PDRA Western Expansion, Open Wheels & More

 

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. 🏁

Time, Change and Life in 2025, A Year In Review

It's that time of year again.  Time to look back and see what caught the attention of the Prairie Dirt Reporter in 2025.  It's been a different kind of year. Sometimes life gets in the way of having fun, but we make the best of what we are given.  That being said, let's begin...

Canadian Open Wheel Racing

If you were to ask me in 2009 what I thought about the status of open wheel racing across Canada, I probably would have said that it's showing the potential for growth and that there was genuine excitement about it's future, especially in the West.

How times have changed.

Somewhere along the line, that thought hit a wall. In 2025, while sprint car racing appears to be relatively healthy in Eastern Canada, sprint car racing West of Southern Ontario is almost nonexistent. 

To the West, the Alberta Extreme Sprints remain the constant series at Edmonton's Rad Torque Raceway which once was the home for 360 sprint car racing, including the prestigious Gold Cup.

Manitoba used to have a reasonably healthy open wheel scene, which has now been nonexistent for almost 10 years.

I started paying more attention to the open wheel racing scene in Ontario this year.  What started out as watching the racing from Ohsweken Speedway, featuring 360 and crate sprints, on GForceTV, turned into following the Southern Ontario (360) Sprints and then finally, posting results from the Ontario Traditional Sprints.  The OTS was a nice tie-in with the North Dakota-based Western Renegade Non-Wing Sprintcar Series.  

The traditional sprint car movement appears to be slowly showing growth and that's a good thing.  Both the Western Renegades and the Ontario Traditional Sprints promote themselves as the affordable option of sprint car racing.  In a time where sponsorship dollars are at a premium, car classes such as these are a good way for new teams to get involved.

While 410 outlaw sprint cars will always be considered the "elite" class of open wheel dirt track racing, those who dismiss or make light of other classes under the same umbrella are short-sighted in scope, which does little to promote the growth of sprint car racing in the bigger picture.

As we have witnessed countless times over, the car class a driver starts in is not necessarily the class he or she stays in.

Estevan Motor Speedway

Only one date was circled on the calendar for Estevan this season. That was the inaugural visit of the Western Renegade Non-Wing Sprintcar Series in August.  Unfortunately the event was cancelled due to rain.  Let's hope the traditional sprint car group and the speedway work towards making it happen in 2026.

Redhead Racing Returns to Dirt

After a brief stint with pavement racing, Redhead Racing is returning to the dirt tracks. Criss Jeffries announced plans to return to dirt track racing full time again. Expect to see her competing in the IMCA Northern SportMod division at Estevan Motor Speedway in 2026.

Resurrection of the Church of Dirt

Chris Unrau has done a masterful job of turning Morden's Dead Horse Creek Speedway into a premier destination for dirt track racing in Manitoba. From the beginning his message was very clear, "Built by Community FOR the Community" and everyone responded in kind.  Feedback has always been positive and by the number of cars pitted and fans attending, the formula is a successful one.

Victory Lane Speedway Moving Forward

Glad to see that Victory Lane Speedway received the support needed to continue operating next season and beyond. With the possibility of closure, the Manitoba racing community answered the call.  The speedway is also being expanded into a multi-use facility with the addition of an outdoor screen, to be used as a drive-in movie theatre.

All in the Family

When reviewing the weekend results, one name was always very prominent in Manitoba racing.  The name was Audette.  On any given evening, the Super Truck division would bolster anywhere up to four members of the Audette family. For the record, and in no particular order, Team Audette is comprised of Nick (also WISSOTA Midwest Mod), Chris, Hayden, Robert and Taylor.  They truly embody the phrase, "the family that races together stays together".

Speaking of Audette Racing, their Wide Open Wednesdays segments on social media have been quite enjoyable to watch this past season. Looking forward to seeing more of them in 2026.

Derek Pollock

After 26 seasons, Winnipeg's Derek Pollock called it a career at the end of 2025.  Behind the wheel of the 2T Pure Stock, Derek went out on top with an incredible 80 wins.  Over time I have written about his involvement in the racing community, but it wasn't until more recent years that I got to know him a little better.  Derek Pollock lived and breathed racing. He promoted the sport of dirt track racing, his racing team and his sponsors as enthusiastically as anyone I have ever know. Further to this, he cared about the people in racing.

I once had the opportunity to listen to Derek explain his thought process when he was on a dirt track and why he made certain decisions during a race.  I've always found this to be an interesting subject and receiving some insight from this seasoned veteran was a blessing.

