Edge-of-your-seat excitement is back at the track with Sunday’s opening day racing at Penticton Speedway.
Action begins at 2 p.m. with a full slate of events, including hornets, street stocks, hit to pass as well as the ever popular late models with entries from all over B.C.
While the official recognition of the speedway reaching the half-century mark will take place next year, 2018 is actually the 50th season for the quarter-mile paved oval.
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For nearly half that time track owner Johnny Aantjes has been at the helm.
“You know we’ve been here 20 years and we’ve seen some up and downs but it’s just a good family fun entertainment place where people can come out and enjoy motorsports and be in the fresh air,” said Aantjes about track which had one of it’s best seasons ever in 2017. “We try to keep the prices affordable and this Sunday should be a great afternoon and if we get some sunshine like the weatherman is predicting, we will be rolling.”
And while similar tracks in the country have been closing down for a variety of reasons, things are going strong locally according to Aantjes.
“So to have a motorsport facility like this in Penticton is awesome, especially when it’s getting harder and harder for families to be able to do things together,” he said. “I know everything costs money and this can be expensive but we try to keep it affordable.”
That includes for the racers.
“We do a pretty good job keeping the entry level classes reasonable,” said Aantjes. “But it takes a lot of time and energy and effort to keep them (speedways) going and there’s a lot of environmental and urban pressures but we’re pretty fortunate and we plan to continue to run a race track for another 10 or 20 years or however long time permits.”
He added he has even been approached by environment groups who applaud the facilities for keeping cars in a controlled location instead leaving their tire tracks elsewhere.
A big push for the track owners is encouraging kids to get involved. All of Aantjes’ sons participate, including 15-year-old Marty who has been racing for six years already.
“We have a lot of families who are involved that way, father-son, father-daughter so it’s a great family experience for them,” he said.
In addition to the regular race days throughout the season other featured events include two Bull Riders Canada sanctioned competitions.
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The first is May 27 with the big one, the fifth annual Bull-A-Rama, on July 21.
At that time the top riders from Western Canada will compete for thousands of dollars in prize money making it one of the top stops on the Canada-wide circuit for points to get them to the finals.
Barrel riding and the junior steer riding will also be included in the events.
The track will also be offering it’s driving schools Friday nights as well as the OK Racing Experience for people who want to drive a race car to have that race day experience.
Tickets are available for Sunday’s event at the gate with kids 10 and under free with an adult. A full concession is also available.
For the complete schedule of events at Penticton Speedway go to www.pentictonspeedway.com.
