Clear track ahead for full racing season

Peterborough Speedway has emerged from the pandemic better than one might expect.

The green flag is about to drop on the 55th season of racing at the one-third-mile oval just west of the city with the Pure Country 105 season opener featuring free spectator grandstand admission — Saturday night.

The opening night race card will feature the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock, Trent Lakes Complete Plumbing Renegade Truck, KOD Disposal Super Stock and hometown Late Model divisions, along with the Canadian Legend Car Series.

Track owner and promoter J.P. Josiasse ran two shows in 2020 and a 12-race campaign in 2021, which started in July, but this is the first time since 2019 the track will open on its traditional May long weekend.

It’s also the end of COVID-19 protocols and restrictions.

“Things are getting back to normal,” Josiasse said.

“We don’t have to do COVID screening at the gates to get into the facility. All those things we’ve been able to put to the side and hopefully never see them again.”

Josiasse said the track weathered the pandemic quite well, thanks, for a 2021 season that attracted almost as many fans as a full pre-pandemic schedule.

“Our worst night with rain was better than our best night in 2019,” Josiasse said.

“It was probably from a lack of things to do. People were so happy to get out and do something, I’m going to guess.”

There was a silver lining to the reduced schedule the past two years as Josiasse and his staff had time to do a number of overdue renovations and improvements to the facility.

“We used COVID to set things up well. We made a lot of changes and improvements and caught up on things. We really used it to our benefit,” he said.

They replaced the aging ticket booth, gave the scoreboard a facelift, replaced fencing, painted the grandstands and other areas in need of a touch up. They also revamped the concession stand menu.

“All the odds and ends you always want to get to and never have the time,” he said.

They also made a number of tweaks to racing rules to try to create a more level playing field for the drivers.

“We were able to step back and look at certain things and say, ‘Hey, we should do it this way,’ ” he said. “We worked hard on fine-tuning the rules to get the classes closer together.”

The pandemic forced the track to modernize some aspects of the business, including a move to online ticketing.

That restriction has been lifted and fans will be able to buy tickets at the gate, but Josiasse said they will also keep the online ticketing option as many fans find it convenient.

An update is also coming to the track’s website later this summer.

Pit gates will open at 12:30 p.m., with the spectator grandstands unlocked at 3 p.m. and the first green flag of the new season at 5 p.m.

Spectators can save $50 on the grandstand admission price with a 2022 season pass that includes 16 weekly nights of racing, along with marquee events for the APC Pro Late Models and Qwick Wick Firestarter Super Stocks.

The $220 pass includes admission to OSCAAR Modifieds and Hot Rods, 100-lap Ontario Sportsman Series, Ontario Super Late Models, the Championship Clash and other races.

A $270 super pass is also available for a saving of $65 off the total single-ticket grandstand price, for admission to all the events on the regular-season pass, plus the threeday running of the 29th annual Autumn Colours Classic on the Thanksgiving Weekend on Oct. 7 to 9. It’s the first visit to the track for the APC Pro Late Model Series since 2017.

Tickets can be purchased and a schedule may be found at peterboroughspeedway.com.