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Photo by WingNut Productions
(CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – July 24th, 2025) – The mid-summer break at Oyster Bed Speedway is completed, and the Prince Edward Island stock car racing community is back and ready to fire the engines back up for another four consecutive weekends of racing, starting with the first of back-to-back “Pro Stock Summer Thunder” shows.
For the next two Saturdays, Islanders will hear the thunderous roars from the cars and stars of the top two regional touring series in Atlantic Canada, with many of the region’s best Pro Stock/Super Late Model drivers set to wage war on and attempt to conquer the tight, high-banked bullring in Oyster Bed Bridge. A total of 350 laps will be contested, with over $8,500 up for grabs to win and tens of thousands more on the line in front of expected big crowds with fans far and wide in attendance.
For part one of this two-week extravaganza, the province’s premier auto racing facility will welcome the Fort Garry Industries Maritime Pro Stock Tour for the first time in 2025, for the sanctioning of the BJ’s Truck Centre 150 – round five of 10 on the Tour’s calendar – on Saturday, July 26th.
A race known for its rich history of high-stakes drama, fierce rivalries, and emotional finishes, it’s recently served as a pivotal battleground between the Tour’s two crown jewel events – the IWK 250 and Summer Clash 250. So far, eighteen (18) race teams have signalled their intent to chase Prince Edward Island glory at this “monkey in the middle” contest, with nearly half the entry list featuring Island cars.
The best part – this race will not be the Tour’s only one on the Island this year, as this race will lay the foundation for an iconic, long-time-no-see second date at Oyster Bed Speedway’s 40th Anniversary Season Finale on September 6th. It’ll be the first time the Tour has trekked across the Confederation Bridge twice in one racing season since 2022.
Adding local horsepower and further excitement for audiences are four track-sanctioned divisions, each undergoing intense year-long championship battles. The Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bombers, Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stocks, Moore Well Drilling Outlaws, and Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stocks elevate this Saturday’s race card.
Event Information
Date: Saturday, July 26th, 2025
Important Times: Pits and grandstands open at 12:30pm, practices from 2:00-4:50pm, racing starts at 6:00pm
Classes: Fort Garry Industries Maritime Pro Stock Tour, Street Stock, Outlaw (Honda), Mini Stock (Four Fun), 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/
Event Storylines
Crossed Flags Soon To Be in the Air for the Maritime Pro Stock Tour!
Fresh off the prestigious IWK 250, the first race of the annual Maritime triple crown, the Fort Garry Industries Maritime Pro Stock Tour enters round five on its 2025 calendar with a dramatic championship battle taking shape, and the narrow confines of Oyster Bed Speedway will undoubtedly shake things up.
A place where passing is extremely tough and track position is key, especially if the right weather conditions are at play, the skill sets and capabilities of 18 of Atlantic Canada’s best will be put to the test and on full display, particularly thanks to the Tour’s certain qualifying formats that allow for exciting hard-charger performances over 150 green-flag laps.
It’s nearly a half-and-half split of local talents and mainland invaders, from multi-time Oyster Bed Speedway champions and a plethora of grizzled Island veterans, to former Maritime touring champions and crown jewel winners.
Combining racers out to claim a potentially career-defining win, and a heavyweight battle for the Pro Stock Tour championship that has the top three drivers within a 15-point deficit, this year’s BJ’s Truck Centre 150 field might be one of, if not the best, Northumberland Strait wars that’ll ever be contested.
The Top Three in Pro Stock Tour Points Have NEVER Raced Together on Prince Edward Island
For all the Maritime stock car racing enthusiasts out there, this storyline alone is equivalent to a golden ticket for Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, and it features the leading triad in the Pro Stock Tour championship and the industry’s undisputed star trio.
Cory Hall. Ashton Tucker. Jarrett Butcher. Those names sound familiar? Most, if not all, fans across the region will unanimously agree that those three names currently comprise the most elite full-time Pro Stock/Super Late Model trio, with – since 2019 – a combined two major regional touring series championships, 28 wins between the Maritime Pro Stock Tour and Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series, and nine Maritime crown jewel victories.
After four Pro Stock Tour races between Scotia Speedworld and Riverside International Speedway, Cory Hall (#83, Plymouth, NS) leads the point standings, having won three thus far. The multi-time Oyster Bed Speedway race winner across Bandoleros, Legends, Pro Stocks, and Super Late Models will be a heavy favourite on Saturday, especially after recently obliterating the field at the IWK 250 in his first try.
Between the Tour and Super Late Model Series, Hall has won four of eight Oyster Bed Speedway starts since 2022, with his last Tour win coming that year. He came very close to another one last year but faced a premature ending in the closing laps.
Filling Hall’s rearview mirror are reigning Maritime touring champions Ashton Tucker (#2, Miramichi, NB) and Jarrett Butcher (#54, Porter’s Lake, NS). While Tucker has four Super Late Model Series starts at Oyster Bed since 2023, with a best finish of third in 2024, his first PEI start on the Pro Stock Tour comes this Saturday. Butcher won the Tour’s lone visit in 2023 with an incredible late-race pass for the lead and the win over two Island veterans.
