The Estevan Motor Speedway has delayed its first regular program of the season.
The speedway announced Thursday that it would hold the season opener for its five classes on May 30, rather than the double-header that was initially scheduled for May 22 and 23.
President Aaron Turnbull said they had a number of reasons for pushing the season opener back a week. One of them is that they would have been able to have 30 fans in the 1,500-seat main grandstand on May 22 and 23, but if they race on May 30, they would be able to have 150.
May 30 is the first day for Step 1 in the provincial government’s Re-open Saskatchewan Road Map, and public outdoor gatherings with 150 people are to be allowed.
“We’ve had some discussion with the government, and basically they said to us it would be wise to wait until after that May 30 date,” said Turnbull.
The speedway can also have fans watch from their vehicles from paid parking areas along the south and west fence.
The track’s board members also looked at racing in the first weekend of June, but then they have races scheduled for the second weekend of that month, on June 11 and 12, and they didn’t want to race on back-to-back weekends.
The number of cases of COVID-19 currently in the Estevan area wasn’t a factor.
All five classes – slingshots, and IMCA hobby stocks, stock cars, sport mods and modifieds – are scheduled to race at the season opener.
The speedway has already had some activities this year. A track preparation day was held on May 1, in which volunteers helped get the speedway ready for the upcoming season. The track held a spring Enduro for the first time on May 8, with 33 vehicles entered. Shawn DeBruyne was the winner.
And the annual Test and Tune program was held on May 15, in which drivers had the chance to get a few practice laps on their cars before the season starts.
