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The racing season
is kicking-off across the country so it's time for CanadianRacer.com's
annual round-up of news from the off-season. As far as I know, no
tracks have closed this year but there are no truly new facilties
either. That's not to say that there isn't any news this year. A
few tracks have been saved from a uncertain future and more have
had major upgrades over the winter.
The closest thing to a new track is the new Bridge City Speedway
in Saskatoon that will be opening this year, replacing the old Bridge
City Speedway that has existed since 1972. The Saskatoon Stock Racing
Association (SSCRA), the group that runs the speedway, had been
advised in 1999 that the City of Saskatoon intended to annex the
property due to the growth of the City of Saskatoon.The SSCRA began
the search for a new location for their track. Land was found and
purchased in 2004 and construction began in April of 2005. The new
track opens on June 30, 2006. Kudos to the SSCRA for being so proactive
and keeping racing alive in the Saskatoon area. For more info on
the new track see the website at :http://www.bridgecityspeedway.ca.
Ottodrome International Speedway in Ottawa was sold over the winter
to the Drummond family who have hired Arnie Malcom as the promoter.
Malcom is also the promoter at Luskville Dragway. The track was
immediately renamed to its original name, Capital City Speedway.
Announcements started flowing right away and things are looking
up for race fans in Ottawa. There was a fear in late 2005 that the
track may not reopen this year. See the track's web site for all
the details: www.capitalcityspeedway.ca.
There are big
changes happening at Riverside Speedway in Antigonish, NS.
Original owner John Chisholm bought the track from the family of
Eric Van'Daalen. Van'Daalen had passed away in December of 2004.
The track did not run weekly in 2005 and only hosted two events
from the Maritime Pro Stock Association. Chisholm is making major
renovations including replacing the guardrails with concrete walls,
resurfacing the track, old granstands torn down and replaced with
a new one that will hold 7000 specatators, new lighting, new washrooms
and new concessions. The much improved facility should be ready
in August.
It seems very quiet at Cayuga 2000 Speedway in Nelles Corners,
ON. Their web site has not been updated since the late summer of
2005. CASCAR is showing an event there on September 2-3 but that
is the only event that I've heard of for 2006. I sent an e-mail
to the address on the web site but it was never answered. Norris
McDonald stated in the Toronto Star on April 29, that there
were strong rumours of the track being sold.
It was also a very quiet off-season around Race City Speedway
in Calgary. Track owner Art MacKenzie had decided to stop managing
the track himself and instead lease out the facility for this year.
The news was finally announced in early April that the facility
was being leased by Rome Awde for 2006. All three tracks will be
in operation - the drag strip, oval and road course. Awde may purchase
Race City in the future. The Race City web site has finally been
updated: http://www.racecity.com.
It appears that Onslow Speedway in Nova Scotia will not be
re-opening. There had been rumours of this for the last two seasons
but now their web site is down and the rumours have gone away.
Brockville Ontario Speedway has switched to Saturday night
for 2006.
Delaware Speedway, near London, Ontario, has dropped NASCAR
sanctioning.
Victory
Lane Speedway, near Winnipeg has completely ripped out its old,
wooden grandstands and replaced them with a new concrete and aluminum
one. There is also a new pit area. See the photos here: http://www.victorylane.mb.ca/updates.htm.
Budweiser
Motorsports Park in Edmonton has been renamed Castrol Raceway.
Their website states that a 2.7 km road course is now under construction.
See their website for all the latest updates at: http://www.castrolraceway.com/.
Thunder
Mountain Speedway in Williams Lake, BC has improved their pit
area by regrading and enlargening it. They have also built a new
campground.
Autodrome Drummond
in Drummondville, Quebec appears to have had some major renovations
over the winter. Since my French is not very good, have a look at
their site: http://www.autodrome-drummond.com/photos/renov/index.php.
There are no
new developments in the road course area. Active Mountain Raceway,
near Merritt, British Columbia appears to be on hold. Their web
site is now mostly blank.
Calabogie Motorsport Park, located in the Calabogie region
of Ontario, about an hour west of Ottawa is also experiencing roadblocks
in getting opened. Local opposition has put a hold on things for
now. For more information see the Calabogie
Motorsport Park web site.
Last year I reported on Millennium Motor Speedway and like
the other road course projects, it hasn't progressed any further
since this time last year. The track is being developed by RM Racing
Group and they are currently working on funding for the 2.5 mile
road course. The site is located each of Cache Creek, about 45 minutes
west of Kamloops. Follow their progress at their website: http://www.millenniummotorspeedway.com.
A multi-track facility is scheduled to begin construction in Saskatchewan.
Cupar International Raceway will be located near the town
of Cupar. Construction of a 1/4 mile drag strip was to have begun
in May, 2005 with a 1/3 mile oval and road course to follow. It
seems that this is group is not having any more luck than the other
groups.The track has its web site going: http://racecir.tripod.com/.
The news on the site indicates that they are still waiting for all
the approvals.
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