Prairie Dirt Racing Association

The PDRA completed their 2025 tour of four Saskatchewan dirt tracks (Kindersley, Swift Current, Outlook, and Tisdale) and from all accounts had a good turnout.  The newest car class addition, Kidmods, showed a bit of growth. 

I'm always interested to see introductory car classes for young racers just getting their feet wet in the sport.

While karting and more recently slingshots have been the more traditional routes, Kidmods offer a new alternative through the Prairie Dirt Racing Association.  Looking forward to seeing more from them next season.

Sammy at Seventy

Sammy Swindell just turned 70 years old and he was still wheeling a sprint car competitively in 2025.  While he hasn't been in the running for Outlaw championships as in the past, it's great to still see him racing and winning on occasion at this stage of life.

Advertising Partners

I can't thank my new advertising partners enough for coming on board with me in 2025.  You'll be hearing more about them in the new year.  Thanks once again to Mook Fabrics and Dahlin Powersports & Auto for their support.  They make something good that much better.

Success and Thankfulness

Success in dirt track racing is not necessarily measured in dollars and cents, nor trophies.  Very few of us have the privilege of earning a living in racing.

Rather, dirt track racing is rewarding by simply being a part of it, by achieving a personal best, by experiences from the season, friendships that were made and/or renewed and fellowship.

Perhaps it's even as simple as a photograph, a poster of an event, or something that you contributed with no expectations.

Racing has been and continues to be good to me. I cannot overstate that enough.

This year alone, I've experienced random acts of kindness, phone calls from old racing friends, invitations and more.

A friend once asked me what my day would look like if I was to retire from my job tomorrow.  After some thought, one of the things that kept recurring was this blog, Dirt from the Stands.  I still enjoy blogging and sharing, whether it's a lengthy piece like this or simply posting the weekend's results.

That being said, I could never do this alone. The support of photographers, people sharing news and results, advertising partners and my racing family have made this season, this journey, fulfilling.

Time

One thing about time is that it stops for no one.  This year my time was divided into many pieces.  Some of it was once again dedicated to motorsports and will be again next year.  How much time is still up in the air.  One thing is certain, I'll be back for another season in 2026.

Holiday Season

As we close out 2025, let us take time to slow down, relax, and reflect during the holidays and think about what could be in the new year.

Until next time, race fans... Take care and God Bless. 🏁

Tomlinson Tops Western Renegades, Traditional Sprints, Extreme Sprints and More

We have results plus news from the Western Renegade Non-Wing Sprint Car series, Ontario Traditional Sprints, the Alberta Extreme Sprints, plus news about upcoming events in this edition of Dirt from the Stands.  Let's get to it.

Western Renegade winner, Myles Tomlinson
Samantha Tomlinson photo

Western Renegade Non-Wing  Sprint Car Series, July 19th Results

Jamestown Speedway, Jamestown, North Dakota

Feature (20 cars): 15T Myles Tomlinson, 46H Ken Hron, 25 Eric Guyot, 96 Jeremy Lizakowski, 5H Nick Shirek, 5J Chris Lewis, 2T Mike Tomlinson, 36 Tyler Wass, 8 Parker Vilandre, 85 Brenton Wiesz, 21N Bryan Nordrum, 15B Doug Mccambridge, 37 Steve Nordrum, 21 Cory Palm, 49 Collin Compson, 18 Paul Tharalson, 10 Dennis Knudson, 95B Dan Edwards, 17 Mariah LaPatka, W5 Shawn Wedge

Heat Winners: 5H Nick Shirek, 5J Chris Lewis, 25 Eric Guyot

Western Renegade Non-Wing  Sprint Car Series, July 18th, River Cities Speedway, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Cancelled (Rain Out)

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Ontario Traditional Sprint winner, Jamie Turner
Aaron Wiebe photo

Ontario Traditional Sprints, July 19th Results

Buxton Speedway, South Buxton, Ontario

Feature (10 cars): Jamie Turner, Ian Hunter, Jim Porter, Tate O'Leary, Mitchel Brosseau, Dale Hunter, Brennen Hager, Jeremy Hughes, Scott Burke, Andrew Marshall

Heat Winners: Dale Hunter, Jamie Turner     Hard Charger: Mitchel Brosseau

Next scheduled event is August 30th at Buxton Speedway.

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Alberta Extreme Sprint winner, Kyle Evans
Rusty Pothier photo

Alberta Extreme Sprints, July 18th Results

Rad Torque Raceway, Leduc, Alberta

Feature (8 cars): 2K Kyle Evans, 17 Paxton Fleming, 2R Paul Rolo, 7 Deklyn Fleming, 57 Ed Wiersma, 0 Kal Hawkes, 11 Daryl Sperling, 1K Gord Kynoch

Heat Winners: 7 Deklyn Fleming, 2R Paul Rolo

Saturday's scheduled racing was rained out.

