Drivers make the final turn in an elite street stock heat at the Medicine Hat Speedway in this June 201 file photo.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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Hatters will be able to watch races at the Medicine Hat Speedway again starting Saturday, the season’s first of seven events featuring RumbleBees, hobbies, streets, renegade trucks and lawnmower races.
The first two events of the season were postponed due to COVID-19, and after only having three races last season – and no championship – Curtis Bigelow, the speedway’s vice president, says it’s been a challenge to get the season up and running.
“People have been sitting for almost two years and it’s like, ‘Do I want to go back racing?’ We’re out beating the streets trying to get people to get their cars ready to go,” said Bigelow. “The car count in the first race might be a little bit down, but we’re hoping by the second race people want to get back into it again. We’re just trying to keep it going, trying to keep it alive but we’re having a real hard time.”
Bigelow says they plan to have a championship this season and he’s hoping that will interest more drivers to participate again this year.
“It puts some consistency in it. To get a championship, you pretty much have to race every race and be consistent at every race,” he said. “I always tell guys that are coming in, it’s not like you have to win every race, but you have to go in every race and finish every race if you want to win a championship because otherwise you lose too many points,” he said.
At the end of the 2020 race season, the speedway was allowed just 200 fans in attendance. Bigelow says as long as they’re in Stage 2 of the province’s reopening plan, they will be allowed to have 400 fans – about one-third capacity. He says once Alberta opens up Stage 3, he’s hoping the speedway will be open fully.
For now, there will still be COVID-19 protocols in place at the racetrack, including social distancing, sanitization stations and wearing a mask when coming into contact with other people, says Bigelow.
He says they are also looking for more volunteers, and those interested can reach out through their Facebook page, or find contact information on the website medicinehatspeedway.net.
“There’s so much to do for a race day. There’s tons of stuff to do, we need insurance, we need ambulances, we need safety crews, we need security, we need people to work the gate, the grass cut, and the track cleaned,” he said.
Bigelow says if Hatters want to keep a racetrack in the city, they should come out to the races this year and support the speedway. Tickets are available online for Saturday’s race with adult tickets $12 and tickets for children aged 10 and younger priced at $5. Bigelow says tickets might be available at the gate if the 400 tickets don’t sell out online.
