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Photo by WingNut Productions
(CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – May 22nd, 2025) – It’s a quick turnaround for Oyster Bed Speedway after the 40th Anniversary A&S Scrap Metals Season Opener and Demolition Derby this past Victoria Day Monday, as the 2025 stock car racing season continues just five days later for the second of 12 events across the summer.
The PiccottCare Legend Super Series season opener headlines the Saturday, May 24th event with its first of four 30-lap, $300-to-win rounds between this weekend and September 1st.
The Reliable Motors Beginner and Outlaw Bandoleros, Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stocks, Moore Well Drilling Outlaws, and Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stocks will complement the return of Legend house division championship action.
Event Information
Date: Saturday, May 24th, 2025, at 4:00pm
Important Times: Pits and grandstands open at 11:00am, practices from 12:00pm to 3:00pm
Classes: Bandolero, Legend, Mini Stock, Outlaw, Street Stock
Ticket Prices: Adults – $20 | Youth (8-15) – $10 | Children (7 & 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: T.B.D.
Event Storylines
Legends Back in House Division Championship Action for First Time in Six Years!
For the first time since 2019, Oyster Bed Speedway will crown a Legend champion.
The PiccottCare Legend Super Series is set to embark on its 2025 schedule with round one of four this weekend. The four-race series – awarding a championship on Labour Day – features a $300 winning prize for each 30-lap feature and will have a combined $2,500 awarded to the top three best drivers in points at season’s end – to clarify, all other positions will be paid too!
The parity within the division will be something to keep an eye on, as the main roster includes a mix of youngsters doing double duty between Bandoleros and Legends, veterans of the sport, and regional standouts, particularly Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour competitors.
PiccottCare will be donned in two ways – the division title sponsor and on a familiar, home-to-PEI Legend car. Fourth-generation talent Stephen Piccott, Jr. (#34) – son of PiccottCare co-founder and former MASCAR driver Steve Piccott – started his racing career in Ontario in 2012 and had some success for a few years before taking his racing endeavours to the Maritimes beginning in 2023. One year later, he competed full-time on the Maritime League of Legends, finishing 10th in points and claiming Rookie of the Year honours.
Back at it for another busy season in 2025 with additional support from King Competition, Piccott Jr. sets his sights on breaking out locally and regionally. With a home track championship now up for grabs, he has consistent opportunities to shine in front of a home crowd.
He’ll have a familiar Island competitor in rising prospect Tanton Wooldridge (#0). While the former Bandolero champion will mainly focus on making an impression on the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series full-time, Wooldridge won’t hesitate to chase a second career home track title if his schedule and time permit. The Summerside driver has one Legend championship across the region, picking up a title at Petty International Raceway in 2023, and has nine career Maritime League of Legends podiums across 32 starts within the last four years.
Two drivers with years of Pro Stock experience across the Maritimes will give the younger drivers a challenge. Brackley Beach’s Tyler Smith (#27) was a regular competitor in Oyster Bed Speedway’s Pro Stock division in the 2010s – notably finishing third in points in 2019 – and has 14 career Fort Garry Industries Pro Stock Tour starts with a best finish of sixth, recorded twice at Riverside International Speedway in 2023. His most recent start on PEI was in the 2024 BJ’s Truck Centre 150 last July, where he finished 18th.
Oyster Bed Bridge’s Allison MacKinnon (#07A) will also enter Legends for the first time this summer. The multi-time race and award winner, who has 37 career major regional touring starts and over two decades of experience across Modifieds, Late Models, and Pro Stocks, will tag alongside his son and former Bandolero Rookie of the Year Hunter MacKinnon (#07H), whose first double-duty effort between Bandoleros and Legends will come this weekend. Hunter is riding off a monumental runner-up feature finish at the Reliable Motors Outlaw Bandolero season opener on Monday and looks to use momentum from then to have a strong showing this weekend.
Wyatt Peters (#33), Nova Scotia’s Irelyn Rose (#47), and Simon Doyle (#91) are the other double-duty competitors eager to make an impact throughout the summer – Simon will have to wait till a later date to make his debut due to an engine expiration while testing recently.
The three drivers were each part of something chaotic during Monday’s Outlaw Bandolero feature, from on-track incidents to mechanical issues, and hope for smoother runs in their second go-around in that division. Peters and Rose each impressed in their returns to the track with third and fifth-place feature finishes – Rose, in particular, led the most laps and came ever so close to a first-career feature win within the Maritimes until a last-lap caution.
Out of last year’s Bandolero class, only one driver fully graduated and is poised for a big season at the next level. Former Outlaw Bandolero championship runner-up Cole Doyle (#12) starts his fifth year at Oyster Bed Speedway ready to have a stout Legend debut.
Season Opening Triple Winners Ready to Carry Forward Momentum
At the 40th Anniversary A&S Scrap Metals Season Opener, four drivers went a perfect three for three within their respective divisions – three of whom had never accomplished such a feat, and two became first-time feature winners in their respective divisions. This weekend, three of Monday’s triple winners are back in action.
Charlee Rayner (#24) and Mason Gillis (#9) had hot starts to their Reliable Motors Bandolero campaigns and are set to build upon their opening day success as their championship pushes progress. While Rayner added a second Beginner feature win to her resume, her first coming last June, Gillis’s feature win was his first in Outlaws and his first trip to feature victory lane since July 2023 in Beginners – and what a wild one it was.