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Side Bites

A few very notable events coming up in the month of August for the Westerrn Renegade Non-Wing Sprint Car Series. They start off with August 1st and 2nd at McLean County (Coal County Classic).

Next up, the Western Renegades take their show on the road to Saskatchewan for their first ever Canadian sanctioned event at Estevan Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 9th  This is the first time traditional sprint cars have been featured at the high-banked 3/8 mile dirt oval and promises to be a night of racing that fans should not want to miss.

Finally, the biggest annual event of it's kind, the North Dakota Non-Wing Nationals takes place at Devil's Lake Speedway on August 30th and 31st. Teams from both the Western Renegades and Northern Renegades will converge on Doyan, North Dakota on the Labour Day weekend. Last year's event saw 31 cars pitted and with new drivers in the mix for 2025, the number of participants could exceed that number.

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Advertising Partners

Thanks to our current advertising partners, Dahlin PowerSports & Auto, and Mook Fabrics for their support of Dirt from the Stands.  Together we are growing the voice of dirt track racing on the Canadian Prairies.

If you enjoy what is presented on this blog, consider being a part of the Dirt from the Stands family of advertising partners. For more information, contact me at gregcybulski@hotmail.com

Until next time race fans, take care and good racing. 🏁

Sask Racing, Traditional Sprints & Community Events

Dirt track racing is picking up as most tracks and racing series are getting in full swing for summer.

This edition of Dirt from the Stands includes racing results from Saskatchewan, traditional sprint cars and a few notes on community events.

IMCA Hobby Stock winner, Kaiden Tuchscherer
Payton Beeter photo

Estevan Motor Speedway, Estevan, Saskatchewan, May 31st Results

IMCA Hobby Stocks (15 cars) Feature: 91T Kaiden Tuchscherer, 96R Diezel Raynard, 8 Brody Singleton, 27JR Kruz Wilson, 24 Dustin Skjerdal, 16 Pat Smith, 12B Beth Ann Goudy, 88M Nick Martin, 26 Riley Mann, 44 Jager Ashworth, 6F Faith Kentner, 41 Ty Saxon (DNF), 99 Cash Saxon (DNF), 47 Max Beeter (DNF), 82T Tyson Grinstead

Heat Winners: 47 Max Beeter, 8 Brody Singleton

IMCA Northern SportMods (16 cars) Feature: 22 Keenen Glasser, 21D Gabriel Deschamp, 19 Quentin Skjerdal, 95 Rylan Raynard, 25R Leevi Runge, 13 Justin Fichter, 11M Dustyn Mayer, 52L Landon Runge, 18 Ryder Raynard, X21 Brent Skjerdal, 20 Rick Milewicz, 11 Sladen Pfeifer, 299 Cole Barnstable, 55H Mike Hudson, 5X Brooks Ones (DNF), 0 Robby Rosselli (DNF)

Heat Winners: 22 Keenan Glasser, 0 Robby Rosselli

IMCA Stock Cars (18 cars) Feature: 17H Chris Hortness, 21D Gabriel Deschamp, 68 Jeremy Swanson, 15 Connor Hanson, 98H Kayden Hjorteland, 4T Troy Heupel, 144 Riese Dignan, 2 Kyle Scholpp, 51X Brennor Grinstead, 12G Gary Goudy Jr., 66K Brian Kentner, 46 Geoff Mann, 30A Adam Goff (DNF), 7 Gary Goudy Sr., 21C Chase Davidson (DNF), 43 Kelly Bauman (DNF), 1 JJ Barnstable (DNS), 26 Sterling LaBatte (DNS)

Heat Winners: 98H Kayden Hjorteland, 2 Kyle Scholpp

IMCA Modifieds (14 cars) Feature: 02 Kody Scholpp, 11 Steven Pfeifer, 21 Aaron Turnbull, 413 Tate Johnson, 6Z Zach Dockter, 29 Les McLenehan, 67 Cole Fichter, 1 JJ Barnstable, 90M Danny Meier, 48 Brock Beeter (DNF), 1G Caden Germundson (DNF), 5T Marcus Tomlinson (DNF), 3L Derrick Lisafeld (DNF), 12 Dexter Saxon (DNF)

Heat Winners: 1 JJ Barnstable, 02 Kody Scholpp

Slingshots (12 cars) Feature: 195 Hudson Mann, 221E Eli Turnbull, 50 Gunner Raynard, 14 Kolby Fichter, 8 Tatum Singleton, 53 Sophie Skjerdal, 16 Jase Skjerdal, 19J Jake Skjerdal, 9ER Ellie Rudy, 21CH Halle Turnbull, 3 Dane Skjerdal, 9 Karter Fichter