As for the significant storyline, we’ve never had a race on the Island with these three drivers in one together. Hall and Tucker have battled many times in Super Late Model Series competition, and Hall and Butcher on the Pro Stock Tour. But there has never been a race at Oyster Bed Speedway with Hall, Tucker, and Butcher together – not in Pro Stocks, not in Legends, Bandoleros, anything.
For ways to persuade a potential fan to come, this one alone could do the trick.
A Star-Studded Prince Edward Island Contingent Ready to Defend Home Turf!
While Hall, Tucker, and Butcher each make a strong case for an easy mainland invasion, along with the rest of the off-island crop, the local class that is set to ensure their home turf doesn’t give way to the mainland raid would like to prove otherwise.
Of the eight Island teams currently expected to race, seven have won an Oyster Bed Speedway championship, and four have won on the Maritime Pro Stock Tour, with two having won at home before. All of them combined have many wins across multiple disciplines in weekly shows from the past few decades, ranging from Street Stocks and Modifieds to Late Models and Pro Stocks.
Two-time Pro Stock Tour winner Robbie MacEwen (#40, Charlottetown, PE) is the reigning winner of the BJ’s Truck Centre 150, with his victory last year breaking a five-year cold streak since the 2019 Lucas Oil 150. The sixth-place finisher in the Universal Truck and Trailer 150 in June continues to race in memory of the late Kirk Beaton this season and, this Saturday, looks to bounce back from a tough ending at the IWK 250.
Fellow multi-time Pro Stock Tour winner, with two at home, and 2011 IWK 250 champion Darren MacKinnon (#18, Charlottetown, PE) seeks his first win in regional action since 2015, and aims for a better result this year after having a potential top-five finish in 2024 cut short in the late stages. Likewise, for a familiar competitor from a feud for the win during the 2023 BJ’s Truck Centre 150, Troy Burke (#01, Sherwood, PE) will join the field in the 01 Motorsports machine.
Two-time Oyster Bed Speedway and inaugural Super Late Model Series champion Dylan Gosbee (#16, Cornwall, PE) is gearing up to make his first Pro Stock Tour start in three years. The KLR Motorsports driver is poised to return to Palmer Automotive and Truck Center victory lane for the first time since the 2023 Universal Truck and Trailer 150. As for a Tour victory, Gosbee’s last one came in 2013 at Petty International Raceway. This Saturday will be his 16th attempt to emerge as a Tour winner on home soil. Car #16 entering try #16… interesting.
Another driver without a Pro Stock Tour start in some time is Allison MacKinnon (#07, Oyster Bed Bridge, PE). The accomplished and respected veteran and inaugural Heart of a Champion award winner will strap back into a Pro Stock for the first time in two years, having been dabbling in Legends a few times this season.
Rounding out the Islanders with a combined five Oyster Bed Speedway championships are Matt Palmer (#28, Lot 16, PE), Chris Hughes (#32, Stratford, PE), and Mark Leclair (#51, Brackley Beach, PE). Hughes came one position short of a Pro Stock Tour podium at home last year, a still impressive pull-through after getting caught up in numerous incidents.
The Rest of the “Pros” Vye to Play Spoiler for the Top Dogs
Out of the names in last year’s BJ’s Truck Centre 150 field who will be back for another go, the two remaining podium finishers behind Robbie MacEwen were quite a surprise – that’s not to undermine their ability to stay out of trouble and capitalize on others’ misfortunes, however, which there was plenty of last July.
To this day, reigning Maritime Pro Stock Tour Rookie of the Year Gage Gilby’s (#25G, Enfield, NS) best career finish of second continues to be at the track he had never run at in a Pro Stock before one year ago. The sophomore and former Maritime League of Legends champion will challenge for a similar and/or better outcome to help him slingshot up the points standings, where he currently sits fifth.
In third place was a former Scotia Speedworld Thunder (Mini Stock) champion and Pro Stock Tour polesitter on PEI, Stephen Lively (#30, Shubenacadie, NS). A driver commonly remembered for a crazy wallride on his side in 2018, it would be six years later when Lively would collect his best career finish and first podium in his 50th Pro Stock Tour start.
Joining Gilby and Lively from last year are past Rookie of the Year recipients Jordan Veinotte (#11v, Porter’s Lake, NS) and Ryan VanOirschot (#25, Antigonish, NS), and Canada’s Ironman Gary Elliott (#36, Truro, NS) for his 914th consecutive night at a race track.
Sam Rogers (#0, Lower Onslow, NS) is slated for a PEI debut in Pro Stocks and Braden Langille (#26, Shubenacadie, NS), a former Maritime League of Legends winner in Oyster Bed Bridge, is preparing for just his second career Island start on the Tour, with his last coming in 2018. Langille finished 11th in this past June’s Universal Truck and Trailer 150 and has done quite well thus far in his return to full-time Pro Stock competition.
BJ’s Truck Centre 150 Entry List
#0 – Sam Rogers – Lower Onslow, NS
#01 – Troy Burke – Sherwood, 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 – Charlottetown, PE
#51 – Mark Leclair – Brackley Beach, PE
#54 – Jarrett Butcher – Porter’s Lake, NS
#83 – Cory Hall – Plymouth, NS
From a Mid-Summer Break to Extended-Distance Showdowns for the House Divisions!