Initially, the Morell driver was en route to a podium finish and a solid 2-for-3 record across the division’s three races. But when the two leaders collided in the final corner on the last lap, he found himself in the right place at the right time, and it catapulted him to a victory in a mindblowing three-wide photo finish. To all aspiring racers, it’s not over till it’s over.
On paper, Moore Well Drilling Outlaw sophomore Brady Albert (#12) was a big surprise on Victoria Day with career-highs all across the board – but maybe a different and speedier car with stellar history is what he needed, and we’ll see if his opening day runs can be replicated.
Although only one event has been completed, and the rest of the Outlaw pack has eight more point-paying rounds to fine-tune their cars, Albert has already made it clear he’s not one to mess with and will be a weekly contender all summer – maybe even a championship threat.
Only One PEI Mini Stock Winner on Victoria Day… What Happens Next?
It took until the feature for a PEI car to emerge victorious in the Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stock opener on Victoria Day, as, during the qualifiers, Cape Breton’s Mikey MacDougall (#7) looked as if he had already been racing at Oyster Bed Speedway for years, taking home two victories in his first run on a high-banked oval.
As for feature winner and second-year phenom Campbell Stewart (#3), a handcast wouldn’t deny him from picking up where he left off during his 2024 rookie campaign. The reigning Rookie of the Year was stuck within a mid-pack pile of cars during the Monday qualifiers, but, as part of opening day procedures with lineup draws, the Mini Stock draw favoured him for a front-row start in the feature, and away he went.
It might be the beginning of a dominant summer for him, but fellow sophomore Austin Corrigan (#10) wasn’t far behind and was ready to pounce if the door suddenly opened. Corrigan’s second-place run was his first podium finish since last June, which was the only time he cracked the feature podium in 2024 – he has already shown a night-and-day difference between where he was last year versus how he looks now.
Corbin MacAulay (#17) arguably had the car to beat on Monday. Had it not been for four things – MacDougall’s visit, a wall hit, a failing tire, and changing weather conditions throughout the event – the second-year driver would’ve undoubtedly driven into victory lane – how many times will remain a mystery. MacAulay and MacDougall entertained fans with an exciting battle for the heat race win, but the battle of the islands narrowly went in favour of Cape Breton. Despite the opening day gremlins, MacAulay now knows what he’s capable of and could become unstoppable from here on out.
Rookie Claya Cole (#21) improved her career-best feature finish on Monday in what was just her second start, and can only go up from there – perhaps a sneaky top-five run is on the horizon.
Veterans Ricky Bedell (#2) and Randy MacTavish (#76) put up decent, consistent results to begin their seasons but were noticeably challenged by the division’s young guns – we’ll see if experience can triumph over youth during round two.
Multiple Qualifier Winners Seek Feature Redemption
Five drivers, including Mikey MacDougall, were victorious during opening day qualifiers but were denied a feature win. Two of whom had something go against them while attempting a grand slam.
In Outlaw Bandoleros, Simon Doyle (#91) came close to defending his season-opening feature crown – and even adding on a triple win – but ultimately got caught up in a last-lap incident. On a positive note, he had a strong point day, exiting Monday third in the standings. His next feature win is coming soon, but it’s just a matter of when.
Corey Bridges (#04) had lineup draws go in his favour during the qualifiers for the start of his second season in Hondas, as he pulled off back-to-back victories; unfortunately, it came at the cost of track position for the feature. The upcoming weekend and onward will be a whole different ball game, especially with the return of the point average system – as long as no mechanical gremlins return from last year, Bridges will remain in the hunt for wins and, considering all goes well down the line, a championship.
Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stock veterans Randy Millar (#77) and Mike Duskey (#42) exchanged heat and semi race wins to start their campaigns. Both races saw a late restart with Millar up front – while he led every lap in the heat race and held off Duskey for the win, Duskey was successful in his second hard-charger attempt from sixth place, hanging on in a photo finish.
Between them, the feature favoured Duskey – initially, he had the car to beat until Tyler Gauthier (#30) got behind the wheel and rampaged the field. Millar fell victim to a brake problem and finished last. Heading into round two this weekend, Duskey leads the points, and Millar is just 13 points back.
We Started with Random Draws… Now, It’s Back to Point Averages
A tradition on opening day for Oyster Bed Speedway is deciding starting lineups by draw, as there are no points standings to go off.
Once each division completes its first round, a weekly point average system will determine race lineups from round two onward. Used to increase the competition and allow drivers with higher points to put on exciting hard-charger-style performances for the fans and improve their cars and racecraft over time, there are now point standings to use with an event completed, hence the results of Victoria Day will play a big factor in how things go this weekend – after that, it’ll turn into combinations of all past events. Five divisions will experience this first on Saturday, while the Legends will stick to draws as they open their season.
The system is used differently across heats, semis, and features. Notably, the features utilize a format where the drivers with the highest points start at the back of the field and those with the lowest points start up front. Some exceptions are at play for all three races – latecomers, rookies, cars that may be ill-handling before the races based on a judge’s call, and drivers who feel more comfortable starting at the tail end of the pack pending judge’s approval.
With point averages now at play, there is plenty to look forward to as the season proceeds. Track position is usually key to success at a high-banked oval like Oyster Bed Speedway, which some call a “driver’s track.” But soon, we’ll find out who can execute the best back-to-the-front efforts and separate themselves from others as a true championship favourite.
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. 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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