Canada’s First NASCAR-Sanctioned Weekly Track Returns to Series
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2009) – The first Canadian weekly track to become NASCAR-sanctioned in 2004 returns to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series this year.
Recent ownership and management consolidation at Delaware Speedway in London, Ontario, has allowed track operator Arlen Scherba, to return the half-mile, paved, banked oval to the NASCAR family.
Delaware Speedway operates on Friday nights, creating a two-track weekly NASCAR circuit with Barrie Speedway, which is also in Ontario. By competing at both tracks, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Ontario champion would receive $4,000.
“We’re looking at it as a long-term program,” said race director Jeff Wilcox. “There are benefits to the drivers in terms of point funds, marketing assistance and the NASCAR name associated with their racing efforts, in addition to NASCAR’s excess insurance coverage.”
Scott Lindsay and Peter Vanderwyst were Delaware’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model division champions in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
“We are very pleased to have Delaware return to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR Managing Director of Racing Operations. “Canada is home to very passionate NASCAR fans and Delaware is another great example of the exciting short-track racing that is the foundation of NASCAR.”
The track’s 2009 schedule includes regular events on Wednesdays and Fridays, with APC Late Models, PowerAde Modifieds, Peterbilt Super Stocks, Challenger Motor Freight Trucks, Transmission Direct Enduros, Ultimate Sandblasting and Coating Chaos Cars, and Junior Racing.
“This move brings Delaware Speedway and its drivers back into the extended NASCAR family,” said John Houghton, the track’s public relations director. “The competitors and the speedway will greatly benefit from the additional coverage and reach NASCAR offers through its television audience, magazine coverage and website exposure.”
Other Canadian NASCAR Whelen All-American Series tracks include Edmonton International Raceway in Alberta, Sun Valley Motor Speedway in British Columbia, Autodrome St. Eustache in Quebec, and Barrie Speedway in Ontario.
Competitors at the track are now part of NASCAR’s North American network of hometown speedways across the United States and Canada. At each track, the featured division participants will be eligible to compete for track and state championships, point funds and ultimately the series’ national title.
State or province champions in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series are determined by drivers’ highest 18 finishes at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks within a state.
Since its inception, NASCAR’s local racing series has served as a springboard in the careers of many top-tier NASCAR drivers. Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers all began their careers in the NASCAR short-track program. More information on the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is available at www.nascarhometracks.com.
For more information, contact:
Jason Christley, NASCAR Public Relations, (386) 947-6788 or jchristley@nascar.com