayler Albert (#38) alongside him. Tayler will compete part-time in Brady’s former car.
Dre Folland (#33) – who once won races at the Raceway Park drag strip about a decade ago – looks to have another strong season opener, having finished sixth in 2024, his best feature finish that year.
Street Stocks Headlined by New Sponsor and Significant Full-Time Additions & Returns
It’s not just the Bandoleros and Mini Stocks that guarantee a different champion, as the newly-sponsored Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stock division also has a void to fill with the semi-departure of defending champion Brandon Albert (#37), who has moved up to the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series for the 2025 season. However, he won’t be entirely absent, as he has a few sporadic Street Stock starts in his plans, including the Piston Cup 100 in September, in which he finished third in last year’s running and is still hungry to mark off his bucket list.
When we say a void to fill, knowing what the division has in store for 2025 – buckle up.
A trio of seasoned veterans with a combined seven track championships – or 10 if we count Super Series titles – will continue to pioneer the division. Four-time track champion Randy Millar (#77) had a career-best Street Stock campaign in 2024 with his first feature win in 12 years, three qualifier wins, and a runner-up divisional championship finish. Andrew Thompson (#4) enters his 21st consecutive season eyeing his first feature win in over half a decade. Three-time divisional champion Nick Chaisson (#27) added a third Super Series title to his iconic resume in 2024 in a crazy battle across three 50-lap features that came down to two points separating him and Thompson. Chaisson has a fourth divisional championship in his sights – if accomplished, it would be his first since 2021.
Snow Motorsports will operate a shared Oyster Bed Esso #26 car this season, featuring a duo of past Rookie of the Year and multi-time race winner Randy Snow and former Eastern Super Mini Cup Series competitor David Griffin – the latter being the new car owner and expected to race most nights. In 2024, Snow ran his first full-time campaign since he started racing nine years ago, compiling two victories and placing an impressive fourth in divisional points. Griffin last raced in 2018 and has plenty of experience in Hobby and Street Stocks – fun fact, he once competed at the old East River Speedway in Dunstaffnage, PEI in the late 1980s.
Two Street Stock veterans will return to full-time competition for the first time in several years, each carrying well-established resumes, but having one hole in them – an Oyster Bed Speedway Street Stock championship.
Former Piston Cup and Maritime Street Stock Showdown champion Mike Duskey (#42) last ran full-time in 2022, placing third in Pro Stock points during that division’s final sanctioned season. Mainly a competitor with the Maritime All-Star Street Stock Series on the mainland in 2024, Duskey made two starts in his D.C. Tire and A&S Scrap Metals #42 on home soil last year, finishing runner-up at the season opener and recording a top-five finish at the PiccottCare Piston Cup 100.
Like Duskey, multi-time Street Stock race winner and 2021 Honda Outlaw championship runner-up Matthew Ford (#86), whose last full campaign was when he finished second in the 2021 Outlaw championship, also mainly toured around the Maritimes in 2024, but still shined in his three PEI starts, totalling five wins and starting on pole for the PiccottCare Piston Cup 100. Considering his average success in his part-time runs, just think about what the 2010 Street Stock Rookie of the Year could accomplish running a full schedule in his Scott’s Tire & Auto and MF Trucking #86.
Fans will be ecstatic to learn about the return of two-time divisional champion and former Piston Cup winner Colton Ford (#35), who gets back behind the wheel after taking a year off. The hometown star has built quite the resume since he started racing at 16 in 2009, capturing divisional championships in 2015 and 2022, a Piston Cup victory in 2015, 18 career feature wins, and eight awards. He won’t be alone as father and fellow two-time champion Darrell Ford (#53) has a car in the works and hopes to make it out to the track in the near future – whenever he makes his return, it would be his first appearance since racing Pro Stocks in 2022.
Former Outlaw champion Devin Gallant (#36) is the newest face within the division. Gallant made headlines in 2018 by winning the Outlaw championship in a jaw-dropping finish at only 17, stunning multiple veterans. He then entered the Legend class and raced at Oyster Bed Speedway and with the Maritime League of Legends. In 16 regional touring starts between 2019 and 2021, he recorded nine top-10s.
Last year, Gallant returned to the driver’s seat twice in 2024, taking part in the Maritime League of Legends’ lone visit to PEI and later purchasing a Street Stock formerly driven by Ricky Myers and Tyler Doucette, which he raced to a seventh-place result in the season finale feature. With a year-long run in the cards for 2025, Gallant undoubtedly has the potential to emerge as the division’s next young superstar.
Race Day Format
*Subject to change.
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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