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| Steve Kinser
and the rest of the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars will be at
Ohsweken Speedway on July 22-23 and at Castrol Raceway on Aug
22-23. |
The snow has
finally melted here in Southern Ontario, the mall shows have wrapped
up and practice days and racing have started. That means I'm overdue
for CanadianRacer.com's annual check on the off-season news and
a look ahead to the 2008 season. It was mostly good news in the
off-season. Two new ovals and a road course have either opened or
will soon, one oval has been saved and we only lost one track over
the winter.
Starting with the bad news, Cranbrook International Speedway
in BC closed at the end of the 2007 season for development of the
land.
The future of Race City Motorsports Park in Calgary is in
doubt after the 2009 season. The City of Calgary has announced that
it will not renew the lease after 2009. There is an online
petition urging the City of Calgary to assist in finding a new
home for the track.
Turning to good
news, a previously closed race track is re-opening. The track at
Fort McMurray, AB was closed in 1989. It was used for bog bogs recently
but has been undergoing renovation and is now called McMurray
Speedway Park. The 3/8 mile clay track have been widened and
the banking in the corners increased. Other renovations either completed
or soon underway include rebuilt grandstands, more grandstands on
the way, lights, improved parking lot, numerous familiy facilities,
etc. The track appears to be special events only for now. It will
host two rounds of the Alberta Sprint Tour in 2008 - July 5-6 and
August 30-31. Check the track's
web site for more details.
Autodrome Budweiser is a new 1/5 mile, banked, dirt oval
now under construction and is located near Saint-Eugène-de-Ladrière,
about 30 minutes west of Rimouski. QC. They plan to have 1000cc
Mini Sprints, Legends and 4 cylinder stocks with possible specials
in 2008 for Sportsmen and Pro Stocks. There will be an ATV and motocross
track in the infield. The track is expected to open in August. The
track's web site
is now online.
There is a new road circuit in Canada as well. Circuit ICAR
is located at the Mirabel airport in Montreal. Like many road circuits,
the track can be set up in various configurations. The north track
is 2.43 km, the south track is 1.48 km and the full circuit is 3.81
km. There is also a drag strip. The circuit will host an event on
July 11-13 featuring the Canadian Touring Car Championship, the
Toyota Pirelli Cup, Extreme Touring Pirelli, F1600 and Performance
Cup.
Hidden Valley Motorsports Park at Drumheller, AB is relocating
this year. The old property has been sold to a real estate developer.
The new track is located at the Drumheller Stampede & Agricultural
Society grounds and is the existing chuck wagon track. The 1/2 mile
clay track will need some work to make it suitable for stock car
racing, including walls and fencing. There is the possibility of
holding the races at the old track this season as the club still
has the lease for this year.
The Newalta Late Model Challenge Series has merged with ARCA
West and is now known as the ARCA West Mac's Series.
The series is for Late Models and races in Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Montana. The rules and schedule for 2008 are very similiar to
the 2007 season. More information can be found at the series
web site.
Speedway 660 is the new name for New Brunswick International
Speedway. The new name reflects the road that the track is located
on.
Central Alberta Raceways in Rimbey, AB has received a $430,000
grant from the Alberta Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and
Culture. The funds will used toward the building of a drag strip
at the facility.
Sauble Speedway in Sauble Beach, ON was sold over the winter.
Former racer Jason Thom and his wife Aimee purchased the track from
Joe Chisholm who will remain as Marketing Director.
Autodrome St-Eustache was also sold during the off-season.
Alan Labrosse is the new owner of the multi-track facility, located
northwest of Montreal.
There is a stong group of international racing series coming to
Canada in 2008. Highlights include the NASCAR Nationwide Series,
F1, the Indy Car Championship Series (at Edmonton, still to be confirmed),
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, World of Outlaws Late Models, ARCA
ReMax Series, ARCA Trucks, ISMA, Super DirtCar Series, American
Le Mans Series and the Grand Am Rolex Series. For all Canadian dates
for the international series plus the Canadian touring series, see
the CanadianRacer.com Schedules page.
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