Grand Bend Speedway’s 2024 season is set to get underway Saturday at 7:00 PM. The event will be the debut of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (NAAPWS) at the track. The lineup features NAAPWS competition from the Late Models, Mini Trucks, Bone Stocks, and 9HP sprints. The evening also features a visit from the Southern Ontario Modified Association and development competition from the Junior Sprints.

The 2024 season schedule features nine Saturday NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series events running the track’s signature double features format.

Considerable work has gone into preparing the track for Saturday’s opener. Facility work has been taking place during the off season to improve the fan and driver experience. Most of these improvements have been kept under wraps to keep the surprise for fans and drivers. Some of the improvements will be ongoing throughout the season and into 2025.

Saturday’s event will also be live streamed through the track’s Facebook page.

Tickets for Saturday’s event are available at the door.

About the Track: Grand Bend Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned 1/4 mile paved Tri-Oval race track. Originally built in 1996 for small-scale vehicles it was later expanded into the track of today which can accommodate both half-size development series as well as full-size race cars in addition to its daily Go Kart and racing experience attractions that run during the summer. The track is located just outside the town of Grand Bend beside the Grand Bend Motorplex facility.

Mother’s Day E-Gift Certificates Available at Grand Bend Speedway!

Looking for unique to give Mom this year? An experience she will remember for the rest of her life? Grand Bend Speedway and Festival Centre can do that! Our gift certificates can be used for:

1. Grand Bend Family Go Karts
2. The Outside Groove Diner
3. Admission to NASCAR Racing Events
4. Anything at the Speedway!

With 15% off giving Mom the gift of a family day out is easy and affordable!

*DISCOUNT CODE: MOMS24

Click here to purchase

Grand Bend Speedway is now offering E-Gift Cards for anyone to purchase online. Click here to purchase

Our gift cards  are considered “Speedway Buck$”, and are valid for all Grand Bend Speedway purchases. Hard Cards will also be available for purchase at the speedway only. Save 10% on all gift card purchases over $100. Easy to buy, easy to reload and easy to use! Great for gifts, or purchase for yourself to save 10% on everything from gate admission and food to Go Karts and everything else!

Grand Bend Speedway will be a NASCAR sanctioned track in 2024 joining the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (NAAPWS).  The move will see a dramatic increase in championship points funds for drivers and increase the visibility of the track to fans.

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (NAAPWS) is NASCAR’s national championship program for short-track racing. Each year, nearly 10,000 people compete at NASCAR-sanctioned short-tracks throughout the U.S. and Canada. The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series crowns champions at a track, state and provincial, regional and national level.  The series includes nearly 50 different and unique tracks, including Grand Bend Speedway.  These tracks spread across 25 states and 4 provinces.

“Becoming a NASCAR-sanctioned Track brings Grand Bend Speedway to an elite level of competition and recognition,” said promoter Tabitha Van Bruwaene.  “There is no better way to showcase our talented drivers than with the biggest brand name in auto racing.  Grand Bend is an ever-growing tourist destination.  We are excited to be a part of building quality entertainment for the whole family.”

Joining the series was made viable as the track saw strong increases in participation from drivers last season.  Most notably, the track’s Late Model division, which ran mostly smaller exhibition events last year, is set to become an impressive sight at the track this year with a surge in participation.

For points fund purposes, the Late Model division will be the top class with the Mini Trucks being division II, the Bone Stocks division III, and the 9HP Sprints as division IV.  Drivers can register for a license and also review a list of frequently asked questions.  The points fund for each of the classes is:

Late Model – $12,000+ CAD ($8,500 USD from NASCAR)
Mini Truck – $5,000+ CAD ($3,000 USD from NASCAR)
Bone Stock – $3,500+ CAD ($2,000 USD from NASCAR)
9hp Sprint- $2,000+ CAD ($1,500 USD from NASCAR)

The Junior Sprints and Kid Stock programs will also continue as an important part of driver development at the track as drivers gain experience and climb the competition ladder to join one of the NASCAR sanctioned classes.

Grand Bend Speedway’s 2024 schedule is available for viewing on the website with the season opener set for June 1st at 7:00 pm. The schedule features nine Saturday NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series events running the track’s signature double features format.

About the Track: Grand Bend Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned 1/4 mile paved Tri-Oval race track. Originally built in 1996 for small-scale vehicles it was later expanded into the track of today which can accommodate both half-size development series as well as full-size race cars in addition to its daily Go Kart and racing experience attractions that run during the summer. The track is located just outside the town of Grand Bend beside the Grand Bend Motorplex facility.

Drivers and teams of Grand Bend Speedway gathered on Saturday for a championship BBQ and rules meeting. Championship drivers were awarded with their victory plaques as drivers in each division also received plaques in recognition for their accomplishments in the 2023 season.

Photos from the afternoon are available here.

The driver’s meeting portion of the afternoon allowed the track to share some basic information about the 2024 racing season and gather feedback on a handful of proposals.

