Canadian Racer

Ghost Tracks - New Brunswick

This is a first in a series of Ghost Tracks sent to CanadianRacer.com by Ernie Pothier.

Hammond River Raceway was located in Nauwigewauk, New Brunswick (near Saint John) and was a 1/4 mile paved oval. It opened in the mid 1950's and after the 1995 season. The pits were located behind the backstretch.

The photos below show the remains of Hammond River in the early spring of 2004. There's not much left on the site. The asphalt has been ripped up but you can clearly see the track configuration and the banking. The only building still standing is the washroom. The grandstands burned down a few years ago and only some charred timbers remain. The area was littered with race tires, parts and pieces of body work. The remains of the pit area are obvious as the fence still stands including signs to mark specific drivers' pit stalls (see photo below). There is also some remains of the front wall and spectator fence.

Brookside Speedway was also a 1/4 mile paved oval and was located in Nashwaaksis, NB (near Fredricton). The track was managed by Ernie McLean at one time. It closed in the mid-1970's and probably opened in the late 1960's (again, dates need to be confirmed).

The company that bought the land used it to burn contaminated soil. There's almost nothing left to identify that a race track ever existed. Ernie spoke to a local man who confirmed that this is the location where the track was located. A few photos have been included to spark the memory of any race fans who attended here. They were taken in the early spring of 2004.

Scoudouc Airfield was a left-over airfield from World War II. It was used for a 1.5 mile road course for sports car and motorcycle racing beginning in 1959. The sports car events were mostly organized by the Moncton Motorsports Club. The Scoudouc Dragway also made use of this airfield and was organized by the Moncton Speed & Custom Club. All the racing was shut down at the end of the 1967 season because the military still had radar installations on the site and they were worried about security. Motorcycle racing may have returned in the late 1980's or early 1990's (need to be confirmed).

The photos below show what Scoudouc looked like in the summer of 2005 when Rehean Leblanc visited the site.

If anyone has any more information on Brookside Speedway, Scoudouc or Hammond River Raceway - photos, programs, points champions, etc please contact me: webmaster@motorsportscentral.com.

Hammond River Raceway
photos are copyright Ernie Pothier and may not be reproduced

The pit fence with pit stall signs	Standing at the end of the front straight looking back toward turn 4.	Looking down the back straight from turn 2	Turn 3 & 4 from outside turn 3	Turn 3 & 4
Turn 1 & 2 from the outside of turn 2	The front straight embankment with some remains of the fence and wall	Looking up the front straight from turn 4	Looking back into turn 4 from the front straight	Washrooms

Brookside Speedway
photos are copyright Ernie Pothier and may not be reproduced

The road on the left of the photo led to the pits

The tree line roughly outlines the track. The back straight would have been on the right of the photo and turn 3 in the background

An overall view of the site. The back straight would have been along the tree line in the distance.

Turn 4 would have been in front of the trees. The modern concrete wall is approx where the front straight was located.

Scoudouc Airfield
photos and descriptions are courtesy of Rejean LeBlanc

Looking down front straight. Turn 1 would go to the right, just before the big earth bank.

The Finish Line, three quarters down the main straight.

Down the 2nd Runway, right after turn 1. There would occasionally be a chicane about where the fencing ends, but not often.

The 3rd Runway (the long one.. now known as Brennan Avenue) looking back. The 2nd Runway would come in from the left and go down to where the trucks are, and turn right again to where the camera is.

Basically just turned around from the last pic. There would be a chicane about halfway down (where the closest truck is).

The cars would come down where the trucks are (Brennan Avenue), turn right, and go back down front straight.