Drag racing season starts at Swift Current airport

The Swift Current Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) will host the first drag racing weekend of the season on July 4 and 5 with additional pandemic measures in place to ensure the safety of racers and spectators.

SCDRA President Greg Mackay said it became possible to host a drag racing event at the Swift Current airport due to the implementation of the latest phases of the provincial reopening plan.

“We’re very fortunate that we’re able to do this with the opening of phase 4.1 and 4.2,” he mentioned. “They’ve announced that we can do some outdoor sports. So we’re fortunate that we fit into that category and also we’re very fortunate that we have the space at the airport that we can keep people spaced out far enough to keep everybody as safe in this new world we’re living in.”

It took a lot of planning by the SCDRA executive members to receive approval from the City of Swift Current and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) for this two-day event.

“We had to put a proposal together and then handed it in to the City for review,” he said. “Then the City took that proposal and requested the SHA and got approval from them to do this.”

He credited the City of Swift Current for being very supportive to assist the SCDRA to receive the necessary approval from the provincial health authority.

“Our executive with SCDRA and the City of Swift Current have been working tirelessly to try to get approval from the SHA, and a lot of help from the City, I might say that again,” he emphasized. “They were instrumental in getting this done, because the City of Swift Current wants something for people to do. There’s been so much cancelled in the area and so many things that had gone the other way. They wanted something positive to go do and with our spacing out there we can afford to put people at two metre spacing and still have enough room for people to watch and have a good event.”

According to Mackay the SCDRA will be hosting the first drag racing event of 2020 in Saskatchewan. There will be a lot of preparations by SCDRA members and volunteers to implement the public health requirements to have drag racing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We all want to have some fun, but we want to do it the right way,” he said. “We want to make sure that we’re abiding by the rules that the SHA has set out and we will be, and that’s just the way it’s going to have to happen.”

Race participants and spectators are required to sign a safety waiver, which was a requirement in the past, and to also complete a COVID-19 pre-screening questionnaire, which can be downloaded from the SCDRA website.

Drag racers from the United States will usually compete at this event, but it will not be possible this time due to the current international border restrictions in Canada. Race participants from other provinces will still be permitted to attend the Swift Current drag racing weekend.

“The provincial borders are open,” he said. “So we will allow racers from out of province, but not from the United States. Those borders are closed.”

Physical distancing will be a requirement for racers and spectators during the weekend. The racing crew areas in the pits will have a 10-metre distance between each other and it recommended that spectators do not go into the pit areas.

A two-metre distance will be maintained when technical inspections are carried out on vehicles. There will be marked, single-file lanes in the staging area and drivers must stay in their vehicles.

There will be no bleachers for spectators and people are requested to bring their own lawn chairs. Spectating areas will be clearly marked to ensure that race fans can practice physical distancing.

“We’re going to put chalk lines down so that everybody knows where to go and where they can sit and where they can’t,” he said. “We’re going to have extra safety precautions put out there so that people can sit down and watch and still keep apart.”

Portable washrooms will be provided, which will be cleaned and disinfected frequently. There will be a concession with a marked, single-file line and a requirement for maintaining the two-metre physical distances.

Although there will be additional procedures and requirements to ensure the safety of spectators, the event will still provide a lot of fun with racing in three standard classes for sportsman, pro and super pro.

“We’re going to try and put on a good show,” he said. “This is something new for all of us. So we’re just trying to go out there and having a little bit of fun and trying to make it work for everybody.”

It will be more expensive for the SCDRA to host this event due to the additional expenses to implement the various precautionary measures.

“We’re a non-profit organization, we don’t run with a high budget anyways, but this is definitely going to cost us more,” he said.

The SCDRA had big plans for 2020, because it is their 15th anniversary season. Their season was originally scheduled to start in May, but that event had to be cancelled. Their goal is to host a successful racing weekend on July 4 and 5 and then to look ahead to hosting two more events, one in August and another in September, but it will depend on the pandemic situation at that time.

“We had some big events planned for this year and the coronavirus put a stop to it, but we’re still going to try and get some events that we have planned for our 15th year,” he said.

Gates open at 8 a.m. on both race days. Racing will start at around 10 a.m. on Saturday and at around 9 a.m. on Sunday, but timing might change a bit due to the need to follow additional COVID-19 procedures.

Admission is $10 per day for spectators and free for children 12 and under. Payment is by cash only and spectators are requested to bring the correct amount to pay for entrance, because no change will be provided.

For more information and to download the COVID-19 pre-screening form, visit the SCDRA website at www.scdra.ca