Heat Winners: 14 Kolby Fichter, 50 Gunner Raynard 

Swift Current Stock Car feature winner, Brody Crowe
Lisa Crowe photo

Swift Current Motor Speedway, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, May 31st Results

Street Stocks (Top 3) Feature: 88 Brody Crowe, 96 Dave Koethler, 12 Wayne Sadowski

Hobby Stocks (Top 3) Feature: 913 Tylor McGrath, 70 Serge Perrault, 37 Broden Berg

Mini Stocks (Top 3) Feature: 14 Brianna Cook, 43 Jonathon Nelson, 10 Terry Fehr

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TRADITIONAL SPRINT CARS 

Ontario Traditional Sprints winner, Jamie Turner
Jenn Hunter photo

Buxton Speedway, Merlin, Ontario May 31st Results

Ontario Traditional Sprints (10 cars) Feature: 1. Jamie Turner, 2. Jim Porter, 3. Ian Hunter, 4. Jeremy May, 5. Warren Mahoney, 6. Chris Van De Wiele 7. Dale Hunter 8. Tate O'Leary 9. Scott Burke 10. Mitchell Brosseau

Hard Charger: Jeremy May

Western Renegade Winner, Jeremy Lizakowski.
Samantha Tomlinson photo

Devil's Lake Speedway, Crary, North Dakota May 31st Results

Western Renegade Non-Wing Sprint Car Series (15 cars) Feature: 96 Jeremy Lizakowski, 5H Nick Shirek, 37 Steve Nordrum, 15T Myles Tomlinson, 85 Brenton Wiesz, 8 Parker Vilandre, 20L Dusty Lawson, 2T Mike Tomlinson, 21N Bryan Nordrum, 71 Rick Fabian, 52 Emma Sobolik, 20 Kevin Lawson, W5 Ryan Baldwin, 15B Doug Mccambridge (DNF), 18 Paul Tharalson (DNF)

Heat Winners: 5H Nick Shirek, 20L Dusty Lawson, 85 Brenton Wiesz

Western Renegade winner, Myles Tomlinson
Samantha Tomlinson photo

McLean County Speedway, Underwood, North Dakota May 29th Results

Western Renegade Non-Wing Sprint Car Series (9 cars) Feature: 15T Myles Tomlinson, 16 Ross Cummings, 2T Mike Tomlinson, 15B Doug Mccambridge, 21 Cory Palm, 20 Kevin Lawson, 20L Dusty Lawson, 95B Dan Edwards (DNF), 5 James Weber (DNF)

Heat Winners: 15T Myles Tomlinson, 16 Ross Cummings

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Community Events

Local drivers displayed their cars at the Outlook Prairie Festival
Meagan Lepage photo

Outlook, Saskatchewan

The 4th annual Prairie Festival, hosted by the Outlook & District Heritage Museum, took place this past weekend. The community event included dancing, live music, assorted fun activities for the families and a Show & Shine. Through the support of local and provincial sponsors, the event celebrates the past, present and future of their community. A few of the local racers took the opportunity to show off their new race cars at the event.

For more information, please visit the Outlook & District Heritage Museum Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of Flatlanders Speedway

Kindersley, Saskatchewan

Flatlanders Speedway in partnership with Kinley's Journey with Biliary Atresia had a Show and Shine Toy Drive event at Kindersley Center Mall on June 1st.  Admission for the event was the donation of a toy. The donated toys were placed in the back of an ambulance and to be distributed to designated pediatrics wards. Biliary Atresia is a liver disease which requires a transplant. Kinley's family and friends are raising awareness about this disease and the importance of organ donation.  

For more information go to the Kinley's Journey with Biliary Atresia Facebook page.

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum inducted their Class of 2025 on Saturday.  This event pays tribute to the people who have given their time and energy to the betterment of open wheel racing in years past. This year's class includes Craig Dollansky, Damion Gardner, Todd Shaffer, Davey Brown Jr., Don Ott, Carlton Reimers, Steve Sinclair and Kenny Gritz.

Congratulations to the new Hall of Fame inductees.

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Advertising Partners

If you enjoy reading this blog and would like to advertise your business on Dirt from the Stands. Show your support as we continue to grow as the voice of dirt track racing on the Canadian prairies. Please contact Greg at saskdirtracing@gmail.com   Thank you for your time and consideration.

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Until next time race fans, take care and good racing. 🏁