As the old expression goes, Go West Young Man.
That's exactly what the Prairie Dirt Racing Association has done for the upcoming 2026 season.
From it's beginnings as a dirt track touring group across most of Saskatchewan plus Manitoba (Swan River) in 2023, the PDRA has moved forward with an ambitious schedule covering 3 Western Canadian provinces from Saskatchewan to British Columbia in 2026.
Tracks previously booked that will be stops for the tour include Outlook Stockcar Track, Flatlanders Speedway (Kindersley), and Swift Current Speedway.
New to the 2026 tour will be Alberta tracks Dinosaur Downs Speedway (Drumheller), and Rad Torque Raceway (Edmonton). British Columbia tracks scheduled are Taylor Speedway, and Rocky Mountain Speedway (Valemount).
To cap it off, there will be a special running of the Street Stock and Hobby Stock classes at Saskatoon's Sutherland Automotive Speedway on September 12th for the A&W Street Stock 100 event. The Saskatoon event is on a paved oval, one of two in the province of Saskatchewan. The other paved track is Kings Park Speedway in Regina.
Side Bites
The Dakota Classic Modified Tour released their 2026 schedule. The tour will run from July 5th to 10th including its annual Canadian stop at Estevan Motor Speedway on Monday, July 6th.
Swan Valley Speedway (Swan River, MB) will be celebrating their 40th anniversary this season. There are 5 weekends scheduled including their annual Invitational on August long weekend.
The biggest midget event of it's kind , the 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals, kicked off the new season in Tulsa, Oklahoma as over 400 competitors attempted to capture the coveted Golden Driller trophy.
This year's victor was Emerson Axsom of Franklin, Indiana, driving the 39a Kevin and Jo Swindell midget.
On a local note, some members of the Northern and Western Renegade participated in this year's Chili Bowl Nationals. They included Myles Tomlinson, Cam Schafer, Jori Hughes, Jack Berger, Ryan Bowers, Matt and Bill Johnson, and Manitoba's Eric Guyot.
Speaking of Eric, his first attempt at midget racing, though exciting, was short-lived as he completed 3 laps of his first heat race before his car flipped. Although that was it for his Chili Bowl racing, I am told that he's already looking forward to 2027.
Speaking of open wheel racing, be sure to watch for upcoming racing schedules including the Western Renegade Non-Wing Sprint Car Series and the Ontario Traditional Sprints. Slowly but surely, the traditional sprint car movement is taking hold as a popular economic alternative in open wheel dirt track racing.
Before I sign off, I would like to thank our advertising partners Mook Fabrics and Dahlin PowerSports & Auto for their continued support of Dirt from the Stands.
Until next time, race fans. Take care and good racing. 🏁
