Looks like Castrol is planning on putting in a 2.7km course over the next 3 years. Starting with about 1.4km and expanding later.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/mobi...ear+plan+build+race+course/4983870/story.html
Will be neat to have both a large and small track near Edmonton now.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/mobi...ear+plan+build+race+course/4983870/story.html
Castrol Raceway announces a three-year plan to build a 2.7 km race course
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
By Chris O'Leary, edmontonjournal.com
Sprint car racing in the Oil City Cup as the World of Outlaws competition returns to Castrol Raceway near Edmonton, Alberta, August 27, 2010.
Photographed by:
Bruce Edwards, edmontonjournal.com
EDMONTON - Fourteen years ago, Rob Reeves and Ron Hodgson opened Castrol Raceway with the goal of becoming a motor sports hub for racing enthusiasts.
On Tuesday, Reeves and Hodgson unveiled plans that would take the racing hub they’ve created to a new level. A 2.7-kilometre, 12-metre-wide open road course is in the process of being built.
“It’ll complete the facility,” Reeves said. “This will be the only road course from Vancouver — there’s one in Mission, B.C., — all the way out to Manitoba, I think is the next closest one.”
Castrol currently has a drag racing strip, a motocross facility and an oval.
The open road course would open up a lot of new driving experiences to local racers, Reeves said, and put Castrol in line to become the go-to destination for racing fans and events.
It’s a three-year project, Reeves pointed out. The first phase, a 1.4-kilometre section of the course, will be open to the public after it’s completed by the end of September and partially paved. The second 1.3-kilometre phase will link up to Phase 1 next year.
The road course will help the community at large, as well, Reeves said.
“It’ll be a big addition to the road course racing for schools, for rentals, the Porsche clubs, the Ferrari clubs, the Corvette clubs, up to training for driver’s education, collision avoidance training, the RCMP, all of that as well,” he said. “We hope to have the course done sooner than later because it’s a revenue source for us, we hope. We can run the Canadian NASCAR series. The (American) Le Mans GT, both closed wheel and open wheels, the legend cars.”
Reeves stressed that Castrol doesn’t have the means to support the fan base that an Indy event would bring in, but in time it could become a possibility.
“The track will be an FIA sanctioned race track, but we’re not building it to the spec of the Indy,” he said. “Our intention is not to interfere with Indy at all. We’re building it so everyone else will come.
“We’re not necessarily counting Indy out. Indy could be something in the future, but that’s not the design today.”
Reeves said while an Indy event could draw 100,000 fans per day, Castrol is currently suited to smaller crowds. He anticipates 20,000 fans this weekend for the Mopar Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals drag racing competition, which is currently the track’s biggest event of the year.
“We’re OK with that,” he said. “Indy’s a big step.”
Looking at this weekend’s Nitro Jam event, Reeves said he was looking forward to the variety of vehicles that will be drag racing.
“We’ve got top fuel nitro cars, we’ve got dozens of them coming,” he said. “We’ve got the nitro Harleys, we’ve got funny cars, dragsters.
“(Monster truck) Grave Digger will be racing the jet truck, which is a pretty unique deal. It’s going to be a heck of a good weekend. It’ll be fun.”
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Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel has declared Thursday as Edmonton Nitro Jam Day.
“We are thrilled to have the City of Edmonton involved in what we are doing and recognizing the magnitude of this event and how important it is to the IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) and to the Edmonton area,” IHRA Nitro Jam president Aaron Polburn said in a release. “Over the last few years, this event has grown into the largest drag race in all of Canada, and the involvement of the city will only help it grow larger in the future.”
The Rocky Mountain Nationals will get underway on Friday and run through Sunday.
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Will be neat to have both a large and small track near Edmonton now.