ESTEVAN - The Estevan Motor Speedway (EMS) reflected on the successes of the past year during the organization’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Nov. 30.
Aaron Turnbull, who was the president for the 2020-21 year, said those who attended the meeting delved into the track’s finances, and it was a perfect time to have the AGM, because Nov. 30 marked the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Turnbull said the track’s finances are in good shape, as they had a surplus at the end of this year, as they have had in the past few years.
“That’s good, because we have upgrades to do and maintenance to take care of all the time,” said Turnbull. “It’s nice to have a little bit of a cushion to fall back on.”
Any upgrades to be done will need to be determined by the new EMS executive, but Turnbull said there isn’t anything that’s pressing.
As for maintenance, the track preparation equipment always has work to be completed, between water trucks, tractors and graders.
Brad Pierson will move up from vice-president to president for 2021-22, while Turnbull will become the vice-president. Long-time treasurer Lynn Trobert will remain in that role. Eric De Ruyck will shift into the secretary’s role. Byron Fichter has rejoined the board, Jared Stang will be a new member and Chris Hortness will be back for another year.
The meeting also offered a chance for those in attendance to provide input on the direction of the EMS. They discussed how the speedway can continue to improve its efficiency.
They also talked about the slingshot class, which has proven to be a popular circuit for young drivers trying to break into the sport.
And they discussed a potential new class for front-wheel drive sport compacts, but Turnbull believes it might be better off as a special attraction, similar to late models that race at the speedway each year. At this point, no decisions have been made.
“We have to be careful as to how much we want to add to our program on a regular basis. We don’t want to over-extend the length of the program. We have to keep that in mind. It will be a very economical class, but part of the discussion we had was that’s the reason we have the Enduro,” said Turnbull.
The speedway will likely continue with having two Enduro races a year, which the track did for the first time in 2021. The second Enduro in September was particularly successful this year.
“The average guy can put a car together for a really small amount of money (for the Enduro),” said Turnbull.
A schedule for the 2022 season has not been established. Now that the Canada-U.S. border has greater accessibility for fully vaccinated travellers, Turnbull said the track will be consulting with U.S. tracks on the schedule.
“I’m thinking we’ll run a similar schedule next year, but we’re waiting to get a copy of what Williston … and Minot have in mind,” said Turnball.
They also don’t want to compete with any big events in the community next summer.
None of the drivers at the annual meeting had anything negative to say about the number of doubleheaders over the past two years, and Turnbull has never heard anything bad about it, but it can create a strain for the volunteers. However, the speedway ran roughly the same number of races that they would have in a normal year.
