10/23/2017
Lake of the Woods Speedway
Lake of the Woods Speedway Hosts First Ever Event
It had been three years in the making, but on Sunday, October 22, 2017, Lake of the Woods Speedway in Kenora, Ontario, hosted its first ever event that involved a practice of race cars that may be racing in 2018. It happened in the nick of time as the last load of clay was put on the track just before 5pm the day before. A total of four hundred people and eighteen cars attended the open house practice with weather becoming sunny and beautiful for the afternoon’s event.
Despite a few rough spots on the track, drivers have the feeling that the track will be a fast one as the longer corners will help to maintain good speed throughout a race. Some of the cars really push it to the limits throughout the afternoon.
Lake of the Woods Speedway became an idea in October of 2014 where the search started to find a suitable location that was close to the city, but met zoning requirements. After several months of scouting out different spots, a deal was struck with Best Way Rentals at a piece of property located near the Weyerhaeuser Mill on Jones Road on January 1, 2016. In March of 2016, Moncrief Construction Limited came on board to help do the work on the site. After clearing part of the site, blasting of the rock knoll took place at the end of September, clearing the way to begin on the subsurface of the track.
In the Fall of 2016, the Kenora Hospitality Alliance (A conglomerate of the area hotels) became a supporter of the Official Plan and Survey. During the winter, some work was done on site to expand the pit area and level off the area to the north.
By the end of July 2017, daily work started to occur at the track and clay started to be hauled on the weekend in mid-September. After over three hundred loads of clay and leveling, the speedway itself was completed enough to have a test and tune.
More work will continue throughout the next year however, as parking, drainage, and other work has to be completed. However, with the track itself at 90% completion, people are excited about the future of Lake of the Woods Speedway.
Submitted By: Anthony Leek
