Speedway 660 captures three of seven awards in category

The COVID-19 Season presented challenges for all and ultimately produced three new names to the list of TCM Best of Racing Fan Favorite Short Track, Series and Events Awards in 2020.

The Atlantic Modified Tour and Sydney Speedway each captured their first Fan Favorite Short Track Award during Round Two voting in this year’s TCM Best of Racing Awards. They joined familiar venues like Riverside International Speedway, Speedway 660 and Petty International Raceway as award winners in the seventh edition of the section that honors sanctioning bodies for their efforts over the season.

The Atlantic Modified Tour saw the most races of any Touring Series in Atlantic Canada this year. The Series, with promotion from first year company Bryn Enterprises, produced seven races with four different winners at three venues. Yves McCray of Neguac, New Brunswick raced to two wins, including his second SpeedWeekend victory at Speedway 660 and the Season Finale Very Best Fall Shootout at Speedway Miramichi, ultimately taking the season long point title for the first time in his career.

The New Brunswick based tour edged perennial favorite for the award win. The Parts for Trucks Maritime Pro Stock Tour, who raced two races in Nova Scotia in September, fell 11 votes short of the total amassed by the Atlantic Modified Tour.

Sydney Speedway took home the “Mid-Season Starters” Short Track category for their first win in the TCM Best of Racing Awards. The Grand Lake Road oval convincingly took the victory over Lake Doucette Motor Speedway, who won their first Short Track Award in 2019. Sydney Speedway re-opened in 2019 under the ownership of Greg Dowe.

Speedway 660 was the big winner of this season’s Short Track Awards, taking three awards in the specialty categories. The RE/MAX East Coast Elite Realty 250 won for Best Short Track Major Event over the Seventh Annual Mike Stevens Memorial at Petty International Raceway. The Geary, New Brunswick track also won Best Short Track “Non Major” Event for the second straight season for the DMR Auto Presents the Ricky Bobby 150. The third came in a familiar category – the Fan Favorite Short Track Food for their Speedway Fries. It is the fourth time the deep fried delicacies have won the award but first time since 2016.

After being shut out in 2019, Petty International Raceway returned to the winner list by picking up the New Brunswick Short Track of the Year in the rearranged Short Track categories. It is the track’s seventh win in the category after winning the Fan Favorite Monthly Short Track Award from 2014 to 2018.

Riverside International Speedway may have only had one event due to COVID in 2020 but it gained enough fan support to win its seventh consecutive TCM Fan Favorite Short Track Award. Riverside picked up the “Late Bloomers” Award against the three latest starters to the season that also included a former four-time Award winner in Scotia Speedworld.

The TCM Fan Favorite Short Track and Series Award announcements are the first to be made from the TCM Best of Racing Awards in 2020. The rest will be unveiled over the coming days on TimsCorner.ca!

Speedway 660 Photos by Michelle Roy

TCM BEST OF RACING AWARDS – TRACKS, SERIES AND EVENTS RESULTS

TCM FAN FAVORITE COVID SEASON “NEW BRUNSWICK” SHORT TRACK

1st – Petty International Raceway – 41%
2nd – Speedway 660 – 32%
3rd – Speedway Miramichi – 27%

Margin of Victory – 55 Votes

This is Petty International Raceway’s six Fan Favorite Short Track win.

TCM FAN FAVORITE COVID SEASON “MID-SEASON STARTERS” SHORT TRACK

1st – Sydney Speedway – 54%
2nd – Lake Doucette Motor Speedway – 26%
3rd = Thunder Valley Speedway – 21%

Margin of Victory – 153 votes

This is the first TCM Best of Racing Award win for Sydney Speedway in their second year of operation under Greg Dowe.

TCM FAN FAVORITE COVID SEASON “LATE BLOOMERS” SHORT TRACK

1st – Riverside International Speedway – 42%
2nd – Scotia Speedworld – 38%
3rd – Eastbound Park – 20%

Margin of Victory – 23 Votes

Riverside International Speedway is undefeated in seven years of the TCM Fan Favorite Short Track Awards. 

TCM FAN FAVORITE TOURING SERIES

1st – Atlantic Modified Tour – 40%
2nd – Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour  – 38%
3rd – Heart of a Champion Hot Rod Classics – 21%

Margin of Victory – 11 Votes

One of the biggest upsets of the TCM Best of Racing Awards in 2020, the Atlantic Modified Tour topped the six-time winner Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour by a mere 11 votes.

TCM FAN FAVORITE SHORT TRACK EVENT – MAJOR

1st –  20th Annual RE/MAX 250 @ Speedway 660 – 34%
2nd – Seventh Annual Mike Stevens Memorial @ Petty Raceway – 27%
3rd – 56th River Glade International @ Petty Raceway – 19%
4th – Toromont Cat 150 @ Riverside Speedway – 12%
5th – Jim Hallahan 250 @ Scotia Speedworld – 7%

Margin of Victory – 40 Votes

This is Speedway 660’s first win in this category. The two-time winner, the IWK 250 at Riverside Speedway, did not run in 2020 due to COVID-19.

TCM FAN FAVORITE SHORT TRACK EVENT – NON MAJOR

1st – Ricky Bobby 150 @ Speedway 660 – 44%
2nd – The Very Best Fall Shootout @ Speedway Miramichi – 28%
3rd –  Thanksgiving Thunder @ Sydney Speedway – 18%
4th – “The Final” Square Burger 150 @ Eastbound Park – 11%

Margin of Victory – 95 Votes

This is Speedway 660’s second straight victory for the Ricky Bobby 150 in the Short Track “Non Major” Event category. 

TCM FAN FAVORITE SHORT TRACK FOOD

1st – Speedway Fries @ The FiX at Speedway 660 – 38%
2nd – Donair Burger @ Petty International Raceway – 25%
3rd – Douggie Special @ Speedway Miramichi – 19%
4th – Wood Fired Pizza @ Riverside International Speedway – 18%

Margin of Victory – 77 Votes

This is Speedway 660’s fourth win in this award for their fries and ninth TCM Best of Racing Award overall.