Nestled off the Trans Canada Highway in Avondale, this month, Eastbound International Speedway debuted its 12th annual season of oval racing action, including the NASCAR Regional Late Model Sportsman Series.
During a pre-season practice session, Owen Groves gave us some insight into his family’s history with the racetrack. Owen’s uncle, Jason Groves, originally got him into racing at the age of eleven; today, the uncle-nephew duo compete against one another in the Late Model division.
Owen has some additional racing experience under his belt, having previously raced across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and in the INEX Winter Nationals in Florida, which he considers “the best experience of [his] life”.
Owen was also awarded the Newfoundland & Labrador Rookie of the Year Award at the 2019 NASCAR Awards in Charlotte, North Carolina.
When asked if he would compete in the NASCAR Canada Series again – like he did in 2023 – Owen left the door open, noting he would need additional sponsorship to get a deal done.
While Owen Groves has been racing for nearly his entire life, fellow Late Model driver Jason Gosse is making his return to Eastbound after a nine-year hiatus:
“It’s like starting over from scratch”, Gosse told The Muse, “As long as I can improve the car every week, I’ll be happy”.
In addition to the early years of Eastbound, Gosse has experience dating back to when the property was a dirt track called Avondale Speedway, but says he prefers the modern asphalt configuration.
Hanlon Realty Legends Series driver Jacob O’Leary is too young to remember the old dirt track configuration.
Despite 2026 being his sixth year of competition, the Legends Series rookie is only thirteen years old. This year, O’Leary steps into a car running on a Yamaha motorcycle engine, placed in the body of a 1934 Ford Model T, which O’Leary described as “twitchy”:
“When you get in the throttle and you turn the wheel, it goes where you want it to, almost too much,” O’Leary explained to The Muse. Despite the challenge, O’Leary is looking forward to getting back to his favourite part of racing: “turning left.”
While Jacob zips around the racetrack at 140mph, his father, Chris O’Leary, watches both nervously and excitedly from the infield:
“I’ll lose more hair and have more stress,” Chris half-joked with The Muse. Despite his worries, Chris enjoys the ways that racing has brought his family closer: “On Friday nights, he’s with me in the garage…it’s been a great bonding thing for him and I.”
In addition to Late Models and Legends, Eastbound is also home to Atlantic Ram Dealers Hobby Stock Series – which utilizes 4-cylinder street cars – and the Amanda Arsenault Realtor Bandolero Series, where Jacob O’Leary began his career at eight years old.