Drivers should keep watch on the track website during the off-season for updates and also ensure that they have signed up for e-mail updates.

Thanks everyone for a great 2023! We look forward to an awesome 2024.

The second annual Lights Festival at Grand Bend Speedway will be held Saturday September 23, 2023. Many participants use the lantern release as a way to honor lost loved ones. Some write on their lanterns a list of hopes and dreams, while others will use it as a way of letting go of things from the past. Others come just to enjoy the experience of the breathtaking sight of lighting the sky with thousands of lanterns!

Some wonder what the effects are on the environment. The lanterns are safe and 100% biodegradable. They’re made from rice paper, string, and bamboo – with NO metal wire. These lanterns are very different from the generic ones anyone can buy online. The unique design has a very short burn time. The rice-paper body of the lantern is fire-resistant, to prevent the flame from travelling from the small fuel source suspended in the middle. The fuel source was designed to completely burn out before the lantern begins to descend. As a result of the short burn time, the lanterns do not travel far, and a clean-up crew gathers 100% of the lanterns within 24-48 hours after the event.

“The Lights Fest is dedicated to leaving a positive impact on everyone who attends our event. We are also dedicated to leaving a positive impact on the environment. We have a dedicated cleanup crew, waiting in the landing zone, whose focus is collecting lanterns after the event. All events are strategically located outside of populated areas where there is open space. We’ve engineered our lanterns for low ight and landing-site predictability. After the event, we have a large cleaning crew, picking up the lanterns. Our lanterns are 100% biodegradable, so in the rare chance that we miss one, they are designed to quickly disintegrate. Our “Leave No Trace Policy” allows us to make sure that our venues look the same after we leave as they did before we arrived.”

Collin Maki, Director of Events Operation for THE LIGHTS FEST with Viive Productions of Utah, initially contacted Grand Bend Speedway in August 2022. After learning what The Lights Fest was about, it was felt that Grand Bend Speedway could safely host this festival for first time, October 15th, 2022. Thanks go the South Huron Township, Fire Department and O.P.P. who have again, in 2023, ensured all zoning designations, safety protocols, and necessary approvals have been met. The South Huron Fire Department will be on site when the lanterns are released, as per The Lights Fest protocol.

In 2022 about 2000 people came out to participate and enjoy the festival. The second annual Lights Fest is set to be even bigger with 3500+people, local musicians, vendors and much more.  A large stage will be at the central focus with hundreds of tiki lanterns spread though out the gathering field. After the sun goes down, it will be time to light up the sky with the lanterns. Collin Maki, who has been organizing these festivals for over 9 years, commented, “We do these events to bring healing and the community together. Our goal is to maintain long-term relationships with our venue and property partners so that we can return year after year to put on our festivals for the local communities.” Grand Bend Speedway is looking forward to hosting this annual event once again.

The Municipality of South Huron has been provided written notice of the event as they require.

For more information or to purchase tickets go to: www.thelightsfest.com

JUNIOR SPRINT RESULTS       

Feature Race #1

1. 99 Tyson Fucile    (London)
2. 77 Ayden McNicol            (Exeter)
3. 6 Alexis Eaton    (London)
4. 73 Chase Morris   (London)
5. 98 Bryson Fuller   (London)
6. 39 Landyn Moore (Watford)

Feature Race #2

1. 99 Tyson Fucile    (London)
2. 77 Ayden McNicol            (Exeter)
3. 6 Alexis Eaton    (London)
4. 73 Chase Morris   (London)
5. 98 Bryson Fuller   (London)
6. 39 Landyn Moore (Watford)

HONDA PRO KARTS

1. 27 Matthew Ball  (Ingersoll)
2. 67 Jamie Titus      (Ingersoll)
3. 43 Katie Schlueter            (Milverton)
4. 77 Jordan Morris (London)
5. 64 Karin Bourassa (Ingersoll)
6. 7 Nick Subject    (Lucan)
7. 52 Andrea Clarke (Teeswater)
8. 99 Ronald Parsons           (Alton)

9HP SPRINTS         

Feature Race #1

1. 44X David Nethercott        (Forest)
2. 13 Mike Beneteau            (Grand Bend)
3. 33 Nick Clarke      (Teeswater)
4. 88 Andrew Rose Cole       (Forest)

Feature Race #2

1. 44X David Nethercott        (Forest)
2. 13 Mike Beneteau            (Grand Bend)
3. 12 Gareth Mclean            (Lucan)
4. 33 Nick Clarke      (Teeswater)

4 CYLINDER RESULTS     

Feature Race #1

1. 77 Ryan McNicol

Feature Race #2

1. 77 Ryan McNicol

KID STOCK               

Feature Race #1

1. 83 Josh Clarke
2. 78 Lucas Chapman

Feature Race #2

1. 83 Josh Clarke
2. 78 Lucas Chapman