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Race City Resurrection?
Bruce Biegler - February 1, 2010
If the resurgent AHRA and it's Canadian V.P & Director Brad Janishewski has it's way -- Calgary Alberta racing fans may well feel the "nitro beat" again this coming summer.
 As reported earlier on DragRaceCanada, the AHRA, which was originally founded way back in 1956 and is charting a comeback this season. has some big things in motion. One of those emerging stories involves troubled Race City Speedway. The AHRA have officially announced that one of it's six planned 2010 Reunion Tour events this year will be held there next June 9-10th.
That revelation has caught a number of people by surprise given the ongoing drama between current Race City ownership and the City of Calgary which has effectively put the drag strip into dormancy.
For Canada the AHRA alternative may be some good news to a racing public that is still a bit bruised and shaken after the IHRA's announcements late last year that resulted in the overall loss of "National Event" race status for Canada. While the new planned AHRA events (also for Cayuga July 2-3) are certainly not yet considered anything near “national event” caliber, they do represent a beacon of hope for that re-establishment in the future.
“Things are progressing nicely -- a lot of great work has been done over the last year,” revealed Janishewski, Vice President & Director of Canadian Operations. “Our formula for 2010 is to bring in a bunch of Nitro cars and add that to a wide mix of fun classes. We feel that will be a step one towards an eventual full blown sanctioning that includes a national event points series.”
There is no denying the fact that Calgary’s Race City Speedway is even on the AHRA’s season radar creates skepticism. The issues between Race City track ownership and the Calgary City Council remain unresolved and the track is physically in very poor shape. There is however some renewed hope, according to Janishewski.
“The AHRA is standing alongside Art McKenzie and all the racers and fans in that area,” he explained. “We all have the same common goal with regard to Motorsports there. The AHRA is prepared to work with Art to help inject capital in the facility to bring it back to where it once was. Our task is to help sway City Council opinion with a long term commitment – we are presently conveying that message and are making progress on that front. There is also a City election coming soon. We feel both of those factors can sway things in our favor.”
During the meantime Janishewski did confirm that all planning for the 2010 Reunion Tour event at Calgary will continue. The event would be run off on a 1/8th mile basis for safety reasons if necessary for this season.
Janishewski also confirmed that some other exciting AHRA announcements directly affecting Canadian drag strips in both the West and East will be coming in the near future.
Fans can alsotrack the progress of the AHRA on-line at: www.AHRAdragracing.com
(Bruce Biegler Photo)
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