See how race cars are made

Bicknell Racing Products, a fast company if there ever was one, is slowing down for seven hours Saturday.

An open house starting 9 a.m. at the facility at 117 Cushman Rd. in St. Catharines will give drivers the chance to attend free seminars and race fans the opportunity to see what goes into building a race car from the chassis up.

It’s a glimpse into an aspect of the sport that the general public rarely gets to see.

“This is a special day for fans. You can’t just come in here and walk around, but on Saturday you can,” Erica Bicknell-Jones, a company official and general manager of Merrittville Speedway, said.

People can visit the body bay, watch parts being machined to exacting specifications and see displays of the parts BRP makes available to the racing community throughout southern Ontario and western New York.

The list of what the company makes locally is nearly exhaustive. While motors, tires and transmissions are manufactured elsewhere, bodies and frames for modified and sportsman cars are made in St. Catharines as are a wide range of parts.

“If we don’t make the parts, we sell them,” Bicknell-Jones said.

A question-and-answer session with some of the top drivers, including 23-time Merrittville modified champion Pete Bicknell, will be of particular interest to drivers and pit crews as will seminars on shock absorbers and chassis setup.

Racing teams can learn more about a new spec engine that has just been improved for the modified 358 class. The motor, which Billy Dunn raced to victory in three features last season at Merrittville, is more affordable than conventional 358 power plants.

“Some drivers are interested in moving up, so this may help them,” Bicknell-Jones said.

Tim Kerr, a big-block racer from Picton, Ont., who won a premier Super DIRTCar Series race in Charlotte, N.C., last November, is a special guest at Saturday’s open house.