BEDFORD, NS – The Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour makes their only trip to Speedway 660 in Geary, New Brunswick this weekend for two races as a part of SpeedWeekend 2023. The CYV Chevrolet 40 on Saturday afternoon and the CARS Automotive 40 on Sunday afternoon will serve as Rounds Seven and Eight, respectively, on the 2023 championship season. Both events will pay the winner $750 to win and, should one driver sweep the weekend, they will receive an additional $750 from Speedway 660 to make the weekend worth upwards of $2250! Racing begins on Saturday, September 2nd at 4pm and Sunday, September 3rd at 2pm.
The point chase changed drastically after the Cross Roads 50 in support of Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank at Riverside International Speedway. While Gage Gilby (Enfield, NS) still leads the standings and still have leading rookie Dawson Noble (Upper Nine Mile River, NS) playing chase, the gap is now 15 points between Gilby and Noble. While Noble narrowly missed the podium at Riverside with a fourth place run, the point leader struggled most of the afternoon and recorded a tenth place finish. Noble’s worst effort since his last place finish on Round One at Scotia Speedworld has been fourth while stumbles at Petty Raceway in July and Riverside Speedway in August have brought Gilby closer to the pack with four races remaining.
Ayden Christensen (Windsor Junction, NS) suffered a hard hit at the Cross Roads 50 while running within the top five at Riverside. A hung throttle sent the No. 24 hard into the Turn One wall late in the event and would ultimately relegate him to sixth in the standings after his 16th place finish. Top five runs at Riverside by Nathan Blackburn (Timberlea, NS), Tanton Wooldridge (Summerside, PE) and Chase MacKay (Bear Cove, NS) allowed the trio to sneak by not only Christensen but Josh Langille (Coldbrook, NS), who finished 18th two weeks ago. It creates a fight heading into Speedway 660 as third to sixth in the standings are only separated by a mere six points.
A total of 18 drivers have competed in each of the six Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour races this season, including six rookies. Noble leads the Cross Roads Rookie of the Year chase by 30 points over MacKay. Christensen, Chase Livingston (Springhill, NS), Aiden MacDonald (York, PE) and Caden Tufts (Timberlea, NS) are looking for big weekends in New Brunswick to close the gap in the second half of 2023.
While several drivers have been to Speedway 660 before in other race cars, for most of the rookie crop, this is their first start at Speedway 660 in a Legend car. We could see one of those drivers emerge as a winner this weekend. In the last five races for the Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour at Speedway 660, three have been won by Danny Chisholm (Port Williams, NS) with Craig MacDonald (Waverley, NS) and Owen Mahar (Hubley, NS) splitting the SpeedWeekend events in 2021. MacDonald would go on to win the Series crown in 2021 while Mahar would take home the championship in 2022.
With Colton Noble (Upper Nine Mile River, NS) winning the most recent Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour race, the Series has not seen a repeat winner in 2023. Brother Colton and Dawson Noble have won the last two races, Tufts was the winner at Oyster Bed Speedway, Christensen raced to the win at Petty while Cory Hall (Jolicure, NB) and point leader Gilby won the first two races of the year in Nova Scotia. Three races have been won by Cross Roads Rookie Contenders while three have been taken home by drivers with at least one Legend season under their belt. Could the streak of different winners be extended this weekend through the CYV Chevrolet 40 and the CARS Automotive 40?!
The double header serves as a home Province race for several drivers, including sophomore Teagan Dempsey (Fredericton, NB), Masters competitor Darren Sherwood (Cambridge-Narrows, NB) and Cross Roads Rookie Buddy Geldart (Moncton, NB).
Ticket, camping and venue information for Speedway 660 can be found at their website, Speedway660.com.
For up-to-date information on the Cross Roads Maritime League of Legends Tour, please visit MaritimeLegends.ca or follow the Series on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MaritimeLegends.
About The Maritime League of Legends:
The Maritime League of Legends Association was formed in 2005 by a group of racers wanting to grow the Legends Cars division in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The popular touring series visits several venues throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. For more information on the Maritime League of Legends, please visit www.maritimelegends.ca.