Ahead of the show’s anchoring race, fans will be treated to a jam-packed supporting class race card, comprising four track divisions, all set to continue their season-long title battles with more intensity than ever before.
And no better way to be welcomed back than with extended-distance features as part of this year’s special event format (no semis, so some or all laps lost in semis are thrown into features, varying by class).
Fun fact – all four divisions racing this Saturday – Bomber (V6), Mini Stock (Four Fun), Outlaw (Honda), Street Stock – have yet to crown a multi-time feature winner. Every feature contested thus far has had somebody different visit Palmer Automotive & Truck Center victory lane. Out of all nights for that to change and to finally reward a repeater, this upcoming one is certainly a major contender.
More fun facts – with five events completed since our season opener on May 19th, across these four classes, the numbers total three (3) first-time feature winners, three (3) first-time triple champions, four (4) first-time race victors, and twenty-two (22) different weekend warriors emerging victorious in either a heat, semi, or feature.
The popular Alvin’s Auto Sales and Repair Bombers have three rounds down and three more to go in their second season of operation, and have a slightly longer feature in the cards this Saturday.
At the halfway mark, Spencer Paton (#35, Souris, PE) remains the points leader by +14 over Jamie Ronaghan (#59, Mount Albion, PE), extending his lead by a mere two points after the July 5th races. Rookie Jason Arseneau (#68, Bear Cove, PE) is coming off his best career performance with heat and feature wins on July 5th. Paton, Ronaghan, and Arseneau are currently within an 18-point bubble.
Meanwhile, behind them, three others are hungry for more after scoring career-best feature finishes in the last round – Caycie DesRoches (#16, Mount Albion, PE), rookie to the division Randy Perry (#33, West Devon, PE), and fellow newcomer Kate Bridges (#96, East Bideford, PE).
The Chris’s Bobcat Services Mini Stocks return to the high banks on Saturday after a one-month hiatus, ready to tackle their second longer-than-usual feature two weeks before their marquee event, the $500-to-win Twin 20s on August 9th. Two drivers are separated by six points in the championship and have been inching closer to each other with each passing race – reigning Rookie of the Year Campbell Stewart (#3, Oyster Bed Bridge, PE) and the June 21st triple winner Ricky Bedell (#2, Montague, PE).
Veteran and June 14th feature winner Randy MacTavish (#76, Cornwall, PE) is not far back at -18. Sophomore Corbin MacAulay (#17, Charlottetown, PE) has some ground to make up at 59 points behind Stewart, but could be one breakout performance away from inserting himself back into championship contention. Adam Holland (#01, Souris, PE) is fresh off a first career triple win on July 5th, and has the strongest momentum of anybody heading into Saturday.
In the Moore Well Drilling Outlaws, there were many substantial shakeups at the top of the championship board after the July 5th races. Multi-time champion Kendell Palmer (#45, Charlottetown, PE) jumped from third to first and is now four points ahead of Jordan LeClair (#47, Alberton, PE).
Defending champion Brandon Forsyth (#3, Alberton, PE) and Corey Bridges (#04, Ellerslie, PE) also made leaps in the standings, slotting into third and fourth, putting the bubble between first and fourth at 14 points. The current margin between first and eighth is 43 points – in other words, the championship is not even close to over yet.
Jonathan Fitzpatrick (#78, Winsloe, PE) is the division’s reigning feature and triple winner, having put a spare motor and throwing more parts into his Honda after a catastrophic blow during the RE/MAX Rumble, and soaring to three victories on July 5th.
The dukes of the Fitzpatrick Consulting Street Stocks approach their third and final extended-distance race ahead of the Emmett Donahue Memorial 100 (Piston Cup) on September 6th, with a 40-lap feature on tap immediately before the Maritime Pro Stock Tour feature. On July 5th, we saw two-time champion Colton Ford (#35, Oyster Bed Bridge, PE) record his first feature win in two years, and add a semi race victory on top of his best run so far this season.
As for the championship battle, it’s hard to believe that the top three drivers in points, despite having a couple of qualifying wins combined, haven’t won a feature… yet. Former Piston Cup winner Mike Duskey (#42, Hampshire, PE) continues to remain at a steady +12 over fellow veteran Matthew Ford (#86, Ellerslie, PE). Ford regained second in points in a resilient comeback to the track after a violent accident on June 21st had many fearing his season was over.
Four-time track champion and fan-favourite Randy Millar (#77, Freeland, PE) has held onto third in points since the season opener, and is now followed by three-time divisional titleholder Nick Chaisson (#27, North Milton, PE), rookie Devin Gallant (#36, Rustico, PE) and the #26 Snow Motorsports team of David Griffin (Charlottetown, PE) and Randy Snow (Oyster Bed Bridge, PE).
Chaisson is the previous winner of an extended-distance feature this year, claiming a 40-lap affair on June 14th – can he go back-to-back in lengthier competition?
Race Day Format
